15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing show but the VHS edition is missing some scenes., February 29, 2004
This review is from: Gargoyles (with Interactive VCR Board Game) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This video is actually the first three episodes of the first season in the "Gargoyles" saga and let me say that this was and still is a really breathtaking three part video of the greatest cartoon series that Disney has ever created.
Forget "Rescue Rangers", "Darkwing Duck" and even "Goof Troop", those are great cartoon series but "Gargoyles" to me throws all of those right into orbit around the earth in every category. This series took Disney by storm with a very deep and mystical storyline that blended the fantasy folklore of gargoyles and merged fantasy with real-life history in the series timeline.
In this episode entitled "The Awakening" the Gargoyles exist as a clan in Castle Wyvern in northern Scotland where they co-existed quite well, if a bit on the shakily, with humanity in the castle and protected the citizens from rule-breakers and/or enemy armies who would attack them. The Clan is lead by a young but extremely strong gargoyle named Goliath along with his second in command, his mate Demona. The clan however are attacked by a huge Viking army one night in the year A.D. 994 and most of the original clan are destroyed and only seven of them survive the horrible attack that night.
During a botch spell attack, the clan are put into a stone sleep with a spell that won't be broken until the 'castle rises above the clouds' and only then would the gargoyles be reawakened from their stone sleep. A multi-billionaire businessman named David Xanatos retrieves the castle by disassembling it and transports the gargoyles in their stone forms to atop his headquarters which dwarves every other building in New York City. The spell is broken and the Gargoyles awaken to a totally different world from the one they remembered from a whole millenium before.
The Gargoyles clan are no safer in their new world than they were in their old world from a millenia before then. Humans are unaware of their existance and there's the danger of what humans may do if they encounter a gargoyle. Would they be met with caution or shunned with hate and hostility? The Gargoyles will be learning a lot that the modern world is full of enemies even more formidable than the ones from a millenium ago and some of them come from unlikely places too.
This show is to me the greatest achievement that Disney Studios has ever accomplished even today. The Animation is absolutely stunning and original like nothing I had ever seen up to this point in my life. The animation alone isn't the best thing about the series. As it is now as a grown up, the best thing about "Gargoyles" is it's absolutely powerful message of what prejudice and bigoty may lead to if not dealt with by the heros of the world. The "X-Men" cartoon series from the 1990s is another cartoon series that sheds light on this.
It's absolutely a tragedy that this show lasted only a little over two years before the show was cancelled because of the third season. Just about every other Disney Cartoon series after this one seem to revert back into forgettable generic pap with little memorability and predictable animation and bland figures.
This VHS edition of the gargoyles "Awakening Parts I, II, and III" is rather dissapointing in some ways. If you have seen the TV series counterpart, you will notice that the VHS edition leaves out several crucial scenes. The picture quality is also rather questionable but that may have to do with a degraded copy I got from a store a while back. The game at the ending is almost useless and almost nothing but clutter to me.
It's a great thing that at least some of the Gargoyles episodes are available on VHS but I feel that this whole series should be released onto two DVD Box Sets. One should containing all 78 episodes of "Gargoyles" three seasons including "The Goliath Chronicles" and the other should just have the first two seasons for those who disliked the third season. They should also release the three seasons separately on DVD because the picture quality of the VHS editions of the available videos is desperately calling for a picture remastering!
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I give this video a five star any just because this is a great cartoon series. There will never be a cartoon series that impacted cartoon watching the way "Gargoyles" did and it's a shame that cartoon studios have never tried to create something as powerful and rich like "Gargoyles" or "X-men" from the 1990s and instead reverted back into predictable and forgettable animation and bland picture cartoon quality.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gargoyles is the best!, January 28, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Gargoyles (with Interactive VCR Board Game) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Gargoyles is the most wonderful animated series I have ever seen. It was created for cartoon-lovers who want some action and drama, and gargoyles breaks the mold. The movie is excellent, yet it has parts that are shown on the show that were cut out. I think they should re-release the movie in it's entirety. The video,and the strory-line of the show are interesting and informative about ancient cultures and the writings of Shakespeare (though they changed it a bit to fit into the show) I love it! Buy it!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It will be on DVD in 2003, April 9, 2003
This review is from: Gargoyles (with Interactive VCR Board Game) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is the most endearing cartoon show I've ever watched and they are finally giving the DVD treatment it deserves. Greg Weisman( the creator of the show)says if the "Awakening" 5 parter sells well enough, disney will release the etire series on DVD. Even though I'm almost 20 and in college, I will buy this whole thing in a heart-beat.Fans unite!... Go to
http://crossroads.dragonmists.org/fantasy/central/gnc.html or www.animatedbliss.com to keep updated on when it's released. Email me if you want more links. Or just to talk about the show.
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