“Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise” DVD Review

 

Given that they make the show out of old toys and stop-motion animation, you’d think the good people behind Robot Chicken would want the home version to be presented in the highest definition. Which is why it’s so bizarre that the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise is only available on DVD and not Blu-ray. Though considering that’s the biggest complaint about this collection….

Much as they did…

with the somewhat bounty hunter-centric Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II, the twenty-two minute long Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise focuses more on the bad guys, exploring their lives at the Legion Of Doom HQ, showing us why Bizarro’s got it rough, and what they’re like on vacation. Though we also get to meet Superman’s “clone,” learn the downside of Wonder Woman’s invisible plane, and see Batman at his happiest since just before his parents were murdered.

As these things go, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise is on-par with the original Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, but isn’t as funny as any of the Robot Chicken Star Wars ones, or a regular season of the show.

It also goes without saying that while the DVD of Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise has good picture and sound, and isn’t interrupted by commercials, it obviously doesn’t look as good as when this aired on Cartoon Network if you get that channel in HD (though since it’s presented in 5.1 surround sound, it may actually sound better). The lack of a Blu-ray seems especially baffling when you consider that the previous four Robot Chicken collections did come out on Blu-ray, and one of them was the first Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special.

While the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD may not look as good as it could, it does — like all of the previous Robot Chicken Blu-rays and DVD — have a wealth of cool extras, many of which are as funny as the episode itself.

First up…

on the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD are two funny and insightful commentary tracks: one of which features the voice actors Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Nathan Fillion, Breckin Meyer, and Zeb Wells, while the other has writers Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Tom Root, Kevin Shinick, and Wells.

Along the same lines, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD also has sketch-specific commentary videos called “Chicken Nuggets,” in which Green, Senreich, and DC Comics honcho Geoff Johns discuss the different sketches. But while they’re also humorous and enlightening, they have the same problem that the “Chicken Nuggets” have on every Robot Chicken Blu-ray and DVD, in that you have to hit the “enter” button on your remote for every video, even though you chose to watch the episode this way, and it would make more sense if they would just run the intros and interruptions automatically.

The Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD also has a trio of making-of featurettes, including the ten-minute, all-encompassing “The Making Of #RCDC2VIP”; a nearly nine-minute look at the songs called “Bad Hair, Musical Numbers & Sequels”; and “The Ones That Got Away,” which spends seven minutes on the writing process and the sketches that got cut. But while all three are engaging, they could’ve easily been combined into a single featurette.

Next up on the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD is “20 Questions,” in which the staff takes a trivia quiz about the DC Comics universe. Though you might not want to watch this if your respect for these people is contingent on you thinking they’re comic book experts.

But the best extras on the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD are the two “Cut Sketches” and the five minutes of “Cuts Animatics,” since some of them are really funny. Not as funny as the ones that made it in, but funny enough that you’ll probably watch them more than once.

In the end,

while the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise DVD is as good as, well, every other Robot Chicken DVD, the lack of a Blu-ray edition is rather annoying. So much so that I would suggest you wait for it, if I actually thought it was in the works. But since it’s not, and since DVD is your only real option to get all these cool extras, I guess this will just have to do.

SCORE: 7.5/10