“Find out what happens when cartoon characters stop being polite…and start making out in hot tubs”. The legendary kiss between Clara and Foxxy highlighted Season 1 and with the recent release of Season 2 on dvd, the Drawn Together cast is back for more adult fun. Drawn Together is the cartoon show that parodies reality shows by using parodies of classic cartoon characters. There are characters like Captain Hero who is a parody of Superman and many other super hero types. Or Ling-Ling who is a spoof of Pikachu from Pokemon. But these aren’t normal; they are very perverse, stereotypical, and deviant characters. For example; Xandir (a parody of Link from Legend of Zelda) is the very gay and effeminate one while Princess Clara (spoof of various Disney princess characters) has a multi-tentacled monster in place of her…ummm…ho-ho…(I just said ho-ho in the middle of a review; yup my career is over)
The show is flat out hilarious as it sounds. As long as you aren’t offended by the explicit nature of what is going on; you will have a good time with the 22 minute episodes. The show’s episodes as expected often have a gay or bisexual theme. However, once in a while (okay usually once per episode); they have a tendency of going too far. They make no apologies about crossing ethical or racist lines or even having common sense. It’s basically about causing a ruckus for as long as possible and somehow come up with a plausible ending by the 20 minute mark. The cast of voice actors from Tara Strong (Toot Braunstein & Princess Clara) to Adam Carolla (Spanky Ham)to Jess Harnell (Captain Hero) and more represent a very elite group of vocalists.
Video
Full Screen 1.33:1 is the flavor here, the animation is drawn in a classic style which makes sense due to the characters or parodies that are portrayed. The color is sharp and decent enough for a cable animated television show. Of course you hope for better; but this is about as good as you are going to get.
Audio
Since we get Full Screen in audio, as expected we only get 2.0 English Dolby Digital. It is clear and you should be able to decipher the dialog fairly easily. Sure some of the characters put an accent on their characters but none of them are thick accents so you should be okay here. No subs that I could find except when Ling-Ling speaks Japorean.
Special Features
Disc One
- Automatic Trailers: South Park Season 10.
- Commentaries on Episodes Clum Babies & Super Nanny: If you thought the episodes were a ruckus; then you haven’t listened to the commentaries. They are at times more funny than the episodes themselves. The creators and the vocalists seem right at home talking about their show.
- Karaoke Sing-Along: It’s as silly as you think it is. You get to sing along to many of the show’s hilarious and just plain wrong songs.
- Behind the Scenes Interviews: On this disc we get the following: Creators Confessional, Captain Hero, Foxxy Love and Ling-Ling. I’ll tell you one thing; the girl who does Ling-Ling (Abbey McBride) is flat-out adorable. I’d take her home with me if I wasn’t living with my girlfriend (oww, oww, that’ll be there in the morning).
- DVD Previews
Disc Two
- Commentaries on Episodes Terms of Endearment & A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Specialand a Potentially Annoying Commentary on Commentary on A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special : Even more zaniness than ever. The commentary on commentary is genius and is about as much fun as you can having listening to commentary that doesn’t involve a Kevin Smith film.
- Behind the Scenes Interviews: On this disc we get the following: Princess Clara, Toot Braunstein, Wooldoor Sockbat & Xandir P. Wifflebottom.
Final Thoughts
Drawn Together is a great series. It is over the top, un apologetic and a crazy time. Unfortunate to say, the series itself might be nearing an end. The second half of Season Three is set to air for the last part of this year and Season 4 is really up in the air and the creators have moved on to other projects. That is unfortunate but it does give us some material that has developed quite the following. Not South Park levels, but a nice little fan base including myself that is eager to see new episodes. Even if it does push the envelope way beyond what it should; it is a fun time. Note, these episodes are uncensored in both language and nudity / sexual suggestion. Not for kids or even some adults. The set is decent, with good extras that will have you laughing more than some episodes. Recommended as long as you leave all morality and taste at the door.
Episodes
Disc 1:
The One Wherein There’s a Big Twist Part 2
Foxxy Vs. the Board of Education
Little Orphan Hero
Captain Hero’s Marriage Pact
Clum Babies
Ghostesses in the Slot Machine
Super Nanny
Disc 2:
Terms of Endearment
Captain Girl
A Tale of Two Cows
Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree
The Lemon-AIDS Walk
A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special
Alzheimer’s That Ends Well
The Drawn Together Clip Show
Other Coverage
