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| BATMAN |
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The
Animated Series:
The
Legend Begins |
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1992
Director: Eric Radomski, Kent Butterworth |
DVD, Animated, Color
Not Rated
Warner Home Video
ASIN: B00005Y71J |
$19.98
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| In the original
five episodes of the Emmy-winning Batman The Animated Series, Batman must
battle The Joker, The Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and more to protect Gotham
City. |
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DVD Features:
Theatrical trailer(s)
How to draw Batman
"Life on the Edge" game
Animation tests
Conversations with director Bruce Timm
Full-screen format |
Other Formats: VHS, VHS dubbed in Spanish |
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Taking a cue from the caped
crusader's comic book rebirth in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns
and Batman: Year One, this 1992 animated series saved the TV Batman from
a fate worse than camp and drew an unexpected audience for an afternoon
cartoon: adults. The initial five episodes gathered here feature such supervillains
as Man-bat, the Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy, but the deliciously demented
Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) steals the show in his two appearances, especially
in the twisted "Christmas with the Joker." Escaping Arkham Asylum in a
rocket-powered Christmas tree, the clown prince of crime preempts a TV
showing of It's a Wonderful Life with his own homicidal holiday treat.
It's a solid start to a sleek, stylized, smartly written series that only
improved with time. Ages 7 and up.
--Sean Axmaker
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| BATMAN
& SUPERMAN |
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The
Batman Superman Movie
"World's Finest" |
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1998
Director: Toshihiko Masuda |
DVD, Animated, Color
Not Rated
Warner Home Video
ASIN: B00005Y71G |
$19.98
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'movie' began as a three-episode story line on the animated TV series,
a superhero crossover where Bruce Wayne visits Metropolis and the Dark
Knight meets the Man of Steel for the first time. The two heroes mix like
oil and water, the law-and-order Superman suspicious of Batman's rather
ruthless methods; but they form an uneasy partnership when Lex Luthor and
the Joker team up to take on the duo. To add a personal dimension to the
already edgy rivalry, Wayne romances Lois Lane under Clark Kent's very
nose. The stylized animation and sharp design of the TV series give the
limited animation a sleek, smooth quality and an energetic sense of movement.
Timothy Daly supplies the voices for Clark Kent and (in a deeper register)
Superman, with Kevin Conroy performing the same vocal trick for Bruce Wayne/Batman;
but Dana Delany only has to worry about one persona as Lois Lane. The once-and-future
Luke Skywalker, cult film star turned voice actor Mark Hamill, provides
the Joker's cackling banter.
--Sean Axmaker.
DVD Features:
"The Joker's Challenge" game
Conversation with producer Bruce Timm
Original music montage
How to draw Batman |
Other Formats: VHS, VHS dubbed in Spanish |
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| The
JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA |
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Justice
League |
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2001
Directors: Butch Lukic, Dan Riba |
DVD, Animated, Color
Not Rated
Warner Home Video
ASIN: B00005Y71H |
$19.98
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| The big guns
in the superhero world join together to form the Justice League in this
hour-long Cartoon Network presentation. When Superman leads the world into
disarming the planet's warheads, huge buglike creatures land in several
of earth's major cities and systematically begin destroying them, impervious
to remaining weaponry. |
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The conflict
pits Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawk Girl,
and interstellar refugee Martian Manhunter against the evil aliens. They're
the same shape-changing beings that desecrated the Manhunter's home planet
centuries before, which gives the wise Martian insight into their mad methods.
This series has proved to have the same widespread popularity as all the
modern animated interpretations of the DC heroes.
DVD Features:
Character bios
Weblink |
Other Formats: VHS |
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| SPIDER-MAN |
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The
Return of
the
Green Goblin |
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2002
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DVD, Animated, Color, Closed-captioned
Not Rated
Buena Vista Home Video
ASIN: B00006II6Q |
$19.99
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| It's double
the action, double the thrills and double the Goblins as Spider-Man is
unmasked and tangled in a web of treachery in Spider-Man: The Return Of
The Green Goblin. The Webslinger faces the ultimate challenge when his
arch-nemesis discovers his identity and kidnaps his one true love, Mary
Jane Watson. The stakes have never been higher as the dreaded Green Goblin
tries to take control of the city and bring Spider-Man to his knees. The
action gets even hotter when Kingpin and the Hobgoblin join forces in an
all-out war with America's greatest crime fighter. It's a world of high-flying
excitement you won't want to miss. |
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| Spider-Man fanatics
that can't wait another two years for the sequel to the 2002 theatrical
blockbuster are encouraged to check out Buena Vista Home Video's second
DVD of the web-slinger's animated adventures, which provides enough action
and cliffhanger suspense to satiate all but the most rabid of Spidey's
supporters. The feature is actually a five-episode story arc culled from
the 1994-'98 animated television series. True to Marvel Comics fashion,
a multitude of plot threads and familiar characters (including the Punisher)
are woven throughout the main story line, which finds Spider-Man struggling
not only to defeat the Green Goblin, the Hobgoblin, and the Kingpin, but
also to clear the Daily Bugle's Robbie Robertson of criminal charges and
rescue girlfriend Mary Jane Watson! It's a fast and furious 80 minutes,
abetted by strong vocal performances and better-than-usual animation, though
the occasional mix of computer and cel art clashes noticeably.
--Paul Gaita
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DVD Features:
A classic episode from the 1967 cartoon
featuring the Green Goblin & Dr.
Octopus
The Rogues' Challenge
Stan Lee's Soapbox |
Other Formats: VHS |
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DVD features
Interestingly, while the
feature itself is slated toward younger viewers, the supplemental material
has a nostalgic slant that seems aimed toward pleasing their parents. Marvel
Comics main man Stan Lee is featured on an optional commentary track, as
well as in a 15-minute interview titled "Stan Lee's Soapbox." Both features
touch more on Lee's life and the creation of the characters than on the
episodes themselves, which may disappoint fans hungry for information about
the series. But Lee's enthusiasm and history is a fun and informative background
for newcomers to the Marvel universe. The disc also offers an episode from
the 1967 Spider-Man animated series (which pits Spidey against Doctor Octopus
as well as the Green Goblin) as well as a "Rogues' Gallery" interactive
game. Oddly, the fifth (and most important) episode is offered in the supplemental
menu, and not as part of the main feature.
--Paul Gaita
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| SPIDER-MAN |
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The
Ultimate
Villain
Showdown |
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1994
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DVD, Animated, Color, Closed-captioned
Not Rated
Buena Vista Home Video
ASIN: B0000633UA |
$19.99
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| Spider-Man takes
on the Kingpin, Doctor Octopus, and the Green Goblin in this collection
of cartoons from the early 1990's animated series. "The Origin of
Spider-Man" is included as a bonus, from the 1967 ABC Saturday Morning
cartoon, with an introduction by co-creator Stan "the Man" Lee. |
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DVD Features:
The 1967 classic episode:
The Orgin of Spider-Man
with an introduction
by co-creator Stan Lee
Rogues' Dossiers
- A lineup of Spider-Man's nemeses
Stan Lee's Soapbox |
From IMDb: Quotes & Trivia
Other Formats: VHS |
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Additional features
The real treat of this DVD
lies in the supplements, especially The Origins of Spiderman from the original
1967 series, which spices a limited animation style with a great theme
song, trippy graphics, a jazzy score, and dark colors that recall the deep
inks from an old comic book page. Also check out the "Rogues Dossier,"
an interactive guide to Spidey's villains with statistics, trivia, and
video clips, and video interviews with Spiderman creator Stan "the Man"
Lee.
--Sean Axmaker
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