Rick and Morty: The Complete Fifth Season Steelbook

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray/DVD that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.

“Rick and Morty is the multi-Emmy Award winning half hour comedy series that airs on Adult Swim, the #1 destination for young adults for over a decade. The half-hour animated Adult Swim hit comedy series follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Rick Sanchez is living with his daughter Beth’s family and constantly bringing her, his son-in-law Jerry, granddaughter Summer, and grandson Morty into intergalactic escapades. Rick and Morty was the #1 comedy across all television in 2017 and 2019 and has become a multi-platform sensation not just on television, but across digital, gaming, live streaming, retail, and fan experiences.”

I have to be completely honest, before receiving this set to review, I’d never seen a single episode of Rick and Morty. To me, all the clips I’d seen, made it seem incredibly juvenile, with a type of ‘potty humor’ that just doesn’t appeal to me. Imagine my surprise when I pop this in, start the first episode and have a complete blast with the story, characters, and humor.

While I know I’m not getting a complete picture starting with the fifth season and not having the other four seasons worth of backstory to go on, I was pleased with how easily it was to pick up not knowing anything about the show and still have fun watching. What I do enjoy about the show first and foremost is that it’s not an episodic structure, for the most part. Things that happen in previous episodes or seasons, from what I’ve read on the backstories of certain episodes, matter, and are called upon again when the story calls for it. For an animated show, this seems rare, but still something that’s important in terms of character development and arcs that span seasons. Case in point, Rick’s incessant burping in the midst of conversation which seemed to be more prevalent in early seasons, which has significantly decreased, either because of the character losing his dependence on alcohol so much, or whether it was to give the voice actor a break, it’s still interesting to see the development of an animated character.

The Sci-Fi and continuous movie references are another thing that make this show so great. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised coming from Dam Harmon, as Community had those kinds of things in stride, which were always highlight episodes. Each episode of Rick and Morty is so different from the other, there’s no telling where the series might take you, and this unpredictable nature, the whacky and insane stories and antics are what make this show so successful. If you’ve been with the show this long, you don’t need me telling you why you like it, but I’m guessing Season 5 will be more of the same!

Here’s an episode breakdown of Season 5:

1. Mort Dinner Rick Andre – Rick hosts dinner for his ocean dwelling nemesis, while Morty gets the wine.
2. Mortyplicity – The Smiths suspect they’re being hunted. But who’s even real?
3. A Rickconvenient Mort – Morty falls in love with an ecological heroine named Planetina, and quickly has trouble with the people that created her. Rick and Summer visit planets that are about to stop existing to have crazy parties and forget their problems.
4. Rickdependence Spray – Morty has the idea to use a horse breeding mount to extract his semen, but after Rick tries to use it to create a weapon, thinking it was horse sperm, he ends up creating sperm monsters that threaten the entire country.
5. Amortycan Grickfitti – Summer and Morty steal Rick’s car to impress a new kid at school. Meanwhile, Rick and Jerry have a guys’ night from hell.
6. Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular – In this Thanksgiving episode, Rick and Morty need to get a presidential pardon.
7. Gortron Jerrysis Reckvangelion – Summer enables Rick’s addiction to collecting giant combining robots, and the family becomes The Family.
8. Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort – Rick attempts to save a beloved friend.
9. Forgetting Sarick Mortshall – Rick gets new sidekicks, while Morty makes a new friend.
10. Rickmurai Jack – Rick is living his best anime life. Meanwhile in the Citadel of Ricks, a long game played by one particular Morty is reaching its conclusion.

Video

Rick and Morty: The Complete Fifth Season is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.78:1. Animation in HD always looks very good, and this is no exception. The black lines of the characters are well defined and strong, with the colors, by far, being the best thing about this series. From the whacky experiments, to astonishing space phenomenon, colors are more vibrant and diverse than most animated series, and that especially looks good here. If you’re on the fence about Blu-ray vs. DVD (which should never be the case), Blu-ray is the clear winner in this scenario.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The tracks on these episodes are equally as impressive, with constant space battles, alien gun-fights, or giant turkeys making full use of the surrounds to entirely immerse you in the experience. Dialogue is clear and concise from the center channel, with overall levels allowing for a perfect balance.

Special Features

Rick and Morty: The Complete Fifth Season is available in a collectible Steelbook, which we received to review, as well as the regular edition. The Steelbook itself has a beautiful design to it, with the diverse and vivid colors that you’d expect from the show, animated in a very unique way. For collectors out there, this is the way to get this set.

Here’s a list of the other extras you’ll see:

• “Fighting Gravity”: The Making of Season 5: In this deep dive discussion, co-creator Dan Harmon and the crew reflect on the challenges of completing this season in the middle of a pandemic and the creative process behind the story’s biggest revelations.
• “Inside the Episode”: For every episode from Season 5
• B-Story Generator Vol. 1: Co-creator Dan Harmon and writer Rob Schrab reach into their box of random ideas to conjure up hilarious side stories.
• B-Story Generator Vol. 2: Co-creator Dan Harmon and writer Rob Schrab return to brainstorm even more ludicrous side stories.
• Backgrounds: The show’s artists give us a jaw-dropping look at the amazingly detailed environments packed into every episode.
• Animation and Composition: Crafting the show’s visuals is a complex process and the crew is here to show us why.
• Coloring Rick and Morty: Get an in-depth look at how the crew uses vibrant color to create fantastic alien worlds.
• Directing ‘Mortyplicity’: An inside look at the evolution of the ambitious and action-packed episode, from initial storyboards to final product.
• Directing ‘Rickmurai Jack’: A behind the scenes look at one visualization of one of the most ambitious episodes in the series’ history.
• Season 5 Hype: Dan Harmon and the writers give you a taste of what’s in store for Rick and Morty’s wildest season yet.

If you’re a fan of the show, picking this up is clearly something you have to do. If you’re like me, never having seen an episode but generally a fan of animation, sci-fi, and adult swim products, you can’t go wrong grabbing this to see what you’ve been missing. Out today on Blu-ray in this beautiful collectible Steelbook!