DVD Review - Home Movies - Season 4
June 6, 2006
Home Movies started its run on UPN, but lasted only six episodes before being cancelled. However, the show was then picked up by The Cartoon Network and ran for another three and a half years. But far from being forgotten, this relatively short-lived show started coming out on DVD in November of 2004. Now, nearly two years later the last season is finally out on DVD, but is it worth the wait?
Synopsis:
The next section contains spoilers, click here to skip to the Special Features section.
The cast of characters include:
Episode Highlights - Season 4 was not as strong as season 3, which is something even the creators admitted to in the commentary. However, there are still several very funny episodes. Here are some key impressions on individual episodes:
A lot of the show's charm comes from the fact that while the main characters are kids, the people providing their voices are not. This, combined with the amount of improve involved, leads to the kids acting in a way that normal 8-year olds would not. For instance, they used cultural references, especially in their movies, that no 8-year old would get. I've always proponent of the theory that taking kids and making them act and talk like adults is always funny.
Other highlights for me were the music, which was universally good, (except for the occasions where it was intentionally bad, but even then its usually entertainingly bad). Hell, I even like the theme song enough to put it into heavy rotation in my MP3 list.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary:
The tone varies with Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small providing the most insight and behind-the-scenes information, while the ones with more cast members tend to be more reminiscing and just plane screwing around. Almost all are worth listening, some repeatedly.
Animatics - There are basically the unfinished cartoon. Interesting to look at, but lacks replay value. The three episodes with animatics are Camp, The Wizard's Baker, and Those Bitches Tried to Cheat Me.
Other Special Features include...
Disc 1 - The Beginnings of the Genesis of the Origin of Home Movies - The Very First Sessions with Loren Bouchard.- 22:35
Disc 2 - Home Movies Audio Outtakes Jukebox
Home Movies - Bonus CD
Conclusion:
Brendon, Melissa, and Jason and three eight-year olds who do what your typical eight-year do, go to school, play soccer, oh yeah, and make a lot of movies. Make a lot of really bad movies.
There are also a few other characters that appear in numerous episodes:
One a side note, I've read a few reviews where the critic mentions how much they hate Fenton, this hatred is even mentioned in one of the commentary tracks and seems to be shared by some of the people that make the show. However, I didn't mind Fenton, in fact, he was clearly needed in a number of plots. On the other hand, Walter and Perry drove my up the wall. Their voices were instantly irritating and the way the talked over each other was just too much to take.
Some more general notes of the episodes:
Many times when shows are released on DVD, the first couple of seasons have the most special features while later sets are lacking. The reason for this is simple, if you bought the first two or three seasons, chances are you will buy the next season even if there are few or no special features. This is not the case with Home Movies as season 4 has more special features that previous releases. In fact, it has almost as much in the way of extras as the previous three seasons combined.
Leading off the list of special features are about 2-dozen audio commentary tracks with every episode having at least one, and a couple have three. Most of the audio commentaries are by the creators, Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small, but they are sometimes joined by other members of the cast and there are even one or two commentaries by fans. Unfortunately, these last ones are generally the weakest commentaries since they know little about the behind the scenes of the show.
Loren Bouchard intros a series of audio clips from the very, very beginning including Brendon Small's audition, the first scene with Brendon and McGuirk, etc. There are also some audio clips that really show the collaboration process that went into making the show. Visually, these are very simplistic, but worth checking as it is a fascinating look at the very beginnings of the show. On a side note, Loren Bouchard talks about having the whole audio session on the disc, but you have to hunt to find it. (Hint: it's on the main menu.)
Allows you to randomly check out some audio clips that weren't used in the movie. Some of these clips are funny, but the format makes it hard to tell when you've heard them all and impossible to repeat just your favorites.
Disc 3 - No additional special features are found here.
Nearly every song every played on the show is found on this DVD. But while they have 52 tracks here, they only included one of the songs from the fourth season premiere, Camp, and none of the ones by They Might be Giants. I was especially upset that they didn't include Taste the Fame, which was my favorite song from the episode. Even so, there's a great collection of songs on this DVD, some of which have made their way into my MP3 collection.
Home Movies - final season was awards the DVD Pick of the Week honor when it first came out, and it is well-deserving of that title. The episodes are nearly universaly great and even the weak ones are funny enough for repeat viewing, and this 3-disc set is packed with special features making it a must have for any fan. Not only that, but even if you've never seen the show, watching this DVD will convert you. Of course, if you've never seen the show, start with Season 1.
Submitted by: C.S.Strowbridge
Filed under: Video Review