Trolls: Band Together appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This was a strong Dolby Vision presentation.
At all times, sharpness looked crisp and detailed. If any softness materialized, I didn’t see it, as I thought the image remained tight and well-defined at all times.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and the movie lacked edge haloes or artifacts. Of course, no print flaws popped up along the way.
In terms of colors, Band went with a broad palette. All these characters and settings allowed for a wide variety of hues, and the image brought them out in a vivid and dynamic manner. HDR added impact to the tones.
Blacks were dark and deep, and shadows seemed smooth and clear. HDR brought extra punch to whites and contrast. This became a dynamic image.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack also pleased. The film didn’t deliver a ton of opportunities for auditory theatrics, but we got enough to bring the mix to life with reasonable frequency.
That was especially true during the “journey” elements and the musical numbers, as those allowed for a good variety of exciting soundscape elements. These blended together well and created a nice package of sound components from all around the room.
Audio quality was solid. Music sounded dynamic and full, while speech was distinctive and natural, so no signs of edginess occurred.
Effects appeared accurate and showed nice range, with solid low-end when appropriate. Though the mix never really threatened to reach “A”-level, it became a definite “B+” track.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical Atmos audio.
On the other hand, the Dolby Vision image boasted superior colors, blacks and delineation. The Blu-ray looked great but the 4K topped it.
A bunch of extras appear here, and we open with an audio commentary from producer Gina Shay, co-director Tim Heitz, head of story Colin Jack, production designer Ruben Perez Reynoso and visual effects supervisor Marc J. Scott. All sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story and characters, design choices, music, cast and performances, cut/altered scenes, animation, influences, and connected topics.
Traditionally, I’ve found commentaries for films from DreamWorks Animation to seem spotty. Whereas Pixar tracks tend to focus well on narrative areas, the DreamWorks ones usually feel more technical and a bit dull.
Though not a great chat, this one fares better than the average DreamWorks Animation piece. We get a good mix of creative and technical issues in this largely enjoyable and informative track.
Fans can watch via a Sing-Along Version. As expected, this option just offers animated lyrics along with the film. Unfortunately for viewers with good ears, it comes only Dolby Digital 5.1 with no lossless option.
A new animated short called It Takes Three runs three minutes, 55 seconds. When Tiny Diamond pushes the wrong buttons, Poppy and Viva turn into 2D characters.
It comes with some cleverness and ends before it wears out its welcome. Three benefits from the presence of the original actors as well.
Three Deleted Scenes appear. Including a not-especially-informative 46-second intro from Colin Jack, these span a total of four minutes, 52 seconds.
We find “Wall Climb – Broken Tooth” (1:05), “Bridget Gristle Honeymoon” (1:30) and “Crimp and Tiny Romance” (1:27). We get all presented as storyreels, so none appear as finished animation.
If you expect anything memorable, sorry! These offer minor filler sequences that attempt a few laughs but add nothing notable.
A slew of short featurettes follow, and Fun in the Recording Booth runs three minutes, 49 seconds. This gives us a compilation of shots that show the actors as they perform their lines. I like this kind of feature, mainly when we hear the castmembers chat between takes.
Hi, Hi, Hi goes for three minutes, 27 seconds. It features Shay, Heitz, director Walt Dohrn, and actors Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Justin Timberlake.
We get a look at the movie’s reunion. This turns into a pretty fluffy take.
Next comes Building the Band, a set of six clips that occupy a total of 12 minutes, 36 seconds. These offer info from Dohrn, Heitz, Shay, and actors Anna Kendrick, Eric André, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, and Troye Sivan.
“Band” examines cast/performances. It offers a lot of superficial material.
Together Again lasts two minutes, 38 seconds. It involves Dohrn, Heitz, Shay, and actors Andrew Rannells, Zooey Deschanel, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
We get basics on the Veneer and Velvet roles and the performances. More fluff results.
With Animating Trolls, we find a four-minute, 22-second piece. Here we get notes from Dohrn, Heitz, Shay, digimatte supervisor Sun Yoon, head of locations Cassandra Fanning, head of cinematography and layout Theophile Bondoux, and production designer Ruben Perez Reynoso.
We find notes about the animation processes here. Though brief, this turns into a fairly engaging reel.
How to Draw demonstrates tutorials that cover six characters. These take up a total of 23 minutes, nine seconds.
Story artist Wendy Sullivan leads us through these instructions. She offers a fun view of these techniques.
Finally, we get another How to that focuses on the creation of “hug time bracelets”. It goes for two minutes, 34 seconds and brings the expected simple instructional that kids may enjoy.
A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of Band. It comes with the same extras as the 4K.
After two mediocre animated tales, Trolls: Band Together does nothing to redeem the franchise. Too frenetic and devoid of much actual cleverness, the movie fails to amuse. The 4K UHD offers excellent visuals as well as good audio and a mix of bonus materials. Maybe a fourth Trolls will click, but this third flick goes nowhere fun.
To rate this film, visit the original review of TROLLS BAND TOGETHER
