Disney’s holiday hit Encanto arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray in a terrific transfer with some fun extras.
The Production: 4/5
After a tragic event, Abuela Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) gives birth to triplets Julieta (Angie Cepeda), Pepa (Carolina Gaitan) and Bruno (John Leguizamo), and with the help of a magical candle, she and her children seek refuge in an enchanted, magical and ever-expanding Casita on the edge of a village in Colombia, bestowing all of her bloodline with a magical gift of some sort – Pepa can control weather based on her mood, Julieta can heal with food, while Bruno has the power to foresee the future, a gift that eventually leads to his banishment. The only family member not to receive a gift is Julieta’s daughter Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). For years, Mirabel is treated as an outsider, even after she begins to realize the Casita is beginning to crack and crumble as cousin Dolores (Adassa) who has superhuman strength begins to lose her power. Mirabel sees this as a sign to possibly find her own gift, and begins to investigate what is causing the crumbling of the family home.
Encanto is a departure for Disney Animation’s 60th feature, as the story has no real antagonist trying to hatch an evil plot. Instead, it looks at this rather tight-knit yet dysfunctional family and its effects on treating those family members who are different, as well as multigenerational trauma. We eventually discover what Abuela’s tragedy was during the third act, and we see the effects on Mirabel and eventually Bruno on them being treated as outcasts. It is a colorful, touching, emotional, and very musical story aided by the brightly colored Latin-inspired animation and catchy songs penned by one of the most popular songwriters of this decade, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights, Vivo, and Tick Tick Boom!).
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Encanto was most likely rendered in 2K (as most animated features are), and according to IMDB the film was completed as a 4K digital intermediate in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision high dynamic range for its premium theatrical engagements. Disney’s UHD disc release features a very colorful 2160p HEVC-encoded transfer with HDR10 (the digital streaming version includes both HDR10 and Dolby Vision on services such as Apple TV, Vudu, and subscription service Disney+). At first glance the image will appear darker overall when comparing to the included Blu-ray edition, but as the film progresses to brightly lit outdoor sequences, highlights are often washed out on the Blu-ray while remaining rock steady on the UHD. Colors are also more stable with a wider range of grading on the UHD. Details get a slight uptick on the UHD, such as wood grain and stone textures and even freckles on Mirabel’s face that are barely visible on the Blu-ray. There were no noticeable compression artifacts on the UHD disc whatsoever.
Audio: 4/5
The default Dolby Atmos track is one of those mixes where your mileage may vary based on your setup. I found this to be a decent but mostly front-heavy mix with some surround activity, minimal use of heights, and an average LFE response. I wouldn’t call this a flat mix, as I could hear crowd and atmospheric sounds occasionally from the rears and above, but for most of the musical numbers, music and singers are mostly isolated to the front soundstage. I calibrated my setup several times after my initial viewing just to be sure, and the results were pretty much the same each time.
Special Features: 4/5
As usual for a Disney release, there are no special features on the UHD disc. There are a nice batch of extras to be found on the included Blu-ray edition, though.
Sing A-long: Accessible from the Play Movie sub-menu, you can view the movie (in DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio) with karaoke-style on-screen lyrics during the musical numbers.
Far From the Tree (1080p; 7:21): The animated short film that accompanied Encanto during its theatrical release, viewable with or without a video Introduction (2:09) by writer/director Natalie Nourigat.
Familia Lo Es Todo (1080p; 23:53): A fairly in-depth look at the characters, themes, performances, production design, and other aspects of making the movie.
Discover Colombia (1080p; 17:27): A look at the importance of Colombian culture and location to the film.
A Journey Through Music (1080p; 24:11): As the title implies, a look at the music from the film.
Let’s Talk About Bruno (1080p; 8:18): A bit more in-depth look at the show-stopping song.
Our Casita (1080p; 10:37): A look at the house as a character in the film.
Outtakes (1080p; 2:59): Vocal performance flubs.
Journey to Colombia (1080p; 2:24): Scouting locations for inspiration.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 20:34): Head of Story Nancy Kruse and Jason Hand introduce four scenes in storyboard form that were cut from the film.
Song Selection (1080p; 30:21): View individual songs from the film, or use the Play All option to watch just the songs.
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy of the film on Movies Anywhere.
Overall: 4/5
Encanto is a bit of a departure from the traditional Disney animated film and highly entertaining.
Encanto [4K UHD]
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Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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