Total Drama Island (2007 – 2008/Cartoon Network/Warner DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes; C+
Finally,
a show decided to spoof the worst thing that has ever happened to television,
the reality TV show. The
Canadian-produced Total Drama Island
is also all animated and yet, the comical characters are more realistic than
about 99% of all the actual human beings to appear in such series to date. Though the show is good, it is still a
version for younger viewers (I’d love to try the racier version) and give the
show credit for not pulling any punches either way.
From the
themes song blatantly pointing out how fame will drive too many to make idiots
out of themselves, with too many having a head start. Titles like The Big Sleep, Not Quite
Famous, Paintball Deer Hunter, Are We There Yeti? And The Last Episodes… Really finally hit
the nail on the head about how bad and fraudulent these shows are. No wonder it has been somewhat ignored
despite its success so far. I would have
laughed more if what it was spoofing was not so ugly, but it has the guts to
dig in and deal with all of it. I
applaud this and hope to see if the next season became bolder in any way. Anyone who likes the real thing should see
this. Others will appreciate how smart
this is.
The 1.33
X 1 image has simple but clean animation, celebrating the simplicity. Color is good and the shows are consistent
for a new series. The lack of detail is
done as a joke with heavy lines on the characters and other objects. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is well recorded
and fine, if not stunning, combining with the image to actually look better
than the shows it is spoofing with sound lacking location audio flaws. Extras include previews and cast interviews.
- Nicholas Sheffo
