The Illusionist coming to Blu-ray and DVD via Sony Pictures

The Illusionist coming to Blu-ray and DVD via Sony Pictures

Culver City, Calif. (Mar. 14, 2011) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment raises the curtain for the Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD release of the Oscar®-nominated animated film The Illusionist on May 10, 2011. Directed by two-time Academy Award®-nominated director Sylvain Chomet (Oscar® Nominee, Best Animated Feature, The Illusionist, 2010; The Triplets of Belleville, 2003), The Illusionist is a rich and touching animated feature about the father-daughter relationship between an aging magician whose art is slowly becoming obsolete and a young orphan girl just at the start of life’s journey.  The script—originally penned by the late Jaques Tati (Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle) as a love letter to his daughter—serendipitously found its way into the hands of Chomet by way of his sole surviving daughter Sophie Tatischeff who thought his hand-drawn animation style would perfectly suit the film.

The enchanting special features include a making of featurette and a rare look in to the animation process with line tests and progression sequences.  The Illusionist will be available for the SRP of $38.96 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack).

The Illusionist Synopsis:

An outdated, aging magician, forced to wander from country to country, city to city and station to station in search of a stage to perform his act meets a young girl at the start of her life’s journey.  Alice is a teenage girl with all her capacity for childish wonder still intact.  She plays at being a woman without realizing the day to stop pretending is fast approaching.  She doesn’t know yet that she loves The Illusionist like she would a father; he already knows that he loves her as he would a daughter.  Their destinies will collide, but nothing – not even the magic or the power of illusion – can stop the voyage of discovery.

Special Features Include:

“The Making of The Illusionist” Featurette

The Animation Process: A rare look at the line tests and progression sequences

“Chasing the Rabbit” Line Test

“Window Shopping” Line Test

“Fish and Chips” Line Test

“Morning Routine” Line Test and Completed Scene Montage

Garden Party & Travel Before & After Animation Sequences

Steam, Splashes, Smoke and The Flying Scotsman Before & After Animation Sequences

Tatischeff Before & After Animation Sequences