Author: Robert Greenberger

One of the joys of growing up in the 1960s is that you were treated to cartoons from earlier eras, long before limited animation filled the Saturday morning airwaves. Among those gems were the work of Max and Dave Fleischer, including Popeye, Gulliver’s Travels and, of course, Superman. Since then, they have fallen into public domain and were widely available, but never in the best condition.

Until Warner Bros. Home Entertainment got involved. First came a DVD set in 02006 and now we have a Blu-ray collection, mastered from the original film negatives. All seventeen episodes from September 26, 1941 through July 30, 1943 are here.

For those unfamiliar, the fairly formulaic stories involve a problem, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) getting into trouble, Clark Kent (Bud Collyer) changing in the phone booth (the trope introduced in the second short), and Superman to the rescue. This si the early Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Superman, so he’s not invulnerable to everything, he can’t exactly fly, and actually can wear down. We root for him to get back up, to not give in, and to fight the good fight.

None of the cartoons are based on any of the comic book stories and no supporting player or villain makes the leap. Even Perry White (Julian Noa), the Daily Planet editor, is named, just seen.

With an unprecedented $50,000 per ten-minute cartoon budget, the Fleischers rotoscoped portions of the stories and provided lush, multi-plane animation. The first nine the brothers produced remain among the most beloved animated cartoons produced in America. They were certainly influential on subsequent generations, notably Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, who used that look and feel for their Batman The Animated Series (but you knew that by now, right?).

Mad scientists, mechanical monsters, defrosted dinosaurs and the like are all here. As is World War II patriotic themes and caricatured villains. Each has their own thrills and with just ten minutes totally avoids characterization or much real interaction between rescuer and victim.
The effort to retore the cartoons has been hotly debated with Digital Bits slamming the effort with a scathing review. I suppose if you’re a videophile, their concerns have merit. But for someone who just wants a nice, clean DVD containing Superman history, you will barely notice.
Are they perfect? No. Errors from the DVD set, such as the incorrect intros, remain uncorrected. Clearly, a little more care could have been expended for the 1080p upgrade.

There’s nothing major to complain about regarding the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track.

The disc comes with the twin bonus features from the 2009 DVD— First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series (12:55) and The Man, The Myth, Superman (13:37) — plus one new piece: Max Fleischer’s Superman: Speeding Towards Tomorrow (13:20). Here, Warner Animation’s director Matt Peters, producer Jim Krieg, supervising producer Rick Morales, and screenwriter Jeremy Adams hold forth on the legacy of the cartoons.

This is likely as good as it will get so if you don’t have this in any form, or want a reasonably priced upgrade, then this comes well recommended.

Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy has stood the test of time, becoming beloved young adult fantasy novels. HBO saw enough promise in the story that they picked up a television adaptation after sister company New Line Cinema failed to ignite a fervent following with their singular film. Season One\ got things off to a good start while Season Two stumbled a little.

After pandemic delays, the third and final season of His Dark Materials arrived earlier this year and is now available on home video from HBO Home Entertainment. The final eight episodes loosely adapt the third book in Pullman’s trilogy The Amber Spyglass and does so in a satisfying enough way that we will miss the series, this world, and the fine ensemble that brought the characters to life.

The focus remains on Lyra (Dafne Keen) and her growing relationship and Will (Amir Wilson). First, they have to find one another what with Lyra still in Mrs. Coulter’s (Ruth Wilson) clutches, and Will is being told to kill Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), which he might do, but only after finding her.

The varying worlds and faiths are on full display as The Authority in Magesterium is tested, threatening its existence.

It’s beautiful to look at, densely packed with plots and religious allusions, and ultimately honors Pullman’s work.

The eight episodes look superb in 1080p with the 2.00:1 ratio. The gorgeous cinematography, coupled with superior CGI creatures, looks terrific on disc. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is its equal so the home viewing experience is an excellent one.

Despite being an HBO series, this box set does not have any Special Features, mores the pity.

Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy has stood the test of time, becoming beloved young adult fantasy novels. HBO saw enough promise in the story that they picked up a television adaptation after sister company New Line Cinema failed to ignite a fervent following with their singular film.

