Parenthood 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Parenthood 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker May 28, 2026

Directed by Ron Howard, the 1989 film 'Parenthood' arrives on 4K UHD disc courtesy of Universal. The film, which takes a hilarious and touching look at the pressures of parenting in the late 1980s, stars Steve Martin ('The Three Amigos'), Mary Steenburgen ('A Man on the Inside'), and Rick Moranis ('Ghostbusters'), and features Keanu Reeves ('John Wick') and Jason Robards ('Once Upon a Time in the West') in supporting roles. No new on-disc supplemental material has been included on this release, but it does feature all of the previous legacy material. The disc features an improved video presentation and an updated Dolby Atmos audio track. A Blu-ray disc, an embossed slipcover, and a Digital Code redeemable via Movies Anywhere are also included.

For an appreciation of the feature film, please follow this link.

Parenthood 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Parenthood 4K is pleasantly improved. It's HEVC-encoded 2160p presentation with Dolby Vision looks nicely filmic, with a light layer of fine grain present that typically resolves naturally and without incident. One of the more instantly noticeable enhancements of the transfer is the greater accuracy of skin tones and textures. Faces appear much more realistic in both regards, with minor imperfections, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, and the like being clearly defined. Jason Robards' mature face as he looks on with concern over his son, Larry (Tom Hulce), who has just be thrown out of a moving vehicle is a particular visual highlight. It's easy to observe Martin's thinning grey hair and to appreciate each of Steenburgen's untamed curls. Fine detail levels are high, with the books that line the shelves and the degrees that paper the walls of the Huffner home being crisp, wood grains being visible on floors, trunks, and other wooden elements, and every random item accumulated over the course of Frank Buckman's (Jason Robards) life and stored in his cluttered garage being open for inspection. Fabrics from leather to denim and all points in between posses a nice tactile presence. Blacks are pleasingly deep, and colors are well saturated, with the reds such as are seen at the modern era Cardinals game popping nicely, and the greens in the yards of the main characters appearing quite lush. It's a very solid upgrade over the previous Blu-ray from 2012.

Screenshots are sourced from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and are in SDR.

Parenthood 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Just as parenting styles change and are "updated" the audio track accompanying Parenthood 4K has also been updated with an English Dolby Atmos track replacing the Blu's DTS-HD Master Audio track. To be clear, the film, which is from 1989, is a product of its time. Originally outfitted with a stereo track, it does not demonstrate or subscribe to more modern sound design sensibilities with frequent moments of immersion, rich directionality, and punchy and bombastic musical moments. Instead, from an audio perspective it's front-heavy and understated and much of what the track needs to handle is dialogue and mundane, domestic sound effects. These things it does quite well, with voices being rendered without issue or defect. Sound effects like slamming doors, clicking video game buttons, and car engines sounding realistic. Excellent sound separation and precision is demonstrated in it's handling of Randy Newman's theme song, with pristine and nuanced vocals, and the chirping birds that accentuate a key moment of the song sounding lifelike. One of the most interesting sonic moments comes by way of one of Gil's "fantasy" moments after things go poorly when his son plays second base. Though brief, it demonstrates the broader capabilities of the track. By design, the Dolby Atmos track isn't a dazzler, but it is effective.

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

Universal's release of Parenthood 4K brings forward all of the legacy supplemental material from the previous Blu-ray disc from 2012.

• Art Imitating Life

• Family Reunion

• Words and Music

• Theatrical Trailer

• 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era

• 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters

For detailed information on these legacy features, please refer to the review of the previous Blu-ray edition.

The Blu-ray features "pocketBLU", "My Scenes", and "BD-Live" are not available on the 4K UHD disc.

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

Parenthood 4K doesn't feature star Steve Martin at his wildest or craziest, but it does offer him some opportunities to cut loose, as it were, especially when he fills in at his son's birthday party for the tragically misdirected entertainment. The rest of the film offers moments touching, funny, trying, and sad that are more in line with other family dramedies from the era, though the content of this film is unquestionably elevated by a stellar cast. The 2160p presentation is a definite improvement over the previous Blu-ray edition from over a decade ago and to the fans of the cast and/or the film, Parenthood 4K comes highly recommended.