Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Rango 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 5, 2024

Paramount has released the 2011 digitally animated film 'Rango,' directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video. The UHD carries over the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the 2011 Blu-ray, which is also included here. That disc also carries with it the totality of bonus content for this package; there are no extras, old or new, on the UHD disc. At time of writing, Paramount has released 'Rango' to the UHD format exclusively in SteelBook packaging.

For a full film review, please click here.

Rango 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount releases Rango to the UHD format with a 2160p/Dolby Vision presentation. Texturally, I was hard pressed to notice any substantial gains to the image without really looking very closely in a classic A-B side-by-side. Certainly, in some of the close-up shots there's enough difference in fine texture to matter. Look at the "welcome to Dirt" road sign seen at the 19:08 mark (19:11 on the Blu-ray) and notice a few finer points of clarity on the wood, including slightly better definition to the dirt terrain on the bottom and mildly superior detailing on the burned lettering, but none of it makes a monumental difference. Clearer, yes, sturdier, sure, but worlds away sharper? Not at all. The same goes for any close-up (or even medium shot) of Rango or other highly textured characters. There's enough muscle here to squeeze out the last precious few morsels of detail at the 2160p resolution, but there's just not much more here than what the Blu-ray already offers. Fans wanting the absolute sharpest image that UHD offers instead of the nearly absolute sharpest image that Blu-ray offers will want to upgrade, but it's really a matter of degrees here, if that, and certainly not a leap in improvement.

If there is a more obvious point of difference it comes in the Dolby Vision color grading, but even then the movie is not radically transformed. Colors are a little deeper, and, well, that's about the extent of it. First and foremost, the movie is obviously very predominantly earthy in its main color spectrum, so the increase in depth only really adds a little more accuracy to the earthen tones and a slight gain to contrast. There are some more significant, if though even still modest, improvements to overall depth of some of the brighter colors. Blue skies, washed out as they may be on both presentations, find a slightly improved sense of gain on the UHD. Rango's red Hawaiian style shirt is one of the big beneficiaries, enjoying a clear, though not amazing, boost to depth and punch. His scaly green color is also mildly improved as well. Black levels in some of the lower light nighttime and shadowy corners are slightly improved, too. Overall, this is a fairly pedestrian upgrade, adding very little to the Rango experience and certainly not enough to really entice repeat buyers right out of the gate. On a very steep sale, sure, pick it up, and newcomers should definitely make this the version of choice, but casual fans really should wait for some kind of sale.

Rango 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full UHD audio review, please click here.

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

This UHD release of Rango contains all of the legacy extras on the included Blu-ray disc, which is identical to the 2011 issue. No extras appear on the UHD disc. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage.

Blu-ray Disc:

• Audio Commentary: Director, Story Co-Writer, & Producer Gore Verbinski; Head of Story James Ward Byrkit; Production Designer Mark "Crash" McCreery; Animation Director Hal Hickel; and Visual Effects Supervisor Tim Alexander.
• Breaking the Rules: Making Animation History
• Deleted Scenes
• Real Creatures of Dirt
• Storyboard Reel Picture-in-Picture
• A Field Trip to Dirt
• Theatrical Trailer
• Credits

The SteelBook is very busy. The front panel features the town of Dirt with a host of characters lining the dusty street and Rango appearing front-and-center. A bird soars at just about the center point, and the film's title appears top, center, in white, with the words "Johnny Depp Is" above the title. The rear panel features the band playing atop a cattle skull, center, with the town and a blue sky behind. The spine is sky blue with the film's title center in white. A Paramount logo appears at the top in white. The SteelBook also ships with a transparent plastic slipcover with additional content, notably a color image of Rango, grasping a fish, on the front.

Inside, the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The two discs, one UHD and one Blu-ray, are situated on the right in staggered-stacked formation. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features Rango, left, wearing a red shirt and posing like a cactus, looking similar to a real cactus that is on the right, both against a blue sky background.

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

Rango's 2011 Blu-ray still holds up as a powerhouse presentation, but Paramount's new 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD image kicks things up a notch with superior clarity and textural accuracy, not to mention deeper and bolder colors. "Notch" might be generous, though, because the gains are in no way substantial. While nothing else in the package is new, the audio and extras remain excellent even all these years later. The SteelBook is busy but very fun; fans will love it. Fans will love the whole package, really, which comes highly recommended, but with the caveat that repeat buyers would be smart to wait for a significant sale.