Sausage Party Blu-ray review

Seth Rogen's gut-busting adults-only cartoon is sure to have you coming back for seconds

The food items filling the shelves of Shopwell's supermarket spend their days singing the praises of their 'gods' and eagerly awaiting the moment when they too will be swept up by one of them, put in a basket and taken off to the 'Great Beyond'.

However, when one of the 'gods' returns a bottle of honey mustard, the traumatised sauce can only hint at the horrors he witnessed, before jumping out of a shopping cart and committing suicide. In the ensuing chaos, hotdog Frank (Seth Rogen) sets off across the supermarket to discover the truth, much to the annoyance of his bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wigg). And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, Frank must also avoid a demented douche (Nick Kroll) who blames him for its damaged condition.

This CG 'toon is definitely not suitable for little nippers. The brainchild of Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Sausage Party has the same filthy mind and dirty mouth as their previous live-action efforts (Superbad, This is the End, etc). However, here it's employed to offer a critique of intolerance, blind faith and organised religion; providing a little food for thought, if you like.

Sure, it's rude, crude and goes out of its way to shock. But, whether it's the Arabic lavash bread who believes that his Great Beyond involves 77 bottles of virgin olive oil or the bottle of German sauerkraut who sings about 'exterminating the juice', Sausage Party is an equal opportunities offender that happens to be very, very funny.

Picture: While the animation itself doesn't quite measure up to that produced by the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks, Sausage Party still looks pretty terrific on Blu-ray. Unsurprisingly, the colour palette is one of the 2.40:1 encode's strongest aspects, with the packaging that dresses the film's cast of foodstuffs offering up plenty of vibrant primaries. The 1080p imagery also displays plenty of texture, certainly as much as is present in the character models, while strong black levels provide a solid starting point for a pleasing contrast punch. There's also a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version available.
Picture rating: 4.5/5

Audio: With Sony Pictures still making Dolby Atmos mixes exclusive to its 4K Blu-rays, this 1080p platter makes do with a regular DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. It's still a pretty lively affair that keeps the front and rear speakers busy with big musical numbers and sweeping atmospherics.
Audio rating: 4/5

Extras: There's not much to chew on when it comes to Sausage Party's extras. In addition to brief featurettes concerning the film's origin, dialogue recording and score, the disc also serves up a spoof Walt Disney-style promo, a vintage chat with Rogen and Goldberg about the art of the pitch, alternate line readings and a gag reel.
Extras rating: 2/5

We say: A feast of filthy fun on a tasty hi-def platter, although buyers of the Ultra HD version will get a more immersive soundmix.

Sausage Party, Sony Pictures, All-region BD, £25
HCC VERDICT: 3.5/5

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