Angry Birds Movie 2, The 4K Ultra HD

In "The Angry Birds Movie 2," the flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level. When a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Sudeikis), Chuck (Gad), Bomb (McBride) and Mighty Eagle (Dinklage) recruit Chuck's sister Silver (Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Hader), his assistant, Courtney (Awkwafina), and techpig, Garry (Brown), to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely super team to save their homes. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the all-new mini movie "Live Stream" (HD 02:41); six classic Hatchling mini movies (HD 08:48); six featurettes: "DIY Family Fun" (HD 09:59), "Bird Watching" (HD 10:04), "Meet The New Birds & Pigs" (HD 07:58), "Hatching The Hatchlings" (HD 05:19), "Flocking Together: Making The Angry Birds Movie 2" (HD 11:33) and "Happy Thanks-Pigging" (HD 01:25); "Jingle Birds: A Holiday Song From The Cast of Angry Birds 2" with Rachel Bloom and Jason Sudeikis (HD 01:32); upfront previews and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.85:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was animated digitally and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution. Unlike the original movie, no 3D Blu-ray Disc was provided, although the movie was animated in 3D. As before, this is a terrific-looking animated picture. The color palette is stunning with strongly saturated hues that pop and dazzle. The tropical greens, blue skies, and multi-colored birds are vividly rendered with rich and warm hues. Near neon-green, pigs are vividly hued. The wider color gamut renders a rainbow of nuanced hue variations, which pulls one into the three island habitats and their colorful residents. Resolution is superb, with excellent texturing and clarity of complex animation. Surfaces and objects are nicely defined. Each bird, whether a common bird or an eagle, is distinctive, with fine rendering of their feathers, both long and short, and comedic features. The pigs are characterized with a smooth green composition with nuanced shadings. Bird Island is depicted in brilliant foliage, tree trunks, terrain, and structures, all surrounded by a blue ocean. Eagle Island is an ice island with ice galore––it's everywhere! While not a 3D edition, image depth is fantastic. Resolution is superb with the finest detail revealed in intricate animated textures. The characters are wonderfully depicted with exquisite renderings. HDR contrast is excellent with an emphasis on brightness and features no shortage of intense whites, such as snow and white fur hats, and other highlights. Black levels are deep and solid and gray levels are nicely presented. Shadows are virtually absent as are any dark scenes. Brilliance is the flavor of the feature. WOW! segments are in virtually every frame but are striking from 27:35 to 28:38, 33:23 to 34:45, 41:44 to 43:06, 50:35 to 52:24, 53:38 to 55:30, 01:07:19 to 01:07:44, 01:17:00 to 01:17:55 and 01:21:13 to 01:22:42. This is a wonderfully fun, colorful and creative animated feature that will tickle the spirits of every family member. (Gary Reber)

The DTS:X IMAX Enhanced/DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding, with a very active orchestral score that fills the soundstage wide and deep and aggressively extends to the surrounds, to deliver engaging envelopment. The music sounds compressed, though, and absent distinctive instrumental clarity. There is a wide range of familiar music separate from the orchestral score, which makes for an absolutely delightful experience.The added two channels really enlarge the sense of total immersion at ear level. Sound effects enhance the action sequences with explosions and flying segments that zip through the soundfield. Deep .1 LFE bass provides a natural-sounding foundation to the proceedings and sharply energizes the action. There is a lot of panning of sound effects that excites the non-stop action. Dialogue and vocals are consistently intelligible, clear, and natural sounding, with good spatial integration.

The Immersive Sound element is extremely limited to a few brief and intermittent sound effects such as a rumbling ice-ball projectile and crash with rocks splitting and falling, creating debris, a wind-torn map parachute, a yellow submarine submerging from the ocean, a voice calling "Aboard," a submarine diving with a water rushing sound, an ignition sound, a crashing sound, a pig yell, an eagle shouting, "My Fellow Eagles," a countdown voice, fire-ball blasting sounds and a blast and glass breakage. No music is extended to the height layer. So much potential and so little realization, for a disappointing Immersive Sound experience.

However, the ear-level 7.1 channels deliver a really fun holosonic® soundtrack experience that is always lively and dynamic and is sure to please the entire family. (Gary Reber)