Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Despicable Me 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released the smash hit family-favorite film 'Despicable Me' to the UHD format for the first time. The film now boasts 2160p and HDR-enhanced video along with a new DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack. No new supplements are included, but the three mini movies are offered with new 2160p/HDR-enhanced presentations. Read on to see how this release stacks up to the original Blu-ray.

Despicable Me 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date. No review for the Dolby Vision presentation is available at this time.

To this point, Universal's animated films to feature on the UHD format haven't really proven all that interesting, failing to really differentiate themselves from their 1080p Blu-ray counterparts in any real way. Neither Sing nor The Secret Life of Pets do the format any favors, even if one might think super-colorful animated fare might be a goldmine for HDR content. Despicable Me doesn't exactly continue on in that direction. There are some noticeable differences between the images the two formats produce, but the UHD is certainly not leaps-and-bounds superior to the well-reviewed 1080p image.

The film isn't exactly a textural paradise. Sure the digital animators have inserted some complex texturing away from the relatively smooth character shapes. Faces and clothes are differentiated more by shape and, in the case of the minions, color and little accents and less the sort of gritty human characteristics like pores, wrinkles, and facial hair that are usually telltale signs of a dense, complex transfer. Here, finer details are usually reserved for various surfaces, like steel plating or leathery elements. Take the terrain in Egypt near film's start. There's plenty of rich, sharp, and easily identifiable detail on the UHD. And it's mostly all there on the Blu-ray, too. Individual pebbles or larger-area bits of sand seen in close-ups don't differentiate much from one format to another. Much the same can be said throughout. Eagle-eyed viewers, or perhaps those viewing on much larger screens than the 65" used for the purpose of this review, might spot some additional enhancements (even as the film was reportedly finished at 2K). But basic A-B comparisons don't yield any sort of appreciable, never mind dynamic, improvement to sheer visual clarity or definition.

The color palette is a different story. Like most every other HDR-enhanced image (those titles listed above notwithstanding), there's a noticeable change in color saturation, depth, and nuance. That actually holds true here as well. The image is in no way fundamentally altered, but the color grading is definitely different. In comparison to the Blu-ray, colors are brighter, firmer, more nuanced, and much, much less punchy. Contrast is more balanced but each shade, particularly bolder primaries, is less vivid. They're more natural, less garish. The colors certainly look fine on the Blu-ray. They're very vibrant and very dynamic. But the UHD manages to fine tune them, balance out that excessiveness for a more aesthetically pleasing range. It doesn't make a difference in less punchy shades, but things like minion yellow or a blob of strawberry ice cream seen near film's start are the tell-tale signs of the HDR's improvements. It's certainly not such a major swing that Blu-ray fans will necessarily be missing out. That palette is terrific in its own right, but this is next-level coloring that trades punch for accuracy.

Despicable Me 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Despicable Me gets a major boost in audio spec from the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks found on the regular Blu-ray and the Blu-ray 3D release to a new DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack. However, it's not a particularly big leap in terms of the basics, but it does offer a fuller, more satisfying listen that expands the track's range and capabilities without sacrificing any of the core qualities that made the original a winner. Indeed, the track is very much like the UHD video presentation in that the boost is less dynamic and more of a refinement. There's a greater sense of sonic expansion and expression. The track simply has more room to operate, more opportunity to explore little touches and nuances that compliment the big-driver musical numbers and sound effects that propel the movie forward. Everything enjoys a boost. Whether music that's fuller in presence, effects that seem to generate more detail and more efficient placement and movement, or just a general sense of place even in quieter scenes, the added back and overhead channels make the track all the more accessible and enveloping. It's nothing particularly special in terms of aggressive overhead usage but it's a solid all-around performer that handles everything with the care and detail of the 5.1 track, here with added expansion and maybe a little more aggression and clarity, too.

Despicable Me 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Despicable Me's UHD debut contains no new bonus content, but the UHD disc does include the Renaud/Coffin/Minion audio commentary track as well as the three mini-movies -- Home Makeover, Orientation Day, and Banana -- in 2160p/HDR video and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. All of the supplements carry over on the included 1080p Blu-ray disc, which is a simple port of the original release.

Despicable Me 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despicable Me is, arguably, a modern classic. It's a solid animated movie but more than that it's spawned a franchise that's the hottest thing to come around in a longtime, perhaps since Frozen. Its staying power is impressive and this first movie remains a treat even in a world that's becoming oversaturated with Despicable sights and sounds. Universal's UHD release is quite good, but it's not in any way a monumental improvement over the excellent Blu-ray in terms of either video or audio. As for the 2160p picture, there's not much difference in terms of detail, but the HDR-enhanced palette offers a nice boost in accuracy while dialing down sheer vividness. Audio enjoys a nice uptick in the X configuration over the older release's 5.1 track, but it's certainly not a revelation, just a refinement. No new extras are included. Super fans with UHD playback capabilities might be wise to pick this up, but it's certainly not a release that will move UHD screens and players, even with the franchise's immense popularity.