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DVD Review – Voltron: The Final Battle

Oct 29, 2011 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

“Form feet and legs… Form arms and body… And I’ll form the head.”

This Tuesday, Classic Media will release eight digitally-remastered episodes of the classic 1980s Voltron television series in an all-new DVD title, Voltron: The Final Battle. Confronted by the inescapable Omega Comet, the fearsome Dark Doom Castle and the most powerful Robeast to date, will Arus be destroyed or will Voltron achieve final victory over King Zarkon and Planet Doom? This collection features some of Voltron’s most difficult challenges, culminating in the final galactic battle of Season 1!

The original Voltron series ran for a whopping 124 episodes from September 1984 to November 1985! I loved this show growing up. My brothers and I even pitched in to buy all of the lions so we could form our own Voltron.

I was excited to re-visit the series 27 years later. What I found was a show that really stands up today, even for an adult. One thing I really like about these older cartoons such as is this is that they seem to be more adult than kids cartoons today. They give kids’ intelligence much more credit. Nowadays, it seems like cartoons are worried about being too violent or offending someone, and tend to get dumbed down a bit. This series also features a lot of familiar cartoon voice talents that are still around today, including Peter Cullen (Transformers) and Tress MacNeille (The SimpsonsFuturama).

Kids today (especially boys) would still enjoy this classic Voltron series. With robots, space battles and the good versus evil storyline, how could you go wrong?! Watching again as an adult, I found it to be a lot of fun, especially the great campy super-villains. For example, here are some of the villainous lines from the first few episodes on this set:

King Zarkon: “Why do you waste my time you old windbag, every child on Planet Doom knows this story…”

Prince Lotor: “I beat Voltron and that little brother of yours! No one can defy Lotor!”
Princess: “You’re wrong, they’ll come back for me, I know it.”
Prince Lotor: “Don’t be a fool! There’s not the slightest chance that they’ll ever come back here!”

Prince Lotor: “You, and your ‘Honor’. I find it to be extraordinarily boring! Victory’s always much sweeter when you cheat!”

 


What’s Included on the DVD:

Episodes (187 minutes):

This collection brings together 3 stories from the first season, spread across 8 23-minute episodes. The episodes are presented in their original 1.33:1 ratio, with Dolby Digital Stereo sound. They look and sound surprisingly great, given the age of the show! The disc features both Play All and Episode Selection menu choices.

  • The Captive Comet (Episode 39, Originally Aired 22/Oct/1984)
    Haggar gains control of the Omega Comet, an invulnerable planetoid with the power of a micro-black hole.
  • The Little Prince (Episode 40, Originally Aired 23/Oct/1984)
    Trying to protect Planet Arus, Prince Bandor has been forced to bombard the Omega Comet with his fleet, while Voltron was still on it!
  • There’ll Be a Royal Wedding (Episode 41, Originally Aired 24/Oct/1984)
    Furious at his defeat, Lotor throws Princess Romelle into the Pit of Skulls, from where no one has ever returned.
  • Return of Coran’s Son (Episode 48, Originally Aired 01/Nov/1984)
    When Zarkon first ravaged Planet Arus, Coran sent his wife and young son away for their own safety.
  • Coran’s Son Runs Amuck (Episode 49, Originally Aired 02/Nov/1984)
    Garrett betrays the Voltron Force, allowing Lotor to fly an enormous Pulsar Cannon within range of the castle.
  • Zarkon Becomes a Robeast (Episode 50, Originally Aired 23/Nov/1984)
    Lotor fails to capture Planet Arus and allows the Voltron Force to capture the Pulsar Cannon.
  • Lotor, the King (Episode 51, Originally Aired 26/Nov/1984)
    Lotor has broken out of prison and taken over the throne of Planet Doom.
  • Final Victory (Episode 52, Originally Aired 27/Nov/1984)
    Lotor activates his command center, Dark Doom Castle. Even with all his might, Voltron cannot fight off the entire castle alone.

Extras (3 minutes):

These are more like advertisements rather than special features for the 1980s series :

  • Top 5 New Powers of Voltron Force (2 minutes)
    The biggest and baddest new features of Nicktoons’ new series Voltron Force
  • Blazing Sword Voltron (minutes)
    Meet the newest, coolest Voltron collector’s figure ever

 


Our Rating
Content:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Recommended

Final Thoughts:

This DVD is bargain-priced, and looks and sounds as good as the show ever did. Definitely worth picking up for a fun 3 hours of solid entertainment for kids or nostalgic adults.