Mad scientists Rick Sanchez and his ever-nervous grandson Morty return for ten new wacky adventures in the fifth season of the adult animated comedy Rick and Morty.
This show is always so entertaining, with witty dialogue, fun pop culture references, and over-the-top storylines. There’s so much happening in each episode, with many layers of jokes, that this is the type of show that easily lends itself to repeat viewings just to catch it all. This season has many standout moments and episodes, but episodes like “Mortyplicity” are why I love this show. The writing is so fun and creative—what starts off as a simple idea quickly snowballs into something so ridiculously complex, but in a really fun way. This season also includes a Voltron-themed episode, but instead of lions, the robots are ferrets, and the episode also has a fun Goodfellas vibe to it, with Summer providing the voiceover for the first time. The season also includes some other episodes that are hilarious, so inappropriate that you wonder how they even got made, such as “Rickdependence Spray” with its giant Space Sperm and incest babies! And the season closes out with a fun anime parody, and another chapter in the Citadel saga.
Here’s quick rundown of all ten of the season’s episodes:
- “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” (22:22)
Rick literally runs into his nemesis Mr. Nimbus, the king of the ocean, and invites him over for dinner to smooth things over, where he expresses an interest in a threesome with the Smiths. Meanwhile, Morty tries to impress a girl with wine, but accidentally becomes a dynasty’s mortal enemy thanks to a magic door to another dimension where time moves faster. - “Mortyplicity” (22:22)
The Smiths learn that Rick has created decoy families to protect him from his enemies, but things quickly get out of hand and confusing as to who is a decoy and who isn’t. - “A Rickconvenient Mort” (22:35)
Summer joins Rick on his party tour of the end of planets when Morty drops out to spend time with his new girlfriend, conservationist super person Planetina. - “Rickdependence Spray” (22:16)
Rick uses a vat of horse semen from Beth’s animal hospital to create a bioweapon to use against the race of Underground Dwelling Cannibal Horse People (C.H.U.D.s) he’s always fighting. However, Morty had secretly used the breeding mount at the hospital for his own enjoyment, and some of his “swimmers” ended up in mix, resulting in super monstrous Space sperm attacking the city. - “Amortycan Grickfitti” (22:26)
Rick hangs out with Jerry in order to repay his debt to some sadist demons who get off on Jerry’s lameness. Meanwhile, Morty and Summer try to befriend new student Bruce Chutback before he realizes how lame they are, but when they try to impress him with Rick’s tech, the Space Cruiser blackmails them into helper her find love. - “Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular” (23:32)
While Rick and Morty are trying to steal the Constitution, they accidentally destroy the map on the back and activate a giant assassin that was hidden in the Statue of Liberty. The president is at war with Rick, but it’s Thanksgiving, so he turns himself into a turkey in hopes of getting a presidential pardon. - “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion” (22:01)
Rick, Morty and Summer’s trip to Boob World is canceled when they come across the Blue GoTron ferret on a remote planet, completing Rick’s collection of all five GoTron ferrets in the universe. Now he wants the Smith family to become Team GoTron and pilot the ferrets to take down a giant monster in the Nibblebug system. - “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort” (22:07)
The family goes on a cruise leaving Rick home, where he resurrects his best friend, Birdperson. Rick enters his friend’s mind, where he meets the memory of his 35-year-old self, and together they must convince their friend to wake up from his coma. - “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” (21:30)
Morty grows tired of cleaning up Rick’s messes, and decides to break up the team. He partners with Nick, a man he meets after spilling portal fluid on his hand. Meanwhile, Rick tries to prove that he can easily replace Morty with two crows. - “Rickmurai Jack” (22:05)
Rick is living the anime life, adventuring with his two crows until he learns that he was just a rebound relationship for them. Then, Rick and Morty head to the Citadel where President Morty reveals his evil plan to take down the Central Finite Curve. Meanwhile, Morty learns the truth about the Citadel and Rick’s backstory.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pretty immaculate, with rich colors and details. No matter how complex or elaborate the animated sequences, the presentation always looks fantastic. The audio track provides clear (uncensored) dialogue and makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer in the middle of the action, providing an immersive viewing experience. The episodes and bonus material are all included on a single Blu-ray disc. I received the Steelbook version of the release for review, which has a great design on both covers—the outside and inside of which can be seen below. The release includes an insert detailing the contents as well as a code to redeem a digital copy of the Rick and Morty season 5 episodes on Vudu. The bonus material includes over 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the crew.
