World Famous Comics: Marvin the Martian - Space Tunes
Marvin the Martian - Space Tunes
From: Warner Brothers Home Video Average Rating: Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Binding: VHS Tape Format: Animated Label: Warner Brothers Home Video Publication Date: 1998 Running Time: 42 unknown-units Theatrical Release Date: 1998
Product Description: 6 Uncut Fully-Animated Cartoons: 1) Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century 2) Jumpin' Jupiter 3) Rocket-Bye Baby 4) Hare-Way to the Stars 5) Rocket Squad 6) The Hasty Hare
Wonderful sci-fi collection, but why no DVD? This was part 1 of a 2 part collection originally released in 1998. The second part was titled "Marvin the Martian: 50 Years on Earth". A year or so later, both tapes were combined and released together, simply titled "Space Tunes". If you want all 12 cartoons, either purchase the newer "Space Tunes"(if you can find it) or purchase both this earlier version (1998) and "50 Years on Earth". For this particular tape, 3 of the 6 cartoons feature Marvin the Martian, "Hasty Hare" (1952), "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century" (1953), and "Hare-way to the Stars" (1958). Marvin was always my favorite Warner Bros character, with his ego far exceeding his diminutive size, his Roman gladiator armor, his cultured manner of speaking, and all the ultra-cool spaceage toys he had to accomplish his missions. The other three cartoons also have a science-fiction theme, "Jumpin Jupiter" (1955) in which Porky and Sylvester are abducted by giant green birdlike aliens from Jupiter (similar to the "Instant Martians" featured in "Hare-way to the Stars"). "Rocket-Bye Baby" is about a Martian baby accidentally delivered to a family on Earth, and the strange results. "Rocket Squad" is a take-off of the "Dragnet" television show, featuring Porky and Daffy as future cops. These cartoons are very funny, vastly superior to most cartoons being made now. I think this is so because, like "The Simpsons" they were originally written to appeal to adults as well as children, so have held up well as audiences have matured. Most other modern cartoons are written primarily for children, so their audiences outgrow them in time. There are many clever gags, and the futuristic devices and set design sometimes borders on amazing, even prophetic. There are desktop computers with monitors and keyboards, which look like prototypes for the iMac. There are powered stand-up scooters which could be early model Segways. Two cartoons feature "Evaporators" which function exactly like the transporters on Star Trek, except that these cartoons had them a decade or more before. The musical accompaniment for these pictures is absolutely first rate, and lends a lot to the atmosphere of technology and the future. My only complaint is that this collection does not seem to be available on DVD. This seems somewhat ironic, in that a set of cartoons about space, technology, and the future are only offered on a playback medium which is, in 2007, essentially obsolete. I understand why, in 1998, these were offered on VHS, but not why they haven't been re-released on DVD. I had to borrow a VHS machine to play this tape. So, allow me to submit a request that these be made available on DVD. Wouldn't that be lovely, hmmm?
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