Dexter's
Laboratory (1995 -
2003*)/Kung-Fu Panda 4 4K
(2023/DreamWorks Animation/Universal 4K Ultra Blu-ray
w/Blu-ray)/Welcome Back,
Kotter (1975 - 1979/*both
Complete Series
Warner DVD Sets)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: C/B-/C+ Sound: C+/B+/C
Extras: C-**/C+/D Main Programs: B-/C+/B-
Here
we revisit some old comedy favorites, including the latest sequel in
a series we were not for certain was even continuing...
Dexter's
Laboratory: The Complete
Series
(1995 - 2003) helped put Warner's Cartoon Network on the map,
Genndy Tartakovsky created one of the first major cable TV-only hit
animated series that also established him as one of the most
important creative forces in animation itself. The title character
(actually voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) has a secret lab in the
basement of his home, but his parents are unaware, yet his sister
knows and lands up annoying him as much as joining him on various
adventures.
Its
a high concept that allows the show to do some funny and wild things,
though some work better than others, they never shy away from all
kinds of satire, commentary and the show never seems to run out of
energy. This is somehow the first time we are getting to look at the
series on disc, though I had seen it elsewhere, here and there. The
show holds up and has aged well, so anyone wanting to revisit it will
not be disappointed.
**There
are sadly no extras except a mini-episode guide listing, though the
hour-long so TV special Ego Trip is included on the last DVD,
listed as an extra on that list, but no anywhere on the packaging or
box. You can read more about his pulled Star Wars: Clone Wars
series at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1996/Star+Wars:+Clone+Wars+-+Volume+One+(Animat
Mike
Mitchell's Kung-Fu Panda 4
4K (2024) follows three
hit feature films and a sometimes forgotten TV series. We covered
some of that series and two of the three films as follows in
Blu-ray/DVD sets:
Kung-Fu
Panda (2008, plus sequel
short)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7825/Kung-Fu+Panda+(2008/Blu-ray+++DVD-Video
Kung-Fu
Panda 3 (2016)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14304/Kung+Fu+Panda+3+(2016/Fox/DreamWorks+Blu-r
This
time, Po (still voiced well by Jack Black) has to find a successor so
he can go to the next spiritual level, but an evil sorceress (Viola
Davis) who is out to stop him. It is more of the same, but the
makers were smart enough to wait a while before returning to this
world, so it was a hit and its nostalgia timing after what has
happened the last few years played in its favor.
The
supporting voice cast is also solid including Awkwafina, James Hong,
Dustin Hofmann, Ian McShane, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Ronny Chieng
and Phil LaMarr is pretty good and the film is consistent with
previous entries, but I think this is for fans and children only. I
get quickly 'panda-ed out' at this point.
Extras
include Digital Code, while (per the press release) the disc adds:
Dueling
Dumplings: In this original short introduced by Jack
Black and Awkwafina, Po and Zhen battle over whose dumplings reign
supreme.
Mastering
the Dumpling: Jack Black learns how to make dumplings with
influencers Phil and Helen of WongFu
Productions.
Bad
Bunny Review: The Bad Bunnies give their unedited opinion on
some scenes from the film. Set up as a ''Screening Room'' style
piece, the Bad Bunnies add their own commentary.
Deleted
Scenes
Dads
on the Trail
Mahjong
Kung
Fu Talking: Voicing an animated movie takes time, time spent in
a small booth being spoken to through headphones as you try to
inhibit a character that might not actually exist beyond a few
simple sketches and under that pressure, crazy things often happen!
And we've captured them, put them to music and serves them up for
your pleasure in this hilarious montage of off mic moments!
Meet
the Cast: From the Dragon Warrior himself to newcomer, Zhen, and
a full cast of amazing characters in between, we get to know the
voices behind some of our favorite roles in this series of short
featurettes. Discover what attracted them to the role, what their
motivation was and what parts of the character they took away with
them after recording had finished.
Po
Zhen
The
Chameleon
The
Dads
Kung
Fu Panda 4 All!!: Join us as we go behind the scenes to see how
the fourth installment in the franchise was brought to life, what
makes it different from the previous films and where we find Po and
the gang in this new escapade. Featuring interviews with the
filmmakers and cast as well as a plethora of concept art,
storyboards, animation tests and ADR footage.
How
to Draw: Enter our virtual dojo and join one of DreamWorks
Animation's talented artists as they show fans of the film ''How to
Draw'' some of the characters in the film, and then watch in
amazement as they come to life before your very eyes in a Shadow
Puppet Theater.
