Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 15, 2017

Fairy tales are a Hollywood staple and they're certainly a Disney staple. The studio's history with them is unmatched -- Walt Disney got the ball rolling with the animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -- but in recent years the studio has looked to the live-action realm to retell the classics in a brand new way. And with the advent of more-or-less seamless digital technology (though some of this show's effects are a bit lacking compared to Disney's live-action films) capable of recreating all of those magical moments and fantastical characters before reserved only for and able to be realized in the animated realm, why not? Movies like Maleficent and Cinderella are the cinematic standard-bearers in the early goings, but Disney's live-action television show Once Upon a Time takes the "fractured" (see the Shrek films) approach, jumbling various characters, places, and events into a single, cohesive narrative. Season four adds even more new fairy tales to the twisted adventures in both Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest, and with a healthy dose of live-action Frozen, it's sure to be one of the biggest seasons yet.

For reviews of previous seasons, please click through the appropriate links below:

• Season One
• Season Two
• Season Three

Sisters.

Storybrooke is still reeling from the havoc created in the second half of Season Three. Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) finds herself once again in the position of saving the citizens of Storybrooke, but this time from a cold new enemy. As the season progresses, characters are faced with a variety of new circumstances: a new baby, a new marriage, a new romantic entanglement, love lost, love regained. Will these internal issues be enough to finally rip Storybrooke apart at the very seams where external pressures have failed to do so in the past?

While Season three offered viewers the opportunity to peer more deeply within the characters during their jaunt to Neverland, Season four provides ample character growth as love alters the course of each character's path. Old characters face new challenges and new characters add new dimensions to the show. Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) and David Nolan (Prince Charming) are convicing as new parents. Lana Parrilla (Evil Queen) provides a deliciously cunning performance as a villain gone good but tempted to turn back when love gets messy. Sean Maguire's (Robin Hood) character is torn between the ladies in his life, and his story becomes more and more twisted. Colin O'Donoghue (Captain Hook) plays the memorable pirate here turned good guy as he attempts to court Emma. But Robert Carlyle (Rumplestiltskin) delivers, arguably, the season's best performance, finding amazing depth to his tourtured character who wants to believe in the classic happily-ever-after despite his past as a villain and almost involuntarily continues to try to control all the people around him to the possible detrement of his own happiness. Meanwhile, new characters such as Elsa and Anna, played by Georgina Haig and Elizabeth Lail, bring more familiar faces into the fold and, with those two names, season four brings an already interesting-to-great show further into the mainstream, riding the wild wave of popularity that still surrounds Disney's latest classic and its unstoppable force of mass appeal and cultural saturation. Kristin Bauer van Straten (Maleficent), Victoria Smurfit (Cruella De Vil), and Merrin Dungey (Ursula) team up to add some fresh villians to the mix.

