The Angry Birds Movie 2 - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Angry Birds Movie 2



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
The Angry Birds Movie was a stupidly silly movie, but one that actually took the box office by storm. Supposedly it is ranked as the #3 most profitable movie to be based off of a video game back in 2016 (not sure if that number has been toppled or not since then), and while it wasn’t exactly setting the animated world on fire, it was a rather agreeable little flick that was entertaining to both kids and adults alike. It was bright, cheery, and had just enough winks and nods to the mobile device games to be entertaining to the adults in the crowd. The sequel is pretty much more of the same, just with slightly less plot and more “one off” gags (by that I mean that each scene is it’s own joke/gag, and that the movie just runs with that “one off” mentality for telling the overall story). It’s not great, it’s not bad, it just is a fun little movie that smartly doesn’t try to be anything that it’s not.

It’s your typical relationship issues between the birds and the pigs on their various islands, with each side slingshotting attacks on each other, with the pig island desperately trying to outmaneuver the likes of Red (Jason Sudeikis) and his merry band of protectors. However, a NEW threat to both their island occurs when a mysterious 3rd island begins to attack both Pig and Bird with volcanic ice balls from way out of range from their little islands. Teaming up with the pigs, Red and his buddies have to set aside their differences and head on over to what is now known as “Eagle Island” to fight the evil Zeta (Leslie Jones) and her scientifically advanced weaponry.
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The film doesn’t try to forge much new ground, but it DOES try to adapt the story a little further. The most prominent sub plot (below fighting the eagles on Eagle Island) is Red coming to grips with the fact that he doesn’t ALWAYS have to be the hero. After becoming the hero of Bird Island last movie he’s gotten a bit cocky, and can’t seem to reconcile the fact that other people can be as good as he can, or even better. When Chuck (Josh Gad) introduces his brilliant sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) he’s instantly jealous, spending much of the rest of the movie proving that he CAN be better than she is. Which naturally ends up with him realizing just how great she really is, and gets rid of his misogynistic ideas. Not exactly novel or unexpected, but still a decent change of pace from the last film.

As I said earlier, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is really a film with a lot of one off gags. Each scene has it’s jokes, and the movie rotates 3-4 separate plot points throughout the film, having each scene show off it’s funny gag, then moving to another sub plot/scene in order to keep things fresh. We’ve got a plot dealing with the hatchlings, the main one with Zeta, one with Mighty Eagle (still voiced by Peter Dinklage), and the one revolving around Red and Silver. It’s a cute and funny film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has a lot of fun with the concept of “launching things” ala the video games.




Rating:

Rated PG for rude humor and action




4K Video: Video:

The 1080p Blu-ray was picture perfect in every way, and with this being a 2K upconvert to 4K UHD I wasn’t expecting THIS BIG of an increase in picture quality. The Angry Birds Movie 2 is perhaps one of the best looking upconverted masters that I’ve seen, as it is head and shoulders above the already great Blu-ray disc, showing richer and more deeply saturated colors, and better definition on feathers and background objects. Watch as the crew steps out of the pig sub onto Eagle Island. You can see every little crease and curve of the landing pad, even more so than the already revealing Blu-ray. The film is really bright and colorful to the extreme, but even the limited amount of shadows and dark scenes are picture perfect, completely devoid of any crush or banding to be seen. All around excellent encode.








Audio:

Hmmm, the DTS:X track for this one actually surprises me. Sony is usually REALLY good with their audio mixes, and USUALLY the DTS:X or Atmos tracks from them are distinctly superior to the 5.1 mixes they employ on the Blu-rays. This time it’s about even, with some definite give and take going on. The track is basically the same as the 5.1 mix, but just with some overhead and rear sound additions. Most of these are minute background sounds, and the smashing and crashing of Red and his friends as they land from above (some of which are really cool in nature). However the 800 lb gorilla in the room is the lack of bass and squashed dynamics. The track is recorded at a substantially lower volume than the 5.1 mix is, and requires a good 6 DB boost on the receiver to get to reference volume. Still the bass is rather anemic and the moments that had some “whomp” in the Blu-ray’s mix are surprsingly lacking here. The dynamics are also not nearly as wide as I would have hoped. With the volume boosted the mix is more than agreeable, but it doesn’t do anything special and actually gives up a couple of small things from the 5.1 mix.







