Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 1980s - DVD Review

Finally, the one we’ve all been waiting for has arrived and Warner Brothers has given couch potatoes of the Me Generation the gift of Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980’s. It’s an eclectic mix aimed at a wide range of ages, from the wee youngins to the older set and gives a pretty fair, though not nearly complete, look at what we were watching on Saturday mornings before our parents kicked us out of the house and forced us to (gasp!) actually go play outside for a while.

Looking back on my youth, the influence of Dungeons & Dragons was quite prevalent and can be seen throughout this entire volume. Dragon’s Lair, based on the popular video game, approaches the genre from a more slapstick side, featuring a bumbling hero who relies on luck more often than skill or razor sharp wits. Galtar and the Golden Lance is a more traditional sword n’ sorcery tale and looks like something of a hybrid between He-Man and King Arthur. The Biskitts is a blatant Smurfs knockoff featuring little puppies in medieval clothing who live in a hidden castle deep within the forest and are always outwitting King Max, sort of a redneck Gargamel.

And of course, the crown jewel is Thundarr the Barbarian. For those of you unfamiliar with this classic, imagine if Planet of the Apes had a baby with Star Wars and the baby was raised by He-Man. Then, when the child reached maturity, Frank Frazetta was comissioned to paint a portrait to hang on his mantle. THAT is Thundarr and it is a thing of sheer beauty. Since Thundarr remains unavailable on DVD (save for the overpriced and illegal bootleg you might find at a comic convention), seeing even one episode of the series is worth the price of this collection.

Speaking of crown jewels, there is another treat that makes Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 1980s completely worth buying, and that is an episode of the Mr. T cartoon. If you wanted to sum my recollection of the 80’s up in 22 minutes, it may very well be this show. Featuring a live-action introduction from T himself, the series boasts a multiracial team of teenage gymnasts who travel around the world solving crimes. There’s also a dog with a mohawk and a little red haired kid who does his best to emulate Mr. T. But as T says in this episode, “He can only try to be me, ‘cause I’m me now and I’m gonna be me in the future.” Like this amazing cartoon, Mr. T is one of a kind.

And what would the 80’s be without cheap knockoffs? Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos is like a poor man’s version of Mr. T, with live-action framing sequences meant to teach a moral and a racially diverse cast. While Mr. T’s show is original and scores points for the sheer oddity of the concept, Karate Kommandos feels like a rip-off of a million other action cartoons that came before. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the inclusion of this episode, as I have actually never seen an episode before.

Rounding out the action/adventure side of the collection is Goldie Gold and Action Jack, an odd show that feels like a pulp-influenced female version of Richie Rich. Like Richie, Goldie’s wealth is so immense that nothing is out of her price range. Everything she owns, from her personal space shuttle to her satellite retreat, is decked out in the gold which is her namesake. Goldie is the owner of the Gold Street Journal and together with investigative reporter Jack Travis, she seeks out adventure, solves mysteries and fights crime. It’s actually a pretty interesting show and as a comic book fan, it was pretty cool to see the name of Steve Gerber, creator of Howard the Duck, listed in the credits as a writer.

But what would a Saturday morning in the ‘80s be without a toy tie-in? Here, The Monchichis fill that role. The show is sickeningly sweet and features a group of tree-dwelling simians whose sole purpose in life is to make things happy for everyone. Naturally, this puts them at odds with the Grumplins, who are basically little evil versions of the Monchichis that seek to end their joyful days and put frowns on everyones faces.

Continuing the tradition of adorability is The Flintsone Kids, which continues the time honored tradition of taking characters we know and love, reducing them to children and eliminating all of the charm that made the characters so great in the first place. The Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley is stylistically quite interesting, but ultimately not very funny. The final cartoon included on this collection is The Kwicky Koala Show, a variety show that feels like a throwback to the classic Hanna Barbera or Loony Tunes cartoons of the past and features a huge cast of characters headlined by Kwicky Koala himself. Kwicky is basically a rehash of Droopy, only he’s fast moving rather than slow. He’s also pretty darn funny.

As a final treat, there is a brief documentary about Thundarr the Barbarian which gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show as well as discussing its influences and the impact it left behind. Comic book and animation legends such as Alex Toth and Jack Kirby worked on the show and Ruby-Spears aimed at an older crowd, featuring complex characters and storylines – no doubt the reason why the show is still so revered today.

