BLU-RAY REVIEW

Rock Dog

Featured In Issue 217, June 2017

Picture5+
Sound5
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
51529
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
Action and language.
(Retail Price):
$$34.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
90
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
(Disc Release Date):
5/9/2017
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Ash Brannon
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(Subtitles):

Rock Dog is a music-filled adventure about a dog's quest to fulfill his dream. When a radio falls from the sky into the hands of a wide-eyed Tibetan Mastiff, he leaves home to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician, setting into motion a series of completely unexpected events. Based on the graphic novel Tibetan Rock Dog by Zheng Jun. (Gary Reber)

Special features include four featurettes: Finding The Fire (HD 06:16), Mic Check: Casting The Voices (HD 06:05), A Rockin' New World: Animating Rock Dog (HD 05:53), and Rock Dog And Roll: Exploring The Music (HD 06:20); the “Glorious” music video (HD 03:43); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 2.25:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, is terrific. The colors are intensely vivid, with rich and warm hues that pop throughout. The red phone and other reds, as on the recording console, really, really pop. Every primary is strongly saturated. The variety of colors is absolutely wonderful. Blacks are solid and deep. Highlights are superb, with bright primaries and brilliant whites. The animation is wonderful, with distinct lines and defining textures. Resolution is incredibly well defined, especially the fine textures that define the animal characters. All throughout, contrast is exemplary. This is such a wonderful visual experience with a color palette that is mesmerizing and reference quality throughout. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding with effective attention to dialogue integration and atmospherics. Of course, the music is at the heart of the story, and it is nicely presented and comprised of orchestral voicing and rock with strong rhythmic pacing. The music occupies a wide and deep soundstage that extends aggressively to the surrounds. The soundtrack has the elements of 1950’s comics, with a busy assortment of atmospherics and sound effects enhanced by fast-paced music and sharp bursts of .1 LFE support energy. Dynamics are often sonically wonderful. Dialogue is intelligible throughout, and for an animated feature spatial integration is excellent. Fidelity is superb throughout, as is spatial dimension, with aggressively directionalized sonics. This is a wonderful holosonic® experience that is sure to excite and entertain the entire family. (Gary Reber)