After pandemic delays, the third and final season of His Dark Materials arrived earlier this year and is now available on home video from HBO Home Entertainment. The final eight episodes loosely adapt the third book in Pullman’s trilogy The Amber Spyglass and does so in a satisfying enough way that we will miss the series, this world, and the fine ensemble that brought the characters to life.

The focus remains on Lyra (Dafne Keen) and her growing relationship and Will (Amir Wilson). First, they have to find one another what with Lyra still in Mrs. Coulter’s (Ruth Wilson) clutches, and Will is being told to kill Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), which he might do, but only after finding her.

The varying worlds and faiths are on full display as The Authority in Magesterium is tested, threatening its existence.

It’s beautiful to look at, densely packed with plots and religious allusions, and ultimately honors Pullman’s work.

The eight episodes look superb in 1080p with the 2.00:1 ratio. The gorgeous cinematography, coupled with superior CGI creatures, looks terrific on disc. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is its equal so the home viewing experience is an excellent one.

Despite being an HBO series, this box set does not have any Special Features, mores the pity.

Let me start by saying I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of RWBY, an American anime series that has been chugging along since its debut in 2013. For the last few years, producer Rooster Teeth has managed to partner with DC Comics for crossovers between the warriors, trained and dedicated to protecting the world of Remnant from Grimms, actual monsters.

I suppose it was inevitable that the comics crossovers would eventually find their way to the animated world where RWBY enjoys its fame. So, released recently is Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One, available as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital HD combo pack from Warner Home Entertainment.

The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes are brought to Remnant to help the teen heroes save their world. Somehow, DC’s stalwarts wind up as teen versions of themselves, to better match the warriors. As a result, Superman (Chandler Riggs), Wonder Woman (Natalie Alyn Lind), Batman (Nat Wolff), and The Flash (David Errigo, Jr.) arrive scattered among the kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo, unaware of how they arrived or why. They encounter Ruby (Lindsay Jones), Weiss (Kara Eberle), Blake (Arryn Zech), and Yang (Barbara Dunkelman) and pairings occur, so they adventure is spread around the world. Other Leaguers seen briefly in the film include Cyborg (Tru Valentino), Green Lantern (Jeannie Tirado), and Vixen (Ozioma Akagha).

Of course there’s a cliffhanger since this is part one, but I can easily wait. The familiar tropes are on display with little variation on the expected. Frankly, the screenplay from Meghan Fitzmartin, who previous wrote Justice Society: World War II, does precious little with the Teen JLA members which may explain why the RWBY characters feel predominant. This is definitely only for those who appreciate the RWBY world and characters. With Rooster Teeth overseeing the animation, our more familiar heroes certainly have a different look and feel, leaning in to the Anime influences.

The 2060p transfer is fin, nicely capturing the color palette of Remnant and its inhabitants. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio is merely adequate but acceptable.

There are just two Special Features: Justice Comes to Remnant (7:35) and You Look … Different (9:01). Additionally, fans can enjoy Justice League Unlimited’ s “Kid Stuff” (23:09) and Justice League Action’s “Plastic Man Saves the World” (11:14). 

Aneesh Chaganty, Will Merrick, and Nick Johnson have spent the last few years slowly building an anthology of films that deal with missing people and the growing sophistication of technology in our lives. They arrived on the scene with Searching in 2018, told entirely through computer screens. Then came Run in 2020, and now, after a Covid-19 delay, Missing. Chaganty directed the first two with Merrick and Johnson as editors; but now the editors have become screenwriters and make their directorial debut with the new film.

They have intertwined the characters from the three films so you actually get some closure for Run with dialogue in Missing.

The new film swaps the father seeking his daughter from the first film as this time, teenager June (Storm Reid) uses her laptop and computer skills to track the whereabouts of her mother, Grace (Nia Long), who has disappeared in Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung). Since she can’t leave America, June finds Javier (Joaquim de Almeida), a gig worker, to do the legwork in South America.

The film is the best sort of onion, with every new layer revealing twists and turns, upending what we thought only minutes before. No one is who they appear to be and June, still mourning her dead father, feels increasingly alone, isolated, and just a tad paranoid.  That she relies entirely on her computer for a real connection to the world works as a metaphor for so many teens (although, as a teacher, I jealous at how adept she is with the laptop compared with my own high schoolers).

