The animated hit Madagascar 3 and Wes Anderson’s indie sleeper Moonrise Kingdom hit DVD this week along with the latest season of Mad Men, and the first series of one of the most popular drama series in the U.K., plus here’s the answer to whether or not you should buy that new Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2.

                                                             

 

The biggest seller this week will likely be Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (Dreamworks, “PG,” $29.98, BD/Combo $39.99), the latest in the kid-favorite franchise about escaped zoo animals still trying to make their way back to Central Park. Wildly colorful and highly kinetic in spite of its predictable plot, Madagascar 3 demonstrates the growing visual skill of the Dreamworks animators.

 

Art and movie fans have a real treat in store with Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (Universal, “PG-13” $29.98, BD/Combo $34.98), his best film since Rushmore. Moonrise Kingdom earned a stellar 94% positive rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes while bringing in a very solid $45.4 million at the box office. Anderson’s usual theme of sensitive youngsters at the mercy of conflicted adults yields real dividends here as it did in Rushmore, and his melancholic reaction to the entropic ways of the world is even more palpable in Moonrise Kingdom.

 

The rest of this week’s theatrical offerings are considerably less interesting. That’s My Boy (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $35.99) starred Adam Sandler in a truly cringe-worthy role as the embarrassing father of Andy Samberg. This turkey could manage only a 21% positive rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but far more damning is the fact that the film earned just $36.9 million at the box office—if Sandler’s fans won’t go to see this dog’s breakfast of a film, there really is no reason for anyone else to take the trouble. 

 

Only slightly better is Chernobyl Diaries (Warner Bros., “R,” $28.98, BD $35.99), a horror film written by Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) about a group of good looking young people whose idea of an adventurous good time is exploring the abandoned city of Pripyat, the former home of the workers at the Chernobyl nuclear plant where they find (surprise, surprise) that they are not alone.

 

 

The top release in this category this week is Mad Men Season 5 (Lionsgate, $48.98, BD $49.98), which includes the long-delayed fifth installment of the Emmy-magnet series about the rise of the world of advertising and its role in the development of consumer culture in the 1950s and 1960s. In its portrait of Don Draper Mad Men has limned the most penetrating look at the un-tethered pursuit of the American dream by a character that remains largely a cipher defined only by his ambitions since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Mad Men looks back at society that, roiled by a civil rights struggle and a youth revolt, was far from perfect, but which allowed far more social mobility than contemporary America with its increasingly strong economic and class divisions.

 

Other contemporary series due this week include all 13 episodes of the short-lived Alcatraz: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., 572 min., $39.99, BD $49.98), the edgy MTV teen drama Awkward: Season 2 (MTV, 344 min., $19.99), the humorous USA detective series Psych: The Complete 6th Season (Universal, $59.98), and the Kiefer Sutherland-starring supernatural thriller series Touch: The Complete First Season (Fox, $49.98).

 

The top animated release this week is The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol.2 (Warner Bros., BD $44.98), a three-disc, 50-cartooon collection that includes for the first time ten post-1935 black-and-white cartoons that are new to DVD. Most of these cartoons have been released before in the Looney Tunes Golden Collections, but it is great to see them in hi-definition and the Blu-ray edition (the only way to go with this set) includes a third disc with some of Tex Avery’s choicest MGM cartoons along with a boatload of cool documentary material. In spite of the fact that the vast majority of these cartoons have appeared on DVD before, there’s enough new here, and just enough of an upgrade in quality, to make this purchase worthwhile for the serious animation fan.

 

Also due this week is the 13-episode Batman: The Animated Series: Super Villain’s—The Joker’s Last Laugh (Warner Bros., $19.98), which includes the series’ most memorable encounters between The Dark Knight and his maniacal foe, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: 13 Spooky Tales—Holiday Thrills and Chills (Warner Bros., 300 min., $19.98). 

 

Other kid shows include Big Bag Beetleborgs: Season 1, Vol.1 (Shout Factory, 540 min., $19.93), a 1990s Saban Entertainment live-action series that adapted combat footage from the Metal Hero tokusatsu series Juukou B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto, and the holiday-themed Power Rangers Samurai: Christmas Together, Friends Forever (Lionsgate, 69 min., $14.98).

 

Complete series out this week include the very funny Chappelle’s Show: The Complete Series (Comedy Central, $39.99), Columbo: The Complete Series (Universal, 3900 min., $149.98), a massive 34-disc set of the classic detective series starring Peter Falk, the John Gresham-inspired The Firm: The Complete Series (eONE, 990 min., $39.98), and the stylish Blake Edwards-produced 1960 series Mr. Lucky: The Complete Series (Timeless Media, 840 min., $34.98).

