Despicable Me 4 - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
Lets just face it. The Despicable Me franchise is pretty much a money printing press for Universal and Illumination studios. After the success of the original film back in 2010, it’s become a veritable cash cow that they continue to pull out whenever they’re low on cash. For some reason the minions themselves became one of the most iconic animated sidekicks of all time (even getting their own movie), and Gru (Steve Carell) was catapulted to animated super stardom over night. They’ve pumped out a new one every few years since 2010, but after the 3rd film in 2017 Universal took a hiatus. By everything I’ve been able to ascertain, the 4th film was planned and semi written back in 2017, but Uni decided to take a break and work on other projects, delaying the release until 2024. Is Despicable Me 4 an amazing new entry to the franchise? Or is it just another cute animated film that, while not breaking new ground, gets everyone chuckling and having a good time? Well, the answer is obvious...it’s the 2nd option.

Gru (Carell) Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and the girls welcome in a new family member to their tribe in the form of little Gru Jr., a young tyke who loves his mama, but is having problems bonding with his grumpy old dad. If you’ve kept up with the last few films, Gru has moved on from being a super villain, and instead joined the AVL (Anti Villain League) in order to hunt down and take out the worst of the worst. This go around he takes down Maxime (Will Ferrell), an old high school rival who has decided to turn himself into a half human-half cockroach creation in order to obtain new physical heights (ummmmmm, I’m now officially terrified). After taking down Maxime and the super villain escaping, Gru and his family are forced into witness protection by the AVL’s chief (Steven Coogan) for the foreseeable future.

Only allowing Bob, Stuart and Kevin to accompany him, the AVL takes custody of the remaining minions while sending Gru’s family into suburbia. There the uncomfortable family has to make friends with the new neighbors, hopefully not show the neighborhood that they’re incognito, and make the best of their new life. Naturally said life comes to an end when the neighbors daughter Poppy (Joey King) recognizes Gru for who he is and blackmails him into helping her perform a heist of the super villain high school that Gru and Maxime went to years ago in order to “buff up” her resume for when she becomes a super villain (*gasp, no one saw that coming). Unfortunately the heist goes a bit awry, putting Gru back on the proverbial map, and allowing for Maxime to come and attempt to exact his revenge on the man who put him in jail.

I was a HUGE fan of 2010’s Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 was a close second. The films have slowly dropped in quality over the years, but not by a whole lot. Even The Minions Movie was pretty entertaining, and while the sequels are not as fresh and exciting as the original (that’s how it always works) the franchise has continued to put out content that is head and shoulders over films like the Hotel Transylvania series, or a host of other animated franchises. I mean, the series has 5 films and has netted Universal Studios over 5 BILLION dollars over the last 14 years. Yes, that’s 5 BILLION with a B. Is this a fantastic adventure that will rival the greats of years past? Naw, but it’s a fun entry that feels like it’s blending elements of The Incredibles with Despicable Me as well as lampooning super hero fatigue (I literally laughed myself hoarse at all of the winks and nods to famous super hero movies/characters when AVL turned some of the minions into “Mega Minions”). It’s cute, funny, and while not ground breaking, quality family entertainment.




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

I am genuinely surprised that the 4K UHD disc was sourced from a 2K digital intermediate and then upconverted to 4K, not because it’s a horrible thing, but because I was surprised a native 4K master wasn’t struck. But either way, the differences between the 1080p Blu-ray included in the combo pack and the 4K UHD disc are rather striking. Colors are brighter and richer with the Dolby Vision application, details are stunning from the straight up digital animation, and everything is just so smooth and fluid. I noticed no signs of color banding (which is always the bane of animated films) and the nuances in the animation are top notch. Even for a 2K to 4K upconvert, this is an exceptional 4K UHD image.








Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track found on the disc is exceptional as well, giving us the wild and kinetic audio mix that the Despicable Me franchise is known for. It’s a moderately active mix that makes good use of the surrounds and heights with all of the battles (especially that skyscraper battle near the end with Maxime), and there is a sense of light airiness in how effects pan and shift all over the room. Bass is tight and punchy, adding a LOT of power to not only the action sequences, but the funky score as well. Immersion is really incredible, with the only real “complaint” being that bass wasn’t aggressive as I wanted. Small niptick, but at the end of the day this is still a killer audio mix.









Extras:

• Game Over and Over – After stumbling upon a powered-up game controller inside Gru's lair, the mischievous Minions discover its ability to control one another, unleashing mayhem as they compete for high scores.
• Benny's Birthday – Benny finds himself trapped in a time loop of a Minion-style birthday party, encountering uproarious mischief at every turn.
• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes
-- Class of '85
-- Minions at the Reunion
-- Minions at Home
-- Big Day Out
-- Karate Round 2
-- Gru vs. Treehouse
-- Defibrillator
-- Mega Minions Mega Mix
-- Mega Minions in Lockdown
• Despicable Dialogue – Watch Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, and the rest of the cast perform some of their silliest lines in this hilarious montage of recording booth moments!
• Meet the Cast – Get to know the actors behind your favorite characters! Featuring some of your old favorites like Gru, Lucy, and their girls as well as new favorites like the Prescotts and villains Maxime and Valentina.
-- Steve Carell: Gru
-- Kristen Wiig: Lucy
-- Joey King: Poppy Prescott
-- Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Madison Polan: Gru's Girls
-- Stephen Colbert & Chloe Fineman: The Prescotts
-- Sofia Vergara: Valentina
-- Will Ferrell: Maxime
• Making Of – The cast and crew of DESPICABLE ME 4 share a behind the scenes look at the creation of the fourth installment of this iconic franchise! Learn about the story, the new characters, the animation process and more!
• Mega Minion Mayhem – Assemble the Mega Minions! Learn about the development of the five most unique Minions to date.
• Rogues Gallery – Using the AVL's state-of-the-art facial recognition software, we look back at the most nefarious villains from past DESPICABLE and MINIONS films.
• How to Draw – Join Head of Story, Habib Louati, as he shows us how to draw the Mega Minions – Dave, Mel, Jerry, Gus and Tim!
-- Mega Dave
-- Mega Mel
-- Mega Jerry
-- Mega Gus
-- Mega Tim










Despicable Me 4 is the fourth (or 5th if you count The Minions Movie) entry into the $5 Billion behemoth that is Universal’s cash cow machine, and it’s not a bad entry. I had a lot of fun with Ferrell’s Maxime, and the super hero pokes and prods from the minions still get me laughing way harder than expected. Universal’s 4K UHD release looks and sounds stunning as expected, and even gives us a rather hefty amount of extras (which isn’t common these days unless it’s a boutique studio making a collector’s edition). It’s cute, family friendly, and I’m giving it a solid single thumbs up.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Joey King, Steve Coogan
Directed by: Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage
Written by: Mike White, Ken Daurio
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD+ 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG
Runtime: 93 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 24th, 2024

MusicManLen said:

I just bought the series for my grandson and you scared me with the "R" rating but it is actually "PG".


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didn't you know Gru turned this into a horror film???? lol