Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 23rd, 2007
Video games (especially those with platformer elements) were easy fits for syndicated cartoons. I spent a lot of time watching the Super Mario Super Show despite the show's silliness and use of Captain Lou Albano. Another show I naturally watched in the same vain was the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Featuring Sonic, the speedy blue hedgehog and his sidekick Tails (something resembling a fox but with two tails) would face off against Dr. Robotnik and a legion of robots that wanted to take over the planet Mobius. These robots included Scratch (a chicken), Grounder (the gadgets robot) and a less used Coconuts (monkey bot regulated to sanitation duty). The original series would run 65 episodes and a special before spinning off into a somewhat darker show dubbed just Sonic the Hedgehog.
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog worked in a lot of areas. It was entertaining, using its slapstick humor to keep the plot moving for the entire 22 minutes. Sonic might have been an ego-maniac but it wasn't so overbearing that it took away from the cartoon (except the phrase "I'm waiting"). The villains were extremely entertaining as Dr. Robotnik came to life better than expected since the video game series was fairly new and it didn't really have much to draw from. Even the main robots were fun to watch, well with the exception of Scratch who to be honest was just plain annoying. The show also served to create many sub-villains and sub-heroes that held interest and were sometimes multi-dimensional. In fact, they even created a few characters that switched sides and did so in a way that made sense.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 23rd, 2007
Synopsis
I started watching cartoons in the 80's growing up and remembering most fondly cartoons like Transformers, Batman, Thundercats, TMNT and so forth. Oh I've had my fill of Looney Tunes and appreciate them greatly. But once you go past Looney Tunes a lot of the older cartoons escape me (with the exception of Droopy and Scooby Doo). Good examples are the Flintstones and almost anything out of the Hanna-Barbara lineup like Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. So imagine my ...confusion when I received Batfink - The Complete Series across my reviewer table. Batfink was a cartoon series that originally ran in the late 1960's with influences like the Green Hornet and Batman which also ran at this time. The series was created by Hal Seeger and basically featured three main characters; Batfink, Karate and the Chief.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2007
Synopsis
Is it wrong that I kinda sorta liked The Powerpuff Girls? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll join the scores of those older male online reviewers who feel a bit of guilt in that statement, and wonder when Chris Hanson and the Dateline NBC crew will come barreling down my door, but God help me, I found it charming.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2007
Previous to receiving this copy of Happy Feet for review, I have wanted to check it out but never got the chance; the animation appears to look spectacular and the cast of voice actors seems really impressive. The list includes one of my favorite actors Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Nicole Kidman, and more. So on paper Happy Feet sounds like a winner, how does it turn out?
Happy Feet revolves around the lives of a colony of emperor penguins on...Antarctica, and as I’m sure some of you know compliments of Planet Earth or March of the Penguins that in order to find a mate emperor penguins sing to each other - in Happy Feet they call this a “Heartsong.” Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) sings to Memphis (Hugh Jackman) who in turn sings to her and the two identify each other as soul mates. They mate and Norma Jean along with the rest of the females take off to get food while Memphis and the males stay and guards the eggs, but Memphis drops his and normally the harsh winter isn’t so forgiving of a dropped egg in the sub zero temperatures, but the baby penguin survives and out hatches Mumble (Elijah Wood). As time goes on it becomes realized that unlike every other penguin Mumble’s can’t sing, therefore has no “Heartsong.” Instead he is blessed with an outstanding ability to tap dance, which ultimately gets him branded as a freak amongst the emperor penguins. As Mumbles grows older he fails to garner a singing voice, and it unable to attract the penguin of his dreams, Gloria (Brittany Murphy). Then through a series of unfortunate events Mumble is swept into the sea and lands up within a new colony of fun loving penguins who actually adore his tap dancing abilities. Through the adventures with his new penguin buddies, Mumble discovers humans who he refers to as aliens, caught up in the hype he sets out for home to tell the colony of his findings, where he must prove himself to not only his family, but also the colony and his crush Gloria.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2007
"Oh Bother"A.A. Milne was quite an eclectic writer. He wrote murder mysteries that even appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From that fertile mind would also come a place known as the 100 Acre Wood. In that select place some of literature’s finest characters had the greatest adventures any boy could imagine. And adventures are certainly no fun on your own. Young Christopher Robin was joined by Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, and, of course, Winnie-The-Pooh. Who didn’t fall in love with that silly old bear... Winnie-The-Pooh. OK, so maybe Dahmer or Bundy might have been exceptions. Still, anyone growing up in the last 30-40 years who isn’t a psychopath has had a love affair with Winnie-The-Pooh, all stuffed with fluff.
