Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s, Vol. 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a huge cartoon nerd who in particular loves the Saturday morning and syndicated stuff from the 80s and it's unfortunate that I think I'm both the exact target audience for a release like this as well as one of of the fans completely let down by this style of release.
Real quick, the WB presents SMC 1980s 2-disc set is a compilation of single episodes from eleven different 80s cartoons including:
Thundarr the Barbarian
Mr. T
Dragon's Lair
The Flintstone Kids
Galtar and the Golden Lance
The Biskitts
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
The Monchichis
Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos
Tex Avery's the Kwicky Koloa Show
Goldie Gold & Action Jack
There's also a short 18 minute special feature called Lords of Light that reminisces on the production of Thundarr the Barbarian with a handful of talking head intervews (including some great insights from writers, as well as the creator/producers of the series Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.)
First off, for the casual fan there's a lot to like about a compilation set like this. If you're only curious about getting a taste of the various shows that aired during Saturday Morning throughout the 80s, then a set like this is great. There's a nice range of mystery solving, action, and comedy with enough recognizable highlights (the Flintstone Kids, Mr. T, and Thundarr) to offset the more obscure series (Goldie Gold & Action Jack, Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos, and the Monchichis.) Unfortunately, even for the casual fan the set has little to no re-play value, and so it would fall into the realm of the impulse buy or one-time Netflix rental.
For the more hardcore fans the set is a disaster. On the one hand we're getting 11 shows that have never seen release on DVD before, a handful of which fans have been clamoring for, for years. Also, fans are getting an opportunity to catch episodes of series they may never have gotten a chance to see back in the day (like Galtar or the Biskitts) and it's quite possible that one episode is all they need. But on the other hand, for fans of shows like the Mr. T cartoon and Thundarr the Barbarian, this set is just a slap in the face from Warner Brothers. I'd hazard a guess to say that most hardcore fans, the people that are essentially the audience for the cartoons released on this set, don't want to settle for single episodes of their favorite shows.
The idea behind these compilations as I understand it, is for Warner Brothers to find a happy medium between spending a lot of money producing complete series and season sets of cartoons that don't sell well and the more cost effective single-disc releases for series that fans tend to hate. To be fair Warner is looking at producing sets that meet in the middle, giving fans the variety they desire with something more substantial than a 4-episode single-disc release for only one show. It seems logical, but all this set really is, is a glorified single disc release.
What Warner is really doing is cutting their target audience in half with these compilations. The people who would gladly buy full season or complete series sets for shows like Thundarr and Mr. T will most likely ignore these sets, leaving only the fans that want everything from the 80s and the fickle casual fans that are probably not all that interested in paying $20 for a set like this.
That's not to mention the people who don't realize that sets like this are limited to what WB has available in their vaults. So my guess is that a lot of casual fans think the included shows are a little too obscure and would rather have a set that features more episode from series that they remember more fondly, like Dungeons and Dragons in place of Dragonslayer, the Snorks in place of the Monchichis, or the Shirt Tales in place of the Biskitts.
At the end of the day I'm glad to have some of these episodes on DVD and I appreciate the bind Warner Brothers is in considering that past releases of complete series sets haven't sold well enough to continue on this trend. But I also feel kind of gipped on a $20 release that I'll most likely watch once while I sit pining for more episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian. Honestly, these sets would be more much attractive at a $12 MSRP...

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The Smurfs - Season One, Vol. One Review

