Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Televised animation at its finest, December 19, 2004
First aired in 1994, Gargoyles represented a major shift in the style of Disney's fledgling "Disney Afternoon" block of syndicated TV shows. While originally envisioned as a slightly darker take on The Gummi Bears (itself an excellent Disney TV series), Gargoyles evolved into a harder action cartoon. However, in true Disney fashion, the show followed the footsteps of some of the finest American action cartoons of the preceding decade and a half: Batman: The Animated Series, G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Blackstar, and Thundarr the Barbarian. Those shows were of a smarter breed, and Gargoyles went even further, going so far as to integrate Arthurian legends and even Shakespeare over the course of its 65 episodes.
This DVD set collects the first 13 episodes of Gargoyles, from the 5-part opening miniseries, "Awakening", to "Reawakening". The episodes are uncut, and unlike recent cable showings, the famous anti-gun episode, "Deadly Force", has not been excised. While there has been no remastering of the series, this isn't necessary, as the transfer here is nothing short of impeccable. The special features, while not as jam-packed as some animation DVDs, are of great quaity, as they include commentaries for the "Awakening" 5-parter (which is heavily laden with spoilers, so be warned if you aren't familiar with the series, or can't recall future events), the original series pitch, and a feature on the show's fanbase.
If you've enjoyed any of the cartoons I've alluded to, or are just interested in a good, smart show, by all means buy this set. And if you're already familiar with Gargoyles, it's safe to say that you know you want it, because it's just that good.
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53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Finest American Animated Series Ever!, August 9, 2005
In 1994, the folks at Disney and creators of the groundbreaking Batman the Animated Series gave American television audiences something they never could have expected: a Disney animated series for both adults AND kids. Drawing inspiration from Disney's wonderful "Adventures of the Gummi Bears" combined with what they learned from the enormously successful "Batman the Animated Series," Gargoyles took the already advancing U.S. animation standard and kicked the whole thing up a few more notches! Disney's "Gargoyles" proved to be the most impressive and widely enjoyable animated series ever to air on U.S. television before and since, full of thought-provoking drama, realistic situations, well-developed characters, and beautiful visuals that lived up to the Disney name.
The story of "Gargoyles" revolves around 6 modern day survivors of an ancient clan of gargoyles from 10th century Scotland. These powerful and intimidating winged creatures live and do battle against evil by night, and sleep by day in the form of defenseless stone statues. Their leader, the imposing and noble Goliath, is plagued with worries brought upon him by the ambiguous nature of the 20th century and the people and gargoyles that repeatedly weave in and out of his circle of trust. The one true ally of the gargoyles is Manhattan Police Detective Elisa Maza, who does her best to protect and guide the creatures as they discover the realities and dangers of modern-day, big-city life. They are threatened by new and old enemies on an almost daily basis, the worst of which is Goliath's former mate, a vengeful female named Demona. The greatest difficulty the gargoyles face, however, aside from keeping their existence somewhat secret, is knowing who to trust, and the most curious person of all is the billionaire businessman who awoke them, the mysterious and powerful David Xanatos. No matter what new plot unfolds around the Gargoyles, the twists and turns most often reveal the manipulative and power-hungry Xanatos to be pulling the strings.
Disc 1: Episodes 1-7
Episodes 1 thru 5 make up of the pilot for Gargoyles, entitled "Awakening"
These first five episodes introduce our heroes, Goliath the leader, wise, old Hudson, small and mechanically inclined Lexington, big and boisterous Broadway, the teenage-rebel-like Brooklyn, and their dog-like gargoyle, Bronx, and set up the stage for the core of the series. After an introduction to Elisa Maza in modern-day Manhattan, we are flashed back to 994 A.D. Scotland, where the gargoyles battle to defend a castle against Viking intruders, despite the lack of appreciation from the human inhabitants (including the GORGEOUS princess). Through an unfortunate turn of events, the gargoyles are betrayed by a friend, and soon all are dead but Goliath and the 5 others. Cast under a spell to keep them in their stone forms day AND night until "the castle rises above the clouds," Goliath and his friends are finally awakened in modern Manhattan by billionaire David Xanatos, who bought the castle and relocated it atop his towering sky-scraper home. Xanatos passes himself off as a friend to the gargoyles, but time reveals that he is anything but. Xanatos manipulates the gargoyles into stealing 3 computer discs for him, reintroduces Goliath to the bitter mate he thought he had lost a millennium ago, and, when he feels the creatures have outlived their usefulness, attempts to exterminate them. Goliath makes a friend in police detective Elisa Maza though, and together they manage to put Xanatos behind bars; for a while, anyway.
