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Released by: Warner Archive
Released on: 4/26/2011
Director: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Cast: Ted Cassidy, Dick Beals, Don Messick
Year: 1966 - 1968
The Cartoons:
Debuting in 1966 and running two seasons until it was taken off the air in 1968 (due to complaints about the show's violence!), Hanna-Barbera's Frankenstein Jr. And The Impossibles combined two awesome things into one awesome show - a Frankenstein monster and a rock band! Each episode was split into parts, one part revolving around the superheroic exploits of Frankenstein Jr., the other around a bunch of mod rockers called The Impossibles, who not only brought the fuzzed out sounds the kids were going crazy for but also had some cool super powers of their own.
The Frankenstein Jr. stories, set in Civic City, revolved around a boy scientist named Buzz Conroy who teams up with his father, a professor, and a giant robot named, you guessed it, Frankenstein Jr., to fight crime and right wrongs wherever they were needed. Buzz also had a sort of power ring thing that he would wear that would allow him to summon 'Frankie' and control him when he needed to. They would square off against a myriad of different goofball villains such as Spyder Man, Mr. Menace, an unnamed giant floating alien brain, and Sertano The Satellite King.
The Impossibles where made up of three characters - Multi Man, Fluid Man and Coil Man - who pose as a super popular rock band but who are in all reality actually superheroes. Their names kind of give away their powers: Multi Man is basically able to clone himself, Fluid Man can turn into water and Coil Man can turn into a giant dopey spring. At any rate, when they're not playing to legions of screaming fans, they're taking orders from their boss, Big D, who sends them around the globe on various missions and who communicates with them very cleverly through some sort of built in two way radio hidden inside a guitar.
Though Frankenstein Jr. gets billed first on the show, he actually only gets one segment per episodes whereas The Impossibles get two for some reason. Regardless, both sides of the show prove to be a lot of fun. As mentioned, concerned housewives complained about the series' violence and it was taken off the air and when watching these again, if that was unnecessary the series does tend to be more violent than a lot ofother kids' shows of the time. That's half the fun of vintage cartoons like this, however, so phooey on those who would ruin our fun.
Both segments of the show turn out to be a lot of fun. They're both creative and quirky and frequently flat out weird. Thecharacter design isn't always the most original and both aspects borrow from other cartoons and comic books but that doesn't spoil the entertainment value that this stuff provides. Special mention has to be made of a character who appears here named The Satanic Surfer. He pops out of nowhere on a surfboard with wings on his head and carrying a ukulele in an attempt to steal some top secret plans for a submarine. Not only is he awesome looking, but he's Satanic, and that's something you really don't see in a lot of Saturday morning kids cartoons even today. The series is made up of eighteen episodes in total and is spread evenly over two discs.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The series was shown on television in the sixties so a fullframe aspect ratio makes sense for this presentation. As far as the video quality goes, these transfers were taken from existing materials and so they don't look as razor sharp or crystal clear as you might want. Generally speaking, however, the transfers are pretty decent. Colors are nicely defined and print damage, dirt and debris are kept to a minimum.
The no frills Dolby Digital Mono sound mix is in English with no alternate language dubs, subtitles or closed captions provided. The audio is clean and clear and you won't have any problems understanding the dialogue. The levels fluctuate a bit here and there and there are a few spots where the effects are a bit loud, but these are minor complaints. Generally the audio sounds just fine.
Aside from a static menu screen, this set contains a featurette called Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 60s (5:24) that gives us a bit of background informationon the series and includes interviews with a few animators who worked on the show. It also shows off some interesting character designs and conceptual art.It could have been longer and more in depth but it's definitely a fun little look back at the show .
TheFinal Word:
Frankenstein Jr. And The Impossibles is pretty awesome stuff and fans of the series would do well to pick this set up and while more extras and a better transfer would have probably made a few people happy, the series itself holds up as a perfect example of just how weird kids shows can get.
