Scarlet 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Scarlet 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Hamnet it ain't.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 6, 2026

A gender-swapped variation on Hamlet written and directed by the Oscar-nominated Mamoru Hosoda, Scarlet offers proof that you need more than pretty artwork to captivate an audience. Having just reviewed Sony Pictures' animated sports comedy GOAT (a similarly style-over-substance production, and one that I really didn't think I'd be mentioning here), I'd rather watch that move again right now than pop Scarlet back in. As beautifully rendered and occasionally moving as this fantasy drama is, it's dull and perplexing during several stretches, and it doesn't seem concerned with keeping the audience involved as we follow a tough young princess out to avenge her father's death.

Scarlet opens in 16th century Denmark, where King Amleth (Masachika Ichimura in the original Japanese, and Fred Tatasciore in the English dub) has been accused of treason by his wretched brother, Claudius (Koji Yakusho and David Kaye), who seeks to usurp the throne with help from Amleth's wife, Queen Gertrude (Yuki Saito and Michelle Wong). What's more is that Amleth is eventually sentenced to a public execution which is witnessed by his loving daughter, Princess Scarlet (Mana Ashida, Erin Yvette), who can't even hear her father's final words over the bloodthirsty roar of the crowd. Training in secret to avenge Ameth's death, Scarlet hopes to confront Claudius at a ball but ultimately fails in her task, dropping into unconsciousness after drinking poisoned wine intended for the new king.

Waking up in some sort of limbo, Scarlet is now a place where the living and dead are both present. Time and space blur in this "otherworld", and a wide variety of people from different eras coexist. It's here where Scarlet meets Hijiri (Masaki Okada and Chris Hackney), a compassionate young man from the modern world who works (worked?) as a paramedic, a concept that the young princess struggles to comprehend. Unlike the stubbornly vengeful Scarlet, Hijiri has made it his goal to save lives rather than take them, a mindset that will hopefully counterbalance her own. It'll be slow going, though: Scarlet doggedly pursues revenge across shifting realities, facing symbolic challenges and visions that force her to examine the consequences of hatred and violence. Meanwhile, the otherworld itself functions almost like a purgatory of sorts, where actions carry immediate moral weight and characters are confronted with the outcomes of their choices. Through her interactions with Hijiri and several others (including a few men that participated in her father's execution), Scarlet eventually begins to question whether vengeance will truly bring peace to her life... or simply continue a potentially endless cycle of suffering, violence, and permanent death.

Scarlet sounds like an ambitious and philosophically deep effort, the kind that we've regularly come to expect from Mamoru Hosoda in earlier works like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, although it's worth noting both of those films had scripts written (or at least co-written) by Satoko Okudera. And in some ways, it is ambitious, but more from a visual perspective. Story-wise, there's very little momentum or lasting interest generated here, as the script seems mostly content in naval-gazing ruminations that are further crippled by the limited amount of emotional chemistry between its two lead characters. The 16th century opening also gets things off on the wrong foot with badly-written dialogue that makes Scarlet's setup difficult to follow, but it thankfully gives way to a much-needed rush of intrigue once she awakens in the otherworld. This intrigue returns in spurts but rarely lasts very long, thanks in part to questionable "rules of the game" that feel more convenient to the story than logical. It finally builds to something that's partially satisfying from an emotional standpoint, but Scarlet takes its sweet time getting there.

The emotional effects of Scarlet may feel more potent on repeat viewings, but large portions of its doughy middle -- which is where that questionable script rears its head again -- don't make it feel like a film I'll revisit very often. The artwork partially salvages parts of its narrative shortcomings (a bit more on that below), and it's obviously rendered capably on Sony Pictures' separate 4K Steelbook and Blu-ray editions; both options offer proportionately solid visuals as well as dual Japanese and English language tracks, but the extras leave a bit to be desired. All things considered, Scarlet isn't the safest blind buy in recent memory and recommended more for established fans only.

Scarlet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These images are sourced from the Blu-ray disc, which is only sold separately and reviewed here.

