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Title:
Superman: The Animated Series: Volume One: DC Comics Classics Collection
Disc One Episodes: “The Last Son Of Krypton: Part One”, “The Last Son Of Krypton: Part Two”, “The Last Son Of Krypton: Part Three”, “Fun And Games”, “A Little Piece Of Home”, “Feeding Time”
Disc
Two Episodes: “The Way Of All Flesh”, “Stolen Memories”, “The Main
Man: Part One”, “The Main Man: Part Two”, “My Girl”, “Tools Of The
Trade”, “Two’s A Crowd”, “The Prometheon”, “Blasts From The Past:
Part One”, “Blasts From The Past: Part Two”, “Livewire”, “Speed
Demons”
Region:
One
Genre:
Superhero Sci-Fi Animated Adventure
Starring
The Voices Of: Christopher McDonald, Tim Daly, Dana Delany, Clancy Brown,
Malcolm McDowell, Cory Burton, Mike Farrell, George Dzundza, Tress Macneille,
Jason Masrden, Bud Cort, John Rubinstein, Brad Garrett, Scott Valentine, Richard
Moll, and Michael York
Producers:
Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm
Feature
length: 396 minutes
Extras:
Commentary Tracks, Pop-Up Trivia
Track, “Superman: Learning To Fly” Featurette, “Building The Mythology:
Superman’s Supporting Cast” Featurette
Languages:
English French and Spanish Language Dolby Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Two-Disc Digipack Gatefold Within A Glossy Cardboard Slipcase
Sound:
Dolby Stereo Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 1996/DVD Release: 2005
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Superman
is arguably one of the most popular superhero characters ever created as well as
one of the best known of the DC Comics catalogue of heroes along with Batman.
With the success of “Batman: The Animated Series,” Bruce Timm and the team
of animators, writers, producers, and directors that produced the Batman series
took on bringing new animated adventures of “Superman” for a new generation
with the same signature animation style that has made Timm’s interpretations
of the DC universe a fan favorite for television. With a decidedly brighter look
and retro-futuristic Metropolis for Superman to fly around in, an optimistic
tone to contrast the brooding style of the animated Batman series was chosen. By
this time the Batman cartoons had become refined in appearance, but some fans
that would tune in to watch both shows back to back didn’t take to the look of
Superman immediately. In fact they felt as though the look of Superman was based
more on the false rumor that second-class animators were hired to work on the
series, when the reality was the same creative group that successfully brought
Batman back to animated life in the early 1990s were also consistently working
on the Superman animated series at the same time, which ran on TV from 1996 to
2000.
Since
the success of both shows, Timm and his creative team have continued the
adventures of Batman and Superman with straight-to-video feature films as well
as the sequel TV series “Justice League,” “Justice League Unlimited,”
and “Batman Beyond” as well as the spin-off “Teen Titans,” which has a
distinct anime look to it, but is also geared more toward younger viewers.
Personally I like the look of “Superman: The Animated Series” and think as a
whole these 18 early episodes look much better than the early Batman programs.
In fact they don’t look so antiquated at all when compared to recent shows
like “Justice League Unlimited.” The fact that the animators did not have
computer-generated imagery to help them realize certain sequences makes the
series as a whole look even more impressive in my opinion because quite frankly,
I do not feel that CGI elements used in the episodes of “Justice League
Unlimited” that I have seen are nearly as refined as they should be. Programs
like “Futurama” and “Star Wars: Clone Wars” have done a far better job
at integrating the CGI elements into the traditional cell animation than
“Justice League Unlimited” has. Thus I prefer the way the action is handled
on “Superman: The Animated Series” because it doesn’t stick out and seem
out of place.
The
voice cast includes Tim Daly as Superman, Dana Delany (China Beach) as Lois
Lane, and Clancy Brown (Highlander) as Lex Luthor. Recognizable guest voices
include Malcolm McDowell, Mike Farrell, Richard Moll, and Michael York. The
three-part series opener takes the viewer succinctly through the Superman origin
story from Krypton to Metropolis in less than an hour and still retains an
emotional impact too. Villains from the first 18 episodes include Toyman,
Brainiac, Lobo, The Preserver, Darkside, and Weather Wizard. DC Comics hero, The
Flash also makes a guest appearance in episode 18 “Speed Demons.”
Bruce
Timm, Paul Dini, Dan Riba, and Glen Murakami provide insightful and sometimes
amusing screen specific audio commentary tracks for “The Last Son Of Krypton:
Part One,” “Stolen Memories,” “The Main Man: Part Two,” and “Tools
Of The Trade,” in which they cover the reasons why certain adjustments were
made between the comics and the series as well as frequently reference what is
going on with characters in “Justice League Unlimited” as it relates back to
Superman. These commentaries are so informative that it makes the two
featurettes “Superman: Learning To Fly” (9:40), which covers the development
of the series, and “Building The Mythology: Superman’s Supporting Cast”
(9:37) seem like videotaped reiterations of what the series creators discuss in
the commentaries. There is also an onscreen pop-up trivia track for the episode
“A Little Piece Of Home” on disc one of this two-disc box set.
All
18 episodes are presented in their original (1.33:1) broadcast episode with a
full and clear English Dolby Stereo Soundtrack as well as French and Spanish
Language Dolby Stereo Soundtracks and English Closed Captions for the hearing
along with English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto both
discs as options. The picture quality of these 18 episodes is very clean with
only a few slight flecks and some fine compression artifacts noticeable in the
earlier episodes. The later episodes look cleaner too. The main menu is animated
with motion images in the comic panels while the subsequent menus are all
standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. Viewers can choose
to watch episodes individually or collectively using the “Play All” feature.
DVD trailers for “Batman: The Animated Series: Volume One: DC Comics Classics
Collection” (1:10), “Batman: The Animated Series: Volume Two: DC Comics
Classics Collection” (: 57), and “Challenge Of The Super Friends: The
Complete First Season: DC Comics Classics Collection” (1:12) wrap up the
features within this two-disc set.
“Superman: The Animated Series: Volume One: DC Comics Classics Collection” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.
©
Copyright 2005 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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