There’s enough action and danger tossed into the story that we’re not just sitting and watching June and Javier do the real work, similar to a Twitch experience. Here, the tyro directors do a fine job ratcheting up the tension and handle the action just fine. They’re helped with a solid cast led by Reid, who has never been less than impressive in her roles.

The film, out on Blu-ray with a Digital HD Code from Sony Home Entertainment, has a fine 1080p transfer that lets all the digital screens and computer graphics shine. The visuals are improved by the excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack.

The disc comes with a very fine assortment of Special Features, including Storm Reid and the Challenge of Missing (5:34); The Screens that Rule Our Lives (5:10); Hunting for the MISSING Easter Eggs (8:28); Misdirects, Online Crimes and the Social Media Mystery of Missing (6:53): Making a Frame Timelapse (0:48); Deleted Scenes (9:07); Filmmaker’s Commentary with producer Natalie Qasabian, Merrick, and Johnson.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’ s All-Star Superman is described as the finest salute to Silver Age ever to be written, embracing all the silliness and heart found in the Mort Weisinger-edited run of the Superman family of titles. Distilled down into a feature animated film, the story remains the same, just tighter.

The 2011 Warner Home Entertainment release is back, making its 4K Ultra HD debut. I liked it when first released, and the new edition is sharper and crisper, the 2060p transfer is excellent. Is it enough to upgrade? That’s up to you, but it belongs in your home video library in one form or another.

The strength in the adaptation has everything to do with the late Dwayne McDuffie’s screen adaptation, aided and enhanced by a wonderful score by composer Christopher Drake

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is the same as the 2011 release and sounds just fine.

The 4K disc has two new Special Features, both featuring Director Sam Liu, composer Christopher Drake, producer Bruce Timm, and character designer Dusty Abell. The first is An All-Star Adaptation (7:57), which looks at the challenge of turning a dozen comic books into a coherent 77 minute film. The other is An All-Star Salute to the Silver Age (7:16), which leans into the absurdity of some stories, all aimed at the younger end of the readership.

Also included in both the 4K and Blu-ray discs are the original features: Audio Commentary – with Timm and Morrison; The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison; All-Star Superman #1 Digital Comic; and Superman Now. A digital HD code is also included in the package.

The latest Warner Animated DC feature film adapts the 2000-2001 Elseworlds miniseries Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham. The fun of the Elseworlds comics, and soon the live-action versions under the new artistic regime, is taking the familiar and imagining them in other times and other places. Here, we do back to the early 20^th century and overlay it with a dose of Loftcraftian horror.

Cowritten by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace, two men better known for their artistic skills, this story was designed for visual impact, something Troy Nixey did well in print, and the animators from Jase Ricci’s script and co-directed by Sam Liu and Christopher Berkeley, replicate nicely.

Basically, an arctic expedition headed by Bruce Wayne (David Giuntoli), sent to check on a previous team led by Professor Oswald Cobblepot (William Salyers) reveals horrors and a missing professor. The only surviving is Grendon (David Dastmalchian), but there’s something definitely off about him, so of course, they bring him back to Gotham City.

There’s a mystery to be solved, so the millionaire adventurer dons his cape and cowl and, accompanied by Kai Li Cain (Tati Gabrielle), Dick Grayson (Jason Marsden), Sanjay Tawde (Karan Brar), and Alfred Pennyworth (Brian George), he goes on the hunt.

Complicating matters, she tends to, is Talia al-Ghul (Emily O’Brien), seeking a way to resurrect her deadly father, who was responsible for Thomas and Martha Wayne’s death two decades earlier. Toss in Oliver Queen (Christopher Gorham), James Gordon (John DiMaggio), Lucius Fox (Tim Russ), Harvey Dent (Patrick Fabian), Barbara Gordon (Gideon Adlon), stir in a dash of demon, place on a low heat and let things simmer.

If anything, the leisurely pacing of the story hurts it as does a less than clear narrative, so you’re not as fully engaged in the goings-on as one should be. It’s pleasant enough, but the makings of a much stronger, scarier story are not used to their best potential.’

