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Regular Show: The Movie
R1 - America - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (26th November 2015). |
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The Film
 As a man of thirty-four with no children, I have virtually no interest in watching shows catering to today’s youth. Even when friends of mine, who are also parents, tell me how they’re “made for guys our age with kids” and exuberantly sell me on checking out an episode, I still have no interest. And to be very honest, I had that same lack of interest when a copy of “Regular Show: The Movie” (2015) was delivered to my doorstep. I know this is generalizing, but I see a sea of shows like “Regular Show” (2009-present), “Adventure Time” (2010-present), Rick and Morty (2013-present) and, to me, it all looks the same. The same style of semi-crude animation, the same weirdness, the same fetishizing over all things 80's… Again, maybe as a non-fan of this kind of stuff I’m totally wrong – which is very likely – but unless I pop out a kid the chances of a reevaluation of the field are slim. I will, however, concede that “Regular Show” wouldn’t be half bad to watch if I were to have a child. I’m making that assumption based on my viewing of “Regular Show: The Movie” (2015), which despite pandering to the attention-deficit crowd of millennials (or whatever the latest crop has been christened) actually features some decently sharp humor. There are myriad references to 80's films and music, all of which will go right over the head of anyone born after 1995. And unlike, say, “Family Guy” (1999-Present) this show finds appropriate times to insert their obscurities. There isn’t a pop culture reference every two seconds. Due to a high school lab experiment’s unintended consequences, Rigby (William Salyers) and Mordecai (J.G. Quintel) create a Timenado (a time tornado, duh) that threatens to destroy the universe, or at the very least their friendship. A space ship from the future crash lands in present day, carrying an unexpected passenger who conscripts both Rigby and Mordecai into an intergalactic mission to stop the evil Mr. Ross (Jason Mantzoukas) from destroying all of existence. Together, the duo must hop around through different periods in their lives to undo what has already been done. This was a pretty fun movie. I still don’t see myself ever watching the show on my own, but if I was in someone’s house and that person left me alone in a room with a television and this was left on, I wouldn’t hurriedly reach for the remote. I appreciate the classic 80's films references (you better believe “Back to the Future” (1985) is among those) and some of the soundtrack cuts took me back to a more fun time. These aren’t long, dragged out references either. The creators do a swell job of sprinkling these little homages in discreetly and quickly, with just enough time to savor before they’re over. Seth MacFarlane could learn a thing or two here. I’m going to say that if you enjoy “Regular Show” as a, er, regular show then the odds are probably pretty damn good you’re going to be on board for this movie. I don’t know if the production value has increased any for this longer feature, so there’s a high likelihood it plays like any other episode, just longer. Regardless of how it fits in with the canon, if a complete and total non-fan such as myself had a relatively fun time, actual fans should be very much into it.
Video
Presented with an anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer, the image here features vibrant colors, rich saturation, reasonably crisp line work and appreciable definition. Look, if you’re a picky technophile then all you’re going to see is a picture that would look spectacular in HD. But this is probably going to be watched by kids, and for their indiscriminate eyes this image is more than pleasing.
Audio
An English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track carries the audible goods here. Dialogue is clear & present, as well as being well balanced in the mix. The use of rear speakers is minimal, but this is a fairly active track with lots of effects during many scenes. The 80's source music and 80's influenced score both sound excellent. There is also some decent low end response to action scenes. Subtitles are available in English.
Extras
There are quite a lot of extra features here, including deleted footage, animatics, pitches, still galleries and an audio commentary. Director/voice actor J.G. Quintel and co-producer/voice actor Sean Szeles deliver an audio commentary for the feature. A number of deleted animatics (16x9) are presented, rough as they are, running for 27 minutes and 28 seconds. Similarly, plenty of movie animatics (16x9) are included, running for 28 minutes and 46 seconds. “Original Board Pitch” (4x3) featurette has the staff pitching their film ideas using storyboards as examples, running for 36 minutes and 10 seconds. The movie’s theatrical trailer (16x9) runs for 2 minutes and 2 seconds. A “Concept Art” gallery (16x9) runs for 3 minutes. A “Movie Art” gallery (16x9) runs for 4 minutes and 5 seconds.
Packaging
The single disc DVD comes housed in a white amaray keep case.
Overall
I can see the appeal of shows like this because it’s easy for parents of a certain generation to tolerate their kids’ programming. This movie was fun - maybe forgettable, but definitely better than expected.
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