Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-7 DVD review
Sep 23, 2024- Permalink
Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-7 on DVD. The Adult Swim cartoon follows mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith as they embark on misadventures through the planets and even dimensions. Over seven seasons, the Cartoon Network has aired 71 episodes. Season 7 is the first season without co-creator Justin Roiland voicing the two leads. He was dismissed from the franchise in 2023 after allegations of domestic violence and then further allegations of sexual assault. Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden now voice the leads. I had a chance to take a look at the box set. 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.
Many of the previous seasons and boxed collections were released on Blu-ray, so the decision to release the seasons 1-7 set on Blu-ray is a curious one, but given the financial climate of some of the studios it’s probably a money decision. The standalone season 7 release is available as both a Blu-ray and Blu-ray SteelBook, so perhaps the feeling is that dedicated fans prefer to collect the individual seasons that way, especially with the SteelBook option. The animation style doesn’t suffer too greatly with the lower resolution of a DVD and while the colours would really pop on Blu-ray, the palette still looks quite good here.
On the audio side of things, the set features an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with a French track available in season 6. Subtitles are available for English SDH, with seasons 5-7 also featuring French subtitles. The soundtrack makes good use of the surrounds with action and atmospheric sound effects moving throughout the soundscape. Dialogue is centred and prioritized in the mix.
The Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-7 DVD set spreads the 71 episodes over 14 discs. There is no digital code. The set includes a sheet that lists episodes and special features and a folded poster. The extras include commentaries, animatics, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim show, so if you’re thinking of buying this for a really young family member, do some research first. Hardcore fans may be more interested in the Blu-ray versions or even the Blu-ray SteelBook collectibles, but the Rick and Morty: Season 1-7 DVD set is an economical way to get introduced to the show.