Scarlet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Scarlet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 6, 2026

A gender-swapped variation on Hamlet written and directed by the Oscar-nominated Mamoru Hosoda, Scarlet offers proof that you need more than pretty artwork to captivate an audience. Having just reviewed Sony Pictures' animated sports comedy GOAT (a similarly style-over-substance production, and one that I really didn't think I'd be mentioning here), I'd rather watch that move again right now than pop Scarlet back in. As beautifully rendered and occasionally moving as this fantasy drama is, it's dull and perplexing during several stretches, and it doesn't seem concerned with keeping the audience involved as we follow a tough young princess out to avenge her father's death.

For a full synopsis and critique of Scarlet, please see my recent review of the 4K edition which, as of this writing, is only available in Steelbook format and does not include a Blu-ray copy of the film.

The emotional effects of Scarlet may feel more potent on repeat viewings, but large portions of its doughy middle -- which is where that questionable script rears its head again -- don't make it feel like a film I'll revisit very often. The artwork partially salvages parts of its narrative shortcomings (a bit more on that below), and it's obviously rendered capably on Sony Pictures' separate 4K Steelbook and Blu-ray editions; both options offer proportionately solid visuals as well as dual Japanese and English language tracks, but the extras leave a bit to be desired. All things considered, Scarlet isn't the safest blind buy in recent memory and recommended more for established fans only.

Scarlet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As always, my review of the separate 4K edition offers an overview of Scarlet's visual aesthetic and overall appearance, but it's again worth noting that there are noticeable differences in terms of color and brightness between both releases. I will again refer you to that linked review for further details since I spent more time than usual comparing the two... but in short, this Blu-ray appears substantially brighter and warmer in certain spots with less of a blue "blanket" over even its darkest sections. There are times when I actually favored portions of this palette over the deeper, cooler, and more precise 4K presentation, but I preferred that version by a decent margin overall. And as implied by these lightly compressed direct-from-disc screenshots, there's a lot to like here and image detail is still extremely robust (especially where backgrounds are concerned), while the encoding on this dual-layered disc still looks very good despite it only having about half the real estate as its UHD counterpart. It may perhaps rate slightly higher than my perhaps too-modest 4/5 score indicates, but in any case should look quite nice on small to medium-sized displays.

Scarlet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Again pointing back to my review of the separate 4K edition, Scarlet is presented in its original Japanese with an optional English dub. The key difference between these releases is that Sony's Blu-ray does not include both Dolby Atmos tracks, only the more scaled-down 5.1 mixes in both languages. I covered these tracks in my linked review, so check it out for more details. In short, they're fantastic even though the Atmos tracks are superior.

Optional subtitles, including English and English SDH, are included during the main feature and key extras listed below. I'm not exactly fluent in Japanese, but both of these primary options seem to offer a literal translation of the original dialogue (as opposed to being "dubtitles") with the SDH option adding additional context for certain characters and effects. I'd rather that both languages were supported... but if forced to choose, I'm glad we got this one.

Scarlet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and a Digital Copy. As for the bonus features, they're identical to those found on the 4K edition and detailed in that linked review; in short, they're limited to a few basic behind-the-scenes items and honestly don't add much value, but are at least worth a once-over.

• Interview With Mamoru Hosoda (8:36)

• Animation Tests (2:08)

• Art Design Gallery

• Concept Art by Tadahiro Uesugi

• Storyboard Comparisons (6:35 total)

Scarlet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mamoru Hosoda has directed several near-masterpieces during the last 20+ years, but many of his very best were scripted by other people. He's been writing his own films since 2015 and, while all of these more recent efforts have enjoyed critical success to various degrees, Scarlet comes up noticeably short in the story department. While it's not without occasional intrigue and visual spectacle, the script is mostly flat and saps much of Scarlet's momentum as it slowly builds to a fairly predictably conclusion. Die-hard fans of the director might find more value hidden here, but even Sony's comparatively cheaper Blu-ray still seems too expensive for most blind buyers. Regardless, both this release and the separate 4K edition offer good to great A/V merits and only a few basic bonus features.