Extras:

• ALL NEW MINI MOVIE! - "Live Stream": When Silver attempts her first livestream, Red is the ultimate Angry Bird while the adorable Hatchlings get into mischief.
• 6 Classic Hatchling Mini Movies
• DIY Family Fun!:
-- "Hangry Birds: Popcorn Balls": No need to be angry or hangry with this simple, fun cooking tutorial. Follow along to make Red's go-to comfort food and enjoy these tasty popcorn balls at home.
-- "Smarty Birds: Crafty Volcano": From the volcano on Eagle Island, Zeta plots her sinister plan and sends her lava balls flying. But why should Zeta have all the fun? Build your own volcano and watch it erupt combining crafts and science in this brainy how-to video!
-- "Crafty Birds: Pig Snot!": Ready to roll up your sleeves and get a little messy? It's time to mix a few ingredients and create your very own pig snot (slime!). Just make sure to keep it away from Bomb…he likes to drink it. (Eeeew!)
• "Bird Watching": In this hilarious "birds-eye" view of the real-life species that inspired the artists, we take a trip to the LA ZOO to get up close and personal with real-life Mighty Eagles, Blue Birds, Toucans, and more. With fun reactions from the cast intercut throughout the piece - get ready to laugh, learn and meet some amazing avian friends
• "Meet The New Birds & Pigs": Join the returning cast and meet the unique new cast members giving voice to the hilarious characters in Angry Birds 2. In exclusive BTS recording sessions and interviews, we'll see how Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Eugenio Derbez, and Sterling K. Brown bring these unforgettable characters to life.
• "Hatching the Hatchlings": The Hatchlings are soooooo cute! And in Angry Birds 2, we get to join them on their very own adventure! Meet these mischievous little troublemakers as we talk to filmmakers about the creation of the Hatchlings and their expanded storyline in the film, and hear from cast members about their love for these adorable baby birds.
• "Flocking Together: Making The Angry Birds Movie 2": Go behind the scenes with the flock of talented artists who worked together to make The Angry Birds Movie 2.
• "Happy Thanks-pigging": Zeta is not a fan of the traditional Thanksgiving menu!
• "Jingle Birds: A Holiday Song From The Cast of Angry Birds 2": Sing along with Rachel Bloom and Jason Sudeikis with a new twist on this holiday classic.

Final Score: ​

They say a great movie is more than the sum of it’s parts, but in this case The Angry Birds Movie 2 is exactly the sum of it’s parts, and by that I mean that it’s a movie made up of mainly sight gags. Each scene is it’s own joke, and the movie is a hodge podge of these various scenes, with some being hilarious, some being mildly funny, and a small handful falling flat. The film isn’t exactly going to set the animated world on fire, but it’s an enjoyable kids flick that has enough sense to not try and be more than it really is. A simple animated film based upon a silly Android/Iphone game. Nothing more, nothing less. With the great audio specs it’s certainly more palatable than other animated babysitters, and the extras are pretty in depth as well. I would have preferred a little more robust of an audio mix, but it’s still very solid. Fun Rental.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Peter Dinklage, Danny McBride, Tiffany Haddish
Directed by: Thurop Van Oman, John Rice
Written by: Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell, Jonathon E. Stewart
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 Core), Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1, Cantonese, Catalan, Flemish, Dutch, French (Canadian), French, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish (Latin) DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Dutch, Indonesian, Khmer, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Vietnamese
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 12th, 2019

Recommendation: Fun, Cheesy Watch