Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 16, 2021

Evidently the laws of economics no longer apply in the wild and wooly world of straight to video offerings and streaming services, where the need for constant content may outweigh traditional bean counting. Rock Dog came and went both theatrically and on home video without making much noise (an initial irony, given the film's emphasis on noise, or at least music), and according to several online sources lost tens of millions of dollars. As I mentioned in our Rock Dog Blu-ray review, while there was nothing really intrinsically wrong with the effort, it was "totally rote", and in fact what little interest about the title that may have been generated at the time of the film's release came from some backstage drama involving one of China's biggest theater chains, which refused to screen the film for somewhat mysterious reasons (a choice which may have played into the film's less than lustrous box office returns). That set of facts might have seemed to indicate to budget minded studio types that a sequel might not be a great idea, and yet, here we are. Rock Dog 2 follows in its progenitor's footsteps (paw prints?), and offers another generally genial entry that is almost willfully unambitious in terms of either narrative or character "development". This is in fact the kind of film where the villain identifies himself as such from the get go, and where virtually each and every plot point is seemingly preordained.

Having brought music to the village of Snow Mountain, Bodi and his band True Blue have become local sensations. Meanwhile, at some nearby metropolis, a nefarious music executive named Long has some kind of convoluted plan for world domination, or something like that, a plan which ultimately involves Bodi and the band touring with a superstar named Lil' Foxy. Of course there are lessons to be learned about the power of music, the vagaries of fame and fortune, and evidently the ability of guitars to release powerful waves of color as this film's version of "the force", but it's all really relentlessly predictable. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rather starry voice cast that helped elevate the first film's marquee value is nowhere to be seen (heard?) in this enterprise, and the crew also seems to be filled with replacements. There are a couple of semi- surprises lurking in the credits, however, including Toy Story 's Oscar nominated co-scenarist Alec Sokolow as one of the writers, and former Top 40 mainstay Robbie Nevil as one of the songwriters. Alas, the participation of people like these can't really help to levitate the film the same way Bodi is able to lift his audiences with his music.

Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rock Dog 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. One of the supplements on the first disc mentioned budgetary limitations and the effect that had on the animation, and it seems like that may have played into this sequel as well. There's definitely less general detail to be seen in this follow up, though when close-ups are utilized, rendering on things like fur or Bodi's trademark knit cap is actually quite commendable. The candy colored palette is nicely suffused throughout, and the film does offer some whimsical production design elements, including a logo for the record company that my hunch is anyone younger than a Baby Boomer may not recognize unless they're an aficionado of vinyl (namely, 45s).

Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rock Dog 2 features a perfectly serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers the expected surround activity during the musical moments, and which also provides at least sporadic engagement of the side and rear channels in scenes featuring large groups of people, where the spill of background clamor can spread enjoyably across the soundstage. There are some kind of weird music editing choices in the film, including a "guitar showdown" which seems from the animation to be exploiting near Eddie Van Halen "shredding" (in terms of the finger movements on fretboards), but where the soundtrack simply offers big washes of synths. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While there is a so-called "Special Features" menu option on this disc (see screenshot 10), that turns out to be a bookmarking option, which I personally do not consider a "scorable" bonus item. A digital copy is also included.

Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Call me a cynic, but this title's glut of "10 out of 10" user reviews on the IMDb strikes me as perhaps a bit of backstage marketing on the part of some interested parties, but that said, this undemanding film will most likely be enjoyed by very young children. Technical merits are solid if uninspiring, for those who are considering a purchase.