Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie Review

A boost of fun.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 29, 2015

Note: 'Have Rocket, Will Travel' is currently only available as part of volume one of Mill Creek's Three Stooges Collection.

The Three Stooges -- Larry (Larry Fine), Curly (Joe DeRita), and Moe (Moe Howard) -- work custodial jobs at a space center. They are awoken one morning to the sound of a rocket crash-landing near their home. The center's scientists are struggling to get the rocket into space, and the Stooges take it upon themselves to find the winning fuel formula. They're successful and wind up blasting off inside the rocket, which hurtles them to nearby Venus. There, they encounter a number of strange phenomena, including a giant spider and a talking unicorn.

Blastoff!

The Stooges, featuring Joe DeRita as a Curly, star in one of their best films in Have Rocket, Will Travel, a fun little bit of escapist slapstick that sticks to classic, familiar, tried-and-true formula while blending in 1950s Science Fiction staples and cheese. The film finds its humor in simple things, gross exaggerations, and bits of the absurd, all of which work seamlessly together in beautiful Stooges harmony. The film boasts quality visual effects and charmingly basic set and prop design, keeping the Stooges front-and-center as the main attractions in this breezy, contagiously fun little Sci-Fi romp.

Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Have Rocket, Will Travel's 1080p transfer, framed at 1.78:1 (the only film in the above-mentioned volume one to present in widescreen; Time Out for Rhythm and Rockin' in the Rockies are native 1.33:1), offers a good, well defined image. Light grain consistently swirls over the image, helping to accentuate a crisp, largely even picture that boasts solid details across the board, including faces, clothes, and sandy, rocky terrain. Grayscale is attractive and balanced, and blacks are satisfactorily deep. The image does infrequently show some heavy compression issues, notably in some of the lab sequences, that produce uneven, blotchy faces. The image also suffers from regular, but not hugely distracting, pops and scratches. Otherwise, the image is quite good all around.

Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Have Rocket, Will Travel arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. It's merely adequate with center-focused imaging and decent baseline clarity in the delivery of all of the basic elements, including music, vocals, and general sound effects, like a boosting rocket, a thud when it crashes, and little bits of exploding popcorn meant to sound like gunfire. Basic dialogue delivery is satisfyingly clear and well defined.

Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Have Rocket, Will Travel contains no supplemental content.

Have Rocket, Will Travel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Have Rocket, Will Travel is a fun little film that offers a nice blend of cheesy era Sci-Fi and classic Stooges humor. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Have Rocket, Will Travel features solid video, acceptable audio, and no supplements. Recommended.