7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A live-action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney film, '101 Dalmatians'.
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCreaFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 16% |
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 Plus 7.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Cruella is not Disney's first attempt at making a live-action film sourced from the beloved 1961 animated film 101 Dalmatians. In 1996, the studio released the tepidly received 101 Dalmatians starring Glenn Close as villainess Cruella De Vil. This film fares better, not as a remake of the original animated treasure but rather as an origins story for the title character, following her work in fashion and transition from orphan to petty thief to high end fashion designer and finally into the character audiences love to hate. It's a solidly entertaining film, perhaps still superfluous when it's all said and done, but as a much-needed diversion from the craziness of the past couple of years it fits the bill.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Disney brings Cruella to the UHD format with a 2160p/HDR UHD presentation that offers a modest step forward from the fantastic 1080p Blu-ray version. From a resolution perspective, the boost doesn't do a
whole lot for the picture, at least not when examined on a 65" display. Gains to textural finesse and fine detail are minimal. The clarity boost is obvious;
the picture looks cleaner, crisper, a little glossier but still pleasantly filmic in its digital domain. Don't expect to find leaps-and-bounds improvement to
detailing, though, but what is here looks very good considering the effortless clarity and in-depth detail found on faces, clothes, and environments. The
HDR color grading offer a bit more depth and bounce. The picture is substantially darker than the Blu-ray. Compare any scene and find a fairly dramatic
transformation on the brightness level. Colors are certainly deeper by a significant amount. Look at Estella's red hair for a somewhat regular example.
There's not much alteration beyond the added depth and reduced brightness. The UHD is not significantly more vivid, just significantly darker. Whites
are a little
more bright and crisp and blacks are a hair deeper and more pure. The picture is free of troublesome noise or other unwanted source blemishes. It is
also
free of any seriously distracting compression issues. The picture looks very good, but as UHDs go it's rather run of the mill and not a major upgrade
from the Blu-ray. It's the better looking picture, but not by much and in this case it might be a matter of taste if one wants the brighter Blu-ray or the
darker UHD. That's the only major difference here.
Much as there is not a dramatic change in the UHD's picture quality compared to the Blu-ray, the UHDs Dolby Atmos soundtrack doesn't make a big transformative splash, either. The move from the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack to the UHD's Dolby Atmos sound presentation adds little beyond height ambience and no real discrete top layer elements of which to speak. The track sounds a little fuller when given the opportunity, particularly in terms of its prodigious soundtrack delivery. The height channels carry a mite of information, just enough to give the illusion of a larger, more spacious and inviting listening area, but don't expect to be bombarded with top end content. Don't expect much in terms of seriously aggressive audio cues, either. While the track is not Disney-esque in terms of lacking low end output, it's not at all prodigious, either, though to be fair the soundtrack rarely calls for it. Still, when a heavy vault door falls open later in the film, the thud is not quite so deep as one would expect to hear. Overall, however, the track, and its music in particular, is not wanting for significantly more low end depth, but it's also not so intense as to draw attention to itself. Beyond the music and some mild atmosphere, dialogue drives the audio experience. The spoken word is delivered cleanly, clearly, and authentically from the front center channel position.
This UHD release of Cruella contains no extras but the bundled Blu-ray includes several featurettes, a short blooper reel, and deleted scenes.
A digital copy code is included with
purchase.
Cruella sheds new light on a favorite Disney villain but doesn't necessarily prove to be must-see entertainment for longtime fans of the original animated movie. It's tangentially attached, a prequel, as it were, which establishes some important points that will allow the viewer to see the original character in a new and fresh light, but it's otherwise a fairly straightforward, and at times overly tedious, film. Its technical construction is above reproach. Disney's UHD is solid, boasting good 2160p/HDR video, a solid Atmos soundtrack, and a nice smattering of extra content. Recommended.
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