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Category:    Home > Reviews > Animation > Feature Film > Comedy > Beavis & Butt-Head Do America – Special Collector’s Edition (10th Anniversary)

Beavis & Butt-Head Do America – Special Collector’s Edition (10th Anniversary)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: B-     Film: B

 

 

Mike Judge is an animation hero.  He brought on a whole new cycle of bolder themes in animation building on the mainstream success of The Simpsons, which happened through his very crudely made shots featuring the squiggly line goofs Beavis & Butt-Head.  Then it became a hit TV series that was more groundbreaking than anyone gave it credit for.  Then came the first theatrical feature film, Beavis & Butt-Head Do America (1996) and once again, Judge was underestimated.

 

Well, the film was enough of a hit to surprise the industry and it turned out to not be like a few shows cut together as some expected.  Instead, despite the simple animation, Judge and company decided to push the limits of the big screen like few far more expensive animated features (hand-drawn, animated, both or otherwise) giving the dim duo whole new hilarious possibilities.  That is why you have to see this on the biggest screen and with the best 5.1 playback possible.

 

The beginning of the film involves the worse possible thing that could happen to the boys:  their TV is stolen.  To say it gives new meaning to Alfred Hitchcock’s concept of the MacGuffin (the thing the characters are after but the audience could care less about because it just gets the film moving) new meaning as they could care less for much of the film simply because they have the worst case of short-term memory in international animation history.

 

In their trip, they cause all kinds of havoc, somehow run into characters from the show who all happen to be traveling and meet new characters who also clash with them.  Free of cable TV limits, the film pushes new limits of “no-nos” despite the PG-13 rating.  Some of the jokes are inserted slyly into the film, but the 80 minutes is very loaded with jokes and visual gags that work again and again.  I think Judge and other voice actors became more fired up as they recorded dialogue with the new freedom, opportunities and possibilities.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image looks good and was 99%+ all hand drawn.  It is amazing how goods this looks after being treated to or insulted with (depending on your opinion of a given release) the last of the major hand-drawn features, several Claymation projects and too many CG computer animated ones.  It might be easy to miss some points in the first viewing visually, but 5they are there and the transfer delivers them as best the DVD format can.

 

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is a hoot, using the multi-channel possibilities to their fullest extent.  Even the Dolby Digital 2.0 mix in Pro Logic mode can loose some of the aural gags.  Unfortunately, Paramount did not include a DTS option, so the 5.1 Dolby will have to do.  Music is sparse at times by John Frizzell, but that is a good move and a few songs appear as well, making it to the mixed hit songtrack.

 

Extras include a music featurette with Frizzell called We’re Gonna Score!, new making of piece, teaser trailer, TV spots, “celebrity shorts” to promote the film, silly smackdown montage of people hitting each other and a great audio commentary track by Judge and animation director Yvette Kaplan.  She has so many interesting things to say and it is a fun listen-to.  That wraps up a solid anniversary release to go with all the volumes of the show Judge has supervised himself.  This is as good a place to start or restart if you have not seen the boys for a while.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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