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Reviews: Bots, Bops, Burgers and Bogs
Home Video
Bots, Bops, Burgers and Bogs
Astro Boy, Bob’s Burgers, Strange Magic and a musical Looney Tunes collection are spring’s late-blooming home entertainment blossoms. By Mercedes Milligan.
Astro Boy: The Complete Series
[Mill Creek Ent., $14.98]
Reissued on disc for the first time since Sony’s separate volume releases in 2009, Mill Creek’s complete collection offers all 50 episodes of the 2003 Astro Boy update. Based on the classic by Osamu Tezuka, the action-adventure series centered on the titular atomic-powered robot who becomes a reluctant superhero, fighting for humans and robots alike. Critics praised the series for combining the light-hearted playfulness of the 1960s original with the more dramatic sci-fi themes of the 1980s version. Produced by Tezuka Productions and Sony Pictures Television, Astro Boy premiered on Fuji TV in 2003 and aired stateside on Cartoon Network and Kids! WB. At just $15, it’s well worth picking up this set, if only to point to when your purist pals lament the doomed fate of the latest reincarnation of a classic series. [Release date: May 5]
Bob’s Burgers: Complete 4th Season
[Fox, $29.95]
The fourth season of Loren Bouchard’s hit primetime toon once again sends the Belcher family on a series of self-defeating misadventures: Bob (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) subs as the home economics teacher at the kids’ school, Linda (John Roberts) ends up singing at her high school reunion, and the kids (Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal) set a trap for Santa. Among the many highlights of the 2013-14 season is the show’s first Primetime Emmy-winning episode, “Mazel-Tina,” wherein Tina crashes Tammy’s bat mitzvah when her family is hired to cater it, and ends up the center of attention. Returning guest stars for the season include Will Forte, John Michael Higgins, Rob Huebel, Ken Jeong, Kevin Kline, Megan Mullally, Laura and Sarah Silverman, and Paul F. Tompkins. New to the series this season are Bobcat Goldthwait, Jordan Peele and Molly Shannon. Allriiiiight! [Release date: May 12]
Looney Tunes: Musical Masterpieces
[Warner, $19.97]
Feast your senses on this 18-dish smorgasbord of classic cartoons showcasing the brilliance of composer Carl Stalling and legends of Warner Bros. Animation like Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones. With oft-repeated performances like What’s Opera, Doc? and
Strange Magic
[Disney, $29.99]
While it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea as evidenced by the weak box office and critical reviews, at least this CG fantasy from the mind of George Lucas offered something a little different on the feature animation landscape. Produced by Lucasfilm Animation Sinmore deeply buried gems from the vault like Three Little Bops accompanied by special features It Hopped One Night: The Story Behind One Froggy Evening, Wagnarian Wabbit: The Making of What’s Opera, Doc?, Merrie Melodies: Carl Stalling and Cartoon Music and a Looney Tunes Sing-Along, this collection is “a symphony of fun” as promised. The shorts collection contains A
gapore and ILM, the pop music-fueled adventure inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream pitches a colorful cast of fairies, elves, goblins and imps into a battle over a powerful love potion. Directed by Gary Rydstrom, who handled Disney’s English dubs of From Up on Poppy Hill and The Wind Rises, Strange Magic features the voices Corny Concerto, Rabbit of Seville, One Froggy Evening, Rhapsody Rabbit, What’s Opera, Doc?, Hillbilly Hare, Pizzicato Pussycat, Nelly’s Folly, I Love to Singa, Page Miss Glory, Katnip Kollege, High Note, Pigs in a Polka, Three Little Bops, Rhapsody in Rivets, Back Alley Oproar, Holiday for Shoestrings and Lights Fantastic. [Release date: May 26]
of Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Elijah Kelley, Meredith Anne Bull, Sam Palladio, Kristin Chenoweth and Alfred Molina. The DVD also holds bonus features “Magical Mash Up” (outtakes, tests and melodies) and “Creating the Magic” behind-the-scenes with cast and filmmakers. [Release date: May 19]