Episode 6: The Thrill of the Hunt
The three younger gargoyles have become obsessed with a TV series called "The Pack," starring 5 wild action heroes, but when Lexington manages to meet the stars, he learns that not everything you see on TV can be trusted.
Episode 7: Temptation
After a motorcycle incident puts Brooklyn in the wrong place at the wrong time, Demona does her best to persuade him to see things her way. It's all part of a plan to place Goliath under a magic spell.
Extras: Feature Commentary for episodes 1-5. Highly enjoyable and informative commentary with the creators and Keith David, the voice of Goliath.
Disc 2: Episodes 8-13
Episode 8: Deadly Force
After seeing his favorite cowboy movie one more time, Broadway stops off at Elisa's apartment for a bite to eat. But, while playing with her gun, it accidentally goes off, landing Elisa in the hospital and in grave danger.
Episode 9: Enter MacBeth
While Xanatos awaits his short jail sentence to be up, a stranger named MacBeth offers to help solve his gargoyle problem, but there's more to MacBeth than he is revealing! In the end, Goliath and the others decide the must relocate to a clock-tower above Elisa's police station for their own safety.
Episode 10: The Edge
The newly released Xanatos donates a jewel to a local museum, then uses one of his robot gargoyles to steal it. His plan is to bring the gargoyles into the public eye, and in a none-too-flattering light, if they won't agree to be at his disposal.
Episode 11: Long Way To Morning
Hudson dreams and reflects on his last adventure as leader of the gargoyle clan, while he and Goliath do their best to avoid extermination by a pursuing Demona.
Episode 12: Her Brother's Keeper
Xanatos offers a job to Elisa's brother Derek as a helicopter pilot and bodyguard, then uses Jackal and Hyena of "The Pack" to test him out. Meanwhile, Elisa visits Fox in prison in an attempt to gain information to convince her brother that Xanatos is untrustworthy. By day's end, Eisa discovers that Fox is infatuated with the seemingly infallible Xanatos, and Derek discovers the existence of the gargoyles.
Episode 13: Reawakening
In this season finale, Xanatos and Demona bring one of Goliath's old rookery brothers back to life in a Frankenstein-esque experiment and brainwash him to go after Goliath and his clan. By the time Goliath gets through to his old friend, it is too late. The season ends with Goliath declaring the island of Manhattan to be their new home that they are obligated to protect.
Extras:
The Gathering of the Gargoyles
This fascinating short piece takes us to a Gargoyles fan gathering in Canada, allowing us to see the impact the show has had on some of its biggest fans!
Original Show Pitch By Greg Weisman
This very entertaining bit of footage is the original show pitch to promote the series to networks, and includes some beautiful production art that I hope we'll see a gallery of in a future season DVD release!
Season One of Gargoyles on DVD is an animation fanatic's dream come true, especially a hardcore Disney-lover like myself! Full of amazing music and voice talent (including lots of names to make Star Trek fans giddy), the show is brilliantly thought-out and executed, loaded with surprises, and each new episode leaves you hungry for the next one! I truly hope Disney continues to release its excellent animated television series on DVD, from Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, and the Wuzzles, all the way through to Kim Possible (yes, I love those less "mature" shows too), and, of course, the rest of Gargoyles! If you loved this show when it first aired, you know why you have to get this DVD set! If you have never seen it before, you have GOT to check it out! You'll be pleasantly surprised at the very least!
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FINALLY! I've waited YEARS for this boxset!, August 29, 2004
Gargoyles and Exo Squad are by far the two best animated series to come from America, and amnong the three best ever produced in the world. Why? Because they didn't insult the intelligence of their viewers. They treated kids as capable of dealing with the grit of reality. The good guys weren't perfect and the bad guys weren't pure evil. This was high-quality, high-intensity drama for the Saturday morning crowd, and to be honest, most adults would find it enthralling too. Disney spared no expense when making this series; they got numerous Star Trek alumni to lend their voices, including Jonathan Frakes (Riker/Xanatos), Marina Sirtis (Troi/Demona), Michael Dorn (Worf/Coldstone), Brent Spiner (Data/Puck), Kate Mulgrew (Janeway/Titania), and so on. And let me tell you, Star Trek actors make AWESOME bad guys (don't believe me? Check out Patrick Stewart in Masterminds).
I've set my TIVO to record reruns of the show on Jetix and I've downloaded probably at least half of all the episodes from Kazaa. Ever since DVD boxsets became popular, I've been waiting for the first season to be put on DVD. Years later, my dream has come true.
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