Moral Orel’s prayers are answered

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Monday, April 23, 2007

Things are finally picking up as far as anime DVD release are concerned, which is good since elsewhere things are relatively lax (except for Meet the Robinsons still packing theaters). Let’s get right into the list.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

A boy and his god:

(O) MORAL OREL Volume 1 (Warner Bros.) A 15-minute stop-motion, animated series (as seen on MTV2 and Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block) created by Dino Stamatopoulos of Saturday Night Live’s “TV Funhouse” (as well as its Comedy Central spinoff). Orel, an 11-year-old boy who loves church, just wants to do God's work. An outrageous and insightful satire gently spoofing Davey & Goliath while dishing out more cutting treatment of our society’s spiritual foibles. 2-disc “Unholy Edition” includes behind-the-scenes featurette and more.

NEW DVD RELEASES

Here’s a rundown of the constant stream of anime comin’ at ya on DVD from around the world:

(O) THE ADVENTURES OF TEDDY P. BRAINS: Journey into the Rain Forest (Ryko) A 6-year old boy receives a magical diploma when he graduates from kindergarten and sets off on educational adventures.

(O) ANNE THE ANIMATED SERIES Volumes 1-3 (Koch) PBS animated series, which won Kidscreen Weekly's "Best Kids Show" award twice.
(O) CINDERELLA AND MORE BELOVED FAIRY TALES (Scholastic) Can’t be too many more – the DVD’s only an hour long.
(O) COLD WAR ERA: Cartoon Chronicles (Tapeworm) Collection of shorts from the 1950s demonstrates a bias towards materialism of godless communism.
(O) ED, EDD N EDDY Complete Second Season (Warner Bros.) This ugly and annoying Cartoon Network series about three kids who scheme for candy is nearly ten years old. Includes the 1999 season, featurettes, music video and more.
(O) INU-YASHA Volume 53: Malevolent Machinations (Viz) Episodes 158-160. Having been foiled by Inuyasha and his comrades at the border of the afterlife in his attempt to possess the last shard of the Sacred Jewel, Naraku changes tactics. Figuring that Kikyo is still alive and in hiding, Naraku sends Hakudoshi and Kohaku to unleash a horde of demonic rats to draw Kikyo out. Trying to discover the destination of the rats, Inuyasha and Kagome find themselves face to face with Hakudoshi, while Sango and Miroku find Kohaku protecting the source of the demonic rats.
(O) LIQUID TALES: THE ANIMATED FILMS OF PATRICK SMITH (Microcinema) Festival favorite Smith is represented in this collection. A professor and senior thesis advisor at the Pratt Institute in New York, Patrick is involved in teaching a new generation of animators. His latest work, "Puppet" recently won major accolades at the Tribeca Film Festival.
(O) LOVELESS COLLECTION (Media Blasters) Three volume box set.
(O) NARUTO Volume 11 (Viz) Episodes 41-44. The preliminaries continue in the third part of the Chunin Exam. Childhood friends Ino and Sakura, already engaged in a standoff over Sasuke's affections, must face each other in battle! Which kunoichi has what it takes to bring the other down? Plus, Naruto has defeated some tough ninja, but will he roll over for a ninja dog?
(O) NERIMA DAIKON BROTHERS Volume 3: Daikon Field of Dreams (ADV) Could the Nerima Daikon Brothers actually make a deal that will give them their very own concert dome?
(O) ONE PIECE Volume 8: Belle of the Brawl (Viz) Edited version of episodes 32-36. n Nami's hometown of Coco Village, Luffy and his crew learn of her harsh past and how she joined Saw-Tooth Arlong's crew to save her village. When Arlong betrays Nami by bribing a Naval officer with the treasure she collected, Luffy, Zolo, Sanji and even Usopp are determined to open an all-out war with the cruel Mermen.
(O) THE PHANTOM MUSEUMS: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers (Zeitgeist/Microcinema) A thirteen-film retrospective of shorts by famed twin animators the Quay Brothers. 2-disc set includes The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer (1984), This Unnameable Little Broom (Epic of Gilgamesh) (1985), Street of Crocodiles (1986), Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies (1987), Stille Nacht I (Dramolet) (1988), The Comb (1990), Anamorphosis (1991), Stille Nacht II (Are We Still Married?) (1992), Stille Nacht III (Tales From Vienna Woods) (1993), Stille Nacht IV (Can't Go Wrong Without You) (1994), In Absentia (2000), The Phantom Museum (2003), Nocturna Artificialia (1979), The Calligrapher (1991), The Summit (1995), In Absentia in Scope (2000), Quay Brothers audio commentraks, interview and more.

(O) PRINCE OF TENNIS Volume 1 (Viz) The on and off court adventures of Ryoma Echizen, the 12-year-old son of a famous tennis player and a prodigy in his own right. 13 episodes on three discs.
(O) SAIYUKI RELOAD GUNLOCK Volume 7 (Geneon) When everything is falling apart, Gato is still intent on protecting the half-crazed Hazel, even if it costs Gato his life!
(O) STELLVIA Complete Tin Set (Geneon) An electromagnetic wave causes destruction on Earth, giving a teen computer genius a chance to become a spacepilot.
(O) TRINITY BLOOD Chapter 6 (Funimation) As seen on Adult Swim. The Vatican falls victim to political unrest between humans and vampires in the city of Albion, and the Order of Rosen Kreuz seeks to fan the flames to encompass the world. Limited edition includes booklet and five tarot cards.
(O) WONDER PETS: Save the Wonder Pets! (Paramount) Puppets and animation combine in this cute Noggin preschooler show about a trio of animals that rescue other animals.

BLU-RAY DISC CORNER

(O) ULTIMATE AVENGERS COLLECTION (Lionsgate) Both features plus featurettes, annotation track, gag reel and more.

NOT ON DVD CORNER

We welcome the input of Maniacs who want to share input on this section, where we highlight a different genre feature that has yet to come to digital disc format – just send your suggestions to Anime Avalanche in an email identified with “NOT ON DVD” in the subject line.

(O) THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN (MGM?) Not strictly an animation title, this 1956 science fiction western is nonetheless an important part of stop-motion history as one of the later projects of f/x wizard Willis O’Brien that was actually completed. Filmmaker and f/x technician Edward Nassour filmed O’Brien’s story of cattle rustling by a huge saurian survivor. Much of the f/x work was achieved through replacement animation rather than stop-motion. MGM released it as part of a laserdisc box set in the ‘90s, but so far it’s NOT ON DVD.

And be sure to check back next week—and every week—for Mania’s Anime Avalanche! And check in every Tuesday for the latest DVD Shopping List!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at Anime Avalanche.