Long story short: Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980’s has a little something for everybody and should please any animation aficionado who grew up in that era. If you fall into that category, it’s a must have for your collection.

Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures - DVD Review

Everyone’s favorite Muppet duo partner up once again for a series of all-new adventures this spring as Warner Home Video and Sesame Workshop bring us "Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures". No longer confined to their bedroom and finally gaining bodies that exist below the waist, Bert and Ernie take preschoolers on fantastic journeys to the Wild West, the Arctic circle, and outer space. They even travel through time and hang out with some cavemen! It’s all in the name of good fun "and" a good education, as there is a lesson to be learned in each adventure. There’s no puppetry (or would that be Muppetry?) involved here; in " Great Adventures", the beloved roommates appear as claymation creations, which allows them to take part in some of the most outlandish sojourns one could imagine.

Personally, I’m a big fan of this series. Having grown up with "Sesame Street", I relish every opportunity to watch the show with my daughter and pass on not only my love of the characters, but the joy of learning. Like many parents, I’m not always big on Elmo or the new breed of "Sesame Street" regulars, so I think it’s awesome to see my old favorites getting some air time. Some might argue with the idea of using claymation rather than the old-fashioned puppet-on-a-stick method, but " Great Adventures" definitely stays true to the spirit of "Sesame Street" and continues the rich tradition that has been building for 40 years. The characters are true to their live-action counterparts, with Bert always playing it safe and fearing anything that might take him outside his safety zone while Ernie acts as the comedic foil, always pushing Bert to try new experiences and new challenges. Sure, they might be in outer space encountering a race of aliens who bear a suspicious resemblance to Bert’s pointy head, but a rubber duckie is the same on any planet, dig? So you can rest assured that the Bert and Ernie depicted on this DVD are the very same ones you grew up with, even with they’re made of clay instead of foam and felt.

The DVD runs about 50 minutes and features 11 short episodes, so you don’t have to worry about taxing your child’s attention span or becoming bored with it midway through. They’re just long enough to tell a complete story and just short enough to get it over with before you get tired of watching it. But the beauty is that you won’t get sick of it! This show is legitimately entertaining, albeit aimed at a much, much younger audience than most of the television programs you’re probably watching. Then again, if you’ve got kids who are into "Sesame Street", you’re probably not watching much television anyway, are you? If you’re familiar with "Sesame Street" and you’ve seen this segment, then you know what I’m talking about when I tell you that it has one of the catchiest theme songs ever and you’ll be humming it long after you’ve turned the DVD off.

So you know it’s fun, but at this point, you’re probably wondering about the educational value. It’s "Sesame Street" – do you really need to ask? " Great Adventures" tends to shy away from recognizing the alphabet and learning to count and instead puts the focus on problem-solving abilities and social skills. A great majority of the episodes deal with the life lessons that Bert and Ernie teach each other as well as showcasing values such as loyalty, respect, and tolerance. Like I said, it’s "Sesame Street". You know what to expect by now and they don’t disappoint.

At nearly an hour in length and retailing for $12.99, "Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures" is money well spent. It’s a treat for the whole family, whether you’re spending it inside on a rainy day or on a long car ride to grandma’s place. Educational, fun and (most importantly for parents) not annoying. You can’t go wrong with "Sesame Street"’s dynamic duo.

Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's volume 2

Warner Brothers bring us another volume of animated classics from the golden age of Saturday mornings and sugary cereals, the 1960’s. Its two discs full of anthropomorphic heroes, theme songs that you just can’t get out of your head and at times, straight-up weirdness. At 299 minutes, there are enough cartoons in this collection to last several Saturdays.

Some highlights include classics like the Bugs Bunny Show, Porky Pig and the Road Runner as well as Magilla Gorilla and Touché Turtle. There are a few oddballs on here as well: Space Kidettes features a group of adorable tots living in a space capsule who constantly outwit Captain Skyhook, who is apparently a space pirate of sorts. Young Samson is reminiscent of He-Man and Captain Marvel, with a teenager and his dog transforming into a powerhouse superhero and his pet lion. And of course, there’s The Adventures of Gulliver, which comes across as the bastard offspring of Scooby Doo, the Smurfs and Johnny Quest.

