Here’s a look at a few animated laugh-fests now available in the Blu-ray format.
The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who’s Walking (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated TV-MA, 22 minutes, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $19.99) — After I officially declared my favorite AMC post-apocalyptic zombie series had jumped the shark due to some idiotic narrative decisions spearheaded by a former, dunderheaded showrunner, it’s a welcomed respite to watch the team from Cartoon Network’s “Robot Chicken” skewer the show.
Armed with stop-motion animation, some detailed dolls that Mego collectors would love to get a hold of and a devoted group of artists, leaders Seth Green and Matthew Senreich deliver 22 minutes of hilarity and even manage to assemble the entire cast including Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) to speak as those action figures.
Specifically, the episode features a loose plot about a curmudgeonly, older version of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) visiting the U.S. Walking Dead Museum and telling the true story of the Georgia survivors. It ties together over two dozen vignettes covering some key parts of the TV series’ history.
Some of the best, belly laugh skits includes a musical number with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and dancers performing “the Negan Dip,” Hershel Green (Scott Wilson) boxing a kangaroo, Negan meeting Snoopy, and a museum vending machine for “making your own bullets” with Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) tempting visitors.
Also, pay attention for another musical ditty with the cannibals of Terminus led by a singer who sounds oddly like Daniel Radcliffe.
I could have easily enjoyed hours of these shenanigans. So here’s hoping for another round soon of “Robot Chicken” to take a sardonic bite out of the acclaimed, though quickly fading, drama.
Best extras: The bonus stuff runs longer than show itself and first includes a pair of optional commentary tracks featuring Mr. Green, Mr. Senreich, writer Tom Sheppard, Mr. McDermitt, “The Walking Dead” showrunner Scott M. Gimple and “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman. Both tracks feature amusing banter by the group as they try and make each other laugh and occasionally dissect what happening on screen.
Next, eight deleted sketches are available in various unrealized form (not fully animated). Creators comment of why the skits were cut and offer moments such as Rick Grimes waking up in a hospital to meet Dr. Patch Adams and Michonne’s walkers taking part in a round of Double Dutch jump rope.
Additionally, featurettes (roughly 12 minutes in total) offer the cast and crew talking about their favorite skits and an overview of the production that even reveals making some of the doll heads using a three-dimensional printer.
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, not rated, 78 minutes, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $24.98) — Those needing an entertaining dose of key members of the Justice League in action should avoid the latest live-action movie and instead dive into this fun adventure based on a familiar block-building universe.
Within the wonderfully colorful and intricate Lego virtual universe, the plot focuses on the Fastest Man Alive getting manipulated by his evil doppelganger, the Reverse Flash, stuck in a time loop and forced to live the same day over and over again while learning some life lessons.
Humor gleefully overrides drama here with a plot offering laughs at the expense of Justice League members, as they must deal with Flash’s issues and a few super villains.
Comic book fans will quickly appreciate the dive into an amalgam of many Flash storylines tied to the Speed Force as well as watching Dr. Fate and Zatana performing a musical number.
Lego fans will go gaga over some of the vehicles displayed including Killer Croc’s Battle Chomper (really available to build), Doctor Fate’s spaceship and the Joker’s suction cup crawler.
Equally important, the character-heavy story manages to offer screen time to Lego-ized versions of Batman, Plastic Man, Superman, Cyborg, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Penguin, the Atom, and even appearances by Ace the Bat Hound, Green Lantern squirrel B’dg, Aquaman’s seahorse Storm and Krypto the Superdog.
The visual splendor of presenting a universe created with those famed blocks, as easily destroyed as rebuilt, does not disappoint. The color saturation almost took the cartoon to three dimensions as it popped from the screen.
I especially appreciated a miniaturized Atom altering one of Joker’s laughing gas molecules, Flash eating a doughnut with bright purple frosting, Batman dressed as a clown after getting a blast from Joker’s fun cannon and a psychedelic trip through the Speed Force tunnel.
Suffice it to report: Younger viewers and older fans will be mesmerized.
Best extras: Come on, really Warner Bros., nothing? Not even one featurette on the origins of Reverse Flash, the Speed Force, Bat Hound or the Hall of Justice? Other than the digital code, viewers get nothing extra for the purchase of the cartoon. I’d stick to a rental.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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