# The Angry Birds Movie - 4K/3D Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77250[/img] 
*Title: The Angry Birds Movie* 

*Movie:* :3.5stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*3D* :4stars:
*Audio:* :4.5stars: 
*Extras:* :4stars: 
*HTS Overall Score:*85




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77266[/img]*Summary*
My initial thoughts when hearing Sony was making an “Angry Birds” film was that we had come to the end of our creative cycle here. What was next? A “Tetris” movie? A “Gummy Bears” movie? Maybe even a movie about “Pokemon Go”? Oh wait, those are coming out too. Needless to say I was less than enthused as I wondered how in bloody blue blazes they were going to make a movie about brightly colored birds being thrown through slingshots to bust down buildings and wipe out the piggies. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself chuckling throughout the movie and even having a few cheers when the inevitable war against the pigs starts and we get to see some of the birds classic “powers” as they go to rescue their stolen eggs. Is it fantastic storytelling? No. But there is certainly enough brightly colored birds to keep the kids laughing and the enough pop culture references for the older ones. 

Red (Jason Sudeikis) has a bit of an anger problem. He grew up as the picked on and lonely bird of his community, and as a victim of bullying he developed anger as a defense mechanism. Now he’s reviled by the rest of the birds and lives outside of the village by his lonesome. Sentenced to anger management class, Red makes an unwilling friendship with a couple of other birds who have the same problem. Chuck (Josh Gad) is a fast talking, fast movie little guy who just loves to keep running his mouth. Bomb (nicknamed that because he literally explodes when he gets made, played by Danny McBride) is a bit dim, but still a fairly kind hearted soul, and of course Terrence (Sean Penn), a hulking brute of a guy whose only vocal work is through some grunts (but is also one of the more hysterical characters. Just watch the opening scene where Matilda reads his “file”. I actually paused the movie I was laughing so hard). 

While Red and the rest of them are loathing their anger management classes, a new threat has come to the village in the form of a Trojan horse. A ship filled with green pigs lands on Bird Island, seemingly there as ambassadors of friendship. They appear friendly and want to share everything they have, but Red isn’t buying it. Sneaking on board he finds a whole HORDE of little piggies in the hold, but even that doesn’t tip off the top brass on Bird Island. Thus Red is forced to wait until he sees the pigs up to their REAL plan. Stealing all of the unhatched eggs on the island so that the greedy pigs can stuff themselves with tasty tasty eggs. Barely able to warn the rest of the island the birds are too late. The pigs have left the island with their unborn children. However, Red’s anger issues come in handy now, as the only thing that fuels the rest of the birds is one thing, anger. Armed with nothing but slingshots and their rage, the birds follow the pigs across the ocean to their homeland and wage war upon the pig king’s castle to get their kids back. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77274[/img]Angry Birds is not wildly inventive. In fact it sticks very closely to well-worn tropes. Red is the classic outcast with a gift that the others don’t recognize until it’s too late. Then he has to become the leader in an effort to save his people. Simple, effective, and rather charming here. The inclusion of so many talented actors is what makes it actually float though. Sudeikis works as the snarky Red (that’s pretty much Jason Sudeikis playing Jason Sudeikis really), and Josh Gad works as the motor mouthed Chuck. I honestly almost didn’t realize Danny McBride was Bomb until I looked it up on IMDB as he’s a bit more restrained than he usually is (and I would never have guessed they got Sean Penn to play Terrence due to zero dialog on his part). What really makes the cast is Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle. The man is legendary for his kooky roles and he completely knocks it out of the park as the egomaniacal moron eagle (the part where Chuck and Red are dreaming what Might Eagle must be like was gut busting). 

The movie is chock full of pop culture references, and references to the game itself, as you have signs that talk about “green eggs and ham” (with green piggies of course), the Birds and the Bees fertility clinic, etc etc etc. In fact I’d say that’s really the highlight of the film, picking out all the tons and tons of little winks and nods in the background of the film. Well, that and the Mighty Eagle meeting. Although I was surprised they let that scene get in there for a PG movie, as it was a bit cruder than I was expecting (although incredibly funny, and I’m not a fan of “fart joke” style humor for stuff like this). 

I like to rate movies based partially upon whether they accomplish what they set out to do. If a movie has big goals but falls short it gets counted against them, but if something is never meant to be high art, or something incredibly in depth and accomplishes those goals with ease, then I’m more likely to be lenient on it. That is really what happened here with “The angry Birds Movie”. It’s simple, it’s cute, and a majority of the humor comes from tongue in cheek pop culture references more than actually witty dialog. But I actually ended up liking the movie quite a bit. It’s harmless fun and there’s more than enough humor for the adults and brightly colored birds for the young ones, so I tend to give the movie a pass. 






