The Angry Birds Move 2 (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
A few summers ago, I thought the first Angry Birds Movie would fare a lot better at the box office than it did. Maybe the big craze had really passed by before the film could strike that proverbial iron that had been plugged in and heated up. The film didn’t do horrible worldwide at all really, but nothing to set the world on fire and command a sequel quickly turning around. But hey, the once insanely popular mobile game that became plushies, collectibles, licensing themed and animated shorts was up for another round. And here we are with its sequel just a couple years later and it did not do too hot, but I’m also sure it wasn’t that expensive of a venture. If we see a Angry Birds 3, perhaps a streaming service can utilize it as an exclusive. For those who didn’t get to take your kids to 2, it arrives November 12, 2019 on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray.
Film 
Red, Chuck, Bomb and the rest of their feathered friends are surprised when a green pig suggests that they put aside their differences and unite to fight a common threat. Aggressive birds from an island covered in ice are planning to use an elaborate weapon to destroy the fowl and swine way of life. After picking their best and brightest, the birds and pigs come up with a scheme to infiltrate the island, deactivate the device and return to their respective paradises intact.
Well, to set things straight here, I wasn’t too big on the first Angry Birds Movie, but man I was much more fond of that one than this sequel. Granted, the intended audience for the film isn’t the parents watching it with their children. Though there are a few bones thrown toward us, this one isn’t that sort of everybody wins or half-sies narrative. Its squarely for the little ones and they are probably better for doing that. If the little ones win, then we all do?
Anywho, this one focuses a lot more on the little cute factor hatchlings to sell an “aw” factor, and likely more product. All of the voice talent is on point and quite fun. Leslie Jones was a lot of fun this time around. But, for myself, much of this was a lot of just hanging around, meandering and fluffing up a rather short story to keep it feature length. But enough of my uselessness, importantly, both of my kids have rather enjoyed this one quite a bit and probably have watched it 2-3 times since the review copy arrived and its one of their movies of choice to fall asleep to at night. So, there’s your child perspective on it.
Video
Encoding: HEVC/ H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Layers: BD-66
Clarity/Detail: The Angry Birds Movie 2 arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray as a 4K upscale, finished with 2K digital intermediate. There’s an “IMAX Enhanced” sticker on the slipcover which boasts HDR, but that can’t possible be what they mean as majority of 4K titles have that. Also, the aspect ratio is 1.85:1 and not open matte (The digital version you redeem is 1.78:1 oddly enough), so it can’t mean that. It’s pretty much referring to the audio (Which is also stupid). All that bells and whistles talk aside, the upscale is very impressive and one of the best animated 4K titles I’ve seen. The colors are quite striking and also there is impressive attention to detail and those details and texture pump through quite vividly.
Depth: Being cg animated, the picture lends itself to a well-rounded, three dimensional pleasure on the eyes. Motions and camera movements are smooth, confident and really show a good separation of background and foreground with a nice little push back on the backdrops. Movements and smooth and no distortions occur.
Black Levels: Blacks are pretty deep and “natural” with good added definition and shadow, helping to craft a sharper image. No crushing witnessed during this review.
Color Reproduction: Colors are quite striking here and pop like no other. They are very well saturated with everything having a lovely bit of pop to it. The HDR is terrific showcasing glowing “electricity” and many other things that will stand out due to this added bonus of the 4K Ultra-HD format.
Flesh Tones: N/A
Noise/Artifacts: Clean
Audio
Audio Format(s): English DTS:X, English 7.1 DTS-HD MA 7.1, Cantonese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Catalan 5.1 Dolby Digital, Flemish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dutch 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, French (Canada) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Korean 5.1 Dolby Digital, Mandarin 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin America) 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Dutch, Indonesian, Khmer, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Vietnamese
Dynamics: As I mentioned, The Angry Birds Movie 2 boasts the 4K Ultra-HD version is “IMAX ENHANCED” which really is just colorful marketing key words for DTS:X. Sony typically utilizes Dolby Atmos, so this is new. And with all this boasting, you think the quality might be a bit better here. While there is no issue with the mix, the volume level here is set quite low and needs brought up to get to your normal levels of impact. We’ll get to it below, but turning it up doesn’t help the bass on this thing unfortunately.
Height: Ceiling channels have some fun with things flying across above in the film or big electrical stacks towering over the characters and much more.
Low Frequency Extension: No getting around it. The subwoofer is the weakest link in the mix. There many big action moments that disappoint with the anticipated impact and what’s actually delivered. Musical moments don’t even bump as they’d appropriately should.
Surround Sound Presentation: There are plenty of playful moments in the speakers and it really does craft a pretty well rounded room with the experience. It becomes more evident once you turn up the volume, that is.
Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are pretty clear and prominent here in the mix with good attention to diction and mouth sounds from the actors.
Extras 
The Angry Birds Movie 2 comes with the Blu-ray edition and a digital copy code for the film.
4K UHD
Mini Movies!
- Live Stream (HD, 2:41) – Also included on the standard Blu-ray disc, this mini movie is the only feature on the 4K disc.
Blu-ray
Mini Movies!
- Take Your Kids to Work Day (HD, 1:46)
- Hatchlings! Mother’s Day (HD, 1:44)
- Hatchlings! Father’s Day (HD, 1:00)
- Early Hatchling Gets the Worm (HD, 2:11)
- Hatchlings! Easter (HD, 1:22)
- Hatchlings! Holiday (HD, 1:07)
DIY Fun! – These little quick how to videos will either satisfy your snack cravings, make a cool experiment or give you a cool gooey new play toy.
- Hangry Birds: Popcorn Balls (HD, 3:01)
- Smarty Birds: Crafty Volcano (HD, 4:31)
- Crafty Birds: Pig Snot! (HD, 2:47)
Bird Watching (HD, 10:04) – This featurette focuses on the real life birds that inspire the characters and animation in the film. It has the cast giving their 2 cents on it all as well.
Meet the New Birds & Pigs (HD, 7:48) – Focuses on the new characters for this film and the actors that voice them.
Hatching the Hatchlings (HD, 5:19) – This one is all about the Hatchlings and their expanded role in the film with cast and crew throwing out their thoughts on them.
Flocking Together: Making The Angry Birds Movie 2 (HD, 11:33) – Here’s your quick behind-the-scenes/making of with cast and crew interviews that give background on the film and cover key points/aspects of the movie’s plot/characters/production.
Happy Thanks-Pigging! (HD, 1:25) – A wonderfully timed for this release video of the birds suggest other consumptions on the bird-eating holiday.
Jingle Birds (HD, 1:32) – It’s almost like they knew when this home video release would come well in advance, eh? This is an Angry Birds infused rendition of the holiday classic song, sung by the characters in the film.
Summary
Well, if anyone wants to question my love for my children, look no further than some of these reviews I take on in their honor. The Angry Birds Movie 2 is well in that territory. As for its technical merits, the film looks great, but has a bit of a disappointing DTS:X track. There plenty little short enjoyable extras to keep busy with as well. This is obviously the best version of the film out there, so if you are picking it up for the little ones (or maybe yourself?) this would be the one to get.
