We’re just about at the Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. and Canada (well, it’s actually Labour Day in Canada), and I for one am looking forward to the days off of work. Why? Well, I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of writing DVD reviews for the ol’ site. Despite posting three reviews in the past two weeks, I still have a bunch more to finish. My apologies to Ben, who promised you folks some further review goodness from me this week, but the new baby has been seriously impeding me. I’m having to handle the mid-night feedings right now, so by the time I get around to my writing time late in the evening (once everyone else is in bed), I’m already feeling a little zombie-like, making it very difficult to concentrate on writing. However, over the course of the long weekend, I’m pretty sure that you can look forward to my reviews of two certain Hanna-Barbera classics that featured design work by Alex Toth. I’ll still have more reviews to do after those, but at least I’m chipping away at the pile. This has been an unusually great summer for DVD releases of cartoons, so please bear with us while we get caught up. My only regret is that Ben is covering the Woody Woodpecker set, which means I’ll have to put that one aside while I finish my own reviews. (I’m really looking forward to digging further into those Lantz cartoons!) So many cartoons lately, but so little time…

Let’s see… What else is on my mind lately? Aside from my hungry baby? Well, between you and me, I’m really looking forward to diving into BluRay later this year. I’m sorry if you’re tired of hearing about the high definition disc wars, but some of us are pretty excited about it all. Sure, the war is bad for almost everyone, but the discs coming out look great. I’ve been a HD DVD man since last November, but I’m no slave to a single format. I went for the red-cased high def discs because of the titles available at the time, plus the cheaper (relative to BluRay) players, but always figured I’d add a BluRay player to my system when the prices became more reasonable. And, despite all the hubbub about Paramount and DreamWorks becoming HD DVD-only, BluRay still has some awesome drawing power. I remain unconvinced that high definition has anything to offer over standard def when it comes to traditionally animated films, but those upcoming Pixar releases sure look sweet. I do feel for those reluctant to jump onto the high def bandwagon, as they have to settle for slightly anemic DVDs of Cars and Ratatouille, but I’m really jazzed about the possibilities of presenting behind-the-scenes material within the context of the movie itself, which is what BluRay will offer. (HD DVD does this too, but sadly such gems as The Ant Bully did little to embrace the idea.) Being able to own Pixar movies in HD is huge for me, not to mention the upcoming BluRay releases of Surf’s Up (which will also include ChubbChubbs shorts, including the original Oscar-winning one), the partially-animated Spider-Man Trilogy, and the Spielberg classic Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Add in dual format gems such as the Kubrick films and the Harry Potter series (plus many more I’m interested in), and I’ll have to take a whole month off of work in order to enjoy everything.

But for now, I’ll keep plowing away at all the great animation DVDs that have come out lately. Yes, it’s a good life. Sorry for the fairly uneventful post, but I’ll have some great reviews up soon!

-Rand.