Robot Chicken –
DC Comics Special (Warner Blu-ray) + SuperJail! – Season 3 (2009 –
2010/Adult Swim/Warner DVD)
Picture: B Sound: B Extras: B Episodes: B/B+
Robot Chicken has poked fun at
superheroes since its creation, so it is only appropriate that they created a
whole special centering on the DC Universe.
After the success of the Robot
Chicken: Star Wars Special their next venture was a 23 minute look into the
day to day activities of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern,
Aquaman, The Flash, and many other super beings from the world of DC.
I am a big fan of DC as well as Robot
Chicken so I knew this special was a must see. This is the same special that aired on
Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim some months back, but is now available on
Blu-ray. None of the content has
changed, but is merely a means to watch the hilarity again and again. Like most Robot Chicken episodes this special is hit or miss; there are some
great jokes/cutaways, then there are those that are horrible flops. Overall, the special was great.
As in the past, Robot Chicken continues
to utilize stop-motion animation and a variety of altered action
figures/toys/custom models to create their work. In the case of DC Comics Special the creators made use of many classic Mego Action
Figures, which was fun to see. As
previously mentioned not every joke is a hit (some that really should have been
on the cutting room floor), but for DC fans this is a hilarious manner in which
to poke fun at our infallible heroes.
SuperJail! Returns for a Third Season and is as great as
ever. The animation continues to retain
its rough, highly detailed, psychedelic feel and the stories are as violent as
ever. On some level the quality of animation
has improved over the past three seasons, but as the style is intentionally
dilapidated not much has changed.
What also has changed is the gruesomely amazing content! The stories are fasted paced and trippy;
having plenty of violence along the way.
This is by no means a children’s series as the content (often violent
and sexually explicit) caters to a more open minded and mature audience. There are 10 episodes this season and in all
honesty is one of the funniest most creative animated series to ever appear on
television.
The ten episodes are as follows:
1. Stingstress
2. Super Fail!
3. Uh-Oh Magic
4. Sticky Discharge
5. Special Needs
6. Troubles with
Triples
7. Night Shift
8. Oedipusmess
9. Planet Radio
10. Burn Stoolie Burn
Special features for SuperJail!
Include:
·
Introstring Featurette
·
Animatics
·
Rough Cuts
The picture on SuperJail! again
is presented in a simple standard definition that highlights the crude
animation nicely as the image is crisp, clean and very bright. The color spectrum is wide as the primary
colors pop from scene to scene with reds, greens and blues light up the
screen. The sound has been upgraded from
its original Stereo track to a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, which is very nice
as the series is lively and deserves a more dynamic track. It isn’t perfect but definitely an upgrade.
Robot Chicken: DC
Special is presented in a High Definition 1.78 X 1 widescreen (not the stated
2.4 X 1 on the back cover) that has wonderful colors, good black levels, and
great detail. You can see every nook and
cranny of the superhero toys and is exemplary to all of the work that goes into
bringing the series to life. The sound
is a Dolby 5.1 True HD lossless mix that comes blasting from the front with
only a minimal amount of full speaker range utilized; though the dialogue was
crisp, clean, and clear.
The extras for Robot Chicken include:
·
5.2 Questions
·
Cut Sketches
·
Outtakes
·
DC Entertainment Tour @ DC offices
·
Writers’ Commentary
·
Actors’ Commentary
·
Chicken Nuggest – Commentary by Seth Green and Geoff Johns
·
RCDC’s Aquaman Origin Story – a look at why there was such
a focus on Aquaman
·
The Making of the RCDC Special
·
Stoopid Alter Egos
- Michael P. Dougherty II