New Animated Movies on 4K Blu-ray: 5 Must See Releases Reviewed

Animation in 4K is its own unique experience. The format’s exceptional clarity and expanded color palette can elevate the beauty and wonder of stories too out-there for live action. Ultra HD can occasionally expose the limitations of the medium, including choppy legacy line art, but it ultimately remains a definitive showcase for the art form. By unlocking explosive HDR highlights and a wider color gamut, 4K discs can breathe new life into both classic hand-drawn animation and state-of-the-art digital work, freeing vintage hues from past technical constraints. Today’s filmmakers, meanwhile, exploit these advances with an impact that was once impossible to achieve at home.

Five recent disc releases remind us exactly what the format can do. All feature native 4K presentations. Four include Dolby Vision, while one relies entirely on standard dynamic range to make its case.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)

Video game adaptations have come a long way from their misguided baby steps, as evidenced by both live-action entries such as A Minecraft Movie and Illumination’s animated take on the Mario universe. This even glossier follow-up to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie expands an already impressive core cast of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black with Brie Larson, Benny Safdie, and Glen Powell for a spectacular rescue mission that takes the gang across the cosmos.

Visually, though, Galaxy pushes the envelope by shifting the action from the sunny Mushroom Kingdom to the dark reaches of outer space, requiring a completely different lighting approach. Glowing Lumas and floating Star Bits cast vibrant colors across the characters and environments, while specular highlights on the slick metal spaceships create sharp reflections that give the animation an advanced sheen. Individual threads and weave patterns are visible on costumes, the backgrounds boast a massive jump in rendering complexity, and motion blur remains tightly controlled, like a next-generation game engine running at maximum capacity.

The Dolby Atmos mix uses discrete steering and aggressive height-channel placement to pan spaceships and debris effortlessly around the room. This hyperkinetic soundfield is anchored by authoritative, subwoofer-testing low end and a massive orchestral score that spreads wide into the surrounds, all while keeping dialogue pristine. There are a few basic extras, but skip them and just rewatch the movie in awe.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (June 16, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2026
• ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
• HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
• AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
• LENGTH: 98 mins.
• MPAA RATING: PG
• DIRECTORS: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
• STARRING: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key

Our Ratings

Where to buy:

Alice in Wonderland (Disney/Sony)

Shifting from the newest to the oldest movie in this batch, Walt Disney’s 1951 adaptation combines elements from both Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. While British purists complained that the sacred texts had been dumbed down, prudish Americans, surprisingly, did not object to the druggish undertones inherent in the eccentric characters and wild scenarios. In fact, they largely ignored Alice. The movie sat in the vault until the psychedelic era brought renewed interest, leading to a full theatrical re-release in 1974. It has been beloved ever since.

Timed to the film’s 75th anniversary, Walt Disney Film Restoration spent nine months restoring Alice, beginning with scans of the original nitrate successive-exposure negatives and preserving the proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. This work was followed by extensive cleanup to address dust, warping, and other signs of age, with archival production artwork used as a reference to optimize color and luminance in every shot. Walt & Co.’s cheerier tone is reflected in an explosively vibrant palette, with pinks and blues that pop off the screen so intensely that viewers may begin to question what is real.

Alongside a lossy two-channel mono track, the disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 remix that feels modern while remaining faithful to the original, with particularly strong fidelity in the songs. All of the extras are housed on the bundled HD Blu-ray, including an excellent picture-in-picture mode and a deep selection of vintage and retrospective programs, along with behind-the-scenes material.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: Disney/Sony
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (May 5, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 1951
• ASPECT RATIO: 1.37:1
• HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
• AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• LENGTH: 75 mins.
• MPAA RATING: G
• DIRECTORS: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
• STARRING: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton

Our Ratings

Where to buy:

Fire and Ice (Blue Underground/MVD)

Two titans joined forces for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration when the singular fantasy artist Frank Frazetta teamed with celebrated animator Ralph Bakshi to create the original screen adventure, Fire and Ice. In a savage prehistoric world, the buff warrior Larn and mysterious masked avenger Darkwolf embark on a perilous quest to rescue Princess Teegra from the evil ice lord Nekron, whose advancing glaciers threaten to consume the world.

To capture the look of a Frazetta painting brought to life while maintaining realistic anatomy, Bakshi relied on rotoscoping, a process pioneered by Max Fleischer decades earlier. Live-action performers were filmed, then each frame was painstakingly traced and painted. The backgrounds, meanwhile, were largely created by a young Thomas Kinkade, whose name was misspelled in the credits. Long before becoming “The Painter of Light” and the head of a multimillion-dollar art empire, Kinkade experimented here with a luministic, chiaroscuro style that draws the eye through small bursts of light and color. His brushstrokes and the texture of the line art are fully preserved in the 4K, 16-bit scan, while the occasional static foreground “fog” adds depth to the main action.