Okay, here’s the skinny: If you’re a baby boomer looking to relive your youth, this is a fantastic collection. If you’re an animation aficionado looking to expand your tastes, this is an excellent sampler and an affordable way to get a brief glimpse of a lot of different cartoons. If you’ve got children and you want to shut them up without having to sit through crap like Barney or the Fresh Beat Band, this set is definitely for you. And of course, if you’re totally stoned out of your mind, you’ll like it.

If you don’t fall into any of these categories, it boils down to a whole lotta “meh”.
Sure, you’re pretty much guaranteed to laugh at least once during any given episode of any given show included on this disc, but you’re also guaranteed to roll your eyes a lot when faced with the extraordinary amount of formulaic concepts. Almost every cartoon boils down to one of three concepts: a witless hero and his possibly retarded sidekick, a witless hero and his vastly more intelligent sidekick, or a cool-as-hell hero and his merry band of idiots. The second disc is practically unnecessary, as it just rehashes a bunch of the same cartoons on the first disc.
Yes, there are a handful of great cartoons on here like a couple shorts featuring Sylvester and Tweety, a little bit of Road Runner and a lone episode of Tom and Jerry; but if you’re a fan of these characters, chances are you’ve probably bought collections of their work and you don’t need this set. There’s weird stuff like the aforementioned Gulliver, but it’s really only funny once.

All-in-all, I found myself none too impressed, but it’s more because of the content than the concept. As someone who loved making mix tapes for my friends (and someone who still enjoys making mix discs in the 21st century), I am a HUGE fan of the idea of tossing a bunch of cartoons from a particular era on a couple of discs with no rhyme or reason. As it turns out, I just don’t like cartoons from the 1960’s. However, if you do enjoy this era of animation, you’ll probably dig this set.

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Batman: The Brave & The Bold volume 2 - DVD Review

The Caped Crusader is back in another collection of animated outings. Eschewing the grim n’ gritty Batman of recent years, The Brave and the Bold embraces an incarnation of the Dark Knight that most fans and writers choose to forget. Harkening back to the 1950’s era of a smiling Batman who traveled time and was just as likely to fight dinosaurs and ghosts as he was mobsters, this popular series has made Batman fun again and introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.

Not only does Batman: The Brave and the Bold introduce Batman to a legion of new fans, it also introduces a bevy of other characters from DC Comics. That’s how the series works: in every episode, Batman teams with another costumed crimefighter in order to solve whatever crime is at hand. We not only get a whole bunch of cool heroes, we also get a whole bunch of different interpretations of Batman. This DVD collection finds Batman acting as a mentor to the teenage Blue Beetle, helping the young hero find his way. We see the Caped Crusader give guidance and advice to Wildcat, an aging hero looking for a new path. And of course, there’s Batman’s ever-present rivalry with Green Arrow. The two act almost like sparring brothers: constantly trying to one-up each other.

In addition to the more mainstream heroes presented on this show, each episode opens with a brief segment featuring more obscure characters like B’wana Beast, Kamandi or Guy Gardener who also threaten to steal the show from our hero. And it’s all done with a combination of dry wit and psychedelic style that will please children and old-school comic book fans alike. The great thing about Batman: The Brave and the Bold is that despite its cartoony animation style and sense of humor, it also features some really good scripts. While the style might be reminiscent of a more simplistic era in sequential art, it’s got stories and dialogue that’s written well enough for any adult to appreciate.

But it’s not for everyone. Fans who can’t handle an all-ages version of Batman will want to stay away. Comic book readers who can’t handle the fact that their favorite characters might also appeal to children will want to steer clear of this show and anyone who takes themselves too seriously will probably be happier watching old episodes of Batman: the Animated Series. But if you’re a parent who wants to introduce their kids to their favorite costumed crimefighter or if you’re just a superhero fan who appreciates a good time, then this is the show for you.
The four episodes contained on this DVD collection are:


Day of the Dark Knight, a medieval tale featuring Green Arrow, the Demon and Merlin the Magician.
Enter the Outsiders, in which Batman shows an old dog new tricks and guides a team of teenage metahumans that sometimes raging against the machine is counterproductive.
Dawn of the Dead Man, an episode in which Batman almost meets his maker and teaches Deadman that he can still have a purpose without having a pulse.
Fall of the Blue Beetle, which delves into the history of the men who have been known by the name of Blue Beetle and shows a young man doing his best to live up to a legacy of greatness.

