Plucky pup Reggie (Ferrell) thought he and his owner Doug (Forte) were playing an innocent game of fetch. It isn’t until he meets Bug (Foxx), a streetwise stray who says only suckers have owners, that Reggie realizes his miserable master intentionally abandoned him in the big city. With two more pooches (Fisher & Park) adding fuel to his furry fire, Reggie goes from cute to cunning as he and Bug concoct a crazy scheme to get back to Doug and give him a big bite between his legs. Revenge has never been this riotous, or this irreverent, as the hilariously absurd antics of these four furballs turn typical animal adventures totally upside down. Forget everything you know about “dog movie” drama because this is one journey home that’s off its leash and over the top.

For in-depth thoughts on Strays, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings Strays to Blu-Ray with a really fetching 1080p video presentation. The transfer provides a resplendent amount of depth on display, especially in the expanses of nature. When this film transitions to nighttime scenes or explores dimly lit areas, the details present as impressively sharp in all lighting conditions. The image is clean with the vibrant natural color palette shining off the screen. The film delivers splashes of colors within the foliage, clothing, and production design, which is a real visual treat. Black levels are deep and detailed, but digital noise does prove to be a fleeting issue in a few scenes. The flesh tones are natural with gentle nuances showcased well in close-ups and medium shots. Universal has delivered something pretty great for audiences.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that offers a brilliantly realized listening experience. Narration and dialogue come through clearly without ever being drowned out by overlapping voices or other powerful noises. Everything is mixed perfectly with directional accuracy across all channels. The sounds throughout this journey provide a good amount of activity in the rear channels, and music stirs up some notable activity in the low end. The soundtrack helps cement some of the most memorable moments of the film, and this track does a great job of saturating the room with great fidelity. This track nails everything that is asked of it without issue. There are English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director/Producer Josh Greenbaum and Screenwriter/Producer Dan Perrault provide a fun commentary track in which they announce they intend to deliver the “greatest commentary every recorded” before delving into the development of the idea, the relief of working with Will Forte, memories of working the dogs, why they wanted to use real dogs, the challenges of the production and more.

Talk Like A Dog: A seven-minute look at the voice actors including Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, and Randall Park, who discuss their characters, the fun they had performing the roles, what went into inhabiting a dog mindset, and more.

The Ultimate Treat – Making Strays: A nearly seven-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss this creative take on the traditional dog movie, working within the tropes, the dirty humor, and more.

Poop, Booms, and Shrooms: A seven-minute exploration of how the creative team pulled off the filming of a key sequence involving mushrooms when working with non-human actors.

Will Forte – Stray Actor: A six-minute humorous look at how one of the few non-canine actors on set was treated and was thought of by the cast and crew.

Training To Be Stray: A five-and-a-half-minute piece on the training that went into getting the pups into a place of obedience for the movie.

A New Best Friend: A nearly four-minute featurette on the love of dogs on set and a heartwarming adoption that happened because of this film.

Final Thoughts

Strays has already proven to be a very divisive viewing experience, but it seems to boil down to how much the idea of your sweet little pup cursing and saying outrageous things appeals to you. It can be a joy watching the dogs including a beautiful Australian shepherd on their adventure. The film does not push the boundaries of comedy, but it does land a good number of jokes that conjure some giggles. There are areas of the story that feel slightly stale as the creative team hits the easy joke one too many times, but it makes up for this by sincerely nailing the emotional catharsis of the film complemented by some effective themes. It is far from the best comedy of the year, but it delivers a good enough time to feel satisfied with the experience. Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that sports fantastic A/V presentation and some good special features. Recommended

Strays will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 10, 2023. The film is currently available on Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.