Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie Review

Four months and counting...

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 15, 2023

Given that Babylon 5 celebrated its 30th anniversary this year (not to mention the fact that several key cast members have passed away in recent decades), it's understandable that the dynamic, multiverse-driven story for Warner Bros.' new direct-to-video film The Road Home went the animated route*. Designed as an ambitious victory lap for the fan-favorite series, it arrives on home video -- in optional 4K, no less -- just a few short months before Babylon 5's long-awaited Blu-ray debut and is even fairly accessible for those who aren't as familiar with its universe.

A big part of The Road Home's overall appeal is that a wide majority of original talent is involved, from series creator and head writer J. Michael Straczynski to surviving cast members including Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins, and Patricia Tallman, who all provide their vocal talents. (Gaps are capably filled in by substitutes, such as Phil LaMarr for the late Richard Biggs as Dr. Stephen Franklin, and all of them do a fine job of keeping the original characters alive.) There's a comfortable familiarity to their vocal tones and mannerisms that will help returning fans make the necessary adjustments to enjoy this ride; it is, after all, an animated film with a limited budget that unavoidably isn't going to feel as full-bodied or authentic as a true live-action reunion.

The other half of its appeal is the story itself -- which again stems from the involvement of Straczynski, if we're being technical -- as it successfully walks a pretty thin tightrope on multiple fronts: die-hard fans want a tale worth telling and one that doesn't betray beloved characters, a problem potentially multiplied by years (decades?) of anticipation. But hey, it also shouldn't fully alienate casual fans, or possibly those completely new to the franchise too. And while full enjoyment of The Road Home requires at least some sort of familiarity with the show (or at least a couple of primers beforehand), it contains a few subtle exposition dumps that should help rookies wring a decent amount of surface-level entertainment value of this one. Without venturing far into potential spoiler territory, The Road Home chronologically takes place near the end of the series' fifth season and follows captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) as he oversees the roll-out of a new alien power source that uses tachyon particles. This technology's unavoidable side effect takes Sheridan hurtling through space-time to a series of parallel universes, where he meets former friends, crewmates, relatives, and enemies during various -- and frequently altered -- periods within the show's timeline.

It all adds up to a solid stand-alone story; one that isn't necessarily a required conclusion to the series proper but a nice coda that will obviously appeal to the vast majority of Babylon 5 fans. (It's also potentially the first of several B5 animated films, if the open-ended conclusion is any indication, although I'd imagine that sales of both this title and the forthcoming series Blu-ray release will write that chapter of history.) And speaking of this disc, Warner Bros. offers The Road Home as both a stand-alone Blu-ray and full-bodied 4K combo pack, both of which have proportionately solid A/V presentations and the same light but enjoyable bonus features. Either way, this one's a clear winner.

* - Despite the vaguely realistic but clearly drawn cover art, nowhere on The Road Home's packaging does it explicitly say that this is an animated film. I doubt any Babylon 5 fan will pick this up without knowing about its visual roots beforehand, yet I can't help but chuckle at the prospect of Joe Six-Pack accidentally buying a cartoon.

Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The clean, uncomplicated appearance of Babylon 5: The Road Home's character design makes familiar faces all the more easier to recognize, with WB's art department opting for a smooth and semi-rotoscoped style of animation that works well enough for casual conversations and occasional action scenes. Backgrounds are rendered with excellent detail and crisp linework while retaining familiar colors and design elements. Frequent multiverse jumps necessitate heightened visual effects and these mesh nicely with the character designs and backgrounds, with the show as a whole quickly establishing a comfortable atmosphere that nonetheless serves up a few surprises alone the way.

While Warner Bros.' 1080p Blu-ray transfer can't help but come in second to their separately available 4K release, this native 2K production unsurprisingly holds up very well on the lesser format. One of the primary reasons is that, unlike the majority of WB's DCAU direct-to-video animated films, The Road Home has actually been pressed to a dual-layered disc which gives its bit rate more than enough room to breathe and doesn't sit too far behind what the 4K disc offers in terms of fine detail, color reproduction, and contrast levels. Despite the lack of HDR enhancement and a few traces of minor encoding issues (very mild banding and posterization), this is a solid presentation of admittedly difficult source material due to the abundance of haze and smooth gradients as part of its overall visual design. This would probably look like an absolute mess on DVD or low-bandwidth streaming... and while it's obviously tighter and more robust in upscaled 4K/HDR, what's here is smooth and satisfying enough to recommend on its own terms.

Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Any way you slice it, The Road Home's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is built to impress and rivals the original show's level of sound design. Familiar and new voices are crisply recorded and mixed nicely with background effects and the original score, which boasts no less than three credited composers in Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter. (Unfortunately and for reasons unknown, Babylon 5's primary composer during its original run, Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream, was not involved.) Either way, this is a largely front-loaded mix that isn't afraid to led the action and atmosphere occasionally spill into the rears, whether during tense dramatic stand-offs, action scenes, or more special effects-driven sequences, and it has a nicely "rounded" overall presence that fits in comfortably with the visual design to help long-time fans feel right at home without alienating or overwhelming new viewers.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the film as well as an accompanying featurette.

Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with attractive cover artwork, a matching metallic slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features are small in number but well worth a look.

• Audio Commentary - This feature-length track brings together writer-producer J. Michael Straczynski, voice actor Bruce Boxleitner, and supervising producer Rick Morales for a generally warm and casual conversation about the joys of working together, the challenges of adapting their show into a feature-length animated film, and the unfortunate loss of so many castmates during the last several decades. A decent amount of ground is covered, although there's a lot of on-screen narration and several lengthy gaps along the way since Boxleitner admits to this being his first time watching the finished film. But die-hard fans will definitely want to give it a listen, as there's some good info shared and insight about the show and its legacy that might be new.

• Babylon 5 Forever (17:57) - This mid-length behind-the-scenes piece features short video interviews with key cast and crew members including voice actors Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Bill Mumy, Peter Jurasic, Tracy Scoggins, and Patricia Tallman; director Matt Peters; supervising producer Rick Morales; and, of course, writer-producer J. Michael Straczynski (all recorded separately), along with vintage photos from the show, supportive clips from the finished film, and conceptual artwork. This is more of a general all-encompassing tribute than one that goes into technical specifics, with a primary focus on the joys of working together again.

Babylon 5: The Road Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

J. Michael Straczynski's award-winning television series Babylon 5 has endured long after its initial five-season planned run, resurfacing in a variety of media but never on the scale of WB's new direct-to-video animated film The Road Home. Most of the original surviving cast members warmly lend their voices to a multiverse-fueled story written by Straczynski himself, which gives this short but sweet 79-minute adventure an immediate level of appeal that will surely satisfy die-hard disciples while hopefully attracting a new generation of fans in the process. This is a great appetizer for the series' forthcoming Blu-ray debut in December and comes Highly Recommended, regardless of format.