The Boxtrolls 4K UHD Review

Boxy Boys

“It treats vanity with spite and the rank with joy. Bugs and boogers are a delicacy. Elegant cheese is nostril harming and prone to causing allergies. Boxtrolls is much its own world where kids shout, “Eww!” and parents wonder what happened to their gentle movie delights – probably without realizing a prior generation grew up on the bliss of people being slimed on national TV.”

Read our full 3D Blu-ray review of Boxtrolls for more

Video

Picturing the stop motion sets and models in 4K glory, Shout debuts this modern classic in luxury. The new Dolby Vision pass doesn’t astound, but certainly helps in lifting the dimensionality on display. Black levels hit their dense lows, and the contrast plays nicely. Light sources don’t carry the same intensity as some other discs, slightly color graded to an off-white, if still perky.

The real gains happen in the textural quality. While already fantastic on Blu-ray, this 4K scan brings out every ounce of fine detail on the source. Dust layers everything in this world, and every piece of it shows, even at distance. Models reveal exacting resolution to this format’s fullest. Dirt stains on the boxes or small patches of hair stand out. Metal, stone, and leather all look as intended, the new scan betraying nothing.

Boxtolls isn’t splendid in color variety, yet the overall density makes gains within the digital grading. Soft, hazy light looks just as pristine when compared to the brighter patches created by red hats. Orange and teal Boxtrolls is though, even as those other hues slip out.

Audio

Having the immediate opportunity to expand the soundstage into Atmos, rain falls overhead before the first imagery appears on screen. Paired with the wide design from the Blu-ray, action keeps a constant flow through the room. Sliding Boxtrolls do so in each channel, smoothly transitioning from one speaker to the next. Fronts find as much material to use as the rears. Crowded streets sound wholly real thanks to the precision and overheard use.

Bass isn’t a constant contributor. Still, it does drop low via the score more often than not. Action helps too. Rolling carriages rumble on brick streets as they pass, creating the necessary beefy rumble. So does the walking machine used for the final act, if lightly so compared to the top-end bass discs.

Extras

Shout Factory brings over the total bonuses from Universal’s original Blu-ray, and includes a few new retrospectives as well.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 40 full resolution uncompressed 4K screen shots grabbed directly from the UHD: