The Venture Bros. are back for one final feature-length adventure, which picks up right where the seventh season of the series left off nearly five years ago. With help from Brock and the OSI, Dean and Dr. Venture have been looking for Hank, who had donned a Batman mask and took off after discovering the devastating news that his brother was sleeping with his girlfriend. Now Hank is on a quest of self-discovery, while trying to find the mother he has never known (or at least doesn’t remember). Meanwhile, Dr. Girlfriend hopes to confirm and identify the nature of her husband’s relationship with Dr. Venture. Until that’s cleared up, The Monarch and Henchman 21 are on hold, unable to participate in Guild of Calamitous Intent matters or arch their nemesis until Monarch learns the truth about his relationship with Rusty. However, Malcom soon runs into ex Debbie, who offers up the services of her Arch organization, so that he can get back to his arching Dr. Venture. However, she has some ulterior motives and sinister plans in the works that could completely destroy Dr. Venture and Venture Industries.
The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart is a solidly-entertaining final chapter for the series, feeling both extremely familiar for longtime fans, but also slightly more adult with its unrestricted language, and a full frontal nudity scene I don’t think anyone was asking for. The film provides a solid conclusion to the series, feeling like it was written with the fans in mind, though this is a show that would also be easily ripe for a return at some point. While new viewers may still enjoy the film on its own, the movie contains lots of fun callbacks to previous characters or plot points from the series, while also providing answers to questions that viewers have been asking for a long time—such as how are The Monarch and Dr. Venture related, who is Hank and Dean’s mother, and so on. There are several different storylines that are being told simultaneously. Each is entertaining on its own, but I enjoyed the way that they ultimately come together in the end. Dean has teamed up with Jefferson Twilight and Dr. Orpheus to go on a road trip to find Hank, who is haunted by other versions of himself as he searches for his missing mother. Meanwhile, Dr. Venture, Billy Quizboy and Pete White are dealing with the company’s new personal assistant product, HelperPod, which has seemingly gone rogue. And The Monarch and Henchman 21 are lured in by the head of global organization Arch, the largest and most effective antagonist-solution resource known, as the Monarch once again plots to lay siege to the Venture compound, only to get more than he bargained for.
One thing I’ve been impressed with is the way the characters have grown over the course of the series, and that continues in this film as well. While these characters could easily have been one dimensional wacky heroes and villains, they are given more depth and humanity, making the viewer really care about them. The film does a nice job of bringing all of our favorite characters back for one more wild adventure, while also trying to close out the storylines and bigger questions.
Warner Bros. has released The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart on both Blu-ray and DVD disc—we were sent the Blu-ray version for review. The animation looks clean and crisp throughout, and as good as this show has ever looked—I didn’t really notice any problems with the visual presentation. The DTS audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, though it is primarily relegated to the center channel, while the stereo and surround channels provide the film’s score as well as an immersive ambiance. At times, the dialogue can feel slightly overpowered by the rest of the soundscape.
The Blu-ray disc packed on in a standard HD keepcase, along with a cardboard slipcover and an insert with instructions on how to redeem an HD Movies Anywhere compatible digital copy. A folded poster is also plastic-wrapped to the outside of the keepcase. The disc contains a 50-minute interview by comedian John Hodgman with co-creators Jackson Publick & Doc Hammer, along with two commentary tracks. The first is a more standard commentary, like the ones included on the TV series episodes, while the second finds the co-creators answering more fan questions that they didn’t get to with John Hodgman.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:23:33)
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
- Commentaries
- Commentary by Co-Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (1:23:33)
Co-Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer provide a fun and informative final commentary, discussing the film and the series in general, merchandising, the cancelation, and more. Optional Spanish subtitles. - Jackson and Doc Answer Fan Questions (1:23:33)
Co-Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer answer questions solicited from the internet while the film plays back. Optional Spanish subtitles.
- Commentary by Co-Creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer (1:23:33)
- Hodgman and Friends (50:26)
Comedian John Hodgman is joined by Jackson Publick & Doc Hammer for this episode of his NYC Green Cab seatback entertainment chat show. They discuss the movie and the series, talking about their favorite episodes, their writing process, and more, while answering questions submitted by fans. - Poster
Attached to the outside of the Blu-ray keepcase is a folded 18″x24″ poster matching the cover art of the Blu-ray. (A sticker on the outer cardboard slipcover indicates that this is included.)
Blu-ray:
Digital (code may not be valid after 9/30/2024):
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart is a highly-entertaining and solid conclusion to the Venture Bros. series, giving fans one more wild adventure with these characters, and definitively answering some questions that had been lingering. The animation looks and sounds great, and the disc provides over 3 hours of interesting bonus material with co-creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer. This release is a must own for fans of the series. For those who haven’t seen the series yet, you may be better off checking that out first.
Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (Blu-ray)
35% Off $22.98 $10.48 (as of April 26, 2024 22:47 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart
$14.99 (as of April 26, 2024 22:47 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart
$14.99 (as of April 26, 2024 22:47 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
