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Unexpected
Changes Episodes: Strategy X, The X Impulse, Rogue Recruit
X
Marks The Spot Episodes: Turn Of The Rogue, Spyke Cam, Survival Of The Fittest
Xposing
The Truth Episodes: Shadowed Past, Grim Reminder, Cauldron, Parts 1 & 2
Starring
The Voices Of: Scott McNeil, David Kaye, Noel Fisher, Collen Wheeler, Michael
Dobson, Maggie Blue O’Hara, Megan Black, and Neil Dennis
Directors:
Frank Paur, Steven E. Gordon, and Gary Graham
Producer:
Boyd Kirkland
Executive
Producers: Rick Unger, Avi Arad, and Stan Lee
Feature
lengths: 63 minutes/64 minutes/85 minutes
Extras:
Episode Introductions, Featurettes, and Trailers
Languages:
English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Snap Cases
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 2000/DVD Release: 2003
Television
Network: The WB
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Warner
Home Video is releasing the complete first season of the hit WB Kids animated
series “X-Men Evolution” to DVD with four volumes available separately or as
one four-pack bundle. This will accompany their “X-Men Evolution: Mutants
Rising” DVD, which was released this past spring and remain on sale, but sold
separately from the season one DVD pack and at a slightly higher retail price
depending on where you buy it.
“X-Men
Evolution” features some new and old characters as the viewer watches their
stories told from the point of view of their teenage years for the most part.
The story has various characters being recruited into Professor Xavier’s
School for the Gifted and train to develop and control their powers while trying
to fit in with society at a local public high school. Mystique is present at the
public school in a disciplinarian role seeking out young mutants to join
Magneto’s “Brotherhood of Mutants.” I hesitate to put the word “evil”
in relation to Magneto because while he is an ominous figure, I think he is more
of a force of misguidance than a force of corruption. Considering the history of
the human race in the twentieth century, I cannot deny that his feelings are not
somewhat justified even though they are obviously extreme to say the least.
Unfortunately
I was only provided with three of the four volumes that make up the first season
so there is a bit of the story and accompanying featurettes included on each
disc that I was not able to view. So the second disc mentioned here is actually
the third volume one would buy in order to have the complete first season.
“Unexpected Changes” and “X Marks The Spot” contain three episodes each
while “Xposing The Truth” contains four episodes, including the two-part
season finale “The Cauldron.” The DVD volume I was unable to screen in time
for this review is entitled “Xplosive Days.” The picture quality is quite
good with vibrant colors and nice contrasts. All of the episodes are presented
in their original (1.33:1) television broadcast aspect ratio. The English Dolby
Surround Soundtrack is just fine in my opinion. Very clear and well mixed, I
think comparison to standard broadcasts heard through everyday television stereo
speakers will yield results in favor of the DVD not just because one is hearing
the sound through a home theater system, but because the discs themselves simply
have a greater range that can easily be appreciated when compared to a standard
analogue broadcast. French and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks and
English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as well as French
and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded on to each DVD as options.
Each
disc features videotaped episode introductions with Producer Boyd Kirkland as
well as the Story Editor and various episode Directors and can be viewed as one
reel running at (5:02) for “Unexpected Changes,” (5:53) for “X Marks The
Spot,” and (7:00) for “Xposing The Truth.” These featurettes cover the
events of each story succinctly and how they effected the overall character arcs
for the first season and future seasons that followed among other topics. The
character development is discussed in greater detail on “X Marks The Spot”
in the “Tales Of The X-Men” featurette (5:40) while the visual development
of the characters in the story as it related to the previous animated series
from the 1990s, the first feature film, and the comic books is explored in the
“Evolution Of X-Men” featurette (5:53) on the “Unexpected Changes” DVD.
“Xposing The Truth” features “X-Men Unmasked” (6:54) with voice cast
interview clips discussing their animated counterparts and Producer Boyd
Kirkland going into detail on what he was looking for when casting Voice Actors
for the various roles. A trailer (1:22) for the complete first season of
“X-Men Evolution” on DVD wraps up the extra features included on the volumes
noted above. The menus are all standard interactive still frames that are easy
to navigate.
The
complete first season of “X-Men Evolution” will debut on DVD-Video in four
volumes sold separately or as one pack at retailers on and offline on Tuesday,
September 23, 2003 from Warner Home Video.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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