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Jonny Quest - The Complete First Season

Jonny Quest - The Complete First Season

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $29.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Give credit where credit is due
Review: Before I start singing any praises to Warner or Hanna Barbera, I've got two major complaints:

1) Why is Doug Wildey's name conspicuously missing from the end credits? On the broadcast versions he was credited with the original Jonny Quest concept and there was no mistaking (or missing for that matter) his distinctive signature on the end credits. Seems to me that the real driving force behind the look and feel of Jonny Quest deserves better treatment than to be dropped from the show he helped to create.

2) If you are remastering the episodes anyway, is it that much trouble to include the real end credits that accompanied each episode? If you pay close attention to the end credits on the DVD set, you'll see that it's the same one being used over and over again. The end credits on the broadcast versions were different in regards to voice acting and writing/storyline credits.

Pretty shabby folks. I can only wonder what kind of flack would have resulted if somehow Warner or Hanna Barbera weren't credited on this set. But I guess so long as they get their recognition, it doesn't matter if the people who deserve the real credit get overlooked.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The Cartoon"
Review: Jonny Quest was "the Man" when I was growing up in the early 60's. Though I haven't bought this DVD yet, I do have every original episode on VHS. Tim Matheson did so many cartoon voices during that time period but Jonny was the best! I was compelled as an adolescent to grow up to be a scientist because of Jonny's influence (I did serve as an Air Force policeman without quite the glamour). Forget Cat/Dog, the Tick, and all these other cartoons of today's generation; Jonny was exciting, real and educational (and had the neatest toys too!) A must buy for those late year baby-boomers!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: Very simply put, the Jonny Quest episodes were exciting and fun to watch and I was very disappoointed when they disappeared from television. This collection returns Jonny to the screen more colorful and more exciting than ever. A must have for any fan of animation. Something that the entire family can both understand and enjoy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Jonny's On DVD! And Looking Good! Very, Very Good In Fact!!
Review: This ultra-cool four-disc DVD boxed set from Warner Brothers contains all 26 episodes of the original 1964 animated TV series, "Jonny Quest" (aka: "The Adventures Of Jonny Quest").  This set is part of the slick-looking "Hanna-Barbera Golden Collection".

This original version of "Jonny Quest" only lasted one season (1964-1965).  Therefore, this collectible DVD boxed set contains *every* episode in the entire so-called "Classic Jonny Quest" series.  The show was twice revived in later years (for syndication only), once in the 1980s and again in the 1990s.  But I think I'm safe in saying without fear of getting much argument that the subsequent resurrected versions of "JQ" cannot nearly measure up to the original 1964 variant of the program, which seems to exude a kind of timelessness and authentic quality which makes these "Classic" episodic adventures fun to watch again and again.

Every exciting and peril-filled '64 Quest adventure is here, complete with all the various cool vehicles and gadgets that are utilized by Dr. Benton Quest and his son Jonny, who are accompanied by their ever-present colleagues, Roger "Race" Bannon and "Hadji". (Plus Jonny's often-helpful dog, "Bandit".)

So many memorable set-pieces came out of the Jonny Quest cartoon series. .... Watch in glorious Digital clarity as Dr. Quest's #1 nemesis, the evil Dr. Zin, makes multiple futile attempts to "take over the world".  This fun series also features the likes of abominable snow creatures, gargoyles, very unfriendly sea beasts, some angry pygmies, a spider-like "robot spy", werewolves, lizard men, deadly spiders, poisonous snakes, wild panthers, man-eating dragons, an invisible energy-absorbing monster, and one of my favorites (in the episode "Turu The Terrible") -- a Quest-hating prehistoric pteranodon, which was trained by a wheelchair-bound madman, voiced by Everett Sloane. ("Kill, Turu, kill!!").  :)

This adventure cartoon debuted on ABC-TV on Friday night, September 18, 1964, in the 7:30 PM (ET) time-slot ("The Farmer's Daughter" and "The Addams Family" followed Jonny on the ABC schedule).  I, however, best remember seeing Jonny in reruns on Saturday mornings.  The producers of this series (Hanna-Barbera) sure got their money's worth out of this one-season wonder.  The series still holds a lot of fans spellbound.

Each of these twenty-six "Classic JQ" episodes is presented in its original, uncut form (with a running time of about 25:15 each). The original "Episode Title Cards" (complete with the thunderously-dramatic four-note musical cue) are also included here. 

The picture quality for these color episodes is terrific....virtually perfect! Colors look very bold and vibrant, with Race Bannon's always-present red shirt showing up bright and vivid.  The image aspect ratio is as you would expect from a TV program aired in the 1960s -- Full Frame (1.33:1).

The sound comes via Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono tracks, with pleasing results.  There is also a DD 1.0 Mono "Spanish" track included for each episode.  "JQ" relied heavily on music to build suspense and carry each storyline along.  The music cues used in the programs, as well as the rousing opening and closing themes, come across very well on these discs. Each episode also features subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Once again, it's worth repeating with vigor here --- THESE EPISODES LOOK FANTASTIC ON THESE DVDs!  High praise must be showered upon whoever is responsible for these DVD video transfers. These Quest adventures look and sound as clear, sharp, and rich as when they were first aired (probably even better)!

NOTE REGARDING THE EDITED-OUT PORTIONS OF THE "PO-HO" EPISODE: I'm not thrilled at all that two brief portions of dialogue have been edited (muted) off the soundtrack in one episode ("Pursuit Of The Po-Ho"). In fact, I'm pretty ticked off about it. These edited comments have been left intact on the soundtrack whenever aired on broadcast TV; so why would they be cut out of a home video release?! Ultra-silly! However -- as stupid as these edits are, don't let this tiny setback stop you from getting this top-notch DVD set! These Jonny Quest shows are some of the truly greatest works of animation ever done. They should be treasured -- by "Heathens" and "Savages" alike. :)

If you check out my other "Jonny Quest Season One" review here at Amazon, I'll have a detailed rundown of the DVD's Special Features (plus information on the Menu design and the DVD's Packaging).

These well-written and visually-impressive episodes of this memorable animated series are still a pleasure to watch, even all these decades later.  And the show is made infinitely more enjoyable thanks to this outstanding boxed set of DVDs from Warner Home Video.  This is a DVD collection I shall enjoy for many, many years to come.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Here's The Lowdown On The Bonus Features, Menus, & Packaging
Review: Here's a detailed look at all the Supplemental Bonus Features that are included in this fun and spiffy 4-Disc DVD boxed set of "Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season". Some details concerning this set's menu layout are also shown below. Plus a critique of the cool packaging as well. .........

BONUS FEATURES:

>> "Jonny Quest Files: Fun, Facts and Trivia" is a unique type of bonus DVD feature. When you choose this bonus, the entire episode "Double Danger" will play with integrated "pop-up" text coming on the screen periodically, displaying bits of trivia and show information. A fun bonus.

>> "Jonny Quest: Adventures In Animation" -- This is a terrific little mini-documentary (in rich-sounding Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo to boot). It features several people in the industry (artists, animators, directors, and writers) talking about their thoughts on the "Jonny Quest" cartoon series. Lots of episode clips are used for this bonus program, which has a run time of 15:14.

>> The "Jonny Quest Video Handbook" consists of 10 separate "Mini Bios", covering just about anything anyone would ever need to know about the Jonny Quest series. These short narrated bio pieces (which all feature a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track) contain many clips from the series as we listen to the capsule biographies, which are told in an entertaining tongue-in-cheek style. Each "bio" must be accessed individually from the "Video Handbook" Main Menu. These video segments range in length from 50 seconds to 3:05, with a total length of 16:57. The ten sections are entitled: "Jonny", "Race", "Dr. Quest", "Hadji", "Bandit", "Allies", "Villains", "Vehicles", "Gadgets & Gear", and "Locales".  My favorite is "Villains", which gives us a glimpse at all of the Quest foes and bad guys. Wryly-told, this one is really a hoot!

>> "P.F. Flyer Sneaker Commercial" -- This is an original (color) TV commercial spot (circa 1960s), with "Jonny" and "Race" advertising -- and wearing -- their "P.F. Flyer" athletic shoes. The end of this ad has the original voice of Jonny (Tim Matheson) telling the viewers about the cool "P.F. Magic Ring", complete with a "secret compartment".  I'll bet every kid who watched Jonny Quest in those days wanted one of those neat rings.  This TV commercial spot lasts exactly 1 minute (although the DVD packaging shows a length of only half this). And the video quality for this bonus ad is remarkably good.  Looks brand new!  Great stuff here!

>> Trailers for 4 other Cartoon DVD sets. Each of these promotional ads runs a little more than 1 minute. Makes me want them all!

DVD MENU INFORMATION:

Just like these Jonny Quest episodes themselves, I found this DVD set's Menu structure to be very cool. A brief animated sequence comes on screen when any disc is initially loaded into the player (featuring some clips from various episodes), which then expands to show the menu selections -- which are presented in the guise of the instrument panel of the Quest private vertical-takeoff jet.

There are Sub-Menus for "Episode Selections", "Special Features", and "Languages". All bonus supplements are located on Disc 4. You move around the various menu choices using an icon resembling Jonny's bulldog, "Bandit". A "Play All" feature is also included on each disc's Main Menu.

A catchy little "adventurous-sounding" musical theme has been created for this DVD set, that plays while the Main Menu is viewable on screen. While this snappy theme was not derived from the show itself, it still seems to "fit" the spirit of the series very nicely. Yet another well-done touch.

THE PACKAGING:

Warner Home Video has issued this 4-Disc set in what they have described in their official press release as "dazzling translucent collectible packaging".  And, upon seeing it in person, I'd have to agree completely with that statement. This super-shiny packaging is just bursting with color!  The glistening outer slipcover of this "Digipak" case (which is made out of plastic, and not cardboard) securely houses an inner, five-panel fold-out section.  The inner paneled section of this unique-looking case must be slid inside the outer "slipcase" in order to gain the full-color effect of the image contained on the cover. When the two sections are placed together, you get the "complete" colorful picture (which seems to emit a kind of "three-dimensional" status when both of the box parts are merged). Excellent graphics indeed!   

My only complaint with the box design is that the cover art on the front of the case is NOT an image (drawing) from the original 1964 version of the show. The cover artwork is, instead, taken from the second (1980s) version of the series. Oh, well...the image on the cover still looks nice, even though it is from the much-inferior 1980s Quest series.

Each of the individual discs displays a different JQ character (Race Bannon, Dr. Quest, Jonny, and Hadji on Discs 1-4, respectively). After you've removed a disc from its plastic holder, you'll see a different image of each of the characters printed on the case underneath. Nice work was done on this eye-appealing packaging.

There's no physical paper insert or booklet included with this set.  Instead, the episode information (along with some trivia and some excellent vintage photos) is printed onto the various sections (panels) of the inner cardboard fold-out case. There are 7 episodes on each of the first three discs; with the remaining 5 shows on Disc 4 (along with all of the bonus material).

There are no "chapter breaks" for any of the episodes, which is a bit of a disappointment. I would have liked the advantage of at least a chapter break after the opening credits.

This 26-episode DVD collection of "Jonny Quest: Season One" will have great appeal to any fan of this ground-breaking, Hanna-Barbera animated action-adventure TV series. Showing off excellent video quality, several intriguing bonus supplements, and snazzy-looking packaging, this "Jonny Quest" complete-season set from Warner Brothers should satisfy every "JQ" fan's requirements.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Jonny Quest - Enough Said!
Review: What can be said about Jonny Quest. This cartoon is unlike any I have ever seen. It was so serious and so darn cool. This show canme out in the 60's WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY before my time, and I still find it to be wonderful. Jonny is very smart, very eager and very determined. Hadji is the perfect sidekick with his mystical powers and awesome turban. Bandit the pup serves as a comic relief and is funny. Race is just too cool, I mean he can fly a fa-reakin plane and fight and Dr. Quest is sophisticated. The places they went gave me an insight look into the different cultures around the world and the plots were very imaginative. JQ combined science fiction fantasy and geography into a very impressive 30 minute cartoon sitcom. The first season is amazing and I am glad that have realeased it on DVD. It is a must for any JQ fan. But don't take my word for it, you buy it and experience the Quest!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic In Every Way!!
Review: I've watched a handful of the episodes in this newly-released set and my opinion is that they are superb! The sound and picture are excellent, and I even like the box. This is Hanna-Barbera at its finest. The stories and characters are as interesting as I remember them being when these episodes first came out back in '64. Would the kids of today get into this stuff? Just ask my 13 year-old son who had to be pried away from the TV at bedtime. Buy it today!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: High quality stuff!
Review: Hanna-Barbara studios lays aside the "cartoony" animation for some true-to-life animation with Jonny Quest...the story of an 11 Yr. old boy who goes on amazing adventures with his father, Dr. Benton Quest, "Race" Bannon", his friend--Hadji & his dog Bandit. Watch with awe as you witness the "smooth as glass" animation & the amount of excrutiating detail put into each frame. See "Race" sweat! See Jonny cry! BEST EPISODE: "The Robot Spy"...Dr. Zyn sends a robot shaped like a spider to spy on Dr. Quest....and the robot is indestructable!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EXOTIC AND EXCITING!!!
Review: Once upon a time, there was an animated TV show, unlike anything else. It featured exotic locales, state-of-the-art technology, and exciting encounters with a wide variety of villains and situations. It was COOL! It was Jonny Quest. I've loved it ever since!
In the 60's, I was often stigmatized by other kids for liking Disney movies. Most kids in my school thought animated cartoons were for "babies". But when Jonny Quest was on, even these mini-snobs couldn't resist its often sophisticated allure.
I love the adventure, the mystery and the coolness that is Jonny Quest! After all these years, this wonderful show is available in a DVD set that does justice to this marvelous adventure! The picture and sound quality leave nothing to be desired. Great DVD set!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Jonny Quest-The complete first season
Review: Wow! This box set was worth waiting for. The classic animation series looks and sounds better then a lot of the animation series produced today. The special features are great. The excitement of Brad Bird and the others is clearly evident and you can feel it with them as they guide us through some of the reasons why Jonny Quest may have been the best animated series of all time. This DVD set is a must have for anyone interested in animation.


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