A ton of digital effects by Cinesite (Europe) combined with superb rubber and animatronic work by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to bring author Douglas Adam’s sci-fi cult favorite to the big screen. Now The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has arrived on home video complete with some nifty bells and whistles.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy stars Martin Freeman (Love Actually, BBC’s The Office) as Arthur Dent, a man who learns that Earth is about to be exploded to make room for an intergalactic highway. At the same time, he discovers that his best friend, Ford Perfect (Mos Def), is an alien and the two hitch a ride that sends them on a series of wacky adventures throughout the galaxy. The pic also stars Zooey Deschanel, John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Bill Nighy. Alan Rickman also pops up as the voice of Marvin the robot.
In addition to the main action, the film features hilarious animated vignettes that illustrate chapters of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a book that Arthur is given to help him cope with the challenges of intergalactic travel. British animation house Shynola provided the 2D toon work. There is even a brief, but humorous, stop-motion animation sequence created by Mal Woolbridge, Digna Migoumi and Jay Mallot.
Extra features on the DVD include commentary from members of the cast and exec producer Sean Solle, a colleague of the late Douglas Adams. There are also deleted scenes, fake deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, an additional Guide entry, a sing-along and the set-top game Marvin’s Hangman. The Buena Vista Home Entertainment release lists for $29.99 on DVD.
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