The film is available in the now-standard 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital HD code combo pack. The 4K 2160p transfer is strong, nicely capturing the animated look and color palette. Given the appropriately unique look to this horror take on the DCU, they do a creditable job. The same can be said of the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track.

As for the Special Features, you get a fine Audio Commentary with Liu, Ricci, DC creative director Mike Carlin, and producer Jim Krieg. Additionally, there is Batman: Shadows of Gotham (13:12) and From the DC Vault – Batman: The Animated Series: “The Demon’s Quest” Part One (22:18) and Part Two (22:14) [Only on the Blu-ray].

Gerard Butler was destined for stardom around the time he was the lead in 300 but the fates have not been kind, so he continues to get work, reminding us of his skills. Unfortunately, the quality of the vehicles he appears in varies wildly and thankfully the most recent, Plane, is better than most.

A large part of the credit goes to the always-likable Mike Colter, regardless of the part he plays. Here, he’s a fugitive from justice, being extradited by Butler when their airplane crashes. In a hostile Pacific environment, they are on the run, chased by Datu Junmar (Evan Dane Taylor), and the rescue team led by Scarsdale (Tony Goldwyn), former Special Ops, who knows a thing or two.

Were it just the two of them, the black and white men on the run and opposite sides of the law would loudly echo The Defiant Ones, but with other passengers in the mix, it’s down to a dull roar in the background. Some of the character arcs are interesting, and none of the characters are particularly memorable. There’s even a C-plot with Butler and his scene daughter Haleigh Hekking.

The movie, out on disc now from Lionsgate, was written by Charles Cumming and J. P. Davis, and they do a fine job keeping the suspense going. With direction by Jean-François Richet, this is an enjoyable B film that doesn’t demand much from the audience.

The movie is out in the usual 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital HD code combo pack. The 2160p and 1080p transfers are both top notch, easily capturing the color saturation the tropical clime demands. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is almost as satisfying.

There is not much of the way in Special Features but you do get This Is Your Captain (14:18), spotlighting Butler; Plane Clothes (6:51), Brace for Turbulence (19:14), and the Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:29).

Filmation caught lightning in a bottle. In 1965 or so, with no real money or track record, they bamboozled DC Comics into licensing Superman for animated fare. Just as the Man of Steel flew to his Broadway debut and Batmania was sweeping the country, they gave us Superman cartoons, followed by Aqualand and friends. Finally, in 1968, six months after the live-action series left ABC, CBS Saturday Morning welcomed The Batman/Superman Hour, mixing the 1966 super-doings with brand new 12-minute Bat-capades.

All 34 capers are now packaged in remastered form as The Adventures of Batman, a two-disc set from Warner Home Entertainment. At 10, I was delighted by these, even if some of the equipment and villains didn’t look quite on model, and even at that tender age, I recognized how many shots were reused to stretch the animation budget.

They played it straight and in animated form, worked without the camp element that propelled the live-action series to stratospheric heights. In a mere dozen minutes, we have a villain, conflict, death trap, battle, and quips between the Dynamic Duo. It was pleasing fare that went nicely with a bowl of cereal.

Olen Soule’s Batman was solid and serious with Casey Kasem’s Robin not sounding right. He just couldn’t vary his voice enough for the parts he played, which included Chief O’Hara. Ted Knight, the redoubtable narrator, does better with his Commissioner Gordon, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, and Mad Hatter.

Dennis Marks, Bill Keenan, and Oscar Bensol were all animation veterans, with Marks going back to the beginning a few years before. They were joined by DC writers Bob Haney and George Kashdan, who both cut their teeth on the earlier Aquaman stories. Interestingly, they use the villainous heavy-hitters and add in Scarecrow, who never made it to live-action. Conversely, none of the live-action original foes are seen here. Instead, we get Simon the Pieman as a repeat offender.

Looking at them now, though, you see they were not terribly well-thought-out, and certainly, the conflicts and fights were pedestrian without the outrageousness of the ABC incarnation. It didn’t closely resemble either the Adam West-led series or the Julie Schwartz-edited comic books, so doesn’t particularly work well. This set is for nostalgia only.

