Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Lost in space.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 14, 2023

Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone's Duck Dodgers, a 2003-05 Cartoon Network animated series based on Chuck Jones' classic 1953 Merrie Melodies short, gets a lot of mileage from its one-shot source material. Though hardly ambitious from a narrative standpoint, this sci-fi spoof features great characters, accessible stories, crisp 16x9 digital animation (one of the first in its class!) and, most importantly, the good sense to not stretch its stories any further than needed. Typically running no more than 12 minutes apiece, these nugget-sized adventures rarely divert from the series' blend of strange new worlds, new life, new civilizations, and Daffy Duck just being the asshole we all know and love.

Opening with a theme song written and performed by The Flaming Lips with vocals by Tom Jones (because why not?), each episode of Duck Dodgers is a mostly character-driver affair with interchangeable locations, supporting characters, and plot twists. Our hero (skillfully voiced by Joe Alaskey) is as painfully inept and self-centered as ever, Porky / Eager Young Space Cadet (voiced by Bob Bergen) is the brains of the operation, and routinely frustrated Dr. I.Q. Hi (voiced by Richard McGonagle) relays the missions of the Galactic Protectorate, many of which revolve around altercations with Marvin / Martian Commander X-2 (Joe Alaskey, again) and the lovely Martian Queen Tyr'ahnee (voiced by Tia Carrere), who secretly has feelings for the bumbling Dodgers. Supporting roles include an army of Martian Centurian robots (all voiced by Michael Dorn), rival captain Star Johnson (voiced by John O'Hurley), and a gaggle of one-off and recurring roles for familiar Looney Tunes characters, all cleverly future-fitted with new sci-fi identities.

Behind the scenes, Duck Dodgers has strong fundamentals with simple but attractive digital animation that combines traditional 2-D with smooth CGI-rendered spaceships and other background elements, creating a colorful sandbox for its characters to play in. The voice acting is great as well: original maestro Mel Blanc is in a league of his own, but Joe Alaskey and Richard McGonagle -- who even appear in a post-credits gag during series finale "Bonafide Heroes" -- are pretty great substitutes. There's also an embarrassingly long list of minor guest roles filled out by the likes of Charlie Adler, Edward Asner, Bruce Campbell, Jim Cummings, Tim Curry, John de Lancie, Dom DeLuise, Dustin Diamond, John DiMaggio, June Foray, Jeff Garlin, Macy Gray, Tom Kenny, Maurice LaMarche, Ed McMahon, Dave Mustaine, Rob Paulsen, Burt Reynolds, Kevin Michael Richardson, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Kevin Smith, Tara Strong, Quentin Tarantino, Genndy Tartakovsky, Frank Welker, Lauren Tom, Billy West, Henry Winkler, and a few dozen others.

Gags come fast and furious during each 12-minute short; that's usually two for each of the show's 39 episodes, but a handful of slightly more ambitious outings get a full episode to themselves (Season 2 episode "The Fudd", for example, finds Dodgers, Cadet, and Marvin teaming up to fend off an unstoppable hive-mind alien race that turns its victims into laughing Elmer Fudd clones, while Season 2 finale "Of Course You Know This Means War and Peace" involves a broken peace treaty that wrongfully lands Cadet in prison). These slightly beefier stories apply to maybe a half-dozen episodes, though, which means that the wide majority of Duck Dodgers' plots are relatively thin and lightweight. This isn't exactly the worst creative decision (after all, it is based on a seven-minute short and a few sequels), but it would've been nice if Duck Dodgers stretched its legs regularly with more ambitious, serialized storytelling, as its mostly repetitive formula doesn't exactly lend itself to binge-watching. But for what it is, Duck Dodgers is a solidly entertaining and perpetually watchable show... especially if you're a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Looney Tunes and sci-fi like me.

All 39 episodes from the original three seasons are presented on three dual-layered Blu-rays (13 episodes apiece, natch), replacing three separate DVD/DVD-R sets released by Warner Bros. during the last decade. Duck Dodgers' widescreen digital roots translate smoothly to high definition, and the lossless audio supports its solid sound design and excellent original score very well. The bonus features are painfully light, but this is still a decent buy for the price and it'll undoubtedly draw in a new generation of viewers who missed it the first two times around.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Originally animated in 16x9 but cropped for broadcast back in the mid-2000s, Duck Dodgers was restored to its true widescreen glory for DVD and that tradition continues on Blu-ray. The clean digital animation (which means there's no film grain to scrub away) plays well on these three dual-layered discs, affording a decent bit rate for each Blu-ray's 13 episodes that proves efficient enough for Duck Dodgers' simple, mostly two-dimensional aesthetic. Color reproduction is nice and bright without succumbing to bleeding, showcasing the vivid palettes as Dodgers and company careen through the galaxy. Its original source material isn't without fault, though: line edges can get quite jagged in closeups, and even a few misaligned layers edges can be spotted on displays and other background elements. No real compression issues are present, save for a few additional sharper jagged edges (due to disc encoding, not source imperfections) and even a few stray moments of interlacing. These are few and far between, though, with the wide majority of Duck Dodgers enjoying a crisp third life on home video that should please long-time fans and first-timers alike.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Duck Dodgers' DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix -- thankfully upgraded to lossless from the Dolby Digital DVD days -- offers a surprisingly robust sonic presentation at times, thanks to excellent channel separation and even a nice layer of simulated surround elements. Stray action scenes obviously fare the best in this department, as does the original score by Robert Kral and Douglas Romayne. Dialogue is crisp and clean throughout, balanced nicely with background effects and other elements, which creates a suitably lively atmosphere whether it's an on-board conversation or all-out space battle. No defects, drop-outs, or sync issues were detected along the way... and while a full 5.1 remix (or even Atmos) would've been interesting to hear, I respect Warner Bros.' decision to keep it real.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the episodes only, as well as a French dub for Season 1.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase with dumb eco-friendly holes that get in the way of the episode list printed on the inside cover. Otherwise, the design elements are great with attractive artwork and different-colored discs. Bonus features are unsurprisingly slim -- we get the Chuck Jones short that started it all, and that's it.

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (7:03) - This 1953 Merrie Melodies short, which has obviously been ported over from the out-of-print Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Volume One, introduces our four original main characters: Duck Dodgers, Eager Young Space Cadet, Dr. I.Q.Hi, and Marvin the Martian (all voiced by the incomparable Mel Blanc) as Dodgers and company try to locate the uncharted "Planet X". It's a terrific short and obviously belongs here... although I'd have loved to see some of the usual behind-the-scenes stuff included on most animated releases (concept art, vocal footage, promotional footage, etc.) as well, not to mention the other four lesser-known Duck Dodgers shorts produced by Warner Bros. between 1980 and 2003.

Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Well-received back in the mid-2000s (at least enough to ensure a three-season run), Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone's Duck Dodgers is an enjoyable throwback that captures the spirit of Chuck Jones' original Merrie Melodies short. Much of its appeal lies in the established characters (many of which have been cleverly future-fitted into the 24½th century) but there's a charm to the writing as well, with a decent hit-to-miss joke ratio and plenty of still-relevant pop culture gags. While more narrative ambition could've pushed it to greater heights, it's a perfectly watchable show as-is but not one that rewards binge watching. Warner Bros.' unexpected but welcome set collects all 39 episodes on three good-looking dual-layered Blu-rays, adding in the original Chuck Jones short for good measure. Firmly Recommended.