Freakazoid! – Season Two + Tiny Toon Adventures:
Season 1 – Volume 2 (Steven
Spielberg Presents/Warner DVDs)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: A-/B+
In my
last review of these two classic Warner Bros series I could not sing their praises
enough and not much has changed the second time around. Both Freakazoid
and Tiny Toon Adventures return to
DVD (thankfully) for a second go around; Freakazoid
finishing out its series run with the release Season Two and Tiny Toon
Adventures finishing up Season One
with its Volume 2 release (Tiny Toons having a total of three
seasons on the air).
Freakazoid!
With many
changes occurring between Seasons One
and Two Freakazoid does not quite live up to the first releases
overwhelming hilarious content; but nevertheless is still amazing. Freakazoid
is not your typical superhero and this is not your typical animated
series. In short the series remains one
of the most hilarious series (animated or not) that I have ever viewed. Many younger viewers didn’t get the series at
the time and the execs at the network CERTAINLY did not get it; waiting until
the very last minute to renew the series for a second season and in turn
hurting the overall content that was delivered.
The quick quips that were delivered in the first season were changed to
long winded anthologies that were not always on top of their game. The zaniness and insane creativity that
existed throughout Season One are
still present here; but in a more watered down fashion. On top of the shaky anthology concept the
episodes were mighty redundant as they featured the same characters over and
over again (The Lobe is practically the only villain we see for 6 out of 11
episodes). Overall it was a wonderful
series and even not at its best it was still amazing; the series finale is also
something to see for sure.
Tiny Toon Adventures
When many
people see Tiny Toon Adventures
without actually examining the content the first thing they see is a cheap
Looney Tunes spin-off; but the series is far, far from that. Whereas the series does rely on certain
elements from the “past greats” (i.e. Daffy, Bugs, etc.) for the most part the
characters, storylines, and comedic elements all stand out on their own as
fresh and creative. The writers
certainly made sure to infuse their own brand of kooky chaos into the series as
they borrowed the characters’ general likenesses from other, older Looney
Tunes. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin
Entertainment’s involvement with the series made for a creative series that had
theatrical quality animation. After
years of viewing quickly and hastily made animated series from the ‘80s, Tiny Toons was a fresh, bright, and
entertaining series that offered the slapstick comedy of the past with a view
modern day inclusions to make it wacky enough to be interesting. Sure there are a number of now dated
pop-culture references, but from Disney to classic Warner Bros all series have
their slipups as they attempt to reference the contemporary without worrying
about dating themselves. By the time the second half of Season One was created the
writers and animators worked out all the kinks in the show and started to
create many brilliant moments. They
realized that short segments were better than long winded story lines (unlike Freakazoid’s second season) and the
more wacky moments the better. The
series is a bit safer than say Animaniacs
or Freakazoid, but the
slap-stick works and as it was geared toward a younger audience it is
understandable that simple was best; and regardless the series holds up and is
overwhelming amazing.
To view the first volumes of each
these series please follow the link below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7700/Freakazoid!+-+Season+1+++Tiny+To
The
technical features on both series are nothing to FREAK OUT about, but they are
nice and more than adequately get the job done.
The picture on both series continues to be presented in a standard 1.33
X 1 full screen that preserves the original aspect ratio, but at the same time
lacks the crispness and clarity one would expect from such great series.
Just as was seen with the last volumes, smudges and debris flicker across the
screen and are all too noticeable; both series again being deficient in the
vibrant colors and a certain level of depth that is expected from Warner
animated series. The picture is adequate but far from perfect as debris,
muted colors, and a soft image remains distracting. The sound is once again a slight upgrade from
the picture quality being available as either a Dolby 2.0 or a 5.1 mix.
The 5.1 Mix is nice and crisp as it does make use of the rear surrounds and
projects with a solid force. The
crispness of the sound is highlighted in the opening musical numbers of the two
series and projects nicely throughout the episodes.
If you
were disappoint with the extras that Tiny
Toon Adventures: Season 1 – Volume 1 offered than Season 1 – Volume 2 may make you scream. Sad to say there are no extras offered for Tiny Toons and fans across the board
will be insanely disappointed. Freakazoid manages to compile a few
bonus features tha thighligh why the series was so amazing and though
lackluster at times they are certainly better than nothing (*cough* Tiny Toons *cough*). First up is the “A Season’s Worth of
Commentaries (in 5 minutes or less)” segment that delivers exactly what it says
(in about 5mins30secs) as John McCann, Paul Rugg, Joe Leahy, Rich Arons, and
Tom Ruegger sit down with a compilation of their favorite clips from Season 2
to give a little bit of insight and throw out factoids. The better bonus feature found on the
flip-side of Disc 2 is “Liebeslied fur
Normadeus” a feature that (with the same people found on the commentary)
takes a look into Season 2 and the
series finale. This featurette is very
nice and truly displays how the series achieved its insane sense of humor and
intelligence; in many ways making me sad that the series ended so soon as well.
In the
end, these are two series that any animation fan should own. They are funny, intelligently written, and
offer a level of excellence that not many series today can deliver. After years of these series missing from our
DVD collections we can finally enjoy to twisted and at times outlandish sense
of humor of those Tiny Toons and the
even more amazing Freakazoid.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
