A Cartoon Network animated series goes live action with CG effects and the Loch Ness legend comes to life with digital animation as Ben 10: Race Against Time and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep make their DVD debut today. The Water Horse disc offers behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film, including the complicated visual effects work.
Directed by Alex Winter, who co-starred with Keanu Reeves in the Bill and Ted movies, Race Against Time stars Graham Phillips (Evan Almighty) as Ben Tennyson, a normal 10-year-old boy who finds a piece of alien technology that allows him to transform into a variety of super aliens. Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) also stars as Grandpa Max, who uses his past experiences with the paranormal to guide and protect his grandchildren, Ben and Gwen, through their many adventures in fighting evil. The property’s first live-action movie was the most watched telecast in Cartoon Network history, prompting the network to greenlight a second film for the 2008-2009 season. The new season of the animated series, Ben 10: Alien Force, is set to premiere on Friday, April 18 at 8 p.m.
Walden Media/Revolution Studios/Beacon Pictures’ Water Horse: Legend of the Deep features VES-nominated visual effects and character animation. The story revolves around a young boy who brings a mysterious egg home from the beach and ends up raising a mythical creature of Scottish lore. Vfx supervisor Joe Letteri and the team at Weta Digital handled the creature animation and other effects for film, which is based on the popular book by author Dick King-Smith and illustrator David Parkins. The DVD includes deleted scenes and six featurettes: Creating Crusoe, Myths and Legends, Setting the Scene, The Characters, The Story and Water Work: Creating the Water Horse.
