{"id":959,"date":"2009-05-07T00:43:56","date_gmt":"2009-05-07T04:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=959"},"modified":"2010-08-02T01:16:39","modified_gmt":"2010-08-02T05:16:39","slug":"review-x-men-the-animated-series-on-dvd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/07\/review-x-men-the-animated-series-on-dvd\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: X-Men the Animated Series on DVD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>X-Men the Animated Series.\u00a0 When recalling this series certain things automatically spring to mind: the opening credits, the drama, the action, the compelling stories, the mutant cameos, the cliffhangers\u2026 and much more I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 While the series wasn\u2019t perfect, it was definitely one of the better comic book adapted cartoons.<\/p>\n

Just so we\u2019re on the same page, this was the series that ran on Fox from 1992-1997 for five seasons with a total of 76 episodes.\u00a0 In an effort to capitalize on the new Wolverine movie, Disney and Marvel have recently released the first 33 episodes of this series on DVD across two volumes.\u00a0 Volume I includes the first 16 episodes, while volume II features episodes 17- 33.\u00a0 The suggested retail price for each volume is $23.99, but you can get them on Amazon for $17.99 each<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Personally, I gave up on X-Men comics several years ago.\u00a0 I\u2019ll occasionally flip through an issue in the comic shop, but it always fails to grab my interest.\u00a0 So I was very surprised when these DVDs slapped me across the face with my own love for the classic X-Men characters and stories.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d purged my love for everything \u201cX\u201d.\u00a0 Turns out I just needed the right stimuli.<\/p>\n

Fox did a great job adapting these classic Claremont tales. Some of the uncanny storylines covered include: the origin of Magneto, Days of Future Past; Weapon X, Angel\u2019s transformation into Archangel, the Morlocks, Mr. Sinister; and the Dark Phoenix saga.\u00a0 Nearly every mutant character from that era makes an appearance.\u00a0 They even managed to make Cable interesting.\u00a0 The creators definitely deserve props for not reinventing the X-Men for this cartoon. They pulled plots directly from the old comics, instead of trying to \u201cre-imagine\u201d the X-Universe.<\/p>\n

I watched several episodes with my nine-year old step-son.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure what he\u2019d think about this 15 year old cartoon.\u00a0 Surprisingly he was hooked almost immediately! The characters and the cliffhangers pulled him right in. In fact, he got tired of waiting for me, so he finished the DVDs by himself.<\/p>\n

Now you gotta take the good with the bad.\u00a0 First, the DVDs don\u2019t have any special features.\u00a0 While I was disappointed initially, the trade-off is the large number of episodes per volume.\u00a0 Next, the animation in this series has always bothered me.\u00a0 Many times the art was weak and detracted from the great storytelling.\u00a0 One example is Beast in the early episodes; it hurts my brain just to look at him.\u00a0 It should be noted that the animation improved as the series went on.\u00a0 Finally, the voice acting is very typical of 1990s animation.\u00a0 The actors and actresses don\u2019t speak naturally and many lines are belted out.\u00a0 If this series hadn\u2019t been a contemporary of the perfect Batman: The Animated Series<\/em>, these flaws wouldn\u2019t have been nearly as obvious.<\/p>\n

Even though I have some issues with the cartoon, it doesn\u2019t hinder my appreciation for this series.\u00a0 It truly is one of the best comic book adapted cartoons of all time.\u00a0 With each volume available for only $18, offering over six hours of classic comic entertainment, you can\u2019t beat this.<\/p>\n

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