Po
Zhen
The
Chameleon
The
Bad Bunnies
Shadow
Puppet Theater: Using the amazing illustrations from the ''How
to Draw,'' we will teach fans of the film how to create their very
own Shadow Puppet Theater so they can bring Po and the gang to life
and continue their many adventures.
And
a Feature Length Audio Commentary with Director Mike Mitchell,
Co-Director Stephanie Ma Stine, Production Designer Paul Duncan,
Head of Story Calvin Tsang, and Head of Character Animation Sean
Sexton.
Last
but not least, one of the most iconic sitcoms of the 1970s and all of
TV history. Welcome Back,
Kotter: The Complete
Series (1975 - 1979)
became an instant hit for Warner Bros. Television and ABC,
co-produced by the same team that made Chico
& The Man a hit on
NBC and had its ups and downs. Gabe Kaplan, who co-created the show,
is the title character, a new educator who lands up getting a job at
his old high school where he was not exactly in scholars classes.
Instead, he was part of the underachievers group self-dubbed 'The
Sweathogs' and lands up being their teacher.
The
only remaining person he knows at the school is the stuffy, bitter
Mr. Woodman (John Sylvester white) who renews his rivalry with
Kotter. The new generation of Sweathogs includes Barbarino (John
Travolta, who was on the rise as a star; this show made him a bigger
one and he was soon having hit movies,) Horshack (Ron Palillo as a
nerdy, eccentric member,) Epstein (Robert Hegyes, always trying to
pull a fast one) and 'Boom Boom' Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs,
always trying to charm everyone to get his way) resulting in instant
chemistry that led to the show helping ABC become the #1 network for
the first time ever.
Marcia
Strassman (a one time pop singer) is perfect as Kotter's wife, the
terrific Debralee Scott and underrated Helaine Lembeck as the loudest
of the female classmates always make the show better and Ellen
Travolta also shows up in a few episodes. Things were moving along
well when Kaplan, who was helping make it a huge hit, wanted a raise.
Instead, he was written out of his own show (a surprisingly common
thing in some hit shows of the time) and gone for most of the rest of
the series. Strassman's Julie suddenly took over as a teacher (!?!)
and Stephen Shortridge showed up as a new lead student when Travolta
was too busy to even make cameos.
These
severe changes make watch the show odd and the choices did not help.
I give credit to the cast and the writers for trying to make up for
all this, but it helped kill the show long before it would have been
cancelled. Still, it brought a humorous new realism to TV shows
about schools the way Room
222 brought a new
naturalism and realism to school dramas. But in the beginning, it
hit the mark and is at least a minor comedy classic. Cheers to to
all the name actors and character actors who turned up over the life
of the series. Too bad it did not go as well as fans and the
audience would have liked it too. Now, it is also quite the time
capsule, which is why it is good to revisit it again.
There
are sadly no extras again, but considering it was a popular hit and
we know of some items that could have been here, it is strange this
is so basic. What about TV promos, screen tests, a section on
memorabilia on the show (action figures, the hit single version of
the theme song, a featurette on the song, magazines, the comic book
series, the board game, the TV commercial for the board game and so
much more) and new interviews or featurettes are not here. Travolta
would not participate we gather and most of the cast is no longer
with us, so that is a missed opportunity. Otherwise, you cam get the
whole show again.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Panda 4 4K has some good moments, but I was a little
disappointed with it here and there. Color and definition sometimes
seems behind the best CGI features we have seen recently, while the
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the regular blu-ray
is weaker still.
The
lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) on
both versions fares better with a decent mix throughout, though
nothing that stood out for me. The combination is good enough,
professional and at least keep fans happy.
As
for the 1.33 X 1 image on both DVD sets, they can bot be a little
soft and offer transfers that were done a good while ago, but
Dexter's has fine color even as it stays soft. Wonder if this
could even be issued in HD. Kotter can have good analog
videotape color, but also looked strained here and there, plus you
get professional analog videotape
flaws like video noise, video banding, telecine flicker, tape
scratching, cross color, faded color and tape damage. The shows
could use some more work, as could its lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
sound, which is a little lower in volume than usual. Be careful of
volume switching and high levels of playback. Hope they can go back
and redo the series at some point and that the master tapes have
survived well enough.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Dexter's
has some Pro Logic surrounds, but is a little on the lite side.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
