Batman:
Mask Of The Phantasm 4K
(1993/DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Gay
Purr-ee (1962/UPA/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)/Rick and
Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 6
(2013 - 2022/Adult Swim/Warner Blu-ray)/Scooby-Doo!
And Krypto Too!
(2023/Warner DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B Picture: X/B-/B/C+ Sound: B-/B-/B/C+
Extras: C/C/C+/C Main Programs: C+/C+/B-/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Gay
Purr-ee
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Now
for some animated releases, mostly upgrades and a new title for good
measure...
Batman:
Mask Of The Phantasm 4K
(1993) is the animated feature film spinoff of Batman:
the Animated Series
(reviewed in its elaborate DVD set elsewhere on this site; a Blu-ray
set has been issued since, but no 4K set yet) that essentially is a
more violent version of the series with a PG rating as the Caped
Crusader battles a new title villain and still has to take on The
Joker. This is the Theatrical Version (a longer, more violent
version apparently exists) that is still as brutal as any DC animated
release thirty years later.
It
has its moments, but some segments do not work as well and per the
issued with the hit series, the animation quality varies because they
used several animation houses and the one used here is not the best,
but one of the better ones. Still, we never saw anything like this
again and will always have a special place for fans in Batman and
superhero history.
The
only extras are Digital Copy and featurette Kevin
Conroy: I Am The Knight,
here in time as we just lost the great voice actor.
As
I noted upon its DVD release years ago, Abe
Levitow's Gay
Purr-ee
(1962) was a one-time collaboration between the innovative UPA
Studios (Mr. Magoo) and Warner Animation to make an animated feature
film for theaters. Concerning a lonely country cat named Mewsette,
voiced by none other than Judy Garland. This was enough for her old
''Over
the Rainbow''
composer Harold Arlen and lyricist by E.Y. Harburg to create the
songs for the entire film. Written by Dorothy & Chuck Jones,
Chuck Jones' style is here and trusted in the hands of
friend/director Levitow.
Mewsette
makes it to Paris, but a mysterious male cat (Paul Frees) and his odd
female friend (Hermione Gingold) are up to exploiting her and turning
her into a mail order bride-cat to be shipped to Pittsburgh!
Fortunately, old two cat friends (Robert Goulet and Red Buttons) have
followed her.
The
film is a mixed bag because it has its child-animation that looks
like Jones' style, but also Disney a bit, then you have these
remarkable, bolder animation moments that are the UPA style that push
the color and artform. Garland is in great vocal form as well and
gets the best songs with ''Roses
Red, Violets Blue'',
''Take
My Hand, Paree''
and ''Paris
Is A Lonely Town''.
The supporting voice cast is just fine, but obviously with Garland's
loss way too early, she becomes the focus in all kinds of ways
unimagined when the film was first released. I'm glad Warner Archive
reissued this on DVD [and have now added Blu-ray] because there is
more than enough for rediscovery here on this child-friendly release
and the narrated montage where Mewsette is portrayed in the style of
every great French painter to explain to the audience each special
style they had is a gem in itself.
Definitely
worth your time, this is marginally my favorite release here.
Extras
repeat the DVDs Jump
To A Song
menu and an Original Theatrical Trailer, then add three classic
Warner Technicolor cartoon shorts: Louvre
Come Back To Me,
French
Rarebit
and For
Scent-Imental Reasons.
Rick
and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 6
(2013 - 2022) Blu-ray set is a new updated set that combines the
previous first five-seasons Blu-ray set:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16099/Bryan+Loves+You+(2008/Blu-ray*)/The+Gardener
With
the Sixth
Season
on Blu-ray, the show as popular as ever:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16265/House+Party+(2023+remake/DVD*)/Junk+Head
The
new set includes an exclusive (limited run, we expect) poster to go
with repeating all the previous extras. Because we have not done
this for a long time on this show, here is more coverage of the show
from the beginning we've done over the years on Blu-ray, starting
with a set of Season
One:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13095/Rick+and+Morty:+Season+1+(2013+-+2014/Warn
Season
Four
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15799/The+Doorman+(2020*)/Red+Shoes+and+The+Se
and
Season
Five
in Steelbook form:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16041/Mosley+(2019/Saban/Paramount+DVD)/Ron's+Gon
And
lastly is the not-bad Scooby-Doo!
And Krypto Too!
(2023) where the universe of everyone's favorite detective dog meets
the DC Superhero world when the Justice League disappears. After so
many bad for forgettable efforts from both worlds lately, it is a
fun, child-friendly, amusing romp that redeems Krypto after that
horrid feature-film turn that made the late 1960s Krypto appearance
on the Filmation Superboy
series look like Akira!
The
makers smartly keep the length at 78 minutes before this wears thin
and has just enough energy to make this worth a look for those
interested. You might giggle a few times too, even if you are an
adult.
Extras
include three separate episodes of Scooby-Doo!
and Guess Who?
with Wonder Woman, Batman and The Flash.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, HDR (10;
Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Batman
being the best presentation here, but some grain and poor animation
get in the way of the improved Video Black, Video Red and a richer
presentation than any other animated TV Batman has received to date
and that is in the face of some solid Blu-ray releases.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Purr-ee
is also improved from its DVD edition and also has some grain and
poor animation moments that get in the way of its presentation, but
it was originally issued in 35mm
dye-transfer, three-strip Technicolor and the color quality jumps up
to that level nicely from the older DVD edition including some color
as good as anything in this set of reviews.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on Morty
are solid as new as anything here, with a solid color palette that is
not as bright as Purr-ee or dark as Batman, but works perfectly for
the series.
All
three releases offer lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) sound, 2.0
Mono for Purr-ee,
sounding as good as it will ever likely sound, plus 5.1 lossless
mixes on Batman
(the highs are a little harsh, but it is better than the 2.0 Stereo
version and is off of the old analog Dolby A-type stereo soundtrack
(aka Dolby A-type) with its sonic limits) and on Morty
(sounding just fine and sometimes more impressive than expected) so
there are few if any issues here sonically.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Scooby
has some good color and decent animation, making me wonder why no
Blu-ray. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is also decent and some of the
better from a Scooby release of late, but I bet it would have sounded
better lossless.
To
order
the Warner Archive Gay
Purr-ee
Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive
releases at:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20
-
Nicholas Sheffo