All-in-all, it’s a collection worthy of a special place on the DVD shelf of superhero fans of any age.

Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases volume 3

Since 1940, children have thrilled to the (literal) cat n’ mouse games of the masters of mayhem known as Tom and Jerry. In 2009, children and animation fans continue to enjoy their mischievous antics as countless collections of shorts are compiled, released and re-released on DVD. Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases volume 3 continues the proud tradition of cherry picking a few shorts from here and a few more from there and slapping them all together for your enjoyment.

There are 14 animated shorts in this collection, including the Academy Award-winning Two Mouseketeers and its Oscar-nominated follow up, Touché, Pussy Cat! They aren’t presented in any sort of historical context or chronological order. The transfers look good, but don’t really appear to be restored, retouched or anything like that; unless you count the fact that they appear to be at least somewhat edited. I know there were plenty of racist jokes in those old cartoons that had to be edited out of this collection. So if you’re a collector who wants that stuff preserved for posterity, this disc isn’t for you. If you’re a parent who just wants to show their kid some good old fashioned violence and not have to worry about a bunch of negative stereotypes, you’re cool.

It’s a pretty bare bones package. Animation historians or the sort that demands their cartoon collections archived with in-depth booklets detailing the behind-the-scenes information of the creation of these animated classics will likely be disappointed. If you crave extras, interviews, sketches and gossip, this collection will leave you hanging. But if you just want some good cartoons, you’re in luck because these ones are awesome.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the duration of your entire lifetime, I don’t need to tell you how fantastically funny these cartoons are. Here’s the deal: Tom is a cat who is easily annoyed. Jerry is a troublemaking little mouse. They fight. And fight. And fight and fight and fight. There’s a lot of property damage, a few tails slammed in waffle irons and some of the most outrageous violence you’ve ever seen in animation. There are a bevy of Rube Goldberg devices intended for mouse catching, a touch of romance and even a little feline rivalry. In short: it’s loads of fun and will leave you in stitches.

As previously stated, this is not really a compilation for collectors; it’s for parents who want to shut their kids up on road trips. And at the low price of $15 for 101 minutes of entertainment, they can’t be beat. If you just want a good time with a little over an hour and a half of animated excitement, then you can do a whole lot worse than the third volume of Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases.

Cartoons include:
Cat NappingThe Flying CatThe Two MouseketeersSmitten KittenBaby ButchDesigns on JerryPecos PestTouché, Pussy Cat!The Flying SorceressBlue Cat BluesThe Night Before ChristmasThe Bowling Alley-CatFine Feathered FriendPuttin’ on the Dog

Babylon A.D. - DVD Review

Babylon A.D., based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec, is a futuristic tale of politics, religion and cybernetic enhancement. Let me rephrase that; Babylon A.D. gave me the impression that it was supposed to be a futuristic tale of politics, religion and cybernetic enhancement. Really, it’s just a derivative wanna-be Blade Runner with some pretty sweet special effects. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The story tells the tale of Toorop, an American mercenary living in Russia a few years in the future. He accepts a contract from a mobster to transport a teenage girl named Aurora to New York. It’s a dangerous mission, as Russia has basically become a gigantic war-torn slum. The two are accompanied by a nun who has basically raised Aurora since birth.

This is the first time Aurora has been among the human element, and the stress wears on her. She seems to personally experience the anger, frustration and pain of each individual she encounters along the way. She exhibits precognitive abilities and knows how to operate a Soviet-era submarine. It is eventually revealed that she could speak 19 languages at the age of two and has always possessed an uncanny knowledge of things she had never been exposed to. Toorop realizes there’s more to this girl than meets the eye and remains wary of her, but eventually they save each others lives and earn each others trust.

And of course, there’s more, but I won’t spoil it for you in case you want to see the movie. Here’s the deal with this film: it’s not bad, but I get the distinct impression that there’s supposed to be a bit more to it than what I saw. I know the director, Mathieu Kassovitz, expressed a great deal of displeasure with 20th Century Fox and the producers of this film, and it isn’t hard to figure out why. I got the idea that had the movie been about a half an hour longer and had certain elements of the plot been a bit more fleshed out, it could’ve been a really good movie. It’s got a lot really intriguing ideas, and it seems like there’s a lot bubbling under the surface that isn’t really allowed to get free. It’s almost as though Babylon A.D. wants to be a more meaningful movie, but it was unfortunately kept on a short leash and ended up being just another action flick.

