Hey folks, Valkor here. And how's about I toss some animation goodness your way to go with all this techie-stuff being passed around these days? If you're a fan of Mad magazine, then the folks at Warner Home have the perfect DVD for you. Currently airing on The Cartoon Network and now home for your enjoyment, here's a look at Mad Season One Volume Two DVD.
Take all of the cartoony bits, parodies, yucks, and even those tiny strips featured around the edges of a Mad Magazine and you've got Mad… in animated format. The show runs for 11 minutes and is full of celebrity gags, spoofs, fake ads, and plenty of pop culture references just to name a few. And before you know it, you're done and on to the next vid – yes it's that fast. Think of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken and you get the idea. Actually some of the minds and voices of RC are a part of this show, so if you're a fan of the Chicken, then you'll recognize some of their players. Highlights include:
Smallville: Turn Off the Clark – Now that Smallville has ended, what's a superhero, who only got to wear his super-suit for just a few seconds, to do? Go out Broadway style!
Fresh Prawn of Bel Air – Its District 9 meets The Fresh Prince. Nuff said!
Yo Gagga Gagga – It's Yo Gabba Gabba but with Lady Ga Ga at the helm and citizens in this world are none too happy with her fashion sense.
Avenger Time – Don't mess with the cosmic cube. You'll end up in the strangest of places.
Force Code (Val Favorite) – Star Wars meets Source Code? Eh! I got 8 minutes!
You get all this and everything in between, including Spy vs. Spy. Extras include a look at the Mad magazine digital copy and trailers for Young Justice and the new Thundercats series. So after watching Force Code umpteen number of times, I can finally tell you what's up in the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
The 11 minute format works perfectly with Mad's style of humor and this DVD has loads of humor. From beginning to end you'll either laugh your face off or at least spit out a chuckle or two at the some of the hilarity. Personally? I enjoyed it! And while the animated bits on this DVD are all over the place, fans of the magazine will feel right at home and able to keep up. There's a variety of style of animations, which range from straight up animation, cardboard cut-out style, and even Claymation, all of which looks crisp and clean. For some reason the DVD isn't full screen – expect black bars all around, but it still looks pretty sweet. Overall this is a solid DVD and a great series. Definitely head on over to Cartoon Network and check it out.
The Bad:
I think they could have squeezed in some extras, maybe material that ended up on the chopping room floor (I bet their saving it for some big season one release). And this next negative isn't towards the DVD, more for the show – I feel it needs to air on Adult Swim; the series has that edge to it that I feel if added to the late night slot, could really cut loose on some of the jokes.
The Ugly:
N/A
Mad Season One Volume Two DVD is available now along with Season Part One. If you're a fan of the magazine then you'll definitely tune into this set. Animated Mad is both entertaining and fun. And out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving this set a 4 and it's been Valkor Viewed, TOV Approved!
Valkor Out!
