Digital Chumps

Fan of classic Saturday morning cartoons? Who isn't, right? They're not all gems, but there's no doubt that many of us have lots of fond memories of the classics from the 60s and 70s (and 80s and 90s for that matter). Warner Home Video has been tending to ardent fans of these cartoons with two disc DVD releases. Last week, I took a look at the new 60s Collection, and today, I've got the 70s edition under my scope. Let's take a closer look.

Warner Brothers Home Video is back with the second volume of Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s. This second volume brings another two discs and 300 minutes of classic cartoons to DVD. Let's take a closer look at this collection that is more so aimed towards the avid cartoon fan and collector than your kids, although there is something for everyone to enjoy...

Cartoons done right... bridging sequences notwithstanding.

Love Looney Tunes, but not so enamored with all that black-and-white stuff?  Don't be ashamed; this review's for you.

Warner Brothers’ famed series returns with another exhaustive romp through 75 cartoons (and a ton of special features to boot).

Rarely do we actually get to sit down and review special re-releases.  When paramount released their I Love the 80's collections, I just had to beg.   So without further delay, let's rock this motha out! Some Kind of Wonderful Hmmm.... how does one describe this movie.  The best way to describe it is to simply say it's the most relaxed, tension filled, film in some time.   Featuring an all-star cast of young up-and-comers, you've got Eric Stoltz leading the pack as the loser/main character Keith, who has fallen head-over-heels for prom-queen-esque Amanda, played by Lea Thompson.  In the background, Keith's best friend Watts (it was cool to be named after power in the 80's), played by Mary Stuart Masterson, is supports and envies his plight for Amanda's love.  As you would expect, especially in a John Huges film, love just isn't that easy.  In between Amanda and Keith stands pretty-boy, seducer Hardy, played by Craig Sheffer (ice, ice, baby! love that hair).   Keith will do anything to get Amanda, while Watts wants nothing more than to make her best friend happy, even if it means sacrificing her feelings.   First, this movie would not work now.  It just wouldn't. While it...

Duck is a quiet, charming story that has moments of great sadness but is ultimately uplifting.  It’s the story of Arthur and Joe.  At the beginning of the film, Arthur has pretty much given up on life.  Then Joe, a duckling, comes along.  Arthur saves Joe physically even as Joe is saving him spiritually. Producer/writer/director Nic Bettauer establishes Arthur’s situation through a series of still photos.  Arthur and his wife had one child, a son, who died in young adulthood.  Then Arthur’s wife died after a long illness that apparently sapped both Arthur’s strength and finances.  As the live action opens, Arthur is sitting on a bed in their apartment, a sapling in a pot on one side, an urn with his wife’s ashes on the other.  He dumps a variety of pills leftover from his wife’s illness into a tin, and then sets out with the tin in a backpack and the tree and urn under either arm. On his way out of the apartment, he’s yelled at by his landlord (the kind who watches everything) for having a plant in the building. Arthur heads to a nearby park (the story is set in 2009 Los Angeles, a very bleak place),...

As the date of the highlyanticipated fourth Indiana Jones films draws nearer, Paramount is releasing thethird volume of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on DVD. Spread out acrossten discs, the likely final volume of the series pulls together several of thelater adventures of the legend in his youth.

When I was younger, I loved cartoons. Heck, I still love them, but finding great cartoons is much more of a challenge and rarity anymore. A substantial part of my DVD viewing is viewing older cartoons, from the heyday you might say. These include the likes of the Looney Tunes, The Tick, The Superfriends, Batman The Animated Series. There was always another series that I never got around to seeing for one reason or another but that I had always heard good things about – Darkwing Duck. Recently Disney was kind enough to send us the second volume of this bumbling caped crusader’s TV show, which has prompted me to look into getting the first volume as well.