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(More customer reviews)The 80's gave us a golden age of Saturday morning cartoons. I can't think of any other era that had such a wide variety of different themes and approaches. These days most shows fall into the Japanese anime/card game genre. Back then you had several genres. One of them was the child friendly, parent approved, sugary sweet cutesy cartoons. The Smurfs has to be the top of the heap of those shows. The reason being was good production values and solid pacing of their stories which makes even a sedate and "safe" show fun to watch.
My first experience with the Smurfs wasn't this television. In fact my first exposure to the little blue creatures were in the form of little plastic figurines sold at the local Hallmark card store. I only knew of them as different little blue guys who wore different clothes that apparently denoted their profession or interest (I personally had the Karate Smurf and the Police Smurf) and they were created by somebody named Peyo (according to box that held the Smurfs). The television translation of the only thing I know about Smurfs was different, but appropriate.
You see every Smurt in the cartoon has some characteristic, trade, or skill that sets them apart from the rest. In this colony of 100 Smurfs you would have a baker, poet, carpenter and other useful trades along with Smurfs who were lazy, clumsy, vain (and were named as such). Each episode was about their interacting with each other and their surroundings based on who they were. Top it all off with a Papa Smurf to keep them all in line and a human wizard named Gargamel who wants (of all things) to eat the Smurfs and get the gist of show.
This simplistic premise was all you needed to make a fun, if overly cutesy, series that would evolve each season with new characters and themes. One of the most memorable things about the show was the use of classical music played in it's full brilliance. Not toned down or "lightened up" for the kids. It helped give me a good appreciation of the genre of music at a young age. The animation was solid and the style of the show actually lended itself to the limited frames per second that Saturday morning cartoons were stuck with to keep their budget low.
Some might overly analyze the show and see things like how the Smurf commune and soceity promote communism. To be honest that's what they were. Communists. Everybody helped out in the betterment of their society as a whole and apparently everything was shared. The theory of communism would actually work in such a small community if done right, and the Smurfs didn't have such hangups over greed and power that normally keeps any utopian ideal from happening... or at least Pappa Smurf was always there to keep his Smurfs from taking it too far.
What you are getting in this DVD set is the first half of the first season. The original plan was to put all 28 episodes onto one set, but apparently the studio changed their mind and now you get 19 episodes. Still that's six hours of content. On top of the standard eps you also get two bonus features: The Smurfs Springtime Special (an Easter holiday special) and Smurfs: The Music Video (which is not much more than the title theme with clip highlights of the show set to the music). Not much else on the extras category.
The good news is this DVD set has been remastered and Warner Home Video announced that the episodes are uncut. For purists that's really the only important thing. Don't expect Dolby Digital or anything like that. This is strictly a monophonic affair just like the show was back in the 80's. If you have kids and don't want them to see anything too violent or socially disruptive then this is a good show for you. For those of you who remembered the Smurf from when you were kids and long for their return here you go.

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The long wait is over...the Smurfs on DVD for the first time ever! They're finally here! Handy, Hefty, Grouchy, Brainy, Lazy, Smurfette, Papa Smurf and more favorites bring you the greatest show on Smurf - on DVD for the first time ever. It's Season One, Vol. 1 of Smurfs' Adventures, the Emmy-winning animated series [Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series 1982-83] that delighted Saturday morning cartoon fans for nearly a decade. Of course, where Smurfs are, you'll also find evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael - plus monsters, dragons and trolls - keeping our three-apple-high heroes on their tiny blue toes throughout 19 cartoon escapades. Ready for adventure, laughs and enchantment? Abso-Smurfly!DVD Features:FeaturetteMusic Video

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The Smurfs Season 2, Vol. 1: True Blue Friends (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a single DVD with the following episodes on it:
S-Shivering S-Smurfs - An early winter comes to Smurf Village and Tracker is the only one prepared and saves the village.
Turncoat Smurf - Gargemel uses his dog to track down the Smurfs after finding Brainy's laundry.
The Smurf Who Couldn't Say No - Pushover Smurf is used to do all the work and puts out the Fox Fire awakening a monster.
The Haunted Castle - Johan & Peewit' meet a ghost in a drought filled countryside with the Smurfs help they end the drought.
The Black Hellebore - After the king is poisoned by the potion maker, to wake the king Johan & Peewit' need the antidote from Homnubus. The potion maker later uses the evil Hellebore flower to try and take over the kingdom.
The title sequence of each episode is the newest of the three opening sequences that I know of. The one on the Season 1 DVD's was something about Smurfs being good and Gargemel being Bad, the one from most of when I was growing up had Gargemel chanting "total destruction from mountain to shore", and this one was used when Peewit' & Johan were main characters has Papa singing while the dam is bing built. I don't know if there was an additional opening for when the Smuflings were in the show.
This DVD has the same issue that the Season 1 DVD's did where the menu is much louder then the episodes. I just wish that they would have continued to release the seasons, this was just a tease of what should have been released.

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The Smurfs are a group of over 100 bluish, three-apple tall creatures who live in the mushroom homes of Smurf Village. They are led by 543-year-old Papa Smurf (who doesn't look a day over 530). Their lives would be perfect were it not for the villainous Gargamel, a wizard who spends his days trying to capture them to eat, turn into gold, or for other evil reason. Gargamel's cat Azrael adds to the menace, always looking for a smurfalicious snack.. Its Season Two, Vol. 1 of Smurf Adventures, the Emmy-winning animated series [Outstanding Childrens Entertainment Series 1982-83] that delighted Saturday morning cartoon fans for nearly a decade.

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