UglyDolls Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "UglyDolls" is a visual delight, showcasing an exemplary transfer that marries stunning detail with rich, vivid colors. The 1.85:1 framed Blu-ray delivers digital perfection, capturing every nuance of the animated characters with remarkable clarity. The fur on Moxy's body and the intricate yarn-like strands in Lou's hair are rendered with precision, offering texture and definition that elevate the viewing experience. Colors leap off the screen with incredible saturation, creating a kaleidoscope of deeply rich hues. Despite its lower budget as an animated feature, the image quality is top-tier, marred only by minor instances of banding near the opening credits and around the 50-minute mark, though these are too negligible to impact overall enjoyment.

The contrast is handled expertly throughout, presenting deep, inky blacks devoid of crushing and bright whites free from blooming. Every frame remains sharp and clear from corner to corner, providing a consistently excellent viewing experience. There's no detectable evidence of compression artifacts or source issues. While a UHD release would potentially offer even tighter and bolder colors, the current 1080p Blu-ray presentation more than suffices in delivering extraordinary definition and clarity.

Overall, despite the film's lackluster box office performance precluding a UHD release, the Blu-ray edition stands as a shining example of how well-quality transfer should be handled. The tactile detail in character traits and the explosion of colors — most notably during the "All Dolled Up" montage — underline the high production values of this release. For fans of animation and vibrant visuals, the "UglyDolls" Blu-ray is a must-have, ensuring the film's external beauty shines through impeccably.

The "UglyDolls" Blu-ray audio presentation features a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that stands out for its robust and energetic mix. The soundtrack is characterized by its pop songs, which are enhanced by substantial surround usage and rich midbass from the low-end department. The track impresses with its wide dynamic range and immersive nature, ensuring that even non-musical scenes, such as the furnace jaws or the dollhouse gauntlet sequences, are packed with activity. Dialogue is consistently clean and clear, maintaining clarity and precise placement throughout the film.

The DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack is particularly notable for its clarity and the seamless sense of space it creates around the stage. While the pop beats are defined with excellent width and surround usage, the lyrics, though detailed, may be slightly low at reference levels, necessitating a minor volume adjustment for optimal experience. Voices and atmospheric elements populate every speaker effectively, contributing to the immersive auditory landscape. The score balances perfectly across the range, with dialogue remaining perfectly prioritized and clear even amidst intense musical numbers, delivering a coherent and engaging audio experience.

In summary, "UglyDolls" offers an excellently mixed DTS-HD MA 7.1 track that complements its musical aspects wonderfully. The surround sound augments crowd noises and atmospherics effectively, while powerful LFE adds depth to the soundtrack's low end. Regardless of the film’s density and dynamic shifts, dialogue retains clarity and audibility, ensuring an all-around satisfying auditory experience.

The Blu-ray release of "UglyDolls" includes a variety of featurettes and extras, each contributing to an engaging insight into the film's production and cast. This release is packaged with an embossed slipcover, and both DVD and Movies Anywhere digital copies are provided. Highlights include a karaoke-style Sing-Along Edition featuring on-screen lyrics accompanied by the movie's DTS-HD MA 7.1 track, offering an immersive experience. Additionally, the "Making UglyDolls" featurette is divided into five informative segments, and the "Fun with the Cast of UglyDolls" featurette provides a light-hearted look at the voice actors. Short, yet insightful interviews with Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, and Pitbull discuss their respective roles and experiences. Also included are three trailers for the film, which can be played individually or collectively.

Extras included in this disc:

• Sing-Along Edition: Lyrics to the movie's songs appear on-screen, karaoke style.
• Making UglyDolls: A five-part behind-the-scenes featurette.
• Fun with the Cast of UglyDolls: A five-part featurette detailing cast interactions.
• Sing-Along Tease: A preview for the karaoke-style version of the movie.
• Trailers: Three individual trailers for "UglyDolls".

"UglyDolls," despite its well-meaning intentions, often feels like a film primarily designed to market toys rather than deliver a fresh, engaging story. The movie revolves around Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) and her friends in Uglyville, voiced by an eclectic cast including Blake Shelton, Pitbull, Wanda Sykes, and Gabriel Iglesias. While the dolls epitomize the themes of self-acceptance and uniqueness, they quickly fall into the predictable patterns that many modern animated films do, hammering the audience with well-intended but overly familiar messages of "being yourself." The narrative, while brightly colored and energetically animated, suffers from a certain amount of superficiality and rote storytelling. Lou (Nick Jonas) serves as the foil, presenting a black-and-white, rather predictable conflict between "perfection" and "imperfection."

Cosmetically, the film is quite attractive. The distinctive design of Uglyville and the contrasting Institute of Perfection showcases impressive attention to detail. The characters are vibrantly animated with smart designs that, while supposedly 'ugly,' hold an endearing charm. Musically, the film includes several pop songs that are catchy within context but lack memorability. They serve their purpose but do little to elevate the film beyond its surface-level appeal. The animation quality is solid, underpinned by vibrant colors and lively performances from the voice cast. However, these elements can't fully rescue the film from feeling like it's more a tool for merchandising than storytelling.

Ultimately, "UglyDolls" serves as decent entertainment for young children, filled with bright visuals and cheerful musical numbers. Yet, for anyone outside the very young demographic, the repetitive messaging might feel overly didactic, detracting from an otherwise aesthetically pleasing experience. The film's core message of embracing imperfections is worthwhile but becomes tiresome through its incessant delivery. The overall experience leans heavily towards a conventionality that doesn't quite allow "UglyDolls" to rise above being a colorful distraction for its target audience.

"UglyDolls" aims to charm younger audiences with its vibrant animation and catchy songs. Featuring a star-studded cast including Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, and Ice-T, the film follows a group of quirky characters as they champion individuality over appearance. Directed by Kelly Asbury, this movie encapsulates admirable themes but falls short in its narrative execution. The storyline's predictability and its overly saccharine tone make it difficult for anyone over the age of ten to appreciate fully. While children under that age may delight in the musical numbers and colorful visuals, older viewers may find the film repetitive and lacking in substance.

Universal’s Blu-ray release of "UglyDolls" stands out for its impeccable technical specifications. Presented in a 1.85:1 AVC aspect ratio, the video quality is dazzling, showcasing the film's bright, meticulously crafted animation in stunning detail. The audio, rendered in English DTS-HD MA 7.1, ensures an immersive experience that highlights the film's energetic soundtrack effectively. Supplementary materials are included but offer little value in enhancing the viewer’s experience or providing substantial behind-the-scenes insights.

In conclusion, while "UglyDolls" may entertain young audiences with its fun visuals and lively music, it struggles to maintain interest for a broader audience. The film, despite its good intentions, feels overly formulaic and contrived. Universal's Blu-ray release does an excellent job in terms of audio-visual quality; however, the movie itself may not be worth your time unless you're catering to children under ten. For this specific age group, it’s a passable diversion; for others, it might be best to skip it.