*Rating:* 

Rated PG for rude humor and action





*Video* :4.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77282[/img]“The Angry Birds Movie” was taken from a 2K DI and upscaled for a 4K presentation, which is where this encode comes from. Comparing the 4K version to the 1080p Blu-ray included in the set, it’s very obviously a nice uptick in quality. Colors are more vibrant and the birds “pop” just a little more on screen. The picture isn’t AS perfect as I would have hoped for, but that is a result of coming from a 2K DI. Blacks are inky and deep and the image is absolutely wonderfully textured from beginning to end. The only reason this gets a 4.5/5 vs the 5 of the 2D blu-ray is because it’s not maxing out the 4K resolution even though it OBVIOUSLY outclasses the 1080p encode. Still it’s a magnificent looking transfer and definitely pure eye candy for your home theater. Well done Sony. 







*3D* :4stars:
Sony seems to have the right idea for their 4K releases. Instead of segregating the 3D version and 2D version out on other releases only, with the 4K disc just bareboned in there, Sony has released the 4K set as the premium set with the whole enchilada in regards to inclusion of everything. The 4K release not only has the Blu-ray and the 4K UltraHD but houses the 3D disc as well, and it that disc is quite a looker. The depth and layering of the movie is quite impressive. You can see quite a bit of pop and 3D “effects” when the birds are launching out of slingshots on Pig Isalnd. Not to mention the birds themselves are animated in a way that pretty much screams depth. The water and the air shows some incredible detailing amongst the rest of the art and there seems to be little to no artifacting on the disc. The only downside is that the colors and brightness are not as vibrant as the 2D and 4K disc. Colors are ever so slightly muted and the fine detail suffers just a bit. Not enough to really cause any problems, but making the 2D discs definitely more appealing in terms of sharpness and bright shiny colors.







*Audio* :4.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77290[/img]The 4K discs gets the Dolby Atmos track and that track shines for sure. It sports the same great mix that the 7.1 DTS-HD MA track got on the 2D release, but with the added benefits of the heights and object based sound shifting across the stage. Surprisingly, “The Angry Birds Movie” mix is a bit laid back on the heights. The track is still amazing, but the overheads don’t get nearly as much work as I expected them to get. However, once the birds invade pig island we start getting a lot more overhead usage. Especially when they’re sling shotting into the castle and the birds are tearing through pig houses like paper Mache. LFE is deep and powerful, adding a lot of weight to the attack, as well as the light hearted pop based score. Regular surrounds get quite a bit of activity from the hustle and bustle of the birds Island and really get a boost in the 3rd act. Dialog is just as crisp and clear, with no sounds of audible distortion at all. Nearly a flawless encode.






*Extras* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=77298[/img]
• Bonus Scene: Chuck's Rescue
• Symphony Mode
• Making Music! With Composer Heitor Pereira
• Blake Shelton Music Video Friends
• Photo Gallery
• All-New Short - The Early Hatchling Gets the Worm (Blu-ray exclusive)
• 3 More Hatchlings Shorts (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Deleted Scenes (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Crafty Birds - How to Build Your Own Piggy Tower (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Dance Along Birds and Pigs (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Creating the Real World of Angry Birds (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Meet The Birds (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Meet The Pigs (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Meet The Hatchlings (Blu-ray exclusive)







*Overall:* :4stars:

I wasn’t expecting much from a movie based on an Android game meant to just pass time while you’re sitting at the dr.’s office, but I actually had a surprisingly good time with this fluffy bit of animated entertainment. I won’t say that it is up there with Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, but “The Angry Birds Movie” is a cute little movie that is the perfect amount of fun and stupidity for the whole family. Much of the humor tends to come from pop culture references (at least the adult humor), and the characters are true to their video game counterparts, making fans of the game easily recognize the similarities. Audio and video scores are the real winners here, though, and the supply of very hefty extras make the package very attractive. For those of you who just want to watch the movie the Blu-ray is more than enough, but for those who want the most bang for their buck, then you might check out the 4K edition being that it includes the Blu-ray, the 3D Blu-ray AND the 4K UltraHD disc as well. Basically the whole tamale. Recommended for a fun watch



*Additional Information:*

Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride
Directed by: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Written by: John Cohen, Mikael Hed
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: (Dolby Atmos, TrueHD 7.1 Core) DTS-HD MA 7.1, French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese DD 5.1
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG
Runtime: 97 Minutes 
Blu-ray Release Date: August 16th, 2016



*Buy The Angry Birds Movie On 4K UltraHD Blu-ray at Amazon*
*Buy The Angry Birds Movie On Blu-ray at Amazon*



*Recommendation: Recommended for a fun Watch​*







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