But as far as action flicks go, it’s pretty cool. Visually, it’s a great movie: there’s a sense of realness to the cities and the costumes. Everything looks very gritty, dirty and used. The special effects are impressive and the action sequences are quite exciting as well. And I’m shocked to admit that I didn’t even dislike Vin Diesel in this movie! It’s really a shame that the movie seems to have a split-personality. If it had simply been a mindless action movie, it might’ve been a lot of fun. If it had been a more highbrow sci-fi adventure, it might’ve broken some interesting new ground. As it is, it’s somewhere in the middle and it doesn’t end up being very effective at all. I don’t know if the director or the studio is to blame, but something got lost along the way, and it’s really too bad.

The DVD features the usual assortment of behind-the-scenes extras as well as a really interesting animated prequel that lays a bit of groundwork for the movie. It’s worth watching.

Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia - DVD Review

Okay, I’ll be perfectly honest with you. The only reason I even watched this movie was because it starred Ken Anderson, better known as Mr. Kennedy of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. I hadn’t seen the first two films in the Behind Enemy Lines series and really had no desire to. I didn’t have any desire to watch this movie either, but I’m a big fan of professional wrestling and I figured “Why not?” How bad could it be? I assumed that a worst-case scenario would be me having a good laugh over a bad movie, and the joy of watching stuff blow up. It’s always fun to watch stuff blow up.

I had no idea what I was in for. Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia is really bad. I mean, really bad. I guess I should’ve known: it’s a direct-to-DVD film co-produced by WWE Studios. I’d seen the previous two films produced by WWE Studios (See No Evil and The Condemned), and while they certainly weren’t going to take home any awards, they were entertaining, if mindless, movies. Heck, I actually liked The Condemned! But the third installment in the Behind Enemy Lines franchise is no Condemned. It’s actually somewhere between Iron Eagle IV and Delta Force 3.

The plot concerns a bunch of Navy SEALS on a top-secret mission in Colombia to observe a meeting between government officials and insurgent guerillas. But when the meeting is attacked and a teammate is taken hostage, the SEALS are framed for the crime and left behind by their own government. It was one of those “the government will disavow any knowledge of your existence” kind of missions. So the intrepid team of military specialists have to save their friend, clear their name and fight their way out of hostile territory, and they have to do it quickly, before the war spills onto U.S. soil. Sounds like kind of an interesting plot on paper, but clearly something was lost in the translation.

The first 30 to 40 minutes of this movie basically consists of a bunch of guys in camouflage loading and unloading gear, checking to make sure their rifles work and sending hand signals back and forth. The hand signals and equipment were all authentic. I know this because I watched the plethora of extras on the DVD, the majority of which were vastly more entertaining than the movie itself. It’s the standard extras package: interviews with cast members about the training they went through, a little vignette featuring the demolitions expert and the stunt coordinator, a gag reel and commentary. Definitely worth watching if you buy this movie, are given this movie, or find this movie in the trash.

The second half of the movie is a series of action sequences, corny jokes and laughable dialogue that you’ve seen a million times before in a million other movies, only they were done in a far more interesting fashion in those movies. Even the explosions in this movie look cliché and are even somewhat boring. I found myself falling asleep a lot, or trying to fall asleep. That hasn’t happened since I saw Silent Hill at the dollar theater. I wanted my money back then, and I want my 2 hours back that I spent watching this movie. Or maybe it was only an hour and a half, I can’t remember. It felt like the better part of an afternoon. I actually began to wonder if I was trapped behind enemy lines and this was part of some sort of insidious torture that I was being put through. Thankfully, I made it out alive, thought I’ll probably never be the same again.

In my mind, there’s nothing to really save this flick, but I’m sure it will appeal to some folks. It’s a very bland and generic by-the-numbers military action flick and some people like that. More power to them: I hope they have a good time with this one. God knows I didn’t. For the rest of you, I would only recommend Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia if you are laid up in bed with some sort of illness and there’s absolutely nothing else to watch.