TV Show Info:
Writers: Various
Directors: Various
Cast: David Kaufman, Paul Rugg, Joe Leahy, Tress MacNeille, Edward Asner, Frank Welker, Jeff Bennett
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Info:
Original Air Dates: September 9, 1995-June 1, 1997
First Season Air Dates: September 9, 1995-February 17, 1996
DVD Box Set Release Date: July 15, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $18.99
I can’t for the life of me say that I ever remember watching the show Freakazoid. I was 14 or 15 when the show first aired. I believe I was too busy dealing with all that teenage angst crap that most teens deal with to even notice this show aired. I don’t remember watching many cartoons as an early teenager. By this time, all of the good cartoons had been cancelled so I probably had given up hope on the future of cartoons. I was a dramatic teen, after all, so who knows why I never watched this show!
I found the title, Freakazoid, vaguely familiar. Like Tiny Toon Adventures, this show was produced by Steven Spielberg through an Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation collaboration. The show was originally meant to be a straight-laced superhero comic show, with the influence of DC’s Bruce Timm. Spielberg wanted it to be an out and out comedy, so that’s just what the show’s writer/producer, Tom Ruegger, made it. Combining elements of a superhero comic and a wacky, Warner Bros. comedy cartoon, Freakazoid quickly developed a following though not a very large one. Like many other less than popular cartoons during their initial airing, the show now has somewhat of a cartoon, cult status.
While Freakazoid is humorous, the humor is not something you’d typically expect of a kid’s show. Adults will get as much, if not more, out of the eccentric humor that makes up the unique, Freakazoid story. I don’t think I would be as amused with this cartoon if I weren’t an adult. That could be a major part of why Freakazoid only lasted for two seasons. The show premiered on the Kid’s WB Saturday morning lineup, so it was segregated somewhat from the adult audience that could have better appreciated the series.
Like most of Steven Spielberg’s cartoons, Freakazoid was criticized for some reason or another. The main criticism is the show’s similarities to the comic book character, “Madman”. Apparently, the two superheroes have similar looks, personalities, and quirks. While I don’t even know who “Madman” is, I’m not the creator of Freakazoid, so I cannot say how unfounded these claims are or not. What I can say is that the creator of “Madman” never brought up his concern over the similarities until 2003, when he posted about it on his official message board. Either way, this wasn’t a big enough problem to keep Freakazoid, off the air.
Freakazoid isn’t just a good show because it’s funny in a quirky sort of way. It also features some of the greatest voice actors of the time. Frank Welker, Tress MacNeille, Jeff Bennett and Maurice LaMarche all lend their voices to Freakazoid. There are also several famous actors who voiced for this show including Ed Asner and Ricardo Montalban. These voice actors brought a life and personality to the show that made it successful. While not everyone who watch Freakazoid is going to “get” it or appreciate this kind of humor, for those that do this series is gold.
The Freakazoid Plot
The premise for Freakazoid is rather simple. The geeky nerd Dexter Douglas has the ability to turn into the ultimate, super freaky, superhero, Freakazoid. As Freakazoid, Dexter is a self-confident and wryly amusing, blue superhero. He looks like a freak and yet he does superhero things. It doesn’t seem to matter that he’s super freaky because everyone seems to love Freakazoid. Dexter’s family is made up of his clueless mother, Debbie (she’s not right bright), his warped father, Douglas (who thinks goblins live in his gas tank - I guess he’s not right bright either) and his bully of an older brother, Duncan, who is somewhat afraid of Freakazoid.
Each Freakazoid show is cut up into segments. The story explores the adventures of other unusual superheroes besides Freakazoid. These are mini-segments that accompany the show’s episodes.
There are 14 episodes that make up the Freakazoid first season. The Freakazoid – The Complete First Season DVD splits the episodes across two discs, with the last eight episodes split between the front and back of the second disc.
The episodes presented on this DVD include:
DISC ONE
- Five Day Forecast / Dance of Doom / Hand Man
- Candle Jack / Toby Danger in Doomsday Bet / The Lobe
- Mo-Ron / The Sewer Rescue / The Big Question / The Legends Who Lunch
- And Fan Boy Is His Name / Lawn Gnomes: Ch. IV - Fun in the Sun / Freak’s French Lesson
- Foamy the Freakadog / Office Visit / Ode to Leonard Nimoy / Emergency Broadcast System
- The Cloud / Candle Jack (repeat)
DISC TWO – SIDE ONE
- The Chip (Acts I - III)
- The Chip (Act IV) / Freakazoid is History
- Hot Rods From Heck / A Time for Evil
- Relax-O-Vision / Fatman and Boy Blubber / Limbo Lock-up / Terror Palace
- In Arms Way / The Cloud (repeat)
- Next Time, Phone Ahead / Nerdator
DISC TWO – SIDE TWO
- House of Freakazoid / Sewer or Later
- The Wrath of Guitierrez
There are many funny episodes included in this DVD set. The individual segments all have their own interesting story. I really liked “Dance of Doom”, where Cave Guy crashes a dance at Dexter’s high school, “Candle Jack”, where we’re introduced to the infamous villain, Candle Jack, and “House of Freakazoid”, where Dexter tries to help a werewolf out by curing him of his werewolf affliction. How the werewolf knows Dexter is Freakazoid is anyone’s guess. This season is significantly shorter than the first season of other Spielberg cartoons, namely the 65-episode first season of Tiny Toon Adventures.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The visual quality for the episodes on the Freakazoid: The Complete First Season DVDs are actually fairly decent. Colors are bright, contrast is good. There is minimal noise and dirt. There aren’t many if any visible compression errors. Presented at a 1.33:1 aspect ratio in full frames, this is somewhat better than typical quality for the mid-90s when Freakazoid was being animated. While this isn’t quite as good as something that is animated today, for when this was made it looks quite exceptional.
The Freakazoid: The Complete First Season episodes feature an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Everything comes through loud and clear with no need to toggle the volume. There is use of both the back and the front speakers as the sound is robust when it comes to sound effects and music. The dialogue is crisp. While this isn’t the best soundtrack I’ve heard, it is fairly decent. There is also an English Dolby Digital Stereo track, which is less dynamic. Subtitles are available in English.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There are a few different bonuses included with the Freakazoid: The Complete First Season Box Set. The first bonus is a set of commentaries on three different Freakazoid episodes. The commentary was actually pretty bad, compared to most commentaries I’ve heard on other cartoons. These commentaries all feature producer, Tom Ruegger, Paul Rugg (who voiced Freakazoid) and John McCann, one of the show’s writers. The commentary is more of a praise fest and a look into the comedic inspirations for the specific characters and scenes than an actual commentary. It’s something I could pass up and most fans won’t find it enjoyable either.
There are two other bonuses included with the Freakazoid: The Complete First Season episodes. There is a featurette called “Freakazoid: The Original Freak”. This featurette explores the movement from traditional superhero to crazy comedic superhero, when Freakzoid was originally being developed into a cartoon. Finally, there is a series of cruise ship promos that promoted the launch of the Freakazoid series. They are featured in a section entitled, “Freakazoid-less Freakazoid Promos”.
While there aren’t really that many bonuses, what is here is disappointing. The only thing semi-worthwhile is the featurette.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Freakazoid isn’t for everyone. The humor is unusual and not everyone is going to find it funny. Some people won’t get the appeal of the show, while others won’t be able to get enough of it. While I highly recommend checking out episodes of Freakazoid before purchasing this set, if you already know you’re going to love this cartoon, this is a must have box set. Freakazoid isn’t the best cartoon out there, but it does have its redeeming moments. If you want a good laugh then this might just be what you’re looking for, but then again…it might not. While I recommend this box set, I also recommend you rent the Freakazoid – The Complete First Season box set before buying it, if you’ve never seen Freakazoid before.
Overall Rating:
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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.
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