Often when a company gets the rights to such classic characters they end up doing more harm than good, particularly if they include some quite radical changes to the beloved material. Walt Disney was first introduced to the stories after seeing his own children delighted by their adventures. His quick mind told him that this English story needed to be more formally introduced to American children. It took several years for the versions of these characters to evolve into what we so instantly recognize today. The original characters were quite different from these uniquely Disney inventions. I know the folks at Disney claim they stayed very true to the originals, but that simply isn’t true. Today the characters are recognized all over the world more in their Disney incarnations. More than the drawings, the voices of these characters have become very distinctive with those of us who grew up with them. Jim Cummings has done the voice of Pooh for years, but it was Sterling Holloway who originated the voice for these feature pieces. Paul Winchell gave us his giddy Tigger voice for over 40 years now. John Fiedler supplied the shy stuttering Piglet. These last two voice actors died just one day apart in June of 2005.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Hello, all you happy people. Growing up, many people of my generation when turning to classic cartoons turned to Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse or even Popeye. I wasn't normal (who would have guessed?). I found my cartoon home when I wasn't watching Transformers or He-Man in the old Tex Avery cartoons of yesteryear. My favorite character was Droopy, the little dog with the deadpan wit and a penchant for outsmarting the big bad Wolf or Spike/Butch the bulldog. Tex was fa...ous for throwing one gag at you and then while you are still laughing throw another. He would usually follow that up with a third one for good measure. It was this constant unapologetic slapstick that would become his signature and would be found most consistently in the hands of Droopy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 3rd, 2007
Synopsis
Tom & Jerry cartoons used to be so much fun back in the day. The mayhem, the violence, the pursuit of one cat to vanquish one tiny little mouse (and never succeeding). I remember one episode very vividly that involved Tom destroying the whole house to get to Jerry and literally killing himself in the process (well the fake cartoon dieing anyway). They probably took that off tv these days with trying to sanitize children's programming and all. However, without Tom & ...Jerry, there would be no Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner, no Itchy & Scratchy & no Rosie O Donnell & Donald Trump. (all I'm saying is that Rosie is hungry). Since those old cartoons are considered too violent (*roll eyes*) and sometimes too racist (*even bigger roll eyes*) they try to bring back popular cartoons in new tv series. They do this to try to bring back today's viewing public back in by serving them friendly cartoons and keep the parents from suing or complaining to somebody.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2007
Synopsis
Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse! (tell me you just didn't say that) So what happens to a 31 year old adult who sits through a show alone that is geared towards children who might not even be in grade school yet? Besides binge drinking & wondering why he doesn't have a date this weekend? Apparently some good wholesome family entertainment. I was actually a little surprised how decent this was after twenty minutes into the program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 3rd, 2007
Synopsis
The Ant and the Aardvark were regulars on the old Pink Panther show. They were the DePatie-Freeling equivalent of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Every episode would see the Aardvark deploy one strategy after another to catch that Ant, and every attempt would blow up in his face (often quite literally). The animation, the invention and the energy are a long way from being up to the level of the Warner team. What is fun, though, is that both antagonists here are very loquacious (voiced by ...ohn Byner). Not all the lines are funny, but the characterizations are good fun, and all 17 of their adventures are present.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 29th, 2007
Synopsis
*Booming Voice*, "When we last left the Venture Bros season 1, the incredible arch-villain Monarch had been imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit and the Venture Bros were suffering from the loss of their boys Hank and Dean, Meanwhile..." *Monarch voice*, "Where the heck are my cue cards, can't an arch-villain get some normal cue cards for once and how come there is nothing about the sweet Dr. Girlfriend anywhere in here, I mean who really cares about the f****ng V...nture Bros and their miserable excuses for children; Buddy Holly and Fred from Scooby Doo?" *Twenty-one and Twenty-four* "Sorry Monarch." So welcome to another exciting season of the Venture Bros, arguably one of the best animation series on television. Hopefully you know the main characters by now as this is season two. (and thankfully the series has been resigned for a seasons 3 & 4, however we might not see them until 2008). Venture Bros can be described as 4 parts Johnny Quest, 1 part Hardy Boys, 1 part Tick, and even a little Scooby Doo and then throwing that into a big sarcastic machine with lots of sexual innuendo and tons of other classic references before spitting out an animation show.
![Happy Feet (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/happy-feet-combo-hd-dvd-and-standa-large.jpg)
