Foster's
Home for Imaginary Friends: Season 3
(2006/Warner Archive DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: D Episodes: B+
It
has been a long, long 7 and a half years since we reviewed the
insanely creative
Foster's
Home for Imaginary Friends: Season One;
review seen below.
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5315/Foster%E2%80%99s+Home+for+Imaginary+F
We
did not review Season
Two,
which is sadly out of print and on the pricier side to obtain; mostly
due to the HUGE cult following behind this imaginative series.
Foster's
Home for Imaginary Friends first
premiered on Cartoon Network in 2004 and ran for 6 seasons before its
cancelation in 2009. For those counting that is 79 hilarious
episodes, filled to the brim with off the wall craziness and
inventive hijinks.
Season
3 is
the longest season, airing originally in July of 2005 to March 2006,
containing 14 episodes. The series again follows the tales of a
young boy names Mac as he has outgrown
his imaginary friend Bloo, a gelatinous glob of blue goo. Mac (in
Season
One)
has taken Bloo to Madame Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends to
retire, but imaginary friends don't stay at Madame Foster's forever;
instead it is more of an orphanage that houses the creatures until
they are adopted by a new child. Mac isn't quite ready to let Bloo
go, so he strikes a deal with Madame Foster that as long as he visits
Bloo once a day he can stay there without being adopted.
Whereas
the series does have elements of continuity and overarching plot
points each episode is stand alone and has the characters getting in
a host of trouble. In Season
Three, Mac,
Bloo, Mr. Herriman, Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, and even Madame Foster find
themselves mixed up in talent shows, European trips, feuds, card
games, and even a flea infestation!
Foster's
is a
series that not only has brilliant and hilarious storylines, but also
embodies some of the best animation, voice acting, and overall sense
of creativity.
The
technical features on this slim 2-disc set are admirable. The
picture is presented in a new crisp 1.37 X 1 full screen that I feel
again would have been better off in a widescreen format, but with
picture remains crisp, clean, and clear. As a refresher, Adobe Flash
is utilized to create the series and then cleaned up in Adobe
Illustrator, then compiled in Adobe After Effects. This creates a
wonderfully layered presentation that feels like paint, construction
paper, crayons, CGI, and classic hand drawn animation all mixed
together. The sound again is a nice, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo;
nothing fantastic, but gets the job done in a clean, concise manner.
One
extra is available on this set in the form of the 2005 Holiday
episode A
Lost Claus;
which is odd as an 'extra' as this was originally aired during the
Third
Season.
A
great set and series that comes highly recommend!
To
order this DVD, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
https://www.warnerarchive.com/
- Michael
P. Dougherty II
