Customer Reviews

King Features Animated Comics: Beetle Bailey - You're in the Army Wow! [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

King Features' cartoons of Mort Walker's popular comic strip have long been available in a number of formats. Many were released on VHS, and about twenty were featured in the Animated All Stars Vol. One DVD set along with other Hearst properties, mainly Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. A number also made it onto a Rhino DVD along with animated specials of Betty Boop and Hagar the Horrible. Both of those specials were made in the early '60s but the Hagar special didn't air until 1989. A third show, to be titled The CBS Beetle Bailey Special was also never aired. Until now. Nothing on the box says so, but the long lost special is included in this set as a "Bonus Episode" on disc two. To select it, click Next on the disc two menu. The special includes characters from the comics at the time, like Killer, Plato, and Miss Buxley, who rarely make an appearance in the cartoons. The look and voices are different, but in some ways more resemble the comic strip.

The other good news is that this set includes all 50 cartoons, grouped in thirteen four 'toon 30 minute episodes, but you can select individual cartoons (the last two episodes only contain three 'toons each). Packaging is durable and attractive, with two single- sided discs in a two section case. At this great price, watching one a 'toon a day on weekdays, that's two months of 'toons. Mix with other great, reasonably priced sets like George of the Jungle: The Complete Series, Underdog - Ultimate Collection, Roger Ramjet - Hero of Our Nation (Deluxe Collector's Edition), Cool McCool - The Complete Series, and Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete First Season, and voila! a custom TV line-up of great classic 'toons.

The TV version of Beetle Bailey in shorts by King Features Syndicate, aired in 1963. Shorts are 5-10 minute cartoons as opposed to the full 30-minute ones that we have now grown used to, so an episode would consist of either three or four short cartoons. This 2 disc set (complete with disc artwork but no inserts) contains the 13 30-minute episodes of Beetle Bailey. So in this set you get 50 different Beetle Bailey cartoons. I have to take Hearst and BCI's word for it that this is 'The Complete Collection' because I wasn't born 'til '74!!! If that sounds like too much Beetle for you, then you can check out the sorta first release of Beetle Bailey by Hearst and BCI - Animated All Stars, Vol. 1 - which contains 20 Beetle Bailey cartoons as well as samplings of other cartoons as well. Those 20 cartoons appear on these discs as well, of course. Slight error in the listings on the back of the box - the last cartoon in episode 5 is Cosmo's Naught and not Welsh Rabbit, while the first cartoon in episode 7 is Welsh Rabbit and not Cosmo's Naught. This is how it appears in the disc cartoon menu. Also, the episodes The Bull of the Ball and Labor Shortage have been switched.

Even though the sound at the beginning of the disc at the disc menu is a bit shaky, the audio quality is very good considering that these toons were aired in the '60s! There is of course the consequent dots and threadlike stripes in the film from time to time but I think it rather adds to the element of nostalgia. Those are things that you got accustomed to in watching shows from the 60's, 70's and even 80's. The picture on this DVD is generally crisp and clear.

There are no extras on this DVD so the Disc Menu contains only 2 options - Play All and Episodes. You can either play all cartoons from the beginning or select an 'episode'. My beef with this DVD is that you cannot really select by 'episode'. You can only select by each individual 'short' and then after it has aired it returns you to the menu to select another one. I would prefer to have it play through from where I selected so I could watch the DVD in blocks at a time. The way that it's set up, you have to manually select each next episode that you want to see. I watch DVDs on my PC (with no remote) so this is a big hassle for me. It may not be a hassle for you if you like being returned to the main menu after each short. To each his own. Also, the last 2 shorts are the only ones that do not have the Beetle Bailey theme song. I would have preferred not to hear it except at the main menu to be honest. After hearing it 48 times, it does get a bit wearing...especially if you want to view this entire DVD in just a few sittings!

BONUS: There is a bonus episode that is not listed on the back of the box. It just called 'Beetle Bailey' and is a 24 minute episode with a more modern Beetle Bailey. Here he is more wisecracking and lazy than bumbling and accident prone. The voices are also done by different actors and they are listed at the beginning. I prefer the old Bailey as he seemed more humble and good hearted who just happened to fall into trouble. This Bailey seemed to be just a little too disrespectful.

All in all, this is a great addition to your DVD library because it's good clean fun. Beetle is quite a simple, wholesome character. I didn't watch it "through the eyes of a child" so I can't say if you would think it appropriate for yours or not but it would be well worth it to the classic or cartoon adult DVD collector to allow this some shelf space in their collection.

I was quite happy to see all 50 of the Beetle Bailey cartoons come out on DVD. I received the box set in December 2007, about a month after it came out. I eventually watched the whole thing all the way through. Glad to see that most of the cartoons on it have their openings, closings, and title cards complete and unaltered. I was also glad to see the unaired 1989 Beetle Bailey special on there, since I had never seen it before.

