6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Two grade-school kids hypnotize their mean principal into assuming a secret identity of an under-wear clad superhero who helps their fellow classmates.
Starring: Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Thomas Middleditch, Nick Kroll, Jordan PeeleFamily | 100% |
Animation | 94% |
Comedy | 73% |
Comic book | 23% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One can only wonder what kind of schooling experience Author Dav Pilkey had in his youth to inspire him to create the Captain Underpants series. Are his stories mostly his musing and fantasies or is the series based in some godawful reality of droning teachers, demeaning principals, and dreary classrooms? The story offers a very bleak look inside a school where humor is not just discouraged, it's practically disallowed, particularly the brand of humor shared by brothers-in-comedy George and Harold, two elementary-aged children and aspiring comic book creators who find the punchline in almost everything. They play pranks, they giggle at academic verbiage that could be construed as toilet humor, they make it their mission in life to bring a little spirit and joy into their lives and their school. For the boys, laughter is the best medicine, the one and only antidote to their principal's warden-like rule over the school where education is boring and creativity is discouraged. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is a wonderfully fun, zippy, creative, and uproariously funny adaptation of the book series that turns school and superheroes upside down, strips it all down to the bare tighty-wightey essentials, and has a blast diving headfirst into comic absurdity in one of the most satisfying animated films in years.
Digital animation and UHD haven't always been the best of bedfellows, the format not always bringing significant change to a film, the transition from Blu-ray to UHD more a lateral move than an example of the upward mobility viewers expect. Captain Underpants, however, delivers a mild improvement over the Blu-ray and certainly beyond the typical animated UHD disc that, to these eyes, offers little-to-no discernible improvements. Captain Underpants' UHD's improvements are immediately recognizable, though again incremental. Increase in animation clarity and sharpness is evident. Details are modestly improved, most obviously noted on heavily textured clothes, such as Professor P's plaid suit where the digitally created fabric details appear a bit more dense and texturally robust. Environments and character details -- even as they're largely smooth by design -- reveal a bump in definition. The HDR-enhanced color palette likewise offers mild, but agreeable, improvement. Colors are more spunky and deeper; the palette by design is diverse and cheerful but not filled with nuance. HDR doesn't change that, but it makes purples, reds, greens, all of the flashy mainstays that appear in the movie a little more eye-catching. Trace aliasing may be seen scattered throughout the film, but it's otherwise good to go.
Captain Underpants soars onto UHD with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. It's an aggressive, very satisfying track that offers nearly nonstop enjoyment, one that saturates the stage with a healthy combination of vigorous music and an assault of wide-ranging aural effects. The Atmos track keeps it all working in harmonious balance, where no single element gains the upper hand, instead playing through a pleasing sense of command that allows for entertaining action and precision clarity. Various effects sweep and swoop and make a large impact. Bass is prolific, but never overbearing. The track delivers a consistent barrage of high-flying madness through which pinpoint details and larger, more enveloping pieces often intersect but don't overlap. Things like a ferris wheel rolling across the stage, thunder cracking and rain soaking, the villain's preferred mode of transportation rumbling through the listening area, or Captain Underpants swooping with superhero-powered intensity all send waves of balanced chaos through the listening area. Bass is tight, music clear and organic, surround use regular, and dialogue precise. There's nothing not to like about DreamWorks' exciting UHD audio presentation.
Captain Underpants' UHD disc contains no extras. All of them as listed and reviewed below can be found on the bundled Blu-ray. A digital
copy code is included with purchase.
Captain Underpants is a blast. The humor is infectious, the story is silly, the voice actors are wonderful, and stale humor is brought to life thanks to the characters' lovable enthusiasm for it. And this review hasn't even touched on the superhero stuff, the wonderful Superman-inspired origins story the boys create and all of Underpants' comical antics, whether on his own or as the boys must snap him back into hero mode every time he gets wet. The movie just never relents. It's a joy and one of the year's best little surprises. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie's UHD release delivers solid 4K video, excellent Atmos audio, and some kid-friendly extras on the Blu-ray disc. Very highly recommended!
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