Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Peter Rabbit 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 2, 2018

Peter Rabbit isn't much more than a regurgitation of The Smurfs. There aren't as many rabbits as there are Smurfs, they're certainly not blue, and the villain(s)'s got nothing on Hank Azaria's wonderful work as the bumbling wizard Gargamel (but one of them does command a Star Destroyer, so there is that), but the movies are really quite similar, anyway. They're both live action/digital hybrid constructs; both are based in idyllic, natural locations; and the characters at one point wind up out of their element, tackling life in the big, bad city to accomplish a critical task. They're both family friendly films but at the same time a little crude and crass, this one a bit more so than The Smurfs. Peter Rabbit earned a share of of criticism on its way to theaters, particularly considering its epically terrible trailer, but it managed to beat expectations with critics and audiences alike, earning a lukewarm reception and a substantial box office take. Sequel, anyone?

Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden), his cousin Benjamin (voiced by Colin Moody) and his sisters -- Cottontail (voiced by Daisy Ridley), Flopsy (voiced by Margot Robbie), and Mopsy (voiced by Elizabeth Debicki) -- live in the English countryside in a burrow underneath an old tree that sits near a bountiful garden that's cared for by an elderly gentleman named McGregor (Sam Neil). The rabbits make it their mission to eat as much of his food as they can, but McGregor fights them tooth-and-nail every step of the way. When Peter finally gets the best of him -- or his heart does, anyway -- it would seem that nothing can stand between the rabbits and the garden's bounties. What they didn't count on is another McGregor, Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson), who inherits the property just as he's been fired from a good job at a London-based toy store. He arrives at the home with the intention of sprucing it up and putting it on the market, but plans change when he meets his new, beautiful neighbor, Bea (Rose Byrne), a friend to rabbits and a thriving artist. The two hit it off, but when Thomas is introduced to Peter and his family and finds himself at war with a warren of rabbits, the possibilities of a relationship with Bea grow ever more dim with each new skirmish in the war for the carrots.

Peter Rabbit is, of course, based on the classic children's book written by Beatrix Potter and first published well over a century ago. The movie, no surprise, does not remain entirely faithful to the original story, though it weaves in enough goodness (such as making a Beatrix Potter stand-in character a focal point) to engender a modest amount of goodwill. That said, Will Gluck's film is as much a product of contemporary society as it is its gracefully aged and cherished source material. This film adaptation will not be remembered as fondly as the original tale. It lacks heart, its humility is forced, and the filmmakers would rather joke about heart attacks and severe allergic reactions rather than discover a soulful center for the movie. To its credit, it's not as crude as it could have been, as it seemingly wants to be, but this is not a particularly enjoyable movie with ample high notes. There voice acting is stale, the human characters are uninteresting (even Bea), and the battles between rabbits and people have no tangible, emotional center to them. The movie amounts to little more than a collection of scenes made of recycled gags (human and animal frightening one another and proceeding to scream like children), rapping birds, fast action, and digital wonders. It looks good and sometimes even plays well enough to leave the audience smiling, but there's just as much groan-inducing humor and vacuous plotting to make the movie as much a pain as it is a pleasure.

Peter Rabbit 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Peter Rabbit was reportedly photographed at a resolution of 3.4K and finished at 2K. This upscaled 4K release offers a modest upgrade over a perfectly good Blu-ray. Details are a little firmer, certainly not by leaps and bounds but there is a noticeable, but in no way critical, add to overall sharpness. Improvements to the fine complexities of the dirt terrain in the garden are particularly noticeable, while skin textures, clothes, and digital characters enjoy a little more clarity and complexity when compared to the Blu-ray. The 10-bit HDR color palette is hit-or-miss. There's an added depth to several colors to be sure. Greens are a highlight, and notably a dark green vehicle Thomas drives in the movie, which is much more firm in its color. Clothes enjoy a mild increase in color definition. Overall, the movie is notably a little more darkly filtered. Skin tones can turn a little gray, too. Look at a shot of Thomas at the 42:42 mark. On the Blu-ray, he appears healthy and radiant. On the UHD, he appears pale and sickly. Skin tones certainly take the biggest hit, though in contrast the UHD offers added boldness to core colors throughout the film, including improved whites (the fence around the garden) and slightly deeper blacks (a nighttime exterior). Even with the slight sharpness advantage to the UHD, the Blu-ray seems the more balanced image overall if colors, and skin tones in particular, are an equal consideration to textural clarity and definition.

Peter Rabbit 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As per Sony home video release norms, Peter Rabbit's UHD release earns a Dolby Atmos soundtrack while the companion Blu-ray features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's not a significant difference between the two. The UHD's Atmos presentation is a little fuller, taking advantage of the added back channels and top-end space to better implement music and effects. It's a bit more open and airy. Music plays with slightly more prominent depth and stage presence, and a few effects take advantage of the top end, including some falling rain, birds soaring above the listener, and flying debris that is the result of several explosions in a pivotal action sequence in chapter 12. Otherwise, the tracks are very similar. Clarity is strong amongst all elements, musical spacing and fidelity are fine, and the subwoofer adds some nice bursts of added heft with those same explosions in chapter 12. The track is never super aggressive; it never blasts or blares, but all key elements present very well and with positive stage balance. Dialogue is clear and detailed with natural front-center positioning.

Peter Rabbit 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Peter Rabbit's UHD disc contains no extras beyond the still photos cast and crew tab. All of the supplements are included on the bundled Blu-ray disc. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Mini Movie! (1080p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 3:55): Cottontail, Mopsy, and Flopsy star in a short film about sisterhood.
• Shake Your Cotton-Tail Dance Along (1080p, 2:36): Kids dance to "I Promise You."
• Peter Rabbit Mischief in the Making (1080p, 7:25): A basic piece that looks at transitioning the book to screen, casting the voice actors, the live action/animation hybrid construction, and Will Gluck's direction.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Peter Rabbit 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For this reviewer, Peter Rabbit elicited almost no emotional response. There were a few fun moments, a few cringe-worthy moments, but overall it was a zero-sum movie watching experience. It's an empty film, aiming for charm and humor but never really finding either in ample quantities. There's no sense of direction or purpose, the plot feels stale, and the blend of modern amenities with the story's simple charms never really works. It's not horrible, it's not great. It could do many things better, and it could have been much worse. It's a movie that accomplishes little more than filling a space on the release schedule with a familiar name and enough digital might and the promise of humor to draw in the requisite number of views to turn a tidy profit. For a mindless escape, it's not bad, but there are many, many better family films out there. Sony's UHD offers video that's in some ways a slight improvement over the Blu-ray and in some ways a slight downgrade. Audio is mildly better. Supplements remain the same across both releases. Rental.