Galaxy Defenders

TV Review: MEN IN BLACK: THE ANIMATED SERIES – SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE
PG – 145mins – 1997
Based on the Malibu comic series created by: Lowell Cunningham
Executive Producers: Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes, Richard Raynis, Rafael Rosado
Starring the voice talents of: Ed O’Ross, Keith Diamond, Jennifer Lien, Charles Napier, Pat Pinney, Pat Fraley, Tony Shaloub, Eddie Barth, David Warner, Sherman Howard, Rino Romano
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Getting maximum wear out of the last suit they’ll ever don, intergalactic Agents Jay (Keith Diamond) and Kay (Ed O’Ross) return in this animated spin-off of continued undercover adventures to keep the Earth safe from – and ignorant of – the scum of the Universe.

Much like 1997’s other franchise-emanated line-drawn supernatural enforcers, the Extreme Ghostbusters (Volume One reviewed HERE), Men In Black: The Animated Series by-and-large employs a “foe of the week” plot formula which works best when the capers reference or utilize the cache of oddball characters established in the blockbuster films.

For instance, Frank the Pug (Eddie Barth) and Jeebs the limb re-sprouting pawnshop clerk (Tony Shaloub – reprising his role from the films) make a couple of welcome appearances, while the coffee-slurping Worms and mainframe-operating Twins are ever-present in the background at MIB HQ.

Kay is as solemn and tight-lipped about his past as Tommy Lee Jones is on the big screen, while silver tongued rookie Jay is relentlessly optimistic about chipping away his partner’s austerity. Unfortunately, despite its colourful menagerie of alien adversaries, this series suffers from feeling too flat and being too smothered by Kay’s resolute gruffness – Jay is rarely given a chance to shine and any focus on his character is usually to highlight his naïve ineptitude.

This seven episode, single disc collection is simply too short and would have benefited from being packaged alongside Volume Two (available separately) – particularly as Sony have four seasons worth of adventures at their disposal! Nevertheless, a returning character in the form of cricket-legged bounty hunter Buzzard (Sherman Howard) does provide satisfying symmetry between episodes #02 and #07, capping off this slender set nicely.


In a CR@B Shell: The team of writer’s try valiantly to inject Agent Jay with Will Smith’s mischievous overconfidence, but Men In Black: The Animated Series feels too suppressed under Kay’s cloak of misery to come to life. MIB? More like DOA.
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Puppy Power!

DVD Review: BOLT
PG – 96mins – 2009
Written by: Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams, with Byron Howard and Jared Stern
Directed by: Byron Howard and Chris Williams
Starring the voice talents of: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, Greg Germann
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On the surface, this hyper-modern tale of a genetically enhanced superdog who can shoot lasers from his eyes, outrun speeding locomotives and bark loud enough to decimate motorways, sounds like a radically cool sci-fi twist on Disney's routine talking animal 'toon template.

But don't start yapping for joy just yet, folks, because unfortunately Bolt fails to reinvent the (hamster) wheel like its quirky premise promises. After a refreshingly erractic – and dare I be so complimentary? Avant garde – double bluff opening which triumphantly pulls you in two completely opposing directions, once the bombast has settled down you soon realise that you've seen this story a thousand times before.

You see, our eponymous pup (Travolta) may be a superstar, but he's only a superhero in his own mind. For Bolt is actually the lead in an action-packed hit TV show, but the powers-that-be behind the camera have made the curious decision to keep the truth of their scripted operation from their cute-but-courageous four-legged star, in order to extract a more realistic performance from their cash canine. I've heard of method acting but this takes the (doggy) biscuit!

Naturally, this causes no end of hassle in making sure that Bolt truly believes in this make believe reality where he fights off mysterious helmeted henchmen in his quest to take down his evil green-eyed nemesis, Dr Calico (McDowell), even when the cameras aren't rolling.

But when the deluded dog is accidentally let out of his trailer and separated from his co-star and young human owner, Penny (Cyrus), he is forced to confront the disheartening truth and comprehend his own mortality as he makes his way back to the Hollywood film lot he calls home through a real world which is so much more terrifying when you aren't the invincible hero you thought you were.

As you would expect, lessons are learnt, truths are told, faiths are regained and self-referential parent-pleasing quips are fired off, as Bolt treks from city-to-city in loyal search of “his person”, accompanied – as is the convention in these matters – by a couple of lovingly misunderstood sidekick “outcast” critters.

Meet Mittens, a cynical, de-clawed alley cat, and Rhino, an overweight TV-obsessed hamster in a transparent exercise ball. Mittens provides Bolt with the no-nonsense reality of his predicament, while dreamer Rhino is noteworthy only for his over-use of the word “awesome” (which, ironically, is anything but). He even hilariously (sic) evolves it into “be-awesome”, which is a whole syllable easier to say than 'beyond awesome', except it makes absolutely zero sense.

