The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro: Volume 2 + BraveStarr: Volume Two (BCI DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: C

 

 

Filmation has always made good on bringing both classic and original creations to life.  In the case of The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro: Volume 2 we have Filmation licensing two classic heroes and bringing them to the animated small screen, but with BraveStarr: Volume 2 Filmation makes good on continuing their long history of unique creations.

 

The first volume of The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro is reviewed elsewhere on this site and gives great insight into the premise and workings of the series. The link is listed below:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6505/The+New+Adventures+Of+The+Lone

 

 

This reviewer does not have much to add about the short lived series, except to compare it to other Filmation series.  The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro is definitely not the best Filmation series, but does carry with it much of the same heart and animation styles that its predecessors did and future creations would display.  The animation is not highly detailed or overly impressive, the story arches are a bit weak and boring, and the characters are about as deep as a tortilla shell.  The voice acting, however, is done quite well and utilizes some great voices from the past to bring the Lone Ranger and Zorro to life.  For whatever reason, call it nostalgia, the series still remains entertaining even after its many, many flaws.  Would this reviewer recommend The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro to a casual newcomer? No, probably not.  But to anyone who has enjoyed other Filmation series or likes the swashbuckling nature of these two classic heroes, the series may be right up your alley.

 

BraveStarr: Volume 2 finishes out the BraveStarr series by bringing the last 32 episodes to DVD in a nice 3-Disc set.  BraveStarr was the last series Filmation ever produced and whereas not the most memorable creation, it can definitely be called one of the most crisp and polished.  The series used little stock footage and had plenty of original concepts.  This reviewer is guessing that Filmation wanted to go out with a hoof stamping BANG!  There are two previous reviews of the BraveStarr on this site (one for the series and the other for the film) that delve quite nicely into the history and premise of the epic cowboy animation:

 

Best Of

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5814/The+Best+Of+BraveStarr+(BCI

 

The Movie

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7157/BraveStarr+–+The+Movie+(BCI+DVD)

 

 

BraveStarr used the same in your face action, with ‘blah’ storylines that most Filmation series had, but it did manage to create a unique universe that this reviewer would not be surprised at all to see be re-imagined at a future date.  Also who could forget the solid anti-drug, anti-alcohol, pro-helping end of episode lessons that splashed many of our childhoods?

 

The sword swinging features of this second volume are in line with the first volume release, in that they are adequate but far from heroic.  The picture is once again presented in a 1.33 X 1 image that is far from perfect, but gets the job done.  The seven Zorro episodes seem a bit worse off with a less than solid color presentation and a degree of grit/debris throughout.  Lone Ranger is slightly better in the color and light/dark areas, but follows suit with Zorro in having a level of debris that must be cleaned up.  The sound qualities in both series are less than stellar in their Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo tracks, often sounding distorted as well as distant and muffled at times.

 

The extras once again leave long time fans wanting more, only offering up a series of ‘Spotlight Interviews’ with producer Lou Scheimer, writer Robbie London, layout artist Darrell McNeil, and network executive Ted Field III.  The extras to this reviewer were both drab and sparse.

 

In the case of BraveStarr: Volume Two, the picture is once again presented in a drab 1.33 X 1 full screen that has mild color issues, some debris, and a degree of contrast issues throughout.  On the bright side the animation is nice and crisp, but at times still has that generic feel that some Filmation cartoons did.  The sound is equally unimpressive in its Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that mostly all comes from the front and has a certain distant quality.  The extras are completely absent this time around, most likely due to the underwhelming performance of Volume One.  It is sad that the studio did not take the time to give one last taste of BraveStarr memory lane with some extras, but this reviewer is just glad the last 32 episodes saw the light of day.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II