School House Rock! – Election Collection (Disney DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: D Shorts: B+ DVD Collection: C
Let’s
start by saying that this collection of “election inspired” School House Rock shorts are only worth
anything because of their classic appeal; but the previously released 2002 School House Rock: 30th
Anniversary Collection is much more definitive and interesting.
Though School House Rock was slightly before
this reviewer’s time, the reruns of these multifaceted classics definitely
echoed educational tunes throughout every generation that followed. If you ever wanted to know the Preamble to
the Constitution or what a Bill was all you had to dude was whistle, hum, or fully belt
out the song and you were in the gold…or is the red…or blue? Well what ever color you choose to associate
yourself with, there is no doubt that School
House Rock gave generations of children and adults alike the simple but
important knowledge that surrounds our political system and history.
The technical
features of this Election Collection
are adequate (as they are the same as those on the 2002 set), but still
demonstrate some issues. The picture is
presented in a 1.33 X 1 full screen that has muted/bland colors that often
appear soft and still need a further degree of restoration work. The sound is a stated to be a Dolby Digital
5.1 track, but sounds to more likely be a simpler 2.0 stereo track; though
there are no complaints to register against the track as it projects cleanly
and crisply.
The
extras are absent with the exception of a very briefly extended version of
“Presidential Minute” that is barely noticeable and would not impress even the
biggest School House Rock fan.
Personally
this reviewer would skip this School
House Rock: Election Collection and buy the more comprehensive 30th Anniversary Collection. If you only need a limited small set of
shorts, then this set may be ok; otherwise the lack of extras and narrow focus
are very off-putting. I vote for more School House Rock!
- Michael P. Dougherty II
