Fight Together
I had not seen this series before firing up Volume 1, which contains the first seven episodes. One of my initial impressions was actually the theme song called “Fight As One” by Bad City. The song fits very well with the idea of the Avengers and it’s a more “mature” song, if you want to call it that, than compared to The Superhero Squad theme. I soon realized that this series in general isn’t as kid-focused as The Superhero Squad. That’s not a knock on either show, but a real difference, one that I think adult viewers such as myself will appreciate.
Marvel Animation did a really nice job with the visuals. Personally, I like the look of the old X-Men or Spider-Man cartoon, and really dislike the animation found in Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls, and Southpark, as an example. Avengers feels more like the former than the latter, although with a slightly more “friendly” and colorful appearance for a younger audience. That is agreeable with me though, and I had no qualms with the animation quality at all. The voice acting is similarly very good. I think it finds the right blend of being, again, “friendly” for a younger audience, yet also serious and mature enough for an older demographic.
Christopher Yost heads up the story writing and does a fine job. There are a lot of star characters — from Iron Man to Captain America to lesser known characters like Wasp and a bunch of others — but if season one is any indication Josh Fine and Yost and crew are doing a good job of being true to the characters and still having some liberties with them. These guys really seem to know their stuff when it comes to the history of these characters, and season two should bring about deeper stories that focus on the characters and perhaps a little less on the action. If I had one notable complaint about the first season, it would be that viewers do get sort of thrown right into the mix, more or less. It may not be typical, but with a cast of characters this long and this detailed, and a twenty-two minute kid-targeted audience, you can’t toil with deep stories too soon or too often.
All that to say, Avengers is a fun show. It fits nicely in between something like The Superhero Squad and the original X-Men cartoon, for example. The balance achieved here makes it enjoyable for kids and adults alike.
On DVD, er Two DVDs
I’m not sure why Disney Home Video decided to split this season into two volumes, i.e., two separate retail releases. It’s a long standing trend though with most cartoon-to-DVD, which is a shame. Further odd is how both Volume 1 and 2 are releasing simultaneously. Each Volume is just a single disc with a few episodes and one short extra feature, so why it wasn’t just packaged as a complete season beats me.
Anyway, each Volume arrives in very colorful and eye-catching packaging. The removable cover is textured (has bumps) on it, giving it a little more personality. Beneath it is a standard single disc case. Each Volume has a bunch of commercials and promos for other Disney stuff, all of which you can skip, fortunately. As for the presentation quality, it’s really exactly what you would expect; widescreen (1:78:1) and Dolby Digital 5.1. The Main Menu is nicely done; options include Play All, Play Episode, Setup, Bonus, and Promos. Setup allows you to enable English subtitles. Bonus includes one extra per Volume:
-Volume 1: New Looks, New Heroes (7m) – Joshua Fine and Christopher Yost talk about the upcoming season which will feature new costumes, story arcs, and characters. During their interview, lots of concept art and brief snippets of season two scenes are shown.
-Volume 2: New Stories, New Threats (6m) – A continuation of the first feature with more of a focus on the story arcs and troubles that await the Avengers. Additional snippets and concept art from season two are shown. It’s shaping up nicely.
To the summary…