6/10
Entertaining for about 45 minutes...
19 August 2005
The concept of this DVD is particularly appealing. As a fan of both fantasy films and the long-dormant gamebook genre of the 1980's (Choose Your Own Adventure, Endless Quest, etc.), I saw this title as a potential test project in a whole new generation of "gamebooks." I'm not a big fan of computer animation. I think that most of the time, CG characters look a little too much like something out of a local Tech school commercial rather than a fantasy world. However, the animation here is pretty decent and, although not particularly atmospheric, it is reminiscent of cinematic portions of Computer RPGs.

The biggest disappointment is in the plot itself. I was expecting something much more epic than what was given. What we do get is a plot more like an episode of the old "D&D" cartoon show than "Lord of the Rings" or other high fantasy. I won't go into specifics, but the "big twist" is relatively transparent, and the various finales are extremely lackluster.

It's an interesting idea, and I hope more of these are made, so we can have a DVD gamebook worthy of this great concept.
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