Product Details

• Actors: Paul Merton, Arthur Smith, Frank Passingham, Antoine de Caunes, Simon Day
• Writers: Alan Gilbey, David Freedman
• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002
• Run Time: 260 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000068QOF
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,400 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Rex the Runt - The Complete Collection" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In a series of brilliant short films that culminated in the Oscar^® winners Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers, and A Close Shave, the artists at Aardman Animations set new standards for acting and direction in clay animation. The BBC series Rex the Runt was clearly made on a smaller budget that precluded full animation. The program plays like a cross between Gumby and a minor skit from Monty Python's Flying Circus or The Goon Show. The characters are made from flat sheets of clay, and most of the animation is two-dimensional. The main characters are canines: pop-eyed lavender Rex is the most sensible of the four; Wendy is a fussy female with breasts and a bow; Bad Bob sports an eye patch and carries a pistol; dimwitted, snaggletoothed Vince suffers from "Random Pavarotti Disease," which causes him to bellow snatches of opera. They're not an endearing lot, and the writers strain to find things for them to do. The foursome likes to go on adventures, but the stories don't really go anywhere; the verbal patter that should flow effortlessly sounds labored. Even a routine physical gag, like having the characters thrown out of a car and into a snowbank, is so badly timed it has no punch. It's far more entertaining to watch The Wrong Trousers for the 20th time than to sit through Rex the Runt once. (Unrated, suitable for ages 12 and older: gross/toilet humor, minor profanity, cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

In a series of brilliant short films that culminated in the Oscar® winners "Creature Comforts", "The Wrong Trousers", and "A Close Shave", the artists at Aardman Animations set new standards for acting and direction in clay animation. The BBC series "Rex the Runt" was clearly made on a smaller budget that precluded full animation. The program plays like a cross between "Gumby" and a minor skit from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" or "The Goon Show". The characters are made from flat sheets of clay, and most of the animation is two-dimensional. The main characters are canines: pop-eyed lavender Rex is the most sensible of the four; Wendy is a fussy female with breasts and a bow; Bad Bob sports an eye patch and carries a pistol; dimwitted, snaggletoothed Vince suffers from "Random Pavarotti Disease," which causes him to bellow snatches of opera. They're not an endearing lot, and the writers strain to find things for them to do. The foursome likes to go on adventures, but the stories don't really go anywhere; the verbal patter that should flow effortlessly sounds labored. Even a routine physical gag, like having the characters thrown out of a car and into a snowbank, is so badly timed it has no punch. It's far more entertaining to watch "The Wrong Trousers" for the 20th time than to sit through "Rex the Runt" once. (Unrated, suitable for ages 12 and older: gross/toilet humor, minor profanity, cartoon violence) "--Charles Solomon"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy surreal fun with Rex The Runt and pals!, November 7, 2002

By 

Laura G. Carter "Castlebreaker" (Reidsville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rex the Runt - The Complete Collection (DVD)

I discovered "Rex The Runt" on the Aardman Animations webpage about two weeks ago... and was instantly hooked.

The characters (our doggie hero, Rex the Runt, his live-in canine friends Bad Bob and Wendy, and Rex's dog, Vince, who has Random Pavarotti Disease) are clay figures like Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit, but more twisted and ... slightly abstract. Their object during any given episode is to have an adventure, any adventure, and this they do with relish. For instance, in "Holiday In Vince", they take a journey through Vince's brain in a shrunken submarine; in "Easter Island", the gang's helicopter crash-lands on an island inhabited by a group of aliens masquerading as Easter Island Heads who kidnap Rex and take him to the planet Thribb; and in "Stinkey's Search for a Star", the plucky dogs find themselves at the mercy of rock-and-roll fame and fortune as they form the group "Rexy Music" to win money to prevent their gas from being cut off!

Several well-known British folks do the guest voices, including Eddie Izzard's terrific turn as the Easter Island Heads (ALL of them). The duel DVD set includes all episodes from both seasons of "Rex", and includes the trailer for the second season, revealing photos of Wendy during a "glamour shoot" and a DVD-ROM feature.

For some, the humor of "Rex The Runt" may take a second or third viewing to get. However, it's well worth it. The only side effect is ... Random Pavarotti Disease ... but I've learned to live with it ... :)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's time for a doggie dialogue!, November 22, 2003

By 

Mr. C. J. Scott (Edinburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rex the Runt - The Complete Collection (DVD)

make the most of it, folks! cos over here, where it was made, we can't get this for love nor money. a fabulously surreal romp through the most twisted minds at Aardman, this is far for charismatic than most of their work. forget Wallace & Gromit (admit it, you only watched it for Gromit anyway), this programme doffs its hat to every great comedy series. a must see. if at first you don't get it, try a second time. once you're there, you'll never want to leave.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rex the Runt kicks some serious Bootie!!!, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rex the Runt - The Complete Collection (DVD)

I highly recommend this DVD. I have seen the DVD, plus watched a ton of episodes on Atomfilms.com. This series is the greatest stop motion animated series ever created!!!! Its far beter and more complex then Wallace and Gromit, or any of the other terrible stop motion shows like Celebrity Deathmatch, PJ's, or Gary and Mike. This show is amazing!!!! It is hilarious dry humor at its best!!! The sets are great, the designs are great, the animation is excellent, the voice acting is incedible...great characters, enjoyabke adventures! What else do you want!! This show should be played in the states for sure. Only Aardmsn animation seem to know the secret formula for producing a show that is adored by youngsters yet still highly appealing to adults! Great stuff!!