Turning Red Blu-ray Screenshots (Patreon)

[Note: The review is for the 4K disc, but there's something odd about the disc and no one can rip it. Therefore, no 4K screens, just Blu-ray]

Video

Pixar adds a slight grain structure to Turning Red and that's fine... except the encode can't keep things stabilized. Maybe it's the gorgeous pastel color palette that reveals too much, but chroma noise and artifacts appear too often, doubly so for this format. It's as if Disney merely carries over the codec used for streaming services for the disc release rather than utilizing the additional space. That's a shame, leaving Turning Red unimpressive on a format flush with dazzling animated features.

Turning Red isn't a failure at all. It's gorgeous, with resolute resolution. Visible compression or not, detail thrives, from the fuzziness on sweaters to individual hairs. Animated cityscapes reveal all of their detail. Some aliasing shows on Mei's glasses, but otherwise, the animation shines.

A nicely handled HDR pass emboldens Turning Red, yet maintains the pale-ish aesthetic. Black is black where absolutely needed, and contrast full, yet the imagery appreciates a careful midtone, where it often stays. That follows the delicate color design.

Audio

Using the sound design for additional story impact, Mei's first time as a fox brings hearty footsteps as she walks. It's typically lean as these things go for Disney, if creating a marginal punch in the low-end. Stress introduces a heartbeat, also beefy, but in Disney's context. Range sounds lean overall.

Positional speaker use isn't remarkable. Motion tracks decently enough, height channels used sparingly at best. For a major film, it's pedestrian.