The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

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

Early adopters of 4K and UHD may well feel a little like Charlie Brown, with the “new, improved” gear being personified by Lucy holding a football —we all know what’s going to happen despite our most optimistic attitude about how it “should” be. Occasionally, though, even Charlie Brown triumphs (if only for a moment), and the good news is that despite some now oft-reported issues like HDMI handshakes and judder crop up in this new UHD version of The Peanuts Movie, this presentation may make videophiles feel like a certain little boy staring at a certain little red haired girl for the first time.

Those either just having adopted or thinking about transitioning to UHD will also want to read Martin Liebman's fun and informative article here.

The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The Video score above refers to the original Blu-ray release. The 4K score is for the video quality of the UHD version.

The Peanuts Movie 4K is presented on UHD Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. I gave top scores to The Peanuts Movie's 1080p presentation, and while I'm scoring the UHD iteration at 4.5 instead of 5.0, it's a clear upgrade over the "standard" Blu-ray version in virtually every area we traditionally cover in our reviews. The IMDb kind of strangely omits data about whether The Peanuts Movie was finished at 2K or 4K, and while there is some anecdotal data available online suggesting a 2K DI, I personally haven't been able to find what I would consider an authoritative source. That said, this presentation offers some truly stunning levels of detail, especially with regard to the rendering of textures on the beloved Peanuts characters. The first thing I noticed when comparing this release to the original Blu-ray release was the much finer resolution of tiny "dabs" of texture on things like Snoopy's fur or even a snowman that plays a part in an early vignette. Another relatively early close-up of Charlie Brown wearing a fur lined cap was almost startling in its level of detail of the little strands and tufts of pile lining the hat. What's impressive about the UHD presentation is that the 1080p Blu-ray offering was already so impressive in these regards, and yet there's even more information available now.

Another clear improvement is in the range of the film's already wide palette, something probably most attributable to HDR. The deep primaries that are on display are even more incredibly suffused now, but it's in some of the more varied hues that I found the most remarkable differences. These are often in the fantasy elements with Snoopy battling the Red Baron, where some lustrous purples are even more deeply saturated and nuanced in terms of gradations within basic tones than they were on the 1080p Blu-ray.

I am still encountering at least minor judder in many of the UHD presentations I've been watching in order to review. I can offer a bit of anecdotal information with regard to The Peanuts Movie that may indicate I'm simply more attuned to this phenomenon than the "casual" viewer. My brother-in-law, who is a professional in the film industry in Los Angeles, was visiting our family and watched parts of The Peanuts Movie with me since he had yet to see a 4K UHD release. While I pointed out brief instability issues during pans, he had a very hard time seeing them, so the good news is if you're not "required" to find every jot and tittle (so to speak) of a video presentation, this particular issue may simply not rise to the level of awareness that it has with me personally. On another note, I did not experience the banding issues some of our members are reporting in the forum thread devoted to this release.

Finally, though, this particular disc had a bit more of an HDMI handshake issue than some others I've encountered. While I didn't have anything "catastrophic" like the display shutting off (something I detailed in our The Last Witch Hunter 4K Blu-ray review), there was a much longer lag than usual at both the disc boot and the beginning of the film itself where I only had audio.

The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Peanuts Movie 4K has a wonderfully fun, even goofy, sounding Dolby Atmos track, one which (again) clearly improves on the 1080p Blu-ray's already impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. Right off the bat, there are clear overhead placements of sound effects as Woodstock flits through the snowy air, and later equally clear overhead panning takes place during elements like Snoopy's doghouse "flights" and even scenes like the early baseball sequence. What struck me even more in this audio presentation than in the 1080p Blu-ray offering was the quicksilver panning of silly sound effects when (to cite one example) Woodstock zings from one side of the frame to the other. Immersion is often quite subtle on this track, but it's fairly consistent, with regular engagement of all the surround (and now the Atmos) channels. Fidelity is spot on, offering excellent support of all the sound effects, dialogue and the Vince Guaraldi inflected score.

The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only "supplement" on the 4K disc is a set of previews, which I personally have never included as a "score-able" item. The 1080p Blu-ray included in this disc offers the same supplements that I detailed in our original The Peanuts Movie Blu-ray review.

The Peanuts Movie 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've been surprised to hear from several people about how much they disliked The Peanuts Movie after my original Blu-ray review was published. I found the film a loving throwback to a simpler time, and no doubt some nostalgia figured into my assessment of the film's pleasures which I find to be quite pleasurable indeed. One way or the other, though, this 4K UHD presentation is largely top notch—with the understood caveat that there is still no consistency in playback quality for early adopters with different equipment (as has been borne out by the comments in our forum). Highly recommended.