Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Pink Floyd: Animals Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 15, 2024

Passing lip service has been given about the perceived connections between this album and George Orwell's Animal Farm, but another salient connection might be to Paul Simon's At the Zoo, since all three of these works make the none too subtle point that humans are in fact just another "species", sometimes without the saving graces of "innocent" and/or "dumb" non-human creatures like, well (considering some song titles on this disc), pigs and dogs. Animals was not exactly a critical success in its day, though it sold relatively well, but some of the signs of turmoil that would soon come to engulf Pink Floyd and actually become part of its lasting legacy may be apparent in the work, which seems angry at times for reasons other than some of the subject matters it attempts to tackle. Kind of interestingly, Pink Floyd Records released Animals just a couple of years ago on Blu-ray, in both a limited edition (with an LP) and a wide release, but are now back with this "new, improved" version which offers an Atmos mix (if you order this disc from Pink Floyd, make sure you get the Atmos mix release, as their site actually showed me the 2022 non-Atmos Blu-ray when I searched for the title).

The track list for the album can be seen in the ninth screenshot I've uploaded to accompany this review.

Pink Floyd: Animals Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is another ostensible audio Blu-ray with at least a bit of a video component, as can be seen in the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany the review. The disc boots to a "clean" version of the iconic album cover, which then pulls back to reveal the main menu (see screenshot 10). Starting the album then leads to brief texts offering the title, which then fade to offer various graded versions of the cover image. The Pop Up Menu also has a fun illustration that I'll let others discover. As with the Atmos remix of Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon, there's a helpful setup guide which offers some advice on getting proper Atmos and/or surround playback. This also has a component to check for proper speaker engagement of all the surround channels. All of the actual video here looks fine, but per my typical way of doing things with these audio Blu-rays, I only offer a video score if there's something like a music video or documentary on the disc, which this disc doesn't have, so the score above has been intentionally left blank.

Pink Floyd: Animals Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A veritable glut of audio options await the listener on this Blu-ray disc. While the 2022 Atmos remix may be of most interest to nerdy tech types (ahem), the disc also offers 2018 remixes in LPCM 5.1 (24/96) and LPCM 2.0 (24/192), as well as the original 1977 mix in LPCM 2.0 (24/192). Similarly, those who want DTS-HD Master Audio options will find 5.1 and 2.0 remixes from 2018 and the original 1977 stereo mix as well. All of these options are incredible, but kind of humorously, those who do opt for either the Atmos or one of the 5.1 mixes may initially think something's wrong, since the opening "prelude" of sorts, Pigs on the Wing 1, is a quiet moment that is a stereo experience. Once Dogs starts, however, the surround channels kick in and there is excellent immersion thereafter. This is another case where I'm frankly not sure how much the Atmos mix adds to an already wonderfully enveloping 5.1 experience (in either LPCM or DTS-HD Master Audio), though some of the occasional whimsical sound effects and even individual items like drum fills can be aided by the height speakers. One way or the other, there is inviting separation throughout the album, with guitars often positioned toward the front with vocals, and some of the other accompaniments filling in the other surround channels. Fidelity is excellent, offering a fluid and vibrant listening experience.

Pink Floyd: Animals Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the Blu-ray disc. The DigiPack has a sleeve on the left side which houses a postcard, a sticker and a nicely appointed insert booklet.

Pink Floyd: Animals Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm frankly still a little on the fence about the overall impact of Animals, but I have to say revisiting the album in both 5.1 and Atmos helped me to appreciate some of the songcraft and arrangement expertise. All of the audio codecs sound great, but this is another case where there may not be mind (and/or ear) blowing differences between the 5.1 options and the Atmos remix. Recommended.