Product Details

• Actors: Paul Rugg, David Kaufman, Joe Leahy, Tress MacNeille, Edward Asner
• Directors: Jack Heiter, Peter Shin, Ronaldo Del Carmen
• Writers: John P. McCann, Alan Burnett, Melody Fox, Mitch Watson, Paul Dini
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 21, 2009
• Run Time: 232 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PU8N12
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,430 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Freakazoid!: Season 2" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The definition of "cult favorite" in TV animation circles, the superhero parody/deconstruction Freakazoid! reached the apex of its creativity (read: lunacy) with its second season, with movie and pop-culture spoofs, offbeat casting, and swan-dives into total surrealism among its many bizarre but hilarious attractions. Though well loved by a small but vocal community of fans, Freakazoid! never caught on with audiences like producer Steven Spielberg’s other animation efforts, such as Tiny Toons, and efforts to streamline the show in its second season by eliminating the two-stories-per-episode approach only allowed for more non sequiturs and offbeat scripting--not exactly the way to bring in viewers. But eclecticism was the key to Freakazoid!’s appeal--how else to describe a long segue into a musical number that pays tribute to villain The Lobe in "Dexter’s First Date," or hinging the truly berserk final episode, "Normandeus," around This Old House host Norm Abrams (who provides his own voice)? Such touches, as well as Lost in Space’s Jonathan Harris as Freakazoid’s butler, Professor Jones, and the increased presence of Ed Asner’s Office Cosgrove, who is elevated here from weird bit player to sidekick without losing his penchant for inviting Freakazoid to the most unusual events at the worst possible time, only solidified the show’s brilliance in the eyes of its followers; unfortunately, their numbers weren’t enough to keep the show going for a third season, so this two-disc set represents both the show’s highwater mark and swan song.

Extras on the Freakazoid! Season 1 set were remarkably plentiful, but here, the key supplement is a lengthy (20 minutes) featurette titled "Liebselied fur Normandeus," which reunites many of the key players to discuss the joys and disappointments of the show’s final season. Commentaries are unfortunately relegated to "A Full Season’s Worth of Commentaries (In Five Minutes or Less)," which is exactly as it sounds: a brief roundtable of producers and writers giving an amiable chat about the season. It’s amusing, but highlights the real need for full commentaries on some of the best episodes contained here. A demo of composer Richard Stone’s brilliant "Bonjour Lobey" rounds out the bonus features. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/21/2009 Run time: 242 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puns, Parodies, and Pandemonium, May 16, 2009

By	Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

One of the prizes of the Cartoon Network/ Warner Bros. late '90s merger was that some of the best cartoons from Warner Bros. found a new home and ready audience on Cartoon Network. That round-up brought in a roster of well-known 'toons that began with the masthead, "Steven Spielberg Presents" which, like the Looney Tunes logo, promised unbridled zaniness. The flagship series was Animaniacs, soon eclipsed by the smartest and subtlest segment, Pinky and the Brain. Mix the two and you might get Freakazoid!

The show only lasted two seasons on WB. Unlike these other Tom Ruegger shows, this one never really hit its stride, from the first peaking higher and crashing harder than most shows on the schedule. Season two might be more even, but that's also a misnomer. There are more stock characters to play off of from season one, the writers have carte blanche to do just about anything they can think of, pop culture references go whizzing by at dizzying speeds, while the shows themselves may seem to drag if you don't get the joke.

The show doesn't take itself seriously, but cartoon fans, movie buffs, and animation afficianados will have a field day pointing out parodies and tracking down tributes. One show starts with a parody of Bob Clampett's '60s series, Beany and Cecil. Another plays off the musical Hello Dolly. The show is constantly referential, as when Freakazoid, the Brain and Wacko all go see Spielberg to ask who has the best show. In the five minute bonus commentary, one of the writers remarks that the storylines are somewhat non-linear, revealing a gift for understatement. One could also say the episodes are metafictional, were one writing a thesis, or one could just enjoy the show.

Animation in general is an undervalued art form, so it may not be immediately apparent how amazing this show was when wedged into the schedule of normal linear and fictional cartoons. Animation buffs will appreciate the commentary, a bonus appearing more and more on cartoon DVD sets. Freakazoid! was also unusual in that like The Simpsons, each show was one long episode (rather than two or three). This well-packaged single case includes 11 episodes (shows) on two one-sided DVDs, along with bonus commentaries and a trailer for Saturday Morning Cartoons, the first two sets in a DVD series of SatAm Hanna-Barbera cartoons from Yogi to the Jetsons, as seen on CN's Boomerang channel. The first disc also starts with a preview that is almost a mini-documentary on the animated Green Lantern from DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Arguably, this sort of humor may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the audience for it has long been underserved. The arguments rage on as to which is the best show, but fans of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain may find a third contender to target the funny bone in Freakazoid!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars F! - Season Two!, April 25, 2009

By	Servo (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Back to save the nation by driving the villains crazy in the final 11 episodes of the cult animated series is lunatic super teen The Freakazoid in Freakzoid! - Season Two. Freakazoid! was one of those shows of such an acquired taste that it seemed highly unlikely of ever getting released on DVD, let alone released with special features and yet here we are, with both seasons of the series available to own on DVD. As with the Season 1 set, Freakazoid! - Season Two is a 2-disc set which features Full Frame (1.33:1) video; 5.1 and 2.0 English audio; English subtitles; plus extras. Here are the episodes and how the discs will be configured.

Disc 1:
1. Dexter's Date
2. The Freakazoid
3. Mission: Freakazoid
4. Virtual Freak
5. Hero Boy
6. A Matter of Love

Disc 2:
7. Statuesque
8. Island of Dr. Mystico
9 Two Against Freak
10. Freak-A-Panel / Tomb of Invisibo
11. Normadeus


Special Features:
* A Full Season's Worth of Commentaries (In Five Minutes or Less)
* Richard Stone (Composer) - Original Bonjour Lobey Demo Tape
* Liebeslied Für Normadeus Featurette
* Saturday Morning Cartoons Trailer

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THe greatest animated show EVER!!!, June 28, 2009

By	Nick Denife (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I first heard of FREAKAZOID when a clip featuring Tom Synder was shown on THE TOMORROW SHOW, and as soon as I saw that, I knew I had to watch it. I tried to record them to VHS but since it was thrown all over the schedule, it was impossible to get them all. I snapped up the first season when it was released and waited impatiently for this one, but it's finally out and even better than the first. The writing on this show was absolutely brilliant, and Paul Rugg as the voice of Freakazoid was hilarious. Of course, the guest voices provided by Ed Asner (as Cosgrove), David Warner (as The Lobe) and Ricardo Montalban (as Gutierrez) are just as funny - hearing Montalban yelling "I AM NOT A WEENIE! YOOOUUU ARE THE WEENIE!" among other things is hysterical, and you can tell they're having a great time. My favorites on the second set are THE ISLAND OF DR. MYSTICO (with Tim Curry as Mystico and Leonard Maltin as himself) and STATUESQUE where the cast visit Venice Beach.

It's really unfortunate that this show was only on for two seasons. These guys were completely out of their minds and carried on the Warner Brother's tradition of excellent, hilarious animation. A real treasure.