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Category:    Home > Reviews > Animation > Superhero > Action > Mystery > Comedy > Musical > Animals > Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm 4K (1993/DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Gay Purr-ee (1962/UPA/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 6 (2013 - 2022/Adult Swim/W

Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm 4K (1993/DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Gay Purr-ee (1962/UPA/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 6 (2013 - 2022/Adult Swim/Warner Blu-ray)/Scooby-Doo! And Krypto Too! (2023/Warner DVD)



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




PLEASE NOTE: The Gay Purr-ee Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.



Now for some animated releases, mostly upgrades and a new title for good measure...



Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm 4K (1993) is the animated feature film spinoff of Batman: the Animated Series (reviewed in its elaborate DVD set elsewhere on this site; a Blu-ray set has been issued since, but no 4K set yet) that essentially is a more violent version of the series with a PG rating as the Caped Crusader battles a new title villain and still has to take on The Joker. This is the Theatrical Version (a longer, more violent version apparently exists) that is still as brutal as any DC animated release thirty years later.


It has its moments, but some segments do not work as well and per the issued with the hit series, the animation quality varies because they used several animation houses and the one used here is not the best, but one of the better ones. Still, we never saw anything like this again and will always have a special place for fans in Batman and superhero history.


The only extras are Digital Copy and featurette Kevin Conroy: I Am The Knight, here in time as we just lost the great voice actor.



As I noted upon its DVD release years ago, Abe Levitow's Gay Purr-ee (1962) was a one-time collaboration between the innovative UPA Studios (Mr. Magoo) and Warner Animation to make an animated feature film for theaters. Concerning a lonely country cat named Mewsette, voiced by none other than Judy Garland. This was enough for her old ''Over the Rainbow'' composer Harold Arlen and lyricist by E.Y. Harburg to create the songs for the entire film. Written by Dorothy & Chuck Jones, Chuck Jones' style is here and trusted in the hands of friend/director Levitow.


Mewsette makes it to Paris, but a mysterious male cat (Paul Frees) and his odd female friend (Hermione Gingold) are up to exploiting her and turning her into a mail order bride-cat to be shipped to Pittsburgh! Fortunately, old two cat friends (Robert Goulet and Red Buttons) have followed her.


The film is a mixed bag because it has its child-animation that looks like Jones' style, but also Disney a bit, then you have these remarkable, bolder animation moments that are the UPA style that push the color and artform. Garland is in great vocal form as well and gets the best songs with ''Roses Red, Violets Blue'', ''Take My Hand, Paree'' and ''Paris Is A Lonely Town''. The supporting voice cast is just fine, but obviously with Garland's loss way too early, she becomes the focus in all kinds of ways unimagined when the film was first released. I'm glad Warner Archive reissued this on DVD [and have now added Blu-ray] because there is more than enough for rediscovery here on this child-friendly release and the narrated montage where Mewsette is portrayed in the style of every great French painter to explain to the audience each special style they had is a gem in itself.


Definitely worth your time, this is marginally my favorite release here.


Extras repeat the DVDs Jump To A Song menu and an Original Theatrical Trailer, then add three classic Warner Technicolor cartoon shorts: Louvre Come Back To Me, French Rarebit and For Scent-Imental Reasons.



Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 6 (2013 - 2022) Blu-ray set is a new updated set that combines the previous first five-seasons Blu-ray set:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16099/Bryan+Loves+You+(2008/Blu-ray*)/The+Gardener


With the Sixth Season on Blu-ray, the show as popular as ever:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16265/House+Party+(2023+remake/DVD*)/Junk+Head

The new set includes an exclusive (limited run, we expect) poster to go with repeating all the previous extras. Because we have not done this for a long time on this show, here is more coverage of the show from the beginning we've done over the years on Blu-ray, starting with a set of Season One:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13095/Rick+and+Morty:+Season+1+(2013+-+2014/Warn


Season Four

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15799/The+Doorman+(2020*)/Red+Shoes+and+The+Se


and Season Five in Steelbook form:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16041/Mosley+(2019/Saban/Paramount+DVD)/Ron's+Gon



And lastly is the not-bad Scooby-Doo! And Krypto Too! (2023) where the universe of everyone's favorite detective dog meets the DC Superhero world when the Justice League disappears. After so many bad for forgettable efforts from both worlds lately, it is a fun, child-friendly, amusing romp that redeems Krypto after that horrid feature-film turn that made the late 1960s Krypto appearance on the Filmation Superboy series look like Akira!


The makers smartly keep the length at 78 minutes before this wears thin and has just enough energy to make this worth a look for those interested. You might giggle a few times too, even if you are an adult.


Extras include three separate episodes of Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who? with Wonder Woman, Batman and The Flash.



Now for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Batman being the best presentation here, but some grain and poor animation get in the way of the improved Video Black, Video Red and a richer presentation than any other animated TV Batman has received to date and that is in the face of some solid Blu-ray releases.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Purr-ee is also improved from its DVD edition and also has some grain and poor animation moments that get in the way of its presentation, but it was originally issued in 35mm dye-transfer, three-strip Technicolor and the color quality jumps up to that level nicely from the older DVD edition including some color as good as anything in this set of reviews.


The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on Morty are solid as new as anything here, with a solid color palette that is not as bright as Purr-ee or dark as Batman, but works perfectly for the series.


All three releases offer lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) sound, 2.0 Mono for Purr-ee, sounding as good as it will ever likely sound, plus 5.1 lossless mixes on Batman (the highs are a little harsh, but it is better than the 2.0 Stereo version and is off of the old analog Dolby A-type stereo soundtrack (aka Dolby A-type) with its sonic limits) and on Morty (sounding just fine and sometimes more impressive than expected) so there are few if any issues here sonically.


The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Scooby has some good color and decent animation, making me wonder why no Blu-ray. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is also decent and some of the better from a Scooby release of late, but I bet it would have sounded better lossless.



To order the Warner Archive Gay Purr-ee Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:


https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20



- Nicholas Sheffo


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