Customer Reviews

Todd McFarlane's Spawn: The Animated Collection

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is HBO's groundbreaking animated series for adults that became an instant cult fave among fans of adult animation and fans of the landmark comic book series which was created by Todd Mcfarlane. The series dealed with a former soldier named Al Simmons (Voiced by Keith David) who was killed in the line of military duty was sent to hell, he made a deal with a devil named Malebolgia to get back on Earth so he can see his love Wanda again but only if he joins with Maelbolgia's army if he sends souls to hell so that the battle between Heaven and Hell may start. He is sent five years later only to find himself as a burned man with strange magical clothes and a shroud made from necroplasm, he is called Spawn and wonders through the streets of New York to find out that the love of his love is married to his former best friend Terry Fitzgerald as they have a child together and that Al Simmons has been dead for 5 years as right now the battle between good and evil will start.

A unique adult animated fantasy-horror-action series with excellent animation especially around the second and third seasons with some excellent voice acting by John Dystrat ("The Thing"), Ming Na Wen, John Rafter Lee ("Aeon Flux The Series" and "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust"), Ronny Cox, James Hong, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Forster, Eric Roberts, and Kurtwood Smith ("Robocop"). This is truly one animated show not for kids due to extreme bloody violence, torture, nudity, sex, foul language and extreme darkness abound all wrapped up in this extremely faithful to the excellent comics series thanks to the magic of Spawn creator Todd Mcfarlane and HBO animation with MadHouse animation.

This 4-Disc special edition collection set contains all three seasons on 3-discs with cool extras like audio commentaries, character profiles, interviews and 3 featurettes.

I was just a kid when the theatrical "Spawn" movie came out, but even then I could tell that the film just didn't live up to the idea; it was all popcorn explosions and CGI demons, devoid of substance. A few years later, towards the end of high school, I came across the prior boxset release of this show. Knowing it was well-reviewed, I decided to give it a try.

"Todd McFarlane's Spawn" is the opposite of the theatrical film, delving deeply into the psychology of this Hellspawn and his struggle between damnation and redemption. The writing is subversive, alternately witty and utterly creepy; the animation is fluid and richly detailed; the voice-acting superb, with Keith David's Spawn and John Rafter Lee's Jason Wynn as the clear highlights of the cast. Whether you're into comics, fantasy, film noir, or even simply well-written stories, I would recommend giving this show a watch.

And now it's even better on this anniversary box set. In the original release, each season of the show was edited together to form one two-and-a-half hour long movie; this would be daunting under normal circumstances, but for a show this bleak it's quite an achievement to get through. Even worse, the films were presented on both sides of a "flipper" disc, increasing the danger of scratches. Fortunately, this anniversary set presents all 3 seasons broken up into their individual episodes on a one-sided dual-layered disc, making for a much more palatable viewing experience (die-hards need not fear, however -- there's still a "play all" option on the menu). The visuals are improved with truer blacks and more vibrant colors, and the audio has been upgraded to 5.1 surround from Dolby stereo. Extras include commentary tracks from McFarlane on selected episodes, and a handful of featurettes on a fourth disc. All this is included in a very attractive steelbook case featuring the pictured artwork at the top of the Amazon page.

Very highly-recommended for a first-time viewer, and if any owner of the previous set is on the fence about upgrading, I believe that it's more than worth the increased quality and convenience offered in this new set.

I loved when this Series when it was on HBO for 3 series but then it was cancelled, and that was a shame right in the middle of the storyline, I was hoping that Todd Mcfarlane would've finished this series with a straight to DVD release but it never happened. It was a Great show the Animation was topic notch. Again hopefully one day they'll continue this series from where it left off.

Since I saw it - videocassetes! - this is a must. Even if you have all those restrictions (mature and so on) the art is stunning. First season is best. Then better and good. It's innovative. Certain characters (Twitch)are most enjoyable, till the end. The character voices are carefully elaborated. In ten years I have not seen anything like Spawn. Maybe you remember Aeon Flux, which was good. This, with 5.1 Dolby, metallic case, all three seasons, fair price, is splendid.

