Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

The Transformer Rescue Bots series is a great show targeted for school age boys.  The characters carry over from the previous shows, but watching them is not required to appreciate these episodes.  This Mystery Rescue has five suspenseful episodes lasting 110 minutes.

• Countdown - Some weird bugs are teleporting people all over town into an abandoned cavern.  Will the Rescue Bots find everyone in time before they run out of air?
• The Haunting of Griffin Rock - There are reports of ghost sightings all over Griffin Rock.  Do ghosts exist or is there some other explanation?  Perhaps Doc Greene's Spectral Vapor Filter will help solve this mystery.  
• Spellbound - The rescue team is vacationing in Blossom Vale when people start acting unusually.  Cell phones are to blame as they are somehow hypnotizing people.  Cody must get to the source and save everyone before it's too late.  
• Blame the Gremlins - Many people blame technical problems on gremlins.  What if they're real and are attacking the electronic devices in Griffin Rock?
• Feed The Beast - Cody has an encounter with a bigfoot like creature called the Maine Ridge Monster.  Despite photographic evidence, nobody believes him.  Where does this monster stay and how did it come to be?  The town will soon find out!  

My son enjoyed this DVD and is a fan of the show.  There are some supernatural and mysterious themes in these episodes, but most of the phenomenon  get explained through science.  The humor, animation, and voice acting is well done.  All in all this is a pretty good DVD for $13.

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Thank you Shout Factory for sending us these DVD's to review!

I used to love watching Pee-wee's Playhouse as a kid.  Now that most people have forgotten about Mr. Reubens' indiscretions, what better time to introduce him to the next generation!    Each show begins with Pee-wee getting a secret word from Conky, his robot friend.  Every time somebody says that word in the show, everyone is encouraged to scream.  (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)   So from here on out, the secret word will be DVD.  Everybody knows what to do right? 

There are many regulars on the show including Cowboy Curtis played by Morpheus.. I mean Laurence Fishburne, and the late Phil Hartman who played as Captain Carl.    This DVD (AHHHHHHHHHHHH!) set contains twenty-three episodes, divided into four discs.  In addition to the shows, there are brand-new interviews from the cast and crew.  There's over nine hours of silliness to be had in this collection.

This show is pretty clean and often teaches good morals and manners.  There are lots of cartoons and clay animated shorts that are fun to watch.   The visuals are pretty good, with exception to the old school cartoons that showed their age twenty-five years ago.  (Yes it's been that long and I feel old now.)  Everything else is bright and colorful.     

Thank you Cartoon Network for sending us this Blu-ray to review!

Like many shows, Adventure Time season 4 resumes from a cliff hanger and ends with a new one.  Season 4 starts with Finn trying to make a relationship work with the Flame Princess after giving up on Princess Bubblegum.   There are a couple of problems with their relationship though.  For starters, she burns Finn when coming in contact with him and the other problem is that she’s emotionally unstable.  If she gets upset, she can get out of control and destroy towns in the Candy kingdom.  Princess Bubblegum wants Finn to be aware of the dangers and to break off the relationship, but he brushes her off thinking she’s just jealous.  

Love is in the air for another episode titled Dream of Love.  In this episode Tree Trunks falls in love with a pig and their open display of affection is upsetting the townsfolk.  They are told to keep their love private, but everywhere they go to make out, they get discovered.   There is one scene where you can see them kissing in the shadows and you see some tongue action going on.  When told to move in together, Tree Trunks declines saying that it would not be proper since they are not married.  Unfortunately, Jake doesn’t follow the same guidelines as Rainicorn announces at the end of one of the episodes that she is pregnant.   

The Ice King is desperate for a wife and makes himself one from body parts he steals from princesses across the kingdom in the episode Princess Monster Wife.  Needless to say, she’s not much of a looker, but her heart is in the right place.  

Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

Halloween is fast approaching and what better way to celebrate it than with the friendliest ponies around?  There’s over two hours of laughs and valuable lessons to be learned in this cartoon collection.  As an added bonus, there’s a sing-along for the song Bats.  In total there are six episodes including:

• Boast Busters – Twilight Sparkle is good at magic, but modest about her talent.  That is until a boastful newcomer arrives and challenges her to a magic duel.  Will the arrogant Trixie be humbled in this match?
• Stare Master – A babysitting job goes wrong when the young ponies venture out into the Everfree forest.  Can Fluttershy’s stare intimidate a cockatrice and save the young fillies from danger?
• Luna Eclipsed – Princess Luna is in town for Nightmare Night, but is given the cold shoulder no matter how much she tries adjusting her attitude.  Will the ponies accept her present form and forget about her evil past?
• Sleepless in Ponyville – The ponies are on a camping trip and some of the ghost stories start becoming more and more real.  Scootaloo must learn to face her fears.  
• Castle Mane-ia – Applejack and Rainbow Dash are competing to see which pony is the bravest.  Their competition takes place is a creepy castle.  Who will be the victor?
• Bats! – Vampire bats have invaded Sweet Apple Acres on Apple Bucking Day.  Applejack and Fluttershy can’t agree on how to solve this dilemma.  To make matters worse, Fluttershy is accidently turned into a bat-pony from one of Twilight’s spells.  

All of my kids, son included enjoyed this DVD collection.  The girls liked and hung up the bundled poster as well.  My Little Pony: Spooktacular Pony Tales retails for $15 but can be found for closer to ten dollars on Amazon.  This is a great deal and I highly recommend it for fans of the My Little Pony series.

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Slugterra: Return of the Elementals picks up after the movie Slugterra: Ghoul From Beyond.  If you haven't seen it, there's a quick recap about slugs with the power of mind control and how Eli Shang and his friends defeated them. Those who are not familiar with the series at all should know that Eli and his (mostly human) friends keep their world safe by shooting living slugs as bullets (with elemental capabilities) at those who wish harm upon them.   This animated film begins as Eli awakens from a dream with his father telling him to gather the five elemental slugs together.   This time it's not just the humans being impacted, slugs under the same corrupted element are turning into ghouls.  Eli Shang and his gang must gather the uncorrupted elemental slugs before it's too late and heal the ghoulish ones.   

The adventure won't be easy, but there is just as much hilarity as fighting in Slugterra.  Fans of the show will enjoy the same funny humor and silly personalities of the slugs and crew in Eli Shang's gang.  This movie can be enjoyed by people of all ages.   There's plenty of action to keep a child's attention in the 70 minute DVD and the asking price is a reasonable $15.

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Transformers Energon was released in 2004 and this 154 minute DVD includes the first seven episodes. This series takes place ten years after Unicron's destruction. Optimus Prime and his autobots are gathering Energon from Earth when their cities are attacked by Terrocons. To make matters worse, Megatron is resurrected and is seeking revenge. Can Optimus Prime's autobots save Earth once again?

Here's a list of the action packed episodes included on this DVD:

• Cyberton City

• Energon Strike

Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

The Pound Puppies live for finding the perfect human for every dog.  In the episode Hello Kitten, they make an exception and assist a young cat with finding their new home.  The dog pound has a secret underground base that has a computer network for matching dogs with their forever homes.  Some dogs are tougher to match up than others.  A puppy that is scared of humans warms up to them after accidently going to camp with hyper girls scouts in the episode No More S’Mores.  In the episode Beauty is Only Fur Deep talks about not judging a book by its cover when one of the dogs goes bald and gets over confident when given fake hair.  Ironically, the dog pound manager is dealing with the same issues when it comes to his toupee.  Human kindness is the theme in the episode Working K9-5.  In that episode a young paper girl is late in delivering papers, but is not given a chance to explain why until the end.   

Both my daughters and son enjoyed watching this 110 minute DVD.  It’s a great show for cat and dog lovers alike!

The Transformers Rescue Bots show is geared for a younger audience and provides plenty of action, but teaches teaches important lessons as well.   The episode Little White Lies teaches that although white lies seem harmless, they can backfire and hurt people's feelings.  Learning from our past and the importance of History class is taught in the episode The Lost Bell.   Transformers Rescue Bots: Heroes to the Rescue has five episodes and runs for 110 minutes.   Both my son and daughters enjoyed watching this DVD.  The colorful animation, action, and humor is sure to keep the attention of grade school age kids. For less than $15, this DVD is a solid buy for any Transformers fan.     

Episode List:

• The Lost Bell
• You've Been Squilshed
• Little White Lies
• Shake Up
• Rescue Boy

Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

SlugTerra Heroes of the underground is the fourth volume available for the popular cartoon show.  It features five episodes and runs for 110 minutes.  My son who is new to the series enjoyed watching the slug slingers shoot their tiny yet powerful slugs at relentless enemies.  Eli Shang leads the Shang Gang and offers a reasonable policy of giving the enemies a chance to repent before he duels them.  Sadly, nobody takes him of on his offer.  In this DVD, the Shang Gang faces off against the Hooligang, a giant ice troll, a mad scientist, thieves, cyclops and robots.  While the cute slugs were not able to win my daughter over, my son enjoyed them and all of the action packed into this DVD collection.  For less than $12, this DVD is worth every penny.

Episode List:

• Snowdance
• Inheritance
• A Distant Shore
• The Journey Home
• Roboslugs

Thank You Click Communications for sending us the Blu-ray for Adventure Time: The Complete Third Season!

Even though Adventure Time is in its fifth season, the third season is now available in DVD, Blu-Ray, and digitally via UltraViolet.  Having recently watched the first two seasons, I think it’s safe to say that this show keeps on getting better.  This collection comes with twenty-six episodes and will entertain both parents and children for 286 minutes.   While some of the humor goes below the belt, this show is pretty family friendly as the main hero Finn tries to be an honorable hero.  His shape-shifting dog, Jake, is goofy and farts a lot.  The Ice King still kidnaps princesses in hopes of making one of them his wife. The two-part Christmas episode featuring him and his secret diary tapes are silly and religion free.  The citizens of Ooo acknowledge a deity named Glob and their form of OMG is “Oh my Glob!”.   

My favorite episode is the heart warming Thank You which features Snow Golem and his unlikely and short friendship with a fire pup.  The runner up is the gender switching Adventure Time With Fionna and Cake.    

Here’s the complete list of all of the episodes included in this set:

1. Conquest of Cuteness
2. Morituri Te Salutamus
3. Memory of a Memory
4. Hitman
5. Too Young
6. The Monster
7. Still
8. Wizard Battle
9. Fionna and Cake
10. What Was Missing
11. Apple Thief
12. The Creeps
13. From Bad to Worse
14. Beautopia
15. No One Can Hear You
16. Jake vs. Me-Mow
17. Thank You
18. The New Frontier
19. Holly Jolly Secrets (Part 1)
20. Holly Jolly Secrets (Part 2)
21. Marceline's Closet
22. Paper Pete
23. Another Way
24. Ghost Princess
25. Dad's Dungeon
26. Incendium

Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

This action packed 88 minute DVD features four episodes from various seasons of Transformers Prime and Transformers Prime Beast Hunters.  Each episode features Bumblebee kicking some metallic butt even when he loses his guns and ability to transform in the two part episode Operation Bumblebee.  Fans will learn why and how BumbleBee lost his ability to talk like the other robots do. The ambitious Starscream is the main villain in Masters and Students as he tries to become the new ruler of the Decepticons.  He awakens Skyquake who still follows Megatron's orders and not Starscream's.     Megatron is back in the fourth episode Deadlock which is the third season’s finale of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters.  In that episode the fate of earth is decided as the Autobots and Decepticons fight an epic battle.  Bumblebee really shines here and isn’t disobeying orders like he has in the previous shows on this DVD.  This collection is great for any Bumblebee fan out there.  For the reasonable price of $9.99, I highly recommend it!

James Chance is adrift. He's a 24 year old high school drop out who still lives with his parents, and the longest job he's ever held is working for his father in his landscaping company. So, when a frantic woman bangs on the window of his van, what does he do? He takes her home. And so, little baby Hope is brought into the world, courtesy of Jimmy and a convicted serial killer's one-night-stand.  With a new baby to care for, Jimmy (Lucas Neff) and the Chances' lower-lower-lower-middle class family discover that they all have a little something to learn about child-rearing and the bonds that hold them together.