Annoying word use aside, the crux to Bolt's success is that once the high concept disguise is stripped away from this slick pup, all you are left with is just another syrupy sweet rite of passage Disney clone, straddled with the added disadvantage of requiring even more of a stretch of your imagination than usual.

The scriptwriting team don't exactly help themselves either by seemingly being unable to make up their minds regarding a rather major plot point. Is Bolt the biggest and most easily distinguishable celebri-dog since Lassie with billboards and merchandise in his image, or is he just another mutt with a lightening bolt painted on his fur who is not recognised by pigeons and gets thrown in the dog pound without a glance at his Hollywood engraved dog tag? Furthermore, if he's such a valuable asset to the TV network, then are we really supposed to believe that when he goes missing, the best advertising they can muster is Penny's crudely handwritten A4 poster?

No, I'm not barking mad (just a stickler for pedantry), and yes, I'm well aware that I'm looking far too deeply into a light-hearted family-focused animation, but as even the in-film executives at the Hollywood television studios understood: consistency helps build a believable universe, and without it, you're completely boned.


In a CR@B Shell: “Be-awesome” on the outside but less-than-pedigree on the inside, Bolt fails to innovate from Disney's rigid tradition, despite a wicked hook which sadly tails off after five thunderous and unconventional opening minutes. Doggone it.
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Animated Afterlife

Boxset Review: THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
PG – 4hours 55mins (total) – 1986/2009
Story Editor: J. Michael Straczynski
Based on the characters created by: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
Director: Richard Raynis
Starring the voices of: Arsenio Hall, Maurice La Marche, Lorenzo Music, Laura Summer, Frank Welker
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Finally released on Region 2 DVD last year to coincide with the live action film's 25th Anniversary (and the multi-platform video game), this double disc collection of all 13 episodes from The Real Ghostbusters's debut season is a real trip down memory lane for any child of the eighties who used to roam their house in a makeshift proton-pack, zapping all the phantoms in the furniture. Oh – just me then...?

Instantly elevated to the precipice of greatness by the use of that classic theme song by Ray Parker Jnr. (“Who You Gonna Call?” NOT 118!), these further animated adventures of the phantom-blasting foursome (and cheeky glutton Slimer) manage to stay tonally true to the horror/comedy original: a pop-tastic soundtrack (unexpected in a cartoon, but effectively employed) and a heavy helping of humour help to recreate the wit and banter of the cult classic film.

Fan favourite Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) – in true Bill Murray style – is the deliverer of bucket-loads of dry sarcasm, but the entire team have their fair share of witticisms, and Slimer is on hand to keep the kids chuckling with a heavy dose of food-related slapstick, much to Peter's constant irritation.

Each episode runs for under 23 minutes, but the well-constructed scripts do manage to pack a surprising amount of ghostly activity, human interest and laughs into their runtime, and there is very little repetition in the paranormal storylines, even if the writers – among them the man who would go on to create Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski – are occasionally guilty of falling back on a high-concept plot devise to save the day. Prepare yourself for plenty of high-tech equipment rigging to reverse the polarity of the containment unit's flow and close the interdimensional vortex to another dimensional realm – it's all utter gubbins, but pleasant enough fun.

Despite a rights issue meaning the animators were not able to recreate the exact likenesses of the film's main stars, The Real Ghostbusters still does a superb job of falling in step with the established universe. “Citizen Ghost” successfully retro-fits the continuity following the Buster's filmic battle with Gozer to explain the shedding of their beige uniforms for multicoloured replacements, the rebuilding of their fire house HQ and quite how former foe Slimer escaped the containment unit yet still hung around to wind up the team.

“Take Two” is a giant wink to the audience as the team head to Hollywood to okay a film script about their adventures. Ramis, Aykroyd and Murray – but, interestingly, not Hudson – all get a reference, while Peter openly acknowledges “He looks nothing like me!!” The episode closes on the guys watching actual footage from the 1984 film (albeit with the voices dubbed) at the film's premiere.

In these areas the cartoon is surprisingly well suited to older audiences who will appreciate the nuances and in-jokes – secretary Janine (Laura Summers) still fancies Egon (Maurice Futurama La Marche) and even the iconic Stay Puft Marshmallow Man gets a cameo in “Sandman, Dream Me A Dream” – however, it is a shame that at times the supernatural creations are so blatantly targeted at the toy market; their brightly coloured, infantile and hyperbolic styles sit awkwardly alongside the more realistic human characters. But then, this is a cartoon about ghosts, so I understand the decision to highlight the wacky over the scary, for the sake of young children.


CR@B Verdict: Despite often pandering to its target demographic, fans of the 80's live action films will find plenty to smile about in these above average animated adventures. The UK release is no match for Region 1's stupendous The Complete Collection, but at under a fiver it sure beats waiting around for the long muted second sequel.
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