Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. As I expected, the transfer looked terrific.
Sharpness was fine across the board. Virtually no softness appeared, as the movie delivered satisfying definition.
No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and edge haloes were absent. Of course, print flaws never manifested themselves.
The film’s palette offered a general pastel tone, with a minor emphasis on orange and teal. The colors showed a good sense of vividness and worked well. HDR added range and impact to the hues.
Blacks were dark and deep, while low-light shots offered nice clarity and smoothness. HDR brought power and emphasis to whites and contrast. This became an appealing visual presentation.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, we get a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and this mix offered a reasonably lively soundscape, especially during the action sequences. Those fleshed out the spectrum in an involving way and gave us good involvement for these cartoony spectacles.
These traits kicked into higher gear as the movie progressed. While the film came with plenty of sonic action from its start, the climax got even crazier, and the various speakers added real kick to the proceedings.
Audio quality seemed pleasing. Speech always sounded distinctive and concise, while music was peppy and rich.
Effects offered solid reproduction, with clean highs and deep lows. I liked this mix and thought it gave the movie life.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos mix expanded the prior disc’s 7.1 in a moderate manner.
Also expect modest improvements from the 4K’s image, as it appeared somewhat better defined and more vivid than the Blu-ray. Because the latter looked so good, the 4K didn’t blow it away, but it seemed a bit more concise and stable.
No bonus materials appear on the 4K disc, but a slew of brief extras fill out the included Blu-ray copy. We begin with The Really Cool Adventures of Captain Underpants Motion Comic.
It runs two minutes, 52 seconds and shows a crudely animated version of a superhero story. It’s nothing great, but it’s fun, and it’s nice to hear actors Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch reprise their roles.
Two similar clips follow: The Captain Underpants Guide to Being a Hero (3:51) and The Professor Poopypants (Totally Original and Supercool) Guide to Being a Villain (3:53).
Both relate rules of being a hero or a villain. These seem cute and benefit from the use of actors Hart, Middleditch and Nick Kroll.
Five Deleted Scenes last a total of 11 minutes. These come with introductions from director David Soren, as he tells us a little about the clips and why they didn’t make the cut.
Presented as animatics, these offer some additional background for various characters and plot elements. They tend to be funny and entertaining additions.
Two Lyric Videos follow. We get clips for “Captain Underpants” by Weird Al Yankovic (2:15) and “A Friend Like You” by Andy Grammer (3:45).
The former shows movie clips along with the song, while the latter matches comic art with the tune. Neither stands out as memorable.
Next we get two Q&As with the Stars. These fill a total of two minutes, four seconds and offer info from actors Kevin Hart, Ed Helms and Thomas Middleditch.
They take fan questions like who they’d like to give a wedgie to or what superhero talents they boast. The clips seem mildly amusing and that’s about it.
We get more from Hart and Helms via the two-minute, seven-second Kevin Hart and Ed Helms Surprise the Fans. The actors talk to a few kids in this fluffy promo piece.
Lunch Lady PSA goes for one minute, two seconds and features actor Kristen Schaal. She offers a faux-serious discussion of the sad plight of the lunch lady. It’s another mildly cute clip.
With Sock Puppets, Real Stars, we get a 27-second promo piece. Hart and Middleditch voice sock puppet versions of their characters in another generally likable advertisement.
A Gallery breaks into two areas. We find Comic Book Covers (8 images) and The Art of Captain Underpants (22). Both offer a nice array of drawings.
The Blu-ray opens with ads for The Boss Baby, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, and various DreamWorks TV series. Sneak Peek adds promos for Despicable Me 3 and The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature.
We also find the trailer for Underpants along with The World of DreamWorks Animation. There we find various promotional elements related to Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Croods, Turbo and Home. Mostly we get music videos, but a few trailers appear as well.
Though the title might lead one to believe it’ll shoot solely for a super-young audience, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie offers a delight for all ages. Clever, wacky and fun, it becomes a charming and amusing animated adventure. The 4K UHD offers excellent picture along with involving audio and a fairly superficial set of supplements. Underpants winds up as great family entertainment.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS
