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Category:    Home > Reviews > Animation > Fantasy > Adventure > CGI > Monsters > Action > Comedy > TV > Animals > Vable TV > How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K (2018/DreamWorks/Universal 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray + Blu-ray/DVD Sets)/The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Almost Complete Collection (Blu-ray Set) + Bes

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K (2018/DreamWorks/Universal 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray + Blu-ray/DVD Sets)/The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Almost Complete Collection (Blu-ray Set) + Best Of/Lost Episodes (DVD Set/Both 1972 - 1973/Warner)/Paw Patrol: Jungle Rescues (2014, 17, 18/Nickelodeon DVD)



4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B- C/B/C+/C+ Sound: B+ B+ C+/C+/C+/C+ Extras: C+/C+/C-/D/D Main Programs: C+/B/C+/C+



Here's a new group of children's releases, but some are for all ages...



Though it is a belated third feature film, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2018) was still enough of a hit that (combined with hit TV show spin-offs) proves that this (give or take Shrek) is DreamWorks most successful franchise and though nothing stunning or particularly a standout, this is a good installment with some energy as Hiccup and Toothless find themselves in more classic (and classical) fantasy adventures, battles and of the comical messes that made the first film a hit to begin with.


However, unless you've seen previous releases or can pick up its fantasy world quickly, one can get quickly lost in the abundant, layered world, even if the actual storyline(s) are on the simple side. The voice actors are not bad and use of color is at least impressive in the 4K version. As a non-fan, I can actually see the appeal as the logic is consistent with the world built, but will only appeal to fans who want to be lost in that construct. Otherwise, it is for fans only.


Mostly from the press releases, here are the many extras you get with this set...


Digital Copy

Alternate Opening with Intro by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois

DreamWorks Shorts:

Bilby - Directed by Liron Topaz, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans; produced by Jeff Hermann and Kelly Cooney Cilella. Threatened daily by the deadly residents and harsh environment of Australia's Outback, a lonesome Bilby finds himself an unwitting protector, and unexpected friend, to a helpless (and quite adorable) baby bird.

Bird Karma - Directed by William Salazar and produced by Jeff Hermann, the beautifully artistic 2D short film Bird Karma tells a delightfully lyrical and fully unexpected tale of a long-legged bird's journey of blissful joy, inescapable greed and the accidental discovery of the consequences when too much is not enough.

Deleted Scenes with Intros by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois

How to Voice Your Viking - Go behind the scenes with the cast as they record the Viking voices of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD.

Creating an Epic Dragon Tale - Discover what filmmakers learned while crafting this epic dragon trilogy.

How I Learned from Dragons - The diverse cast of characters reveal why they think the dragon trilogy is so special.

Brave Wilderness Presents: Nature + Dragons = Awesome - Join Coyote Peterson, host of Brave Wilderness, as he explores what it takes to make the dragon's characters come to life.

The Dragon Sheep Chronicles - Protecting sheep from the dragons of Berk is no easy task but Hiccup has a plan.

A Deck of Dragons - Observe four new dragons as Fishlegs unveils his original deck of dragon trading cards.

Growing Up with Dragons - After years of being with these characters, hear the lasting effects of the dragon trilogy from the filmmaker's perspective.

The Evolving Character Design of Dragons - Cast and crew reveal what it was like to evolve not only the characters of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD, but themselves as well.

Drawing Dragons - Get a glimpse of what goes in to designing a DreamWorks dragon.

Epic Villain - A different kind of villain, Grimmel brings great challenges to the village of Berk. Go behind the scenes as filmmakers breakdown this epic character.

Astrid's Whole Dragon Trilogy in 60 Seconds - Hold on tight as Astrid sums up the whole dragon trilogy in a legendary 60 seconds.

Welcome to New Berk - With Hiccup as your guide, get a firsthand look at the updated Viking village of New Berk.

and a Feature-Length Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Dean DeBlois, Producer Bradford Lewis and Head of Character Animation Simon Otto


For more on the spinoff hit TV series, try this link...


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12293/Dragons:+Riders+of+Berk,+Part+1+&+2+(Fox/Dr



After the original Scooby-Doo became one of the biggest hits on Saturday Morning TV, Hanna-Barbera had created another classic and everybody was watching, along with Superfriends!, Hong Kong Phooey and Banana Splits, the studio was set well into the next decades. The industry took notice and the next series remains one of the best, with some of the biggest stars of the time showing up as guest stars in each episode, whether they were actual entertainers, legendary pop culture characters or other great characters from Hanna Barbera.


