Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise DVD review
Oct 09, 2024- Permalink
Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an animated series about an environmental superhero who was aided by the magic rings of five young people from around the planet who represented the power of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart. Created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle, the educational series ran from September 15, 1990, to December 5, 1992. A sequel series, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, ran from September 11, 1993, to May 11, 1996. The shows featured the voice talents of David Coburn, LeVar Burton, Joey Dedio, Kath Soucie, Janice Kawaye, Scott Menville, and Frank Welker. Whoopi Goldberg voiced the spirit of the Earth, Gaia, from seasons 1–3 while Margot Kidder assumed the role for the rest of the series. Warner Brothers has now released Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise on DVD with this set containing all 113 episodes of the two series. The series handles a variety of environmental and sociopolitical issues including pollution, endangered species, drug abuse, overpopulation and the AIDS pandemic. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.
The series is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which means you’ll see back bars on the side on modern widescreen TVs. The show’s animation is typical for many lower budget animated children’s shows of the time, so the animation is a little basic with sort of jerky, non-fluid motion. The colour palette pops, the animation lines are sharp, and there’s a good amount of detail for a standard definition DVD presentation.
On the audio side of things, the collection comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack with English subtitles. The stereo soundtrack does a good job mixing the dialogue, music and sound effects with clarity.
Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise DVD does not come with a digital copy. There are no bonus materials. The 113 episodes are spread over fifteen discs.
Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise will be a nostalgia hit for kids who grew up in the 1990s. Though it would have been nice to see a handful of retrospective extras, this is a show that could have otherwise been forgotten, so it’s great to see it get a release at all.