Once Upon a Time works hard to keep viewers interested by injecting a steady stream of new characters and narrative devices into the fold. And it must, lest the audience begin to grow weary of yet another familiar threat to Storybooke that requires the heroes to save the day. But the show finds significantly greater depth even beyond its limited setting and its interesting schtick of cramming otherwise incompatible characters and elements into a single show. The show's writers and directors have done a remarkable job of mixing things up even as the crude underlying nuts-and-bolts remain largely static. Season four is no exception. While the cast may not travel as far from home, new elements are brought into Storybooke to keep the audience involved as hints of new dangers emerge to keep the show interesting and fresh where it might otherwise flounder under the burden of repetitiveness.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season's 1080p transfer yields excellent results in every category. Detailing is superb, certainly not quite up to the growing familiarity and expected complexity of a good UHD presentation, but for a Blu-ray this comes close to best-case scenario. Clothing textures are terrific. Whether very fine fabrics or heavier leathery garments, viewers will note and enjoy intimate little qualities that give the materials a very tactile appearance. Beads and other accentuating elements stand nicely apart, too. Facial features are deeply revealing, showing finer pores, makeup, and general imperfections with striking accuracy. Environmental clarity shines as well. Whether more materialistically diverse Storybooke locations or welcoming woodland environments, the Blu-ray showcases pavement, brick, wood, grasses, and leaves with appreciable, tangible clarity. Colors sparkle. Elsa's blue dress is a standout in the season. Natural greens show plenty of lively vitality and punch. Color nuance is obvious, and the palette never wants for greater punch or diversity. Black levels hold firm and deep. Flesh tones appear accurate. Light source noise intrudes in a few places and banding is a minor concern, but the image otherwise appears free of any significant source or encode blemishes. This is yet another first-class Blu-ray release from Disney.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack isn't bad, but it's in a bit of need for refinement and added depth. Musical clarity is fine, as is front-end space, but there's not often significant wrap around the stage. It's nevertheless smooth and highly detailed, just not completely immersive. Environmental elements, too, often seem to stay largely along the front end of the stage, occasionally finding more stage-filling depth but clarity is strong enough to at least replicate the environment, just not always immerse the listener in it. Action effects are likewise a little dull. Marshmallow's (would-be) booming growls and footfalls, for instance, yield decent low end drive but come up lacking in terms of room-filling depth and stage presence. The same could be said of a frenzied storm that opens the season. The track just lacks the sort of serious, complimentary oomph it needs in so many key scenes. On the flip side, surrounds occasionally carry some quality goods, like heavy blowing winds and collapsing ice in episode five. Dialogue does drive much of the experience, and the track doesn't fall short in that regard. It's front-center stable, well prioritized, and naturally lifelike and clear. The track holds its own, carries the material well enough in a raw technical manner, has its moments, flashes potential, and has all of its foundational pieces in place. It's just too underwhelming -- too frustrating -- at times to rank very highly: it can't decide if it's great, good, or merely adequate, with a numerical score that could range anywhere between 3.0-4.5.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season contains supplements on several of the included Blu-ray discs.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary (1080p): For "A Tale of Two Sisters:" Co-Creators/Executive Producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz & Actor Jennifer Morrison.

Disc Two:

• Audio Commentary (1080p): For "Family Business:" Writers Kalinda Vazquez & Andrew Chambliss.

Disc Four:

• Audio Commentary (1080p): For "Poor Unfortunate Soul:" Director/Executive Producer Steve Pearlman and Actor Colin O'Donoghue. For "Sympathy for the De Vil:" Executive Producer David H. Goodman and Co-Producer Jerome Schwartz.

Disc Five:

• Defrosting Frozen (1080p, 9:46): Cast and crew look at how the creative team added the modern story of Frozen into the classic Storybooke setting. This piece explores the problems with adding a recent fairy tale into the mix as opposed to a classic one.
• Behind the Magic Tour (1080p, 9:58): A behind-the-scenes tour of the set with Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas.
• Three Who Stayed (1080p, 5:23): A humorous interview sequence with three Storybrooke characters: Jerry Peters, Lara Lewis, and Freida Norland. Discussions include their origins and why they remained in Storybrooke.
• The Fairest Bloopers of Them All (1080p, 4:56): Self-explanitory.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 26:00 total runtime): Time Will Tell, Friends Forever, Just Like Everyone Else, Chasing Happy Endings, Laundry and Teacakes, Magic Cake, Camp Site, Good Boy, Things Change, The Lonely Author, The Babysitter, The Ice Cream Lady, No Deal, A Cow Named Man, Empty Chairs at Empty Diners, and We Can Fix It!
• Audio Commentary (1080p): For "Mother:" Writer Jane Espenson and Actor Lana Parrilla.

Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Once's fourth seas goes Frozen. Need any more be said? While season four may not enjoy the fantastical reach of its predecessor, it finds the show settling into a groove and expanding on its base in some interesting ways, narratively and from a character perspective alike. There's plenty happening around Storybooke this season, enough to keep fans interested and, with Frozen added to the mix, sure to draw in new viewers who will probably push back to the beginning after just a few episodes. Once Upon a Time: The Complete Fourth Season's Blu-ray release features Disney's usual high-yield video but a somewhat lacking audio presentation. A smattering of quality extras are included across several discs, including commentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes. Recommended.