What’s Included:
- All 10 episodes of the fifth season.
“Mort Dinner Rick Andre”, “Mortyplicity”, “A Rickconvenient Mort”, “Rickdependence Spray”, “Amortycan Grickfitti”, “Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular”, “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion”, “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort”, “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”, “Rickmurai Jack” - 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital Surround 2.0, German Dolby Digital Surround 2.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, French German SDH, Dutch
- Digital HD copy of the episodes redeemable via Vudu.
- Fighting Gravity: The Making of Season 5 (9:16)
The crew discuss the challenges of producing this fifth season during a pandemic, the different dynamic of the Zoom writers’ room, coming up with Rick’s backstory, and the emotional Mr. Poopybuttole monologue. Includes interviews with co-creator Dan Harmon, writer/showrunner Scott Marder, writers Nick Rutherford, Siobhan Thompson, James Siciliano, Anne Lane, Rob Schrab, Jeff Loveness & Albro Lundy, director Jacob Hair, and supervising director Wes Archer. All interviews were filmed remotely using smartphones. This feature is exclusive to this release. - Animation and Compositing (2:22)
The animators discuss their roles and demonstrate all the work that goes into bringing these characters to life. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with technical director Mark Estrada, compositor Ryan Cohen, animators Ferguson Winston, Teddy O’Connor, Julia Glassman & Ari Grabb. - B-Story Generator Vol. 1 (3:04)
Co-creator Dan Harmon and writer Rob Schrab reach into their “B-Story Generator”, a box of Post-Its with random ideas for side stories, and discuss some of them, along with animatic sketches to illustrate the ideas. - B-Story Generator Vol. 2 (2:49)
More crazy ideas from the “B-Story Generator”. - Backgrounds (2:30)
The background artists discuss the process of bringing the show’s sets to life. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with lead background designer Vance Caines, art director Robbie Erwin, and background designers Lauryn Danae Bremner & Michelle Rhee. - Coloring Rick and Morty (2:47)
The artists discuss the role that color plays in telling the story and setting the mood. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with assistant art director Jason Boesch, color supervisor Carol Wyatt, color design key Corey Booth, color lead Jack Cusumano, and background painter Morgan Ngu. - Directing “Mortyplicity” (2:00)
Director Lucas Gray discusses the action-packed episode. - Directing “Rickmurai Jack” (2:36)
Director Jacob Hair and writer Jeff Loveness discuss the challenges of finding a way to depict the Central Finite Curve and the doomsday device, and creating the origin montage. - Season 5 Hype (1:52)
Co-creator Dan Harmon and writers Siobhan Thompson, Rob Schrab, Jeff Loveness, Anne Lane, James Siciliano, Nick Rutherford, Albro Lundy & John Harris hype up some of the things viewers can expect to see in the fifth season (some of it is fake). - Inside the Episode (17:41)
The writers, directors and producers discuss the themes, stories and characters of each episode. Those interviewed include co-creator Dan Harmon, writer/showrunner Scott Marder, producer Steve Levy, directors Jacob Hair, Juan Meza-León, Erica Hayes & Douglas Einar Olsen, and writers Albro Lundy, Anne Lane, James Siciliano, Jeff Loveness, Nick Rutherford & Siobhan Thompson. Select from:- Mort Dinner Rick Andre (1:45)
- Mortyplicity (1:45)
- A Rickconvenient Mort (1:58)
- Rickdependence Spray (1:53)
- Amortycan Grickfitti (1:35)
- Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular (1:30)
- Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion (1:25)
- Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort (1:44)
- Forgetting Sarick Mortshall (2:04)
- Rickmurai Jack (2:02)
Episodes: (3:43:16)
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Blu-ray:
Digital: (Expires 12/31/2022)
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
In its fifth season, Rick and Morty continues to deliver clever and creative episodes, taking the characters on wild, hilarious new adventures. The episodes easily lend themselves to multiple viewings—I found myself laughing all over again when re-watching them on this Blu-ray release. The video and audio presentation is excellent, and the disc contains a solid selection of bonus material (though I miss the audio commentaries we got with the early seasons), as well as a digital copy of the episodes. The Steelbook packaging and design looks great, but either Blu-ray version comes highly recommended.