A native 2K production and thus upscaled on Sony's 2160p/HDR10 transfer, Scarlet looks notably different in certain spots in comparison to their separate Blu-ray edition. Image detail? No, there obviously isn't a tangible improvement. Compression? Sure, largely due to a much higher bit rate on the UHD, but the Blu-ray isn't bad in that department by any stretch. The real differences here are color and brightness: Sony's 4K looks noticeably darker with an overall cooler palette than the Blu-ray, which in comparison looks overly warm in spots and even a bit blown-out in its lighter values. That's not always a bad thing depending on the location depicted, but overall I tend to favor the 4K's palette a bit more with its deeper blood-red tones and a less garish appearance in brightly-lit locations... although I'll admit to preferring the Blu-ray's warmth in scenes depicting candlelight or perhaps even a handful of scenes in the desert, which seem more realistically depicted by that disc's harsher glow. However, the Blu-ray obviously comes out ahead in a few other departments including shadow detail and overall depth and stability, with a thicker and more durable appearance that gives its highly detailed backgrounds and textures a bit more room to breathe. Neither "version" is flawless in my opinion, but I'd imagine most viewers will gravitate towards the UHD's tighter and more precise presentation.

Scarlet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This 4K disc's default audio track is Scarlet's original Japanese Dolby Atmos mix, which is alternately available as an English dub in the same format. As striking as many of Scarlet's visuals can be (especially the backgrounds), sound is where it really excels at times with a supremely immersive mix and sporadically overwhelming amounts of LFE as soon as the "otherworld" and its most imposing flying resident is first seen. The well-choreographed action sequences offer weight and precision, while dialogue remains clean and intelligible throughout. Channel panning and discrete effects, including Atmos' exclusive overhead support, are top-notch and add to Scarlet's atmosphere and intrigue where major portions of its script sadly fall short. I didn't give the English dub a full listen but rather spot-checked during selected moments and found it to be similar in overall fidelity, immersion, and volume levels; while the lip movements didn't match up as well, I didn't find this dub to be as distracting as most since many of its characters are technically from Denmark. Overall, both are fantastic listens and easily worth a perfect 5/5 on their own shared merits.

Also available are DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio options in both languages, which are similar in tone and immersion as the core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks within those dual Dolby Atmos mixes. Those overhead channels are missed greatly during dragon fly-bys, weather-related events, and additional support for the original score by composer Taisei Iwasaki, but both are still excellent efforts in their own right and will get the job done for those with more modest setups.

Optional subtitles, including English and English SDH, are included during the main feature and key extras listed below. I'm not exactly fluent in Japanese, but both of these primary options seem to offer a literal translation of the original dialogue (as opposed to being "dubtitles") with the SDH option adding additional context for certain characters and effects. I'd rather that both languages were supported... but if forced to choose, I'm glad we got this one.

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

This one-disc release ships in handsome matte-finish Steelbook packaging that's 100% text-free when the J-card is removed. The front and back cover depict beautiful images of Scarlet and Hijiri at pivotal moments in the film, whereas the imposing interior spread showcases the dragon-like creature that flies overhead in the "otherworld". It's a striking design and leaves a very strong first impression though, at such a high price point, this should have been a 4K/Blu-ray combo pack. (Then again, this is a Sony title.) As for the bonus features, they're limited to a few basic behind-the-scenes items and honestly don't add much value, but are at least worth a once-over.

• Interview With Mamoru Hosoda (8:36) - This short interview is presented in a text-based Q&A style with video responses from the writer/director, who speaks candidly in his native Japanese; topics include the visuals (dirt, textures, etc.), unique challenges, story, musical instruments, and more.

• Animation Tests (2:08) - Short animated storyboards with music.

• Art Design Gallery - Just over a dozen images (mostly backgrounds) in manual slideshow form.

• Concept Art by Tadahiro Uesugi - Even fewer images this time, same manual format.

• Storyboard Comparisons (6:35 total) - Two short sequences, entitled "At the Gates" and "Vengeance", which both offer top-and-bottom comparisons of the finished scene vs. sketched storyboards.

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

Mamoru Hosoda has directed several near-masterpieces during the last 20+ years, but many of his very best were scripted by other people. He's been writing his own films since 2015 and, while all of these more recent efforts have enjoyed critical success to various degrees, Scarlet comes up noticeably short in the story department. While it's not without occasional intrigue and visual spectacle, the script is mostly flat and saps much of Scarlet's momentum as it slowly builds to a fairly predictably conclusion. Die-hard fans of the director might find more value hidden here, but Sony's pricy 4K Steelbook makes any sort of blind buy a risky endeavor. Regardless, both this UHD release and the separate Blu-ray edition offer proportionately great A/V merits and only a few basic bonus features.