 

Single-season vintage releases include the classic western Gunsmoke: The Sixth Season, Vol.2 (Paramount, 495 min., $36.98), the San Diego-based detective series Simon & Simon; Season Seven (Shout Factory, $29.99), and a Blu-ray edition of the wacky sitcom That 70s Show: Season 2 (Mill Creek, 999 min., $24.98).

 

The top U.K. release is Waterloo Road: Series 1 (Acorn Media, 414 min., $39.99), a hard-hitting, if melodramatic look at the teachers and students at a troubled high school in the U.K. The series focuses primarily on the teachers, but still manages to devote time to the students and deal with tough issues like child abuse, suicide, and teen drunk driving. The show began in 2006 and is currently running its 8th series in the U.K. This show has been a big hit in the U.K. where it was voted “Most Popular Drama” at the 2011 National Television Awards.

 

The top documentary this week is Brave New World (Acorn Media, 231 min., $49.99), a fascinating five-part series hosted by Stephen Hawking that examines potential breakthroughs that could have huge effects on human life in the coming decades.

 

 

There are lots of releases this week including the first Blu-ray edition of Ga-Rei-Zero: The Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 300 min., $54.98), a 12-episode prequel anime series by AIC based on supernatural action manga by Hajime Segawa. Also due in the high def format for the first time is the Hellsing Ultimate Collection Set 1 (Funimation, “17+,” DVD/Combo $59.98), which includes all four OVAs from the popular vampire anime series.

 

Also due this week are Idolmaster: Xenoglossia Collection 1 (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 325 min. $49.98), which includes the first half of a 26-episode 2007 anime series produced by Sunrise and based on the Bandai Namco game series The Idolmaster, and the magic tinged fantasy Someday’s Dreamers II Sora (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 300 min., $49.98) that collects all 12-episodes of the 2008 series based on the delightful manga series by Norie Yamada.

 

Re-priced re-releases include Tenchi Muyo: Universe Complete Series (Funimation, “14+,” 650 min., $39.98).

 

 

Letter From an Unknown Woman (Olive Films, “Not Rated,” BD $29.95) is one of the most beautiful American films made during the 1940s and is certainly deserving of the Blu-ray treatment. Based on a novella by Stefan Zweig, Letter From an Unknown Woman is director Max Ophuls’ best American film, a sensitive study of a shy young woman who falls in love with a dazzlingly handsome young concert pianist (the 1890s equivalent of a rock star). This is the kind of high quality “woman’s picture” that they no longer make in Hollywood—more’s the pity!

 

Disney has released a number of its second-tier animated releases on Blu-ray this fall and even though they don’t get the publicity that the new “platinum” editions of the better known Disney features do, parents and kids (as well as animation fans) may well find it worthwhile to check them out. Of particular interest is The Rescuer’s: 35th Anniversary Edition (Disney, “G,” BD/Combo $39.99), which includes both the 1977 The Rescuers and its sequel, The Rescuers Down Under. Released in 1977, The Rescuers, which is loosely based on a series of children’s books by Margery Sharp, was a breath of fresh air that paved the way for the continuation of the Disney animation tradition. It combined the talents of young animators like Don Bluth with Disney veterans like Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas and the result remains a film that still has the ability to please and enthrall younger kids.

 

Equally pleasing to the younger set, though of more recent vintage, is The Tigger Movie: Bounce-A-Riffic Special Edition (Disney, “G,” BD/Combo $39.99), a well animated film based on A.A. Milne’s classic children’s books. Yes, the music can be cloying, but the animation and the voice acting are first rate—and this is far better than some of Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh films such as those starring Piglet and Roo. 

 

The Tigger Movie received (and deserved) a theatrical release, but Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp’s Adventure (Disney, “G,” BD/Combo $39.99) was a direct-to-DVD release. Nevertheless Disney’s direct-to-DVD animation is a lot better than anyone else’s, and though this film isn’t as good as the original Lady and the Tramp, it is a lot fun, especially for young children.

 

The Pocahontas Two Movie Special Edition (Disney, “G,” BD $29.99) is a great deal in that it includes the original Disney Pocahontas movie as well as the direct-to-DVD Pocahontas special that was originally released in 2000. While these aren’t the best Disney animated films ever, they are well done and represent a solid value for parents looking for something different to show their kids.

 

Also out on Blu-ray this fall is The Aristocats (Disney, “G,” BD/Combo $39.99), which presents an excellent hi-def version of the 1970 cartoon feature that was the last project personally approved by Walt Disney. Five of Disney’s “Nine Old Men” original studio animators worked on the film, and though it is far from perfect, those who enjoy the classic Disney style of animation will find more than enough satisfaction with this new hi-def releases.

 

 Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.