Anyone who's a spawn fan, a comic book fan, or just a viewer looking for a mature animated series, rest assured because you can't go wrong with Todd McFarlane's Spawn. Why is this set flawless, well let's see you've got the steel case, 4 discs, all 18 episodes, the extras, and of course the great series itself for less than 30 bucks. Just the series itself is worth it for it's awesome story, flawless animation, good voice acting, dialogue, etc. Ok, so you think I'm making this sound to good to be true, well ok yes McFarlane didn't finish the series, but hey it's worth it while it lasts and Spawn like most comic book characters, is ongoing. To close this up I ask you to trust this reviewer, get Spawn, and enjoy it because trust me, this ain't your saturday morning garbage.

Admittedly I'm not one of those fanboys who merely followed along for the sake of Todd McFarlne's craft. Rather this is what introduced me to his work.

Well before I discovered the art of anime and manga this was what I classified as cutting-edge animation. Before I discovered Adult Swim the only "premium" channel worth watching on cable was HBO (the selections on rural cable at the time were pretty bad). And this may have well cemented a higher standard of animated fare into the minds of HBO's audience.

While I think the second season and onward had some weaknesses the story arc of the first season was breathtaking. It served as not just a solid introduction into the many characters but as its own movie in and of itself (early VHS editions simply edited all the first season episodes into one long animated movie and that worked out quite well). The visual styles employed were reminiscent of anime at the time leading to a solid mix of eastern and western sensibilities with a high dose of action especially at the end. And while I've seen the other seasons the first season just stuck with me.

The animation isn't the best but it does a good enough job for the sake of cable presentation. Regarding its televised aspect ratio (4:3) there are certain scenes (most notably during the police chase in the first season's finale) that have been pan'n'scanned during their original broadcasts. The original DVD release shared this flaw as well. And here the original television broadcast aspect ratio is preserved. I can only hope that a full remaster is approved that shows this in its original widescreen form before being cropped to 4:3.

But the real letdown is that the series ended too soon. HBO Animation folded before extra seasons could be produced. I wonder if HBO should've made this its signature animation series rather wasting time with the abysmally awful "Spicy City". And I wonder if the flop of "Spawn; The Motion Picture" by another Of Time Warner's entities, New Line, is another contributing cause for no more "Spawn: The Animated Series" episodes. I would love to hear that untold story.

In any case, the Spawn motion picture was simply awful. When I want to turn friends onto Spawn I pop one of the Spawn animated series discs in. The voice acting is wonderful, the score perfectly matches the moods of the scenes and it's a perfect gateway into not just the Spawn comic series but for adult animation in general. I highly recommend it in spite of its 4:3 aspect ratio limitation.

I remember when the Spawn comic first came out when I was in high-school. It was violent, hip, a different breed from the Batmans and Supermans of the world. The animated series is not a straight port of the comic, but a universe unto it's own.

Sure, the basic plot elements remain from the comic, but while the comic focused on the usual action storylines, the animated series is a great character driven drama. While there is plenty of action, it is the characters and story that are the focus of the series.

This remastering of these 18 episodes look great and sound even better with the 5.1 Surround Sound. The special features are decent, but nothing new. With this set, the real treat is the series itself. It's the greatest animated drama-series ever produced, and it is a shame that Todd McFarlane never got to finish his story.

This HBO television program is definately way better than the Spawn live action movie that came out. there are 3 seasons with 6 episodes in each season. and a whole disc of special features. I do wish that some of the episodes were just stand-alone episodes instead of a 3 hour, 6-part movie. but they are still amazing.

The episodes are awesome and I'm glad HBO showed this so it could be as violent as it is. Cartoons are so much better that way. Price was really good. Post office takes way to long to deliver but thats not Amazons fault.

This is the best animated series ever produced. You don't have to know anything about Spawn to enjoy this. It is however, in my opinion for adults. It aired in the evenings on HBO. It's quite violent and also has sex scenes, you might want to be aware of this if you are thinking of ordering this for a young child. The series is the best interpretation of the comic story ever released. The movie was meant for a wider audience and as a fan of the comic book, I thought it was complete trash. This animated series is a must for anyone who likes super heroes and enjoys a good story. This really is a unique study of "good" and "evil". It really demonstrates how thin the line can become between the two. Spawn is a unique character and this is a very complex story. It's fantastic and is presented here in only the way HBO could afford McFarlane to do. Interested in knowing about Spawn but not interested in comics? Get this series. A fan of Spawn and never seen this? Shame on you!!