Frozen II 4K Ultra HD Ultimate Collector's Edition

In "Frozen II, rugged mountain man Kristoff (Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven, sisters Elsa (Menzel) and Anna (Bell) and the hilarious snowman Olaf venture into the enchanted forest and dark seas beyond the kingdom of Arendelle––where Elsa discovers not only the truth about her past but also a threat to her kingdom. (Gary Reber)

Special features include outtakes (HD 02:26); the featurettes "Did You Know??" (HD 04:27), "The Spirits Of Frozen II" (HD 12:02) and "Scoring A Sequel" (HD 03:49); five deleted scenes (HD 17:58); two deleted songs (HD 11:42); Gale Tests (HD 03:01); "Into The Unknown" in 29 Languages (HD 03:07), two music videos (06:23); a song selection and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 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. While created digitally in 3D, no 3D Blu-ray Disc was provided for review.

The animated picture is fantastic with a pristine presence and every object and edge is perfectly rendered. The color palette is richly hued and warm with bright saturated intensities, especially in the scenes in the enchanted forest. Characters are delightfully rendered with pastel hues. Anna's and Elsa's freckles and blond and red hair, Kristoff's dirty blond hair and reindeer Sven's fur are nuanced and intricately rendered. Snowman Olaf is brilliantly nuanced with sparkly crystals. Elsa's icy blue powers, the Enchanted Forest's bold fall colors, and Olaf's orange nose are vivid. The Forest canopy and floor are rendered in natural earthy hues. Contrast is excellent. The wide color gamut is evident with nuanced shadings and intensities. Black levels are deep and shadow delineation is revealing. Lighting accents are bright and distinguished. Resolution is superb with fine detail executed throughout. Forested leaves and trees, as well as clothing fabrics are nicely defined. WOW! segments are from 08:15: to 09:00, 18:50 to 21:15, 27:10 to 29:28, 51:02 to 52:10, 01:00:15 to 01:03:38, 01:17;36 to 01:109:50, 01:21:34 to 01:22:42 and 01:28:18 to 01:29:52.
This is a beautiful picture with excellent imaging scope and color spectrum, for a reference-quality visual experience. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding and fidelity is superb. The lush and dynamic score is comprised of orchestral/choral segments along with lots of singing. ADR dialogue and singing quality is excellent. The music spans a wide and deep soundstage that extends to all four surround channels and to the height layer. The songs are fun and the singing quality, including the choruses, are wonderful and sure to stimulate and fascinate the young ones. The sound is fully enveloping and spatially dimensional. Pans are smooth and supportive of the on-screen action, while sound effects and atmospherics enhance the soundscape renderings. Atmospherics are effective, whether nuanced or asserted. Sound effects blend well with the other sound elements and are at times supported with bass accents and extensions. Deep bass can extend to sub-25 Hz and provides effective dynamic impact, especially in segments with the giants. ADR dialogue and signing are precisely delivered with dialogue directionalized across the soundstage..

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of strong music extension to the height layer, which enhances dimensionality, as well as atmospherics and sound effects, such as scenes in the Enchanted Forest with rustling leaves and blowing winds, and whirlwind, extended reverberant and directional dialogue, subtle bird chirping, powerful waves, rock monster growls and other subtle atmospherics. The music really is wonderful as a height layer element.

This is a magnificent and reference-quality holosonic® spherical suround soundtrack with an aggressively engaging soundfield and superb fidelity that delivers a full, enveloping experience that will not disappoint. (Gary Reber)