"THE ALL NEW SUPER FRIENDS HOUR: SEASON ONE; VOLUME TWO"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Danny Dark as SUPERMAN Shannon Farnon as WONDER WOMAN Olan Soule as BATMAN Casey Kasem as ROBIN Michael Bell as ZAN Louise Williams as JAYNA Norman Alden as AQUAMAN Not Rated Studio: Warner Bros. Own it on January 27 Check out the Kids WB official site Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the late 1970s, the Saturday morning cartoon “The Super Friends” was revamped, dropping the dorky teenage sidekicks, picking up the Wonder Twins and presenting the show in a full hour of adventures and interstitials. Follow the Super Friends’ regular cast of Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman with guests like Black Vulcan, Green Lantern and Samurai as they battle evil, aliens and teenagers getting into trouble.
WHAT I LIKED
I am a child of the 70s, and I remember racing downstairs on Saturday mornings to watch this series on television. Likewise, I remember getting home from school and catching the cartoons in syndication on weekday afternoons. This was a warm and welcome blast from the past for me.
Sure, they’re not nearly as cool as the modern superheroes. There’s a lot of cheese in these stories, and not everything makes sense. If you want to examine “The All New Super Friends Hour” as a quality show that holds up to the comics, you’ll fail. However, for the younger viewer who remembers how our heroes were shown in the 70s on television, you’ll love it.
It’s not uncommon to catch these episodes on Boomerang, and I’ve watched them with my kids. They absolutely ate them up. We all enjoyed the bite-sized format of the show, giving us a couple adventures with interstitials like magic tricks, crafts, decoders and public service information. Ultimately, if offered an excellent opportunity for me to bond with my young sons, and we have all become friends again with the Super Friends.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The only real drawback from a nostalgia standpoint is the packaging of the DVD. There are only eight episodes on two discs, so it’s easy to burn through the set pretty quickly. Also, some of the episodes are shown out of order, so the teaser for the Hawkman episode on the second disc never shows up and is probably found on the first volume.
DVD FEATURES
There’s only one special feature, but it’s a great one. “The Wonder Twins Phenomenon” examines the wildly popular Wonder Twins and their impact on pop culture. Modern celebrities, comic book experts and animators talk about Zan and Jayna’s legacy, including how they were beefed up for their own comic book arcs. And it’s nice to know that my son and I weren’t the only ones to wonder how Gleek always ended up with a bucket.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who loved this show in its original Saturday morning cartoon time slot... and their kids.
