The Secret Saturdays, Vol. 1 (2008/Cartoon Network/Warner DVD)

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: B-     Episodes: A

 

 

When I first encountered Secret Saturdays, I was tuning into Cartoon Network to watch the premier of the new Batman show, The Brave and the Bold.  As excellent as this latest version of the caped crusader was, I was more taken by the show that followed.  It was Secret Saturdays and it immediately left me wanting more.

 

Secret Saturdays is an animated show about a very special family of adventurers with an intense interest in cryptozoology.  Created by animation veteran Jay Stephens, Secret Saturdays harkens back to the grand old days of Hanna-Barbera’s Johnny Quest.  Combining the action and adventure of the original Hanna-Barbera Johnny Quest with a 21st century sensibility and worldview, Saturdays possesses a unique blend of amazing character design and break-neck adventure that make animated TV shows hits.

 

It’s the kind of show adults and kids can watch together and everyone wins.  The exciting animation and cool creatures are accompanied by engaging plots unafraid to challenge their target audience.  There’s no way to tell where Secret Saturdays will wind up when considered against the broad history of cartoons, but Jay Stephens’ ability to channel the spirit and wonder of a show like Johnny Quest into this uniquely modern incarnation of the family adventure show is really exciting.

 

This single disc contains the first five episodes (twenty-two minutes each).  Extras are a bit thin and include:  design sketches, a cryptid catalog featuring descriptions of the monsters encountered in the episodes, and a handful of deleted scenes.  Other 5-episode discs will follow this one, but a larger, Season One boxed set is really called for, and hearing more from Stephens and the show's other contributors would seem like a no-brainer for any larger package.

 

 

-   Scott Pyle