Despicable Me 4 (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Chris Renaud (Co-director Patrick Delage)

Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin (VOICES)

Release Date: September 24, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

The world’s favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain-League-agent returns for a bold new era of Minions mayhem in Illumination’s Despicable Me 4. Gru, Lucy and their girls welcome a new member to the family—Gru Jr.—who is intent on tormenting his dad, as a new nemesis shows up and forces the family to go on the run. This latest blockbuster chapter in the biggest global animated franchise in history is packed with nonstop action and filled with Illumination’s signature subversive humor.

‘Despicable Me 4’ rejoins Gru, Lucy and their children (plus of course the Minions) as they are forced to go into hiding after Gru infiltrates a school reunion along with the Anti-Villain-League in order to help take down his old classmate and cockroach-loving villain Maxime Le Mal only for him to escape from captivity soon thereafter and go on the hunt for Gru seeking vengeance. Now Gru and the family will have to try to adapt to their new lives and identities while Gru must also win over their newest child, Gru Jr. who is intent on making his dad’s life miserable; all while trying to stay vigilant.

Directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets) and co-directed by Patrick Delage from a screenplay written by Mike White (Migration) and Ken Daurio (Despicable Me 2), Renaud (and Delage) does a solid job at the helm of ‘Despicable Me 4’ guiding along the entertaining new entry with heart, humor and a fittingly swift pace. The voice cast of the new film includes Steve Carell (IF), Kristen Wiig (How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World), Pierre Coffin (Minions), Joey King (TV’s Hamster & Gretel), Miranda Cosgrove (TV’s iCarly), Stephen Colbert (Mr. Peabody & Sherman), Sofía Vergara (The Emoji Movie), and Will Ferrell (The Lego Movie) who each offer fitting and capable performances altogether in their respective roles.

‘Despicable Me 4’ is an enjoyable, fast-paced and quite funny new installment in the beloved animated franchise that reunites viewers with Gru, Lucy and his girls, in addition nto the newest member of the family, baby Gru Jr and sends them out of their comfort zone as they are forced to go into hiding after Gru’s work with the Anti-Villain-League results in an old classmate seeking revenge against him and his family after escaping custody. It offers up more of most everything that fans have come to expect from the series including plenty of exciting moments, laugh out loud fun and even some heart at times.

‘Despicable Me 4’ doesn’t quite manage to reach the level of uniqueness or wonder that the first two installments did and while it may not be one of the strongest entries in the series to date, rest assured that it’s still an awful lot of fun if you can just let yourself relax and go along for the ride. Rich with plenty of humor, goofy moments and of course a new, over the top baddie for Gru to go toe to toe with, while also introducing viewers to some amusing new characters and then taking them all for another exciting adventure filled with danger and threat aplenty, not to mention a whole lot of fresh chaos, hilarity and over the top goofiness with everyone’s favorite minions.

If you’re a fan of the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise or have younger fans at home that are excited for the latest installment of the series, then ‘Despicable Me 4’ is definitely recommended and should at the very least be worth the price of a rental and ninety minutes of your time. It may not have anything overly fresh or noteworthy to offer, but at the same time it does a solid job of giving fans plenty more of what they love from Gru’s saga and it should have no trouble keeping you amused from start to finish if nothing else, with a stellar voice cast led by returning stars Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig and newcomer Will Ferrell to help propel the fun along.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Despicable Me 4’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular and delivers a clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish with no issues or faults to be found along the way. Detail is outstanding on everything from character specifics to the various settings and vehicles, while the Dolby Vision HDR enhances the already vivid colors and provides more rich and lifelike coloring on various elements within; all beautifully complemented by deep and solid black levels and shadowing. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that impresses at every turn and should thrill fans and first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a blast and it provides a crisp, clean and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, action and vehicle effects, plus crowd chatter and plenty more constantly zipping throughout the various speakers, all while making certain that any simultaneously occurring dialogue or other audio elements remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a fantastic Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers splendidly from start to finish and never comes close to disappointing or underwhelming.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Despicable Me 4’ features some entertaining extras which can be found on both discs. Included on the release are ‘2 Mini Movies’; ‘Game Over and Over’ (running approximately 4 minutes in length) and ‘Benny’s Birthday’ (approximately 4 minutes), in addition to a collection of ‘Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes’ from the movie (approximately 14 minutes altogether). Also included are some Behind the Scenes Featurettes and other fun videos including ‘Despicable Dialogue’ (3 minutes), ‘Mega Minion Mayhem’ (4 minutes) and numerous ‘Meet the Cast’ Featurettes (22 minutes combined). Also included is a look at the villain cameos within in ‘Rogues Gallery’ (3 minutes) and ‘How to Draw’ videos for the new Mega Minion characters (12 minutes altogether).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Despicable Me 4: Collector’s Edition’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Illumination & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Despicable Me 4’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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