The new Atmos reconfiguration is remarkably strong, with fluid placement of effects across the soundfield: arrows zip past pterodactyls, swords land with heavy clangs, and the mix builds on Blue Underground’s previous 6.1 and 7.1 remixes. The original stereo track is also included, along with 5.1 audio, all in DTS-HD Master Audio. William Kraft’s score adds a visceral, primal pulse and is included here on a 70-minute, 21-track CD.

New featurettes spotlight Frazetta’s granddaughter, Sara Frazetta, and superfan filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, alongside a strong collection of legacy content that includes a Bakshi audio commentary. The SteelBook packaging is especially elegant: a clear plastic slip carries the title and logos on the front, with the usual disc information on the back. Remove it, and Frank Frazetta’s poster art is left unobstructed, with animation art displayed on the reverse.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: Blue Underground/MVD
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (June 30, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 1983
• ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
• HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
• AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
• LENGTH: 82 mins.
• MPAA RATING: PG
• DIRECTOR: Ralph Bakshi
• STARRING: Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor, Sean Hannon, Leo Gordon, William Ostrander

Our Ratings

Where to buy:

Perfect Blue (GKIDS/Shout! Factory/Radial Entertainment)

Perfect Blue is smart and sophisticated enough to have worked as a live-action psychological thriller, and in fact it almost was before first-time director Satoshi Kon turned it into one of the most influential anime films ever made. The story follows young Mima’s transition from pop idol to aspiring television actress, a journey filled with unexpected hurdles that soon leads her down a dark path where she begins to question her own sanity. This unrated cut can get rough, with murder, sexual violence, and a stalker all driving the story toward a major twist that I did not see coming.

Although it was originally greenlit as a modest direct-to-video release, the production quality far exceeds the assignment. The hand-drawn, hand-painted artwork delivers nuanced characters and richly detailed backgrounds, particularly in its Tokyo cityscapes. Kon’s masterful camerawork, lingering film grain, and occasional dirt combine to create a genuinely cinematic feel, capturing a twilight moment just before the industry shifted more decisively toward digital cel animation.

The 5.1 track is unlike any other mix in this lineup: punchy, aggressive, and full of discrete left and right cues, with hard surround activity that makes unapologetic use of the rear channels. Dialogue remains consistently crisp, although I cannot claim to understand more than a handful of Japanese phrases.

A more affordable, though still premium, alternative to last year’s collector’s edition, Shout!’s SteelBook arrives across three discs, with much of the bonus material presented in standard definition. The highlight is a series of Satoshi Kon lectures totaling roughly two hours, with English subtitles, in which he digs deeply into possible interpretations of the labyrinthine narrative, along with the film’s themes and techniques.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: GKIDS/Shout! Factory/Radial Entertainment
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (June 16, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 1997
• ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
• HDR FORMATS: n/a (SDR)
• AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Japanese and English options)
• LENGTH: 82 mins.
• MPAA RATING: NR
• DIRECTOR: Satoshi Kon
• STARRING: Junko Iwao, Rika Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura, Yôsuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya

Our Ratings

Where to buy:

Hoppers (Disney/Sony)

One of Pixar’s better efforts of late, Hoppers takes audiences into the animal kingdom in a whole new way. Animal-loving college student Mabel uses hush-hush technology to “hop” her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver body and live among the creatures of the forest. They can understand her, and she can understand them, though neither side quite knows what to make of the other. But when her passion to protect wildlife at all costs gets the better of her, she is in for a hard lesson about the real laws of nature. It is funny, there is ample cuteness afoot, and the environmental message lands without becoming obnoxious as Mabel learns that complicated problems do not always have simple answers. You know, the usual Pixar existential crisis, but with beavers.

Remember when rendering fur and feathers was a big deal? Hoppers makes it look easy, with an exceptionally clear, detailed image that takes a step beyond realism through a playful visual style that pleases the eye without straining for ultimate photorealism. Woodland colors are lush and lovely, as only Dolby Vision can deliver. Note that the 4K disc is a SteelBook-only release.

There is plenty of 360-degree and overhead audio action from the abundant creatures of air and land, along with no shortage of manmade mayhem, all underscored by serious bass kick. The hopper equipment itself features thoughtful sound design that conveys the transfer into the synthetic body, then reinforces it with subtle mechanical accents. The supplements are wholly adequate, covering the creative team’s character research, a brisk making-of featurette, a study of a key scene, plus bloopers and deleted scenes.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: Disney/Sony
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (June 2, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2026
• ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
• HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
• AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
• LENGTH: 105 mins.
• MPAA RATING: PG
• DIRECTOR: Daniel Chong
• STARRING: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco

Our Ratings

Where to buy:

Related Reading: