Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 23, 2023

It's maybe just a little amusingly ironic to hear many on the production side of Rick and Morty mention in a supplement on this disc how this particular season was done entirely remotely, since production on the series' sixth year began in April 2020, just as, as one writer mentions, everyone was wondering if they'd ever be able to leave their houses again. The reason why this is a little amusingly ironic is because I overtly mentioned that both Rick and Morty: Season 4 and Rick and Morty: Season 5 were regular viewing "comfort food" for me personally during the most traumatic times of the lockdown. There's good news and good news with regard to this sixth season: first, at least somewhat, we can get out of our homes these days, but even with that new freedom, Rick and Morty continues to be a salient argument for staying inside at least some of the time, since it is one of the more unabashedly entertaining animated series out there (with an emphasis on "out there" in all of its many meanings). Whatever obstacles doing an entire season via remote meetings may have engendered for the series' staff, you wouldn't know it by another decalogue of often bracingly funny but also rather thought provoking episodes.

For reviews of the five previous seasons of Rick and Morty, please click on the following links:

Rick and Morty: Season 1 Blu-ray review

Rick and Morty: Season 2 Blu-ray review

Rick and Morty: Season 3 Blu-ray review

Rick and Morty: Season 4 Blu-ray review

Rick and Morty: Season 5 Blu-ray review

Before specifics about some of the episodes in this season, it might be best to address the elephant in the room, especially because the synchronicity divinities are once again active in my neck of the woods and virtually simultaneously with the delivery of this release from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, my news feed was suddenly full of articles about rather troubling charges against Justin Roiland having been dismissed. This strikes me as a rather interesting example in recent so-called "cancel culture", since within seemingly nanoseconds of charges (and other accusations) being leveled against Roiland, he was either summarily dismissed from or chose to leave various projects, which might instantly put the fear of God, or at least voice actor deities, into the production side of the series since Roiland of course voices (or maybe voiced?) both of the series' titular characters. I'm personally going to be interested to see what might happen next in this kind of smarmy drama, since what should be done when someone has been "cancelled" and then charges are dismissed? The tale will at least partially be told by whomever is chosen to voice the characters of Rick and Morty for an already announced multi-season renewal for the series.

Now, with that out of the way, and with Roiland still firmly ensconced in any number of creative capacities with the episodes on this disc, Season Six gets off to a wonderful "canonic" start as some long promised backstory is finally delivered about Rick, or perhaps more accurately, this Rick, if one simply accepts that the "main" Rick is just one of several "versions" who wander through the multiverses the show famously exploits. This opening episode is another fantastic example of how smart, funny and emotionally involving this crazy show can be, as Rick, Morty and Jerry are transported back to the dimension of their original creation, which has an absolutely brilliant set of callbacks to previous seasons and which gives some simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking information about Rick (again, the "main" Rick we've all come to love and loathe in about equal measure).

As the writing staff gets into in a supplement included on this disc, they have an unusual freedom in pitching ideas, and that results in another completely gonzo grabbag of concepts informing some of the subsequent outings. If the opening episodes both in its title ( Solaricks) and one devastating plot point obviously references Solaris (and that's just the veritable tip of the pop culture references this episode utilizes), episodes like Rick: A Mort Well Lived can play somewhat like the Rick and Morty version of Free Guy, and Night Family overtly references the filmography of John Carpenter in particular. This episode is another brilliant example of how the trope of a dysfunctional family is deconstructed, with a plot that hinges on something as mundane as helping do the dishes.

There are so many wonderful bits lavishly sprinkled throughout each and every episode that it's almost impossible to detail them in any appropriate way, but here's the capper for this season, at least in my estimation: all of that foregoing blather by yours truly about "this Rick" turns out to be a gigantic head fake, one which plays into some of the revelations doled out in this season's opening episode. It's yet another perfectly executed pretzel twist that is both laugh out loud funny and uniquely touching. Seasons Seven through Ten may or may not have Roiland attached to them, but if the writing remains as sharp as it is this season, the show may manage to continue delivering its patented brand of snark and heartfelt emotion unabated.

Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rick and Morty: Season 6 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This Blu-ray release continues the generally excellent set of presentations WBHE has offered fans of the series, though this season may show some of the vestiges of being done remotely, which may have contributed to a somewhat less fully realized animation style, at least at times. There is still an amazing variety of backgrounds and various weird creatures that show up, but on occasion I found the overall "look" this season to be just a tad less developed than in some of the previous years. This is a very minor difference in the long run, and both a beautifully suffused palette and generally precise looking line detail help to make this set of episodes an enjoyable viewing experience.

Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rick and Morty: Season 6 features another great sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that continues the series' tradition of providing significant immersion in any number of effects laden scenes, especially those involving Rick and/or Morty transporting to some new locale (whether dimensionally or otherwise). As with several previous seasons, there can definitely be a hyperbolic approach to surround activity, but the track tends to be very smartly prioritized, so that none of the biting humor gets lost in a maelstrom of sound effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. As I mentioned in my review of Season 5, those so inclined may get a kick out of visiting the French and German language tracks included on this disc. Optional English, French, German and Dutch subtitles are available.

Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Inside the Episode features shorts devoted to each episode, typically featuring some very brief interviews with various production cast and crew:

  Solaricks (HD; 2:19)

  
  

  Rick: A Mort Well Lived (HD; 1:21)

  
  

  Bethic Twinstinct (HD; 1:44) has a kind of funny typo in the title, for those who keep track of such things.

  
  

  Night Family (HD; 1:34)

  
  

  Final DeSmithation (HD; 1:53)

  
  

  JuRicksic Mort (HD; 1:42)

  
  

  Full Meta Jackrick (HD; 1:48)

  
  

  Analyze Piss (HD; 1:40)

  
  

  A Rick in King Mortur's Mort (HD; 6:42)

  
  

  Ricktional Mortpoon's Ricmas Mortcation (HD; 1:35)

• Rick and Morty: Inside Season 6 (HD; 9:10) offers some fun interviews with various staff.


• Anatomy of a Scene

  Bethic Twinstinct (HD; 2:26)

  
  

  Night Family (HD; 1:58)

  
  

  Analyze Piss (HD; 2:29)

WBHE sent the SteelBook release for purposes of this review, but it looks like this release features a slipcover. Unlike some previous seasons, it doesn't look like this has a digital copy (the SteelBook definitely didn't have one).

Rick and Morty: Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As is probably clear from my reviews of this series, I unabashedly love Rick and Morty. It's the rare series that can make me laugh out loud each and every episode, but this show does it, seemingly without even trying at times. But what goes hand in hand with the hilarity is the intelligence the episodes so regularly display. This is another standout season with admirable technical merits and appealing supplements. Highly recommended.