However, there are a few caveats in this collection. Three of the cartoons are edited down: "The Bull of the Ball"; "Home Sweet Swampy"; and "Beetle's High Horps." Fortunately, I watched 47 of these cartoons back in the early and mid 1980's on WBZ-TV in Boston when they ran their own Saturday and Sunday morning cartoons right before the network ones. The actual ending of "The Bull of the Ball" has the handsome man (whom Bunny rejected Beetle for) and Cosmo dancing, with everyone laughing at them. "Home Sweet Swampy" and "Beetle's High Horps" are missing most of their opening title cards. I believe something like three full minutes are missing in "Beetle's High Horps." (I recall that the cartoon's actual length is over nine minutes long.) At some point in the missing footage, Sarge is about to kick Beetle, saying something like, "into that bend." The true ending of the cartoon has Bunny kissing Beetle, who blasts off into orbit and to the moon, and dancing around it. The closing music of this last scene can be heard in the collection, but dubbed in during the part where Sarge is in the rocket, sinking in the muck, which is how it ends in the collection. I'm not sure if there is anything else missing in "Home Sweet Swampy," since that, and "Go Yeast Young Man" and "Hero's Reward," are the three cartoons that WBZ-TV did not show. It's possible that the true ending of "Home Sweet Swampy" is missing in the collection, since it seems flat and unfunny the way it ends here. A fourth cartoon, "Labor Shortage," has replaced footage. During the part where Beetle says, "How about chili, Cookie?", the original footage here is replaced by footage from later in the scene, where he says, "Boy, what a brainstorm." This is probably so to hide a major glitch in the original animation, where the talking parts are not matched up to the non-talking parts. (Beetle is higher or lower when he talks than when he doesn't talk.) Perhaps they should have stretched the collection out to three discs, so that all of the cartoons can be completely uncut.

I would have given this collection a full 5 stars, but since a few of the cartoons are edited down, I subtracted a star, giving it a 4 out of 5 stars.

watching this DvD brought back childhood memory's of sitting in front of the TV set with my bowl of cheerios. the over all video and sound quality is good and each episode is complete and uncut with the lead-in theme music
for each episode. like all things from childhood a little of this material goes a long way.

I cant believe that Amazon had these cartoons available to purchase! I am so happy that I can watch these cartoons from my childhood.

Beetle Bailey, a cartoon strip about a private in the US Army, was created by Mort Walter in the early 1950's. The strip achieved some success, and was translated by King Features Syndicate into an animated feature in 1963. Stationed at a barracks at Camp Swampy, Beetle Bailey is a somewhat goofy private in the US army, under the direct command of Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel. The base commander is General Amos T. Halftrack, a rather fog-headed individual.

The comic strip was aimed more at adults, as it basically focused on life in and around Camp Swampy, where Beetle and his fellow soldiers, try to make it through their stretch in the army, with as little effort as possible. Sergeant Snorkel, a disciplinarian, is prone to employing physical violence against Beetle, and other NCO's. General Halftrack, a married man, was known for admiring the form of his beautiful blonde secretary, the apply named Miss Buxley.

As imparting such morally reprehensible values to the youth of America would be frowned on, Beetle Bailey underwent a slight makeover for the cartoon. The results are semi-entertaining and mostly innocuous. As controversial subjects are avoided, the cartoon understandably lacks some of the edge and irreverence of the strip. The enlisted men are pretty successful at doing as little as possible, although Beetle (voiced by Howard Morris) is not completely devoted to idleness, and napping on the job. While the gravelly voiced Sarge (voiced by Allan Melvin) grumbles a lot, he does not physically assault his men. There is no Miss Buxley, and in dealing with the occasional female, the incompetent General Halftrack, mostly keeps his lecherous tendencies, very low key.

The episodes run about six minutes, and minus the credits, that leaves only about five minutes for the story. Often it seems that time runs out, resulting in some abrupt finishes. The adventures are all over the map, but most seem to involve soldiers in outrageous situations, rather than featuring them deliberately screwing around, or engaging in activities against military regulations. The animators do a good job of translating Walker's characters to the cartoon format, although the episodes seem to feature different color palates, as some have vibrant colors, while others look a little washed out.

Other significant characters are Beetle's girlfriend Bunny (voiced by June Foray), and Sarge's dog Otto. With limited time, featuring the other GI's is a challenge, but Zero, Killer, Rocky, Cosmo, Cookie the Cook, and Lt. Fuzz, are among those that do get some time. Fortunately, the closest these soldiers get to any real action, is during the occasional war game. While perhaps not a must see, laugh out loud classic, Beetle Bailey is amusing, and a decent translation of Mort Walker's comic strip to the animated arena, that fans would not want to pass up.

Besides the fifty episodes from the 1963 series, a 24 minute animated feature from 1989, simply entitled "Beetle Bailey", is also included. Written by Hank Saroyan and Mort Walker, this updated version features Sarge trying to get in shape to pass inspection for the Pentagon brass. Featuring Miss Buxley and Private Blips, it has a tone closer to the comics, and a pretty wacky ending.

If you're in the military have a great sense of humor, then this DVD is for you. The Navy Sailor vs Army Beetle man is one of the funniest episodes ever.

The funniest series produced by King Features.
This two DVD set is loaded with all the fifty short episodes of Beatle Bailey, reunited in thirteen chapters. There you can see the adventures and misadventures of Camp Swampy and his inmates.
There is a very special bonus. An episode of the revamp of the series in the nineties. Simply wonderful.
And the quality of the transfer is more than OK. A really good purchase.

I have been reading thi comic for year. The movie i not as good but a definate have for anyone who loves the comic.

Classic Cartoons. Not the best transfer to DVD, but what do you expect. A collector's item, but today's kids wouldn't enjoy it.