These new hour-long shows, an unusual length even at this time let alone then, was called The New Scooby-Doo Movies. More remarkable, with an episode or two not available ay this time, is a new Blu-ray set dubbed The Almost Complete Collection plus a shorter 2-DVD set calling itself The Best Of/Lost Episodes set despite all 8 shows being on the Blu-ray. It all started as a pop culture event when the Scooby-Doo regulars met Batman & Robin, all while the hit show was suddenly hot in syndication and was about to get more popular. Shown very early in the morning, it set ratings records that shocked the industry and this series was the result.


Playing throughout the 1972 - 1973 Season, the studio had another huge hit on their hands and the star power is as fun as the shows, even if they get a little corny at times. Some of the special guests turned up twice and they have aged very well despite the canned laugh track and limited animation. The many guests (skip this if you want to get the set and be surprised if you are not familiar with the show) include


  1. Ghastly Ghost Town - The Three Stooges

  2. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair - Batman and Robin

  3. The Frickert Fracas - Jonathan Winters

  4. Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner! - Don Knotts

  5. A Good Medium is Rare - Phyllis Diller

  1. Sandy Duncan's Jekyll And Hyde - Sandy Duncan

  2. The Secret of Shark Island - Sonny and Cher

  3. The Spooky Fog - Don Knotts

  4. Scooby-Doo Meets Laurel & Hardy - Laurel & Hardy

  5. The Ghost of the Red Barron - The Three Stooges

  6. The Ghostly Creep From the Deep - The Three Stooges

  7. The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall - Davy Jones

  8. The Phantom of the Country Music Hall - Jerry Reed

  9. The Caped Crusaders - Batman and Robin

  10. The Loch Ness Mess - Harlem Globetrotters

  11. The Mystery of the Haunted Island - Harlem Globetrotters

  12. The Haunted Showboat - Josie and the Pussycats

  13. Scooby-Doo Meets Jeannie (Mystery in Persia) - Jeannie (of I Dream of Jeannie) & Babu

  14. The Spirited Spooked Sport Show - Tim Conway

  15. The Exterminator - Don Adams

  16. Weird Winds of Winona - Speed Buggy

  17. The Haunted Candy Factory - Cass Elliot

  18. Scooby-Doo Meets Dick Van Dyke - Dick Van Dyke


The DVD features episodes 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 17, 18 and 19. The show was rerun on occasion, but not enough and sort of got lost in the shuffle of so many later Scooby series, direct-to-video releases and those bad live-action feature films. Still, it showed TV animation had really arrived and the guests turned out to be even bigger icons now than at the time. Tim Conway just passed away as these sets were being readied.


As more Scooby shows were made, it became more comedy and less atmosphere or charm, but it was nice while it lasted for classic fans who liked the early mix of both still evident here, having to be good because the characters were still new and there was no telling how they would endure. The studio was still in a creative peak, which helps. Fun and energy was still the order of the day, not formula, which is why (especially on Blu-ray), this is the series to revisit.


Extras are only on the Blu-ray set and include The Hanna Barbera Kennel Club Roasts Scooby-Doo, Embarrassing Stories of How Scooby-Doo Mumbled & Clowned His Way to Animation Stardom, Uptown with Scooby-Doo & The Harlem Globetrotters, The Harlem Globetrotters Show Scooby-Doo some ''New Tricks'', Girls Rock! and Spotlight on Daphne & Velma.



Finally we have the latest basic Nickelodeon DVD episodes compilation, more of the same with Paw Patrol: Jungle Rescues (2014, 17, 18) with seven similar episodes taking place in the same imagined title locale running over 90 minutes and keeping fans happy. This includes repeating credits a bit, but no extras. Again, its fine for what it is and looks and sounds as good as the many similar releases on DVD, but still no Blu-ray release, seasons or anything else special outside of all this. That's fine for fans, but this is no more memorable than some of the others, so compare to other releases reviewed elsewhere on this site for reference.



Now for playback quality. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Dragon is easily the best performer here, even showing color and detail not easy to see on the softer-than-expected 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray edition and the really soft playback on the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 DVD that is very hard to watch.


In all that the 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on Scooby can show the age of the animation and sometimes materials used, but this is far superior anything we've seen of this show before, much more defined and color rich than the DVD version that looks pale at times by comparison, has some great color and is the second-best performer on the list next to the 4K release!


The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Paw Patrol is the best of the DVDs here, but not by too much and is in line with the other DVDs we've covered, as well as the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 just being active enough to be a little better than simple stereo.


As for sound, theDolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for older systems) lossless sound mixes on both the 4K and Blu-ray versions of Dragon are easily the sonic champs on the list, with decent soundstages and good performance, though nothing that stunned me. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on its DVD version suffers by comparison.


Though I hoped the Scooby Blu-ray would have some lossless mono sound of some kind, the Blu-ray and DVD sets both only offer lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono and that may sound just good enough, I think lossless on the Blu-ray would have made the jokes funnier and more palpable.



- Nicholas Sheffo


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