6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
An all-girl rock band! Catchy tunes! Exotic adventures! Fabulous hair! And now in Outer Space!
Starring: Casey Kasem, Sherry Alberoni, Janet Waldo, Jackie Joseph, Jerry DexterAnimation | 100% |
Family | 30% |
Musical | 15% |
Comic book | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space is a spinoff of the original animated series and epitomizes the phrase "what you see is what you get". Originally broadcast in the 1972-73 American TV season, this 16-episode run jettisons those Archie Comics transplants into deep space where all sorts of wacky adventures await. It's pure goofiness and probably a touch more original than the first go-round, but let's be honest: this is still just Scooby-Doo with the haunted houses and mask-pulling swapped out for pop music and aliens. High adventure it ain't, but those with fond memories of either iteration -- or Hanna-Barbera's 1960s-70s output in general -- should settle in just fine.
Not surprisingly, pretty much every compliment that can be heaped upon Warner Archive's previous Hanna-Barbera Blu-ray releases -- which now include Thundarr the Barbarian, Jonny Quest, The Jetsons, Space Ghost and Dino Boy, and The Herculoids -- applies to Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space too. (I have yet to spin the original animated series, but I'd imagine it looks great too.) Quite simply, it's limited animation done right: the series' low-budget, scruffy aesthetic has been preserved nicely, complete with plenty of odd jump-cuts, choppy transitions, and other unpolished errors. Warner Archive typically doesn't attempt to "correct" such mistakes, instead utilizing fresh scans of surviving elements -- in this case, likely the original negatives -- with careful manual cleanup that all but eradicates most dirt, debris, and other age-related damage without disturbing anything else. It's a good formula that produces great results, with mostly vivid colors, a slight but steady presence of natural film grain, and no flagrant compression-related issues including artifacts, banding, or interlacing. Once again, it's top-tier work that easily outpaces the old DVD set.
Although music was a calling card of the original show, Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space dials back on the pop tunes a bit -- they're still very much present, but the songs are shorter and a bit more repetitive this time around. Nonetheless, they still sound good on this DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, which supports the original one-channel roots with a reasonably full-bodied mix that balances crisp dialogue, familiar stock sound effects, and those occasional music diversions nicely and without any major damage or noticeable sync issues. It's a shame both Josie iterations weren't produced in stereo -- which was still at least a decade away for Saturday morning fare -- but Warner Archive has once again gone the purist-friendly route for a faithful presentation of the original experience.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 16 episodes... but like The Herculoids, all of the primary sound effects are shown in lower-case letters with no punctuation. (Examples: "crash", "zap", "hiss".) This is very distracting, although their appearance isn't nearly as regular as they are on that more action-driven series.
This two-disc set ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with vintage cover artwork; no inserts are included, but episode names are printed on the discs themselves. Unlike the original series' release, no extras are on board here.
Almost 50 years after its original broadcast, Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space launches onto Blu-ray in a no-frills but welcome package from the reliably great Warner Archive. I'll admit to liking this odd spin-off a little more than the lukewarm original animated series (which wasn't exactly a high bar to clear), but mostly due to its more imaginative settings and villains -- the core series is so similar to Scooby-Doo that any changes are an improvement. Either way, this two-disc set comes Recommended, but only to die-hard fans of the show or classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons in general. As usual, Warner Archive's terrific A/V presentation makes up for the lack of bonus features.
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