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X-Men: The Animated Series (TV)
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (7th October 2009). |
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The Film
 I was so pleased that after all these years this classic animated series was finally released on DVD, kudos Buena Vista for opening a slew of wonderful memories of watching this addictive series. For fans of comic books and the "X-Men" in general this show is a must. Carrying over the best story lines the comics had to offer made for an entirely memorable program. While the show had some faults, some of which meant the over-simplification of the stories, crude animation (by today's standards anyway) and a overall kitsch feel to the show, it's still entertaining and I found myself hooked as an adult looking back at a series that dominated my TV viewing so long ago. This third volume in the series follows my personal favorite story line of this series, while volume two had the Phoenix saga, volume three features the continuation of that arc with the Dark Phoenix saga. Not only is this arc one of the comics' most memorable and impressively plotted stories, it makes its transition to the screen relatively well and hits all the notes fans look for. The themes of the comic are translated perfectly here, and we get more of the "Mutant" allegory that spotlight racial issues, equality and expression. So it's not just a cartoon for kids, it has something to say as well... hidden amid the flashy colors and silly costumes. I also enjoyed this volume more than the previous mainly because in these episodes we get introduced to two of the cooler X-Men characters, Iceman and Nightcrawler, Nightcrawler specifically is one of my favorites (how could he not be after the splash that character made in "X2: X-Men United" (2003)). The teleporting ex-circus freak has a nice little arc here and makes a welcomed addition to the already impressive tam roster. There are also some stand alone episodes that spotlight some great villains including Juggernaut, who makes a welcomed return here and some more Wolverine action as well. Not all the episodes hit, some miss, and while those remain at a minimum there shouldn't be anything holding back fans from picking this up, especially if you already invested in the first and season volumes released earlier in the year. This 2-disc set includes the following episodes: - "Savage Land, Strange Heart: Part 1" - "Savage Land, Strange Heart: Part 2" - "Obsession" - "The Dark Phoenix: Part 1 - Dazzled" - "The Dark Phoenix: Part 2 - The Inner Circle" - "The Dark Phoenix: Part 3 - The Dark Phoenix" - "The Dark Phoenix: Part 4 - The Fate of the Phoenix" - "Cold Comfort" - "Orphan's End" - "The Juggernaut Returns" - "Nightcrawler" - "Weapon X, Lies and Video Tape" - "One Man's Worth: Part 1" - "One Man's Worth: Part 2" - "Courage"
Video
Presented in the original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 full screen. Much like the previous two release, the show looks very much like it was produced in the 90's. The transfers on these episodes unfortunately suffer from some dirt and specks although not as frequent and certainly not too distracting but they are noticeable. The animation features some blurry lines, but overall the colors are pretty solid, blacks are bold and the image is bright and vibrant.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. These are likely to be the show's original broadcast audio, the mix is pretty good considering we're talking about an early 90's animated series. Much like the previous releases the dialogue is solid, action scenes and the music are quite loud and prominent. However, the track lacks depth and the appropriate range to go from ambiance (of which there is little to none) to the action scenes. It's a typical 2.0 stereo and seems to do the trick. There are optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
None, nada, zilch, zero, nothing at all save for a bunch of bonus trailers... this is very sad, it would have been nice to include some commentaries from the creators or voice actors especially since this series has been a long time coming, but alas we have nothing. DISC ONE: Only a collection of bonus trailers are featured for: - "Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season" which runs for 1 minute 45 seconds. - "G-Force" which runs for 1 minute 36 seconds. - "Disney Blu-ray" spot which runs for 1 minute 14 seconds. - "Disney XD" spot which runs for 32 seconds. - "Up" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds. DISC TWO: There are no extras on this disc.
Packaging
Packaged in a 2-disc amaray case housed in an embossed cardboard slip-case (strange they decided on this considering the previous two volumes did not include a slip-case).
Overall
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