Universal Studios Home Video presents

Butt-Ugly Martians: Best of the Bad Guys (2002)

"B-K-M! B-B-K-M! B-K-M! B-B-K-M!"- theme song

Stars: Ogie Banks III, S. Scott Bullock, Jess Harnell, Rob Paulson
Other Stars: Charlie Schlatter, Kath Soucie, Robert Stack
Director: Josh Prikryl

Manufacturer: PDSC
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (some bodily humor)
Run Time: 01h:09m:09s
Release Date: 2002-07-30
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
C-	C	B	B	D-

 

DVD Review

Butt-Ugly Martians is a children's show about three Martians (none too pretty to look at, obviously) who are sent to Earth to conquer the planet and end up falling for our fast food restaurants, skateboard parks, and extreme-sports-loving teenagers. Every week, they must figure out a way to fool their leader, Emperor Bog, into thinking that they are working to overtake the humans, lest he visit the planet and take care of the job himself.

I admit, it's an interesting, original premise. If I were a ten-year-old, I'm sure I'd want to see a cartoon like this (especially one with groovy CGI animation). But for the most part, the nifty setup is wasted. Regular episodes of the show are extremely formulaic—the Martians screw something up, and some sort of alien invader is sent to Earth, requiring the Butt-Uglies to use "BKM" power (?) to transform and defeat the threat to their Earth existence. The animation is pretty poor, with simplistic backgrounds and limited character movement and expression. Dubbing is decent—I hear the voices of a few of the Animaniacs in there—but their talents are wasted on the uninspired scripts.

This volume of the show, however, is a bit different from the last I reviewed. Instead of three regular episodes, this disc features one regular show and one "mini-movie," a two-parter in which Bog finally discovers the Butt-Uglies' treachery. The latter is actually fairly entertaining, if mindless. There are a few jokes that are recognizable as such, some decent action, and, if I'm not mistaken, improved animation. Alone, this installment might warrant a generous B-. But the regular episode that's offered as a "bonus" is back to normal for the show. Jax, the Conqueror is just as formulaic and boring as every other episode of the series.

I suppose if your kids simply must own a DVD of Butt-Ugly Martians, this is the one to get. But can't you try and interest them in something else? I mean, toy commercials are just as substantive, and at least those are free.

Rating for Style: C-
Rating for Substance: C

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Video quality is on par with the last volume. Colors are bright and saturated. Darker scenes show decent black level, but inconsistent shadow detail. The picture has a rather grainy look overall, and artifacts and aliasing are sometimes visible.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The DD 2.0 mix sounds fine, considering the source material. Dialogue is always clear, and the front soundstage expands nicely with music and sound effects, though they do sound rather harsh and unsupported at times.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 2 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, Spanish, French with remote access
1 Other Trailer(s) featuring The Mummy: Quest for the Scrolls
Weblink/DVD-ROM Material
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Character Bios

Extras Review: Extras are limited to the same character bios as other BUM discs and a trailer for the direct-to-video movie The Mummy: Quest for the Scrolls.

Extras Grade: D-
 

Final Comments

This volume of Butt-Ugly Martians isn't quite as offensive as the last I reviewed, but it's still not a show I would recommend plopping your kids in front of. It's mind-numbingly idiotic at times, and routine at best.

Joel Cunningham 2002-09-11