Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Ferdinand 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Munro Leaf’s 1936 opus The Story of Ferdinand was a brief children’s book focusing on self expression. It had a similarly short animated adaptation in 1938 by none other than Walt Disney, but now the Blue Sky crew has taken on the tale and given it the studio’s typically raucous take.

Ferdinand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray.

Ferdinand is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Despite being finished at "only" a 2K DI, this 4K presentation shows rather significant upgrades in textures especially. In fact, while I noted in our Ferdinand Blu-ray review that the 1080p Blu-ray version tends to make Ferdinand's "fur" a bit rubbery looking, in the 4K version there's more clear definition, especially in close-ups. But it's in a number of other textures that the precision of this version really shows. "Little" things like the Spanish tile roofs or stucco walls, or Lupe's fur, receive notable upticks in detail levels in this version. HDR adds a bit of new nuance to the palette, but perhaps a trifle less than I might have expected. There are some luscious new tones in some of the sunset scenes with gorgeous pink skies, but overall the biggest difference to my eyes was simply saturation levels — this is an incredibly vivid presentation, even more so than the already excellent 1080p version, and when things like multicolored flowers fill the frame, the result is quite magical looking. A number of nighttime scenes also have at least a bit better shadow definition now, something that's noticeable on (again, supposedly "minor") elements like blades of grass. I experienced no issues with image instability and noticed no compression problems.

Ferdinand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I gave top marks to the 1080p Blu-ray version's nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, and the Dolby Atmos track on this 4K UHD disc simply takes that excellence and (literally in some cases) elevates it to "the next level". There are some clear new overhead elements here, including expected things like the wash of the crowd sounds in the bullring, but also with regard to some of the solo acoustic guitar work that dots the soundtrack. The already excellent directionality of effects and dialogue is duplicated and arguably amplified in this version, and once again the score provides regular engagement of the side and rear channels. The big set pieces like the bulls marauding through Madrid offer a glut of surround activity and at times bursts of LFE. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this enjoyable track.

Note: As often tends to be the case with Fox releases, the audio and subtitle specs are different on the 1080p Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs. The specs listed above are for the 4K UHD disc. Please see our Ferdinand Blu-ray review for specs on the 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Ferdinand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fox has not ported any of the supplements from the 1080p Blu-ray disc over to the 4K UHD disc. All of the supplements detailed in our Ferdinand Blu-ray review are of course available on the 1080p Blu- ray disc also included in this package.

Ferdinand 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Part of any perceived "problem" with Ferdinand may be due to the simple fact that American audiences are regularly offered superb animated features, and that ubiquity of excellence has simply raised the bar generally for this genre, which is certainly not a bad thing. But that said, that higher bar presents a hurdle that Ferdinand only partially is able to master. This is a fun, brightly colored, and relentlessly energetic film, and it features a lot of great voice work, but it's inarguably padded and filled with all sorts of extraneous material that has little to do with the central message. Kids will probably find this pretty delightful, but adults may simply want to revisit the memorable Munro Leaf book. Technical merits are first rate, with the 4K UHD disc offering clear upgrades in already excellent video and audio. With caveats noted, Ferdinand comes Recommended.