The 1080p high definition transfer is definitely superior to the 2014 DVD collection but it also makes the limited animation more glaring. Thank goodness things move quickly enough you don’t pay attention. The best looking Batman is the Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez style guide art that graces the box. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix is perfectly fine for what we’re dealing with.

The two-disc set presents zero extras nor is there a digital HD code.

DISC ONE

My Crime Is Your Crime / A Bird Out of Hand

The Cool, Cruel Mr. Freeze / The Joke’s on Robin

How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow? / In Again, Out Again Penguin

The Nine Lives of Batman / Long John Joker

Bubi, Bubi, Who’s Got the Ruby? / The 1001 Faces of the Riddler

The Big Birthday Caper / Two Penguins Too Many

Partners in Peril / The Underworld Underground Caper

Hizzoner the Joker / Freeze’s Frozen Vikings

The Crime Computer / The Great Scarecrow Scare

DISC TWO

A Game of Cat and Mouse / Beware of Living Dolls

Will the Real Robin Please Stand Up? / He Who Swipes the Ice, Goes to the Cooler

Simon the Pieman / A Mad, Mad Tea Party

From Catwoman with Love / Perilous Playthings

A Perfidious Pieman Is Simon / Cool, Cruel Christmas Caper

The Fiendishly Frigid Fraud / Enter the Judge

The Jigsaw Jeopardy / Wrath of the Riddler

It Takes Two to Make a Team / Opera Buffa

Long live the Legion!

Since early in their existence, I have been a diehard fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes, so I am immediately drawn to anything featuring them. The current Warner Animation release, Legion of Super-Heroes, certainly makes me smile—that is, when I’m not grimacing.

The film picks up on the current animated continuity so we have a Supergirl (Meg Donnelly), relatively new to Earth. She’s a headstrong teen still coming into her powers, and for some reason, Superman (Darren Criss), who already had the benefit of Pa Kent’s tutelage, can’t manage her. When Batman (Jansen Ackles) points out she’s a threat in her current condition, the Man of Steel decides she needs more help than he can give.

Using a time sphere, he brings her to the 31^st Century, where she is immediately accepted into the Legion Academy. Then, in both time periods, a threat from the mysterious Circle presents a clear and present danger.

While in the future, Supergirl befriends a few Legionnaires, and we see some scant effort at training any of the rookies. The actual members—Timber Wolf (Robbie Daymond), Shadow Lass (Victoria Grace), and Dawnstar (Cynthia Hamidi)—seem more worried that the rest of the team is in the distant reaches of the universe and can’t be reached.

At first, it seems that Supergirl is drawn to the flirty Mon-El (Yuri Lowenthal), but then as she bickers and works alongside Brainiac 5 (Harry Shum Jr.), she recognizes a connection. Meantime, Brainy, despite being a 12^th-level intellect, is either an ass or an idiot for most of the story, oftentimes both. What she sees in him is elusive.

There are several unsatisfactory reveals in this story from screenwriter Josie Campbell, including the Circle’s leader and a traitor within the Legion. Neither work.

And while it was nice seeing so many of the team in brief glimpses, it just wasn’t enough, nor did it make any sense which members were suddenly designated trainees versus full members. The shape-shifting Proty was fun but little used.

It was fun if you’re a Legion fan, but its storytelling weaknesses drag down a promising story. The tag with its cliffhanger was certainly unnecessary.

The animation style is clean but overly simplified so Superman looks cartoony compared with Batman or the Legionnaires. The best part was Supergirl’s hair and facial expressions.

The film, out now in all the usual formats, looks particularly nice in 4K, with a sharp 2160p transfer that captures the colors nicely. The accompanying Blu-ray looks equally sharp. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is perfectly fine, a solid match.

There are an assortment of extras here, including the Digital HD code. As for features, there’s The Legion Behind the Legion (4:40) with producer James Krieg, Campbell, Donnelly, and Lowenthal; Down to Earth: The Story of Supergirl (8:21); Meet the Legionnaires (9:24), sort of hosted by the not funny Krieg; and Brainiac Attack: The Intellect Behind the Super-Villain (8:14).

On disc only, there are also From the DC Vault – Superman: The Animated Series episodes “Little Girl Lost, Part 1” (21:17) and “Little Girl Lost, Part 2” (21:29).