Saturday Morning Cartoons!

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2005

Welcome to the initial installment of Cinescape's weekly ANIME AVALANCHE column. The editors here have been meaning to give animation more attention for a long time, and this column represents a way to help serve that need. When I started writing the DVD Shopping List column over two years ago, anime titles were incorporated with the rest of the new releases. But I soon found that it was a lot easier to put those DVDs in a separate section at the end of the column rather than to identify the anime items for each entry. For the most part, it will be a spin-off from the anime section of my DVD Shopping List column, and will cover anime releases for the coming week. But we'll also be covering animation on TV and in theaters as much as we can. For example, in case you hadn't heard there's a movie called STEAMBOY in limited theatrical release right now, and if you're lucky enough to live in or near a city where it's playing, you'd do well to get out and see it ASAP. It's a beautiful retro-science fiction adventure from the ever-creative mind of anime master Katsuhiro Otomo, who also imagineered a little classic called AKIRA a few years back.

Also still in theaters is the hit CGanime ROBOTS, which is a lot of fun and a real visual feast as well. In a secondary role, Robin Williams attempts to create the same sort of improvisational magic he performed in ALADDIN, but his motormouth is outshined by the charm of the robot characters and cute story of a well-meaning young bot seeking fame and fortune in the big city. Next week, we'll try to catch up with all the cartoons currently playing on the jillion or so TV networks on the dial.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

A sci-fi rewrite of Pinocchio, Astro Boy was my first hero, and scribbling portraits of him in crayon on the coffee table led to a career as an artist. Years later, I was delighted to have the opportunity to write and draw some Astro Boy comic-book stories of my own. Without him, there may not have been an anime industry in Japan.

(O) ASTRO BOY: Complete Series (Sony) This excellent recent Astro Boy series didn't fit in on American TV (where it was often moved around or pre-empted by POKÉMON reruns), and should've been shown in prime time. Now you can enjoy all 50 episodes in one beautiful 5-disc box, including 25 episodes that never aired in the USA, plus a "Re-Making-Of" featurette.

NEW RELEASES

And finally, we close off each weekly list with a rundown of the constant stream of anime from around the world:

(O) BIG WARS (Central Park) A war raging on Mars is further complicated by an alien mind control plague.

(O) CLUTCH CARGO (Brentwood/VCI) This odd 1959 limited animation series was syndicated to local kid shows (I saw it on GARFIELD GOOSE) better known for its weird "Syncro-Vox" system, which transposed actors' mouths onto the drawings, than its fun stories and characters. Clutch was a rugged pilot who along with his mechanic and kid sidekick regularly got in and out of jams with various crooks, pirates and smugglers. Brentwood is releasing the entire series in two volumes with 26 episodes each, plus Making-Of, featurettes, episodes of other Syncro-Vox series, and trailers from the same era, while VCI has its own release entitled CLUTCH CARGO CARTOON COLLECTION Volume 1 that includes the first 9 episodes on one disc.
(O) GANTZ Volume 1 (ADV) First disc of the violent fantasy thriller, now available in collectors box.
(O) GENERATOR GAWL Volume 2: Future Memory (ADV) Time traveler Ryo tries to prevent a future calamity he will help cause, but more advanced generators come from that future to catch Gawl.
(O) GIANT ROBO: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL Volume 3 (Media Blasters) Agents continue their battle against the bickering supervillains of Big Fire. A Retro-robo action classic like ASTRO BOY (above), but produced much earlier.
(O) MIDORI DAYSI Volume 1: A Helping Hand (Media Blasters) A tough teenager's superstrong right hand becomes his girlfriend. No, I mean it literally becomes a real girl attached to his wrist. Weird. Includes outtakes, promo reel, an original audio drama and more. Also available in collectors box.
(O) OTOGI ZOSHI Volume 1: Legend of the Magatama (Media Blasters) Samurai action. The Emperor sends a warrior to search for a supernatural icon to save Japan from famine, but when the warrior falls ill, his sister disguises herself to take his place. Also available in collectors box.
(O) PEACEMAKER Volume 4: A Path to Destruction (ADV) Samurai revenge saga continues. With commentrak.
(O) SAMURAI CHAMPLOO Volume 2 (Geneon) Three companions find danger in the big city while trying all sorts of schemes to make money.
(O) SHINGU, SECRET OF THE STELLAR WARS (ADV) A high school student suspects that the nice new transfer student is really a space alien. Also available in collectors box.
(O) SORCERER HUNTERS Volume 3 (ADV) Sorcerer season! Wabbit season! Tira Misu and her sister Chocolate return for more mayhem. An ADV Essential Anime title. Includes commentrak.
(O) WIND IN THE WILLOWS Complete First Season (A&E) Kenneth Grahame's wonderful animal characters continue their adventures for 13 episodes in this sequel TV series via stop-motion by Cosgrove Hall Productions. Also includes a bonus episode from season 2. And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's Anime Avalanche!

And check in every Tuesday for the latest DVD Shopping List!

Anime Avalanche (© 2005 Brian Thomas) is our weekly animation column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive new book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.