Home Entertainment News October 7, 2013: Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2

Minions unite! Universal Home Studios has officially announced it will release 2D and 3D Combo Packs of Despicable Me 2 just in time for the holidays on December 10, 2013. The animated family film features voice work from Benjamin Bratt, Kristen Wiig, and Steve Carell. Gru and his minions now live in tranquilsuburbia with adopted daughters Margo, Agnes, and Edith. Their serene setting is pierced when Gru is kidnapped by the Anti-Villain League. While he is indisposed, a new supervillain rises to power. It is up to him and his minionsto save the day in this delightful comedy.

Sony Pictures Animation has detailed its plan to release of The Smurfs 2 on December 3, 2013. In this sequel , Gargamel creates Vexy and Hackus, two synthetic Smurfs, in an attempt to harness Smurfy essence. To his dismay, he realizes he needs Smurfette to complete their Smurfanization into real Smurfs. He kidnaps Smurfette and whisks her away to Paris. Papa Smurf, Grouchy, Clumsy, and Vanity Smurf must band together with their human friends to save her. The Smurfs 2 will be available on DVD, 2D Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack. Special features include deleted scenes and two featurettes: Daddy’s Little Girl and Animating Azrael. Additional Blu-ray exclusives include three featurettes: The Puurrfect Companion: Azreal’s Tail, Evolution of the Naughties, and The Naughties! The Tale of Hackus and Vexy, and the Smurfs Mini-movie The Legend of Smurfy Hollow.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced a December 10 release date for  Fast & Furious 6 starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster. It will be made available as a DVD and Blu-ray combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, and UltraViolet Copy); the Blu-ray will have both rated and unrated cuts of the full-length film along with six Blu-ray exclusives: Take Control (Diesel, Walker, and Rodriguez appear at key moments in the film to offer commentary), Planes, Tanks, and Automobiles (a first-hand look at four key race and chase scenes from the movie), Gearhead’s Delight (narrated by Walker it follows the hottest rides showcased in the film from the shop to the track to the set), The FLIP Car (narrated by Dennis McCarthy, it provides and up close look at the hottest innovative ride in the film, a pivoting FLIP car, Hand-to-Hand Fury (chronicles the choreography of the action sequences and astonishing stunts), and of course, the unrated cut.

Sara Sugarman‘s Vinyl hits the streets January 14, 2014.  The punk rock comedy stars Jamie Blackley, Keith Allen, Christopher Roy Turner, and Phil Daniels as punks past their prime who reunite at a friend’s funeral. They decide to record some music for old time’s sake and end up with a possible hit on their hands. The only problem: their record label is uninterested in punk rock from from oldsters. They hatch a plan to have good looking young stand-ins lip sync their track until they get a deal, but it all unravels.

French distributor TF1 will release a box set titled The Cinema of Michael Haneke  containing a dozen films by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. Included films are his Oscar-winning Amour (2012), The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste), Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup), Hidden (Cache), Funny Games (the original and the American remake), The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), The Castle (Das Schloß), Benny’s Video, 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls), Code Unknown (Récit incomplet de divers voyages), The Seventh Continent (Der siebente Kontinent). The box set will be available in Europe December 4, 2013.

Leave your thoughts on this week’s Home Entertainment news below in the comments section. For more DVD / Blu-ray news, videos, and information, visit our Blu-ray News Page and our DVD News Page. Become notified when a new news column is published by subscribing to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” on Facebook.