REVIEW: Superman: The Complete Animated Series
After the beautiful restoration of Batman: The Animated Series to Blu-ray, now in time for holiday gift-giving is the Blu-ray edition of Superman: The Complete Animated Series. When the DVD edition arrived in 2009, I wrote in part:
“All the love and attention lavished on the Dark Knight was poured into this show, which was brighter and shinier, the villains larger in scope and giving the animators a chance to bust loose. Superman works great in animation and after the lackluster efforts from Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, and Ruby-Spears, this one clearly shows the potential fulfilled.
“As usual, the voice casting is fairly top-notch with Tim Daly alternating nicely between Superman and Clark Kent, sparring playfully with Dana Delany’s Lois Lane. Clancy Brown is wonderfully malevolent as Luthor and his ever-present menace is well handled, matching the reboot version launched a decade earlier.”
The new edition looks very sharp in 1080p in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. Seeing some of this again was a joy given how clean and sharp everything looked. The video is well matched by its DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.
Most of the 2009 Special Features are included:
Disc 1:
“The Last Son of Krypton – Part 1” Video Commentary by Bruce Timm, Dan Riba, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Glen Murakami.
“Stolen Memories” Commentary by Timm, Murakami, Burnett, Dini, and Curt Geda.
Disc 2:
“The Main Man – Part II” Commentary by Timm, Murakami, Burnett, Dini, and Riba. (SD, 21:16)
Disc 3:
“Mxyzpixilated” Commentary by Dini , Jason Hillhouse, Timm, and Riba.
Disc 6:
Menaces of Metropolis: Behind the Villains of Superman (13:02)
Building the Mythology: Superman’s Supporting Cast (9:37)
Superman: Learning to Fly (9:41)
A Little Piece of Trivia (21:29)
The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman (16:57)
And new to the collection is Superman: Timeless Icon (32:45) as a handful of creative forces— producers Timm and Dini, director Riba, writer Bob Goodman, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano, and vocal talent Tim Daly and Clancy Brown— discuss the Last Son of Krypton’s importance to comics, mass media, and the world at large.
This set is missing some material commentaries for “Tools of the Trade,” “Brave New Metropolis,” “World’s Finest Part 1,” “Apokolips…Now! Part 2,” “New Kids in Town ,” and “Legacy Part 2,” along with the “Apokolips…Now! Part 1” easter egg commentary and “Superman: Behind the Cape” Special Feature.
That said, the entire Blu-ray set is well-wroth having to enjoy or bring delight to a new generation of fan.
