WB toons

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2006

ANT BULLY opens next Friday, a modern fable in which a bullied kid who takes out his aggressions on the lowly ants in his front yard, only to find out how the other half really lives when he's shrunk and abducted by an any wizard. It takes a while to warm up to (the early part of the film just isn't funny), but I liked it a lot once it got going. Reminds me a bit of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's origin story for Ant Man in TALES TO ASTONISH #27. The design is gorgeous - better looking than the comparable ANTZ and A BUG'S LIFE put together. But this useless trend of loading voice casts with stars has gotten out of hand. I mean, I agree that casting actors instead of "voice talent" is often a good idea, and it's somewhat amusing to hear Meryl Streep playing the same character she does in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, but the roles played by Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage don't really have distinctive voices and could have been played just as well by others as they in fact are in foreign language editions.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Some TV favorites from Warner Bros. So why Volumes instead of Seasons? Well, due to the nature of these weekday shows, some episodes used cartoon shorts and bits from previous episodes. It seems like they're planning to avoid repeating material in these DVD sets as much as they can.

(O) ANIMANIACS Volume 1 (Warner Bros.) Steven Spielberg picked up the ball of the TV animation revolution of the late '80s from Ralph Bakshi's NEW ADVENTURES OF MIGHTY MOUSE (still awaiting DVD seasoning) and Matt Groening's THE SIMPSONS and brought it to weekday afternoons, first with TINY TOON ADVENTURES, and then with this sharply written, well animated series. It's all about a trio of sibling toons Yakko (Rob Paulsen, also the voice of Pinky), Wakko (Jess Harnell, also Captain Hero on DRAWN TOGETHER) & Dot Warner (the inimitable Tress MacNeille) - who were too wild for Warner Bros. to unleash on theater screens in 1930, so they locked them up in the famous WB water tower. But they escaped to terrorize Toontown and society at large in 1993, delighting kids and adults alike and becoming a cult favorite. It took quite a while to develop these characters at some point there were four Warners, and they were ducks but the finished inkblot animals of undetermined genus work quite well. They might even be called iconic. The formula was simple: writers & animators just made cartoons that amused themselves, and were given access to the full Looney Tunes stable (including a more PC version of early Warner star Bosko). Now that's comedy! Cartoons varied in length and often terrific musical segments would be included. The Warners also played host to non-Warner shorts with continuing characters, one of which was successfully spun off into their own show in 1995 (see next item). Other characters like the Goodfeathers (one-note gangster pigeons) were less successful and dragged the show down. 25 episodes on 5 discs plus a discussion with the voice actors and creators.

(O) PINKY & THE BRAIN Volume 1 (Warner Bros.) From their first appearance in "Win Big" on the second episode of ANIMANIACS, Pinky & the Brain stood out as an excellent new concept in cartoon shorts: two lab mice have their DNA spliced in an experiment. Unbeknownst to the scientists, one becomes a twisted megalomaniacal super-genius intent on ruling the world (the wonderful Maurice LaMarche), and the other a vaguely Cockney idiot (but plenty smart for a mouse I suppose). Each night, they do the same thing they do every night: try to take over the world! Those seeking a complete Pinky & the Brain 22 episodes on 4 discs, plus a discussion with Rob Paulsen, Maurice MaMarche and voice director Andrea Romano. Hopefully, more extras will be included on subsequent volumes of both shows.

NEW DVD RELEASES

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

(O) AREA 88 Original OVA (ADV) Talented young pilot Shin Kazama is tricked into serving as a mercenary for Area 88: A hell on Earth where men survive by gunning down anyone who stands in their way. Two feature length films.
(O) BABY EINSTEIN: Baby's Favorite Places (Buena Vista) Besides the womb.
(O) THE BFG (Big Friendly Giant) (A&E) Feature based on the beloved Roald Dahl book.
(O) THE BOONDOCKS Complete First Season (Sony) Aaron McGruder's hit comic-strip about two young brothers being raised by their grandfather in the suburbs comes to anime via this Cartoon Network series. 15 uncut episodes on 3 discs, plus commentraks, behind-the-scenes, deleted footage and more.
(O) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: The Abominable Snowman (Goldhil)
(O) CLIFFORD: Growing Up with Clifford (Lionsgate)
(O) CLIFFORD'S PUPPY DAYS: Puppy Sports Spectacular (Lionsgate) Big red dog.
(O) DOKI DOKI SCHOOL HOURS 5th Hour (Geneon) Episodes 17-20. A monster attacks!
(O) GAD GUARD Complete Box Set (Geneon) The Gad is a seemingly magical stone which, once making a strong spiritual connection with someone, will grow into a very powerful robot known as a Techode -- a mechanical being that embodies the will of the bonded person. This is the story of Hajiki Sanada, a poor boy who finds a Gad that forever changes his life. All 26 episodes.
(O) GALAXY ANGEL Z Complete Collection (Bandai) After discovering the Lost Technology, it's only a matter of time to see the Angel Brigade fall back into mischief! Includes all 18 second season episodes, plus a bonus episode, featurettes and more.
(O) GHOST IN THE SHELL: SAC 2nd Gig Volume 6 (Manga/Bandai/Anchor Bay) The threat of a nuclear weapon has the entire city of Nagasaki evacuated. Section 9 must then rush to the scene and determine the true origins of the bomb. Standard and limited DTS editions.
(O) JIMMY TIMMY POWER HOUR 3 (Paramount) Jimmy and Timmy vs. the Jerkinator.
(O) KAZE NO YOJIMBO Complete Collection (Bandai) Anime update
based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 masterpiece. All 25 episodes.
(O) LOVE HINA Complete Movie Collection Box (Bandai) A student attempts to fulfill a promise by getting into Tokyo University, but the cute girls in his apartment complex prove to be a distraction. All three Love Hina movies (CHRISTMAS, SPRING, AGAIN) in one box, plus a bonus episode.
(O) MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED DESTINY Volume 3 (Bandai) Episodes 11-14.
(O) MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI RAGNAROCK Volume 6 (ADV) Loki meets the All Seeing Eye.
(O) PRINCESS TUTU Volume 6: Abscheid (ADV)
(O) SAMURAI 7 Volume 7: Guardians of the Rice (Funimation) Episodes 24-26. As seen on IFC. Also available in collector box
(O) SHADOW STAR NARUTARU DVD Collection (Central Park) All 13 episodes on 4 discs, with director commentrak, interviews, storyboards and more. Buy direct from CentralParkMedia.com and receive a bonus t-shirt.
(O) TEXHNOLYZE Collector's Complete Lenticular Set (Geneon) An underground fighter becomes a cyborg. All six volumes plus nine lenticular inserts.
(O) 2005 ACADEMY AWARD SHORT FILMS COLLECTION (Magnolia) The nominees are "Badgered" (UK), "The Moon and the Son" (USA) and "The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello", plus 7 live-action shorts.
(O) WOLF'S RAIN Complete Collection 1 (Bandai) Super-intelligent wolves have hidden from mankind for centuries. Episodes 1-18.

UMD CORNER

(O) THE BOONDOCKS Complete First Season (Sony) 3 discs.

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 (© 2006 Brian Thomas) is our weekly animation column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

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