Reviews Archive for Randall Cyrenne

The New Adventures Of Batman: DC Classics

Adam West and Burt Ward reprise the roles that made them Sixties icons in this 1977 Saturday morning cartoon about Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Duo is joined by Batgirl and Bat-Mite in this decidedly kid-friendly version.

Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest For Pappy

This computer-animated TV special tries hard but falls short of the mark, as seen in this unfortunately pan & scan DVD.

Popeye 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

If you like your Popeye having two eyes, lousy animation, and poorly-constructed stories, then this is the set for you! This three-disc set includes a large sampling of the King Features shorts produced for television in 1960-1961.

The Best Of Bravestarr

Native American mysticism, Western themes, and science fiction come together in this unusual series that blends several genres with standard cartoon stories.

Jason Of Star Command: The Complete Series

Saturday mornings in the 1970s didn’t just mean cartoons, as this Star Wars-inspired live action Filmation show proves. And yes, there is some stop-motion animation here too!

The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh: The Friendship Edition

Three classic, award-winning featurettes combine into one special film featuring the beloved characters of A.A. Milne.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home: The Complete First Season

Name the prime-time animated sitcom that arrived in-between The Flintstones and The Simpsons. Yep, it’s this show, one of the most topical and witty shows Hanna-Barbera ever produced.

Defenders Of The Earth: The Complete Series, Volume Two

The balance of episodes of this unique 1980s show features more zany team-up action with Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician. Not a good show, really, but BCI still does their usual standout job.

Hero High: The Complete Series

This super teen comedy is great for nostalgia, but those with no previous love may find this set tough going. It has good extras, though, including live action wraparounds.

Dinosaurs: The Complete Third And Fourth Seasons

The satire still plays well after all these years. For a show about animatronic dinosaurs, it manages to say a lot about our society today.

The Venture Bros.: Season Two

Based on how the last season ended, this one shouldn’t have happened, but we’re glad it did. Season Two of one of television’s most unique cartoons is a blast for adult viewers.

Dinosaurs: The Complete First And Second Seasons

This one-of-a-kind Henson sitcom features fantastically funny scripts and performances.

Batman Beyond: Season Three

It rarely got the fan love of the other DC Comics shows, but this final set demonstrates that Batman Beyond was capable of some pretty strong stories.

Justice League Unlimited: Season Two

The League gets a delightful send-off with a collection of episodes that explores all aspects of the DC Comics universe.

The Venture Bros.: Season One

Twin sons of a failed child genius engage in numerous adventures throughout the world, battling colorful foes with enough pop culture references to choke a bull moose.

The Legend Of Prince Valiant: Complete Series, Vol. Two

Prince Valiant is already a knight in this second volume, but his friends continue their quest to join him at the Round Table. The serial storytelling gets even more involving with the addition of romance and higher stakes for Camelot.

Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo

The Titans star in their first movie, which comes off as a standard episode that falls perhaps just below the middle in episode rankings. The season finales were better.

The Last Unicorn: 25th Anniversary Edition

The classic novel struggles a bit to come to life due to the low budget animation, but the story by Peter S. Beagle is still a winner.

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Mike Mignola’s wild creation gets a faithful TV pilot, though the execution could have been stronger.

Defenders Of The Earth: The Complete Series, Volume One

Three comic strip icons unite with their offspring to fight Ming The Merciless. It’s cheesy, but it’s fun!

The Invincible Iron Man

The third movie in the Marvel Comics/Lionsgate deal lies in-between the two Avengers films in terms of quality. Hard-nosed comic book continuity buffs may not appreciate the new take on their hero, but the East-meets-West storyline does offer some neat contrasts.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Better than you remembered, this animated version serves rather nicely as the fourth year of the original crew’s five-year mission to boldy go where no man has gone before.

A Scanner Darkly

Paranoia, surveillance, and the role of big business and government in our lives is examined as Philip K. Dick’s novel comes to rotoscoped life in this intriguing and visually stunning adaptation.

Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents The Hardy Boys

This true piece of Americana still holds up today as fine family viewing.

The Dick Tracy Show: The Complete Animated Crime Series

Dick Tracy is relegated to a supporting player in this early 1960’s kiddie show. Despite the presence of many of Dick’s famous rogues, the cartoon lacks any of the intensity or interest of the comic strip.

The Fox And The Hound 2

The “mid-quel” follow-up to the original bypasses the melancholy feelings of the first to present a fun if quiet adventure whose greatest attribute is its country soundtrack.

The Gremlins

Walt Disney and Roald Dahl’s wartime collaboration never made it to celluloid, but this deluxe reprint is a great glimpse at what might have been…

Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas

The Looney Tunes gang is all here to tell their own version of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Gee, that’s never been told in animation before!

DuckTales: Volume 2

The second helping of the TV classic is even better than the first, though the DVD presentation is about on par.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey Saves Santa

Mickey and the gang help find Santa, plus two more episodes from the Disney Channel preschooler show.