Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Baffler Meal Complete Collection - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Baffler Meal Complete Collection



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:




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Movie
Ah yes, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the insane, drug infused, psychedelic animated show that was best scene while huffing some green herb that pretty much defined my college age humor for me (and a generation). Originally crafted and created by Dave Willis (who cut his teen on Space Ghost Coast to Coast before deciding to split and create his own show), the series chronicles the adventures of Master Shake (Dana Snyder), Frylock (Carey Means), Meatwad (Dave Willis) and their annoying neighbor Carl (also Dave Willis) in what can only be described as “utter insanity” for a whopping 11 seasons AND a movie.

Describing the series as it goes is pretty much useless, as the series doesn’t exactly lend itself towards an over arching serialized plot. It’s a group of living fast food items (obviously named) trying to solve mysteries in what was seen as an edgy cartoon during the early to mid 2000s. Along the way you’re going to laugh along with the Moonites, Dr. Weird, Emory, MothMonsterman, and countless other crazy characters as Frylock, Shake and Meatwad basically wreak havoc on the world around them.

If you’ve seen the series or collected the DVDS these are going to be the exact same discs that you’ve seen before. Volumes 1-7 are complete with both discs and their special features, along with Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 and the other final seasons are included as well. Finally we round out the series with the film, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters as the final disc in the 20 disc set. So pretty much this is simply a series repackaging into one gigantic set to save on space. My only complaint with that method is that Warner Brothers went with the same gigantor single clam shell packaging that Paramount used to do for all of their complete series (like the Star Trek complete collections on DVD) a few years back. This means cross over discs and that infamous holders that were notorious for letting discs slip off during shipment. Luckily this set feels pretty solid and I didn’t get any loose discs that scratched, but just something minor to gripe about as I’m not really a huge fan of that sort of packaging.

Brand new slipcover and cover art are very welcomed, but once again. This is a repackaging of everything that came before, so don’t be expecting any new extras. That being said, the extras are actually rather healthy for the series, with each season getting deleted scenes, commentaries, and a host of behind the scenes stuff that will leave you in stitches from all of the zaniness that went into making the show. All in all, this is a pretty nice set that should please fans who didn’t feel like piecing together all 11 seasons AND the movie over the last 15 years. It’s a once and done collection that has a relatively nice price point of only $80 street (as of this review) for all of it.




Rating:

Rated TV-14 by the MPAA




Video:

The show has always been a “for Broadcast TV” cartoon show, and thus was always a bit cheaply animated and the DVDs reflected that. Colors look nice and bright, and while the animation is very basic, there’s plenty of detail to go around. There’s some edge enhancement on the discs as well as a few bits of blocking, but otherwise this is a very stable looking set. Just not going to win awards due to the cheap nature of the show and the 2 disc releases for the seasons.










Audio:

As with all the seasons, the show gets a rather solid 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a less impressive 2.0 Dolby Digital track. The 5.1 mix is of course the one to prefer, as it has a little more punch, a little more bass, and generally a pleasing ambiance. The show itself doesn’t exactly SCREAM surround sound material, but with Dr. Weird’s lair, the space ships, and other general mayhem, we get a pretty immersive mix. It’s not going to win awards like the video, and is generally just what one would expect for a low budget cartoon network show. Simple, stable, well done, but never exactly explosively awesome.







Extras:

Volume 1
• Commentaries
• Audio Commentaries
• Rarely Seen Footage

Volume 2
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentaries
• Baffler Meal Music Video
• Future Wolf II: Never Cry Wolf
• Origin of the Series
• Future Wolf III

Volume 3
• Audio Commentaries
• Deleted Scenes
• Marking of the Cloning
• Spirit Journey
• Formation Anniversary Music Videos
• Script Pages
• Answering Machine Messages
• Promo Spots

Volume 4
• Funny Pete Stuff
• San Diego Must be Destroyed 2004
• Spacecataz
• Radon F-Art
• The Faces in front of the throats that make the voices that speak into the microphone
• Send us Money for This
• Commentaries

Volume 5
• Favorite Episode Promos
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force Responds to the Critics
• "I like Your Booty but I'm not Gay" Music Video
• ATHF Movie Premiere with Space Ghost
• Deleted Scenes
• Learn to Shred Like the Master
• Tera Patrick Earns a Hot Dog
• Granny Takes Her Top Off
• Space Ghost Coast to Coast Episdoe Chambraigne
• ATHF Zombie Ninja Pro-Am Trailer
• The Worst Game Ever

Volume 6
• I'm
• ATHF Zombie Ninja Pro-am Minus the Explosions
• Terror Phone
• More Funny Pete Stuff
• Radical Axis Presents Radical Axis

Volume 7
• Live Action Behind the Scenes
• Rubberman Behind the Scenes: Your Mom and Dad singing about condoms
• Dumb Down Your Smart Phone
• Terror Phone II: The Legend of Rakenstein
• Live Action Carl: The Dave Long Story

Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1: Season One
• Terror Phone 3

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters DVD
• Behind the Sccenes/ The Things We Shot Wed Night
• Art/Music Gallery
• Jon Schnepp 3D
• Dana Snyder/Bor Odenkirk Interview
• Audio Commentary
• Fake Endings
• Deleted Scenes
• Music Videos
• Pete Promos

Final Score: ​

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of those acquired taste shows from Cartoon Network, but it is HILARIOUS even to this day. I always felt that the first seven seasons were the prime of the show, and the later seasons with the movie felt a bit worn out. However, even weaker Aqua Teen Hunger Force is better than no Aqua Teen Hunger Force and I’m actually looking forward to the new movie coming out this year as well. Solid series, solid extras, very fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dave Willis, Carey Means, Dana Snyder
Created by: Dave Willis, Matt Maiellaro
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 MPEG 2 / 1.85:1 MPEG2 (movie)
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: TV-14
Runtime: 1680 Minutes
DVD Release Date: September 20th 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

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[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I remember watching this for a few seasons. Will have to revisit this.