Show creator Greg Garcia is no stranger to blue collar comedy, and fans will be able to see many similarities between this and My Name Is Earl in style and execution. The characters are a little dimwitted but they've got street-smarts and heart in spades, and that's what matters. The cast is bolstered with standout performances, especially Cloris Leachman as the senile Maw Maw, and the young-at-heart Burt Chance (Garret Dillahunt). Really, it's nothing particularly we haven't seen before, but the combination of one-liners and the characters' chemistry is positively charming. In an early episode, Virginia Chance (Martha Plimpton) tries to tell her son that her smoking had no adverse health effects on him as a child. His response? "...I had asthma the first 17 years of my life. I've got seven permanent teeth that still haven't come in. And I'm allergic to fruit....fruit!" It's all about the delivery, and the core cast carries it well. 

One of the most remarkable things about Raising Hope is its consistency and the tendency to always balance between the extremes - none of the episodes ever fall into abysmal territory, but none quite reach the echelons of comedy genius, and that's okay. The show doesn't try to be that, instead opting for a mixture of relatability and enabling the viewers to laugh at the thickheaded antics that often propels the Chance's misfortune. Lightheartedness drives the premise forward, but it is balanced with some occasionally dark moments, such as Jimmy having to cover Hope's eyes while they watch her mother get electrocuted in the pilot. The same standard of consistency can be held in terms of offensive content. It's not particularly innocuous but certainly doesn't plumb the depraved depths for material. An episode that involves Jimmy trying to get their house off the sex offender registry so that he can get Hope into a good daycare (Burt was caught canoodling with Virginia at a young age) ends up that everyone except Burt, ends up unintentionally getting charged for sexual offenses. Crazy Maw Maw frequently takes off her shirt, much to the disgust of the rest of the Chances. 

The show is already in the middle of its fourth season, but the first three seasons remain on Netflix. In fact, I've seen the first several episodes three times now and have successfully converted all of my friends into fans. If you’re able to bypass a few of the infrequent sexual references, the show remains a consistent source of entertainment. Don't start watching it expecting to be blown away by sharp dialogue and originality, instead, watch it for the comic performances and chemistry that succeed in recreating some classic sitcom magic.

My siblings and I have been working on a new cartoon over the past few months. It's a comedy show that's based on the Sonic the Hedgehog games. Enjoy!

Note: This is a review to the first half or so of the first season. Approximately 30 episodes have aired at this point.

I remember watching the original Teen Titans when I was a kid. I was captivated by the characters and entertained by the humor and action. That being said, I was really glad to hear that all of the original voices were returning for a continuation show.

Well, actually, it's not really a continuation. The episodes in the show don't even have continuation with themselves. Instead, it's an all-comedy show about what the Titans would do on their spare time. Though it's very different from the original show, Teen Titans Go! is a really fun show that is filled with laughs.

The first thing you would probably notice that's different is the animation. Instead of the anime-like animation, Teen Titans Go! uses flash animation. When I first saw it, I thought that it was a disrespect to the original. Though it took me a while to get used to, I eventually realized that it creates many hilarious situations.

The characters are mostly the same, except they're a lot goofier. Robin in particular is much more high strung than he was in the original, making him much funnier to watch. Though Raven was my favorite in the original show, Cyborg has now become my favorite of the group, because he's the funniest. That's not to say that Raven is worse, it's just that Cyborg improved significantly to the point where he's super awesome. Also, multiple references of other DC characters (specifically Batman) show up in the show, adding to the humor. Despite some appearances from the original series characters, I think there aren't enough who return. Slade is definitely a character who I'd like to see in this show.

The good thing about this show is that, unlike many of the cartoons today, Teen Titans Go! is a comedy show that's actually funny. However, I don't like how this show has to be rated PG, especially since most of the humor isn't that adult. That being said, it seems off that there are instances where there are really crude jokes. Being as the original show was Y7 and was aimed for kids, I would have appreciated it if this show did the same. Even still, the show is very entertaining and one of the only good ones currently out there.

Final Score: 8.3/10