Robot Chicken: The Complete Series: A Wonderful Collection for Fans of the Long-Running Show (DVD)

The Show:

It's hard to believe that it's already been 20 years since the delightfully-bizarre animated show "Robot Chicken," created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, premiered on Adult Swim. Utilizing a somewhat simple concept that replicates the process of flipping through channels, the show has poked fun at everything from popular culture (Movies, TV, celebrities, etc.) to news and more through rather impressive stop-motion animation & an incredible list of guest stars. As it reaches this special milestone, Warner Bros. is celebrating by amassing all 11 seasons & several specials into one enormous, 24-disc set, making it the perfect time to go back and revisit this fascinating show to see why it has had such amazing staying power.

As mentioned, it's not really a complicated show, and as such, there isn't really a way to give much in the way of a synopsis, but suffice it to say that each episode is basically a fast-paced trip (usually around 10 minutes, with some specials being longer) that jumps around from sketch to sketch in a kind of variety show manner, taking jabs at popular film, television, toys, people, and many other subjects to the total delight of the audience, but most especially those who grew up with or are familiar with the various topics being satirized.

"Robot Chicken" has always been a show that's rather hit or miss, but that's the nature of such a rapid-fire program that offers little tidbits here and there, with occasionally slightly longer segments to fill each episode's brief runtime. There's also an extreme degree of randomness, but that's what has always made the show pretty exciting, because you never know what's coming next in its bizarre grab bag of skits. One second it could be poking fun at NSYNC, the next it could be doing a parody involving Transformers, reality TV, Godzilla, Santa, their own beloved nerd character, or even the staff of the show itself.

With so much material to draw from, it's hardly a surprise that the show has been able to stay as popular as it has for so long. As mentioned, it's the kind of show that's basically tailor-made for those people who are fans of the movies & shows it plays with, but that doesn't mean that it can't be enjoyed by more casual viewers who are unfamiliar with the topics. I certainly know a lot about pop culture, but there are still topics in the show that I'm not well-versed on, and yet those portions are still highly-amusing because of their wild, often over-the-top nature. All that's to say that it's a show that can be enjoyed by anyone because you'd be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn't have at least some familiarity with the really popular subjects it covers.

When it comes right to it, "Robot Chicken" is just a very entertaining show that has something to offer for everyone because of the wide-range of topics it takes on. Again, you may not "get" everything it's poking fun at, but it always remains quite amusing nonetheless. Besides, you don't have to worry too much about it, because it'll just switch to another topic very shortly on its journey to explore as much popular culture as possible. Indeed, it's hard to believe it's already been 20 years since it began, and even though it's since ceased its full-season format and switched over to just doing quarterly specials, there seems little doubt that it'll continue on for quite some time. After all, there's still no shortage of material, and it's extremely unlikely that there ever will be.

Video/Audio:

"Robot Chicken: The Complete Series" comes to DVD in 1.33:1 transfers of excellent quality. For the format, the picture looks rather nice & clear, perfectly preserving its remarkable stop-motion animation. Likewise, the Dolby Digital audio tracks are marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Warner Bros. has done a wonderful job in both departments for this massive new set.

Special Features:

The set comes with a wide range of extras that includes deleted scenes & animatics, commentaries, meetings, behind the scenes featurettes, animatic comparisons, and much more. Definitely more than enough great material here for any fan of the show to delve into to learn more about how it came together.

Conclusion:

Even after 20 years, "Robot Chicken" remains a highly-amusing show with its grab bag of skits that relentlessly poke fun at pop culture in quick doses using incredible stop-motion animation. "The Complete Series" collection is a wonderful set for fans, who can now own the entire program in one convenient box, allowing them to relive all of the wild & crazy hijinks over and over again, ultimately making it a must-own for them and anyone who enjoys a good parody of popular material.

Score: 4/5

Available on DVD starting today.

Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.