Warner Home Video presents

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Season 5 (2007)

“You gonna just sit there and let the diseases come to us? Or are you gonna be cool…and let us smoke some sweet Mary Jane?”- Master Shake (Dana Snyder)

Stars: Dana Snyder, Carey Means, Dave Willis
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (graphic cartoon violence, bleeped out swear words, crude subject matter, sexual references)
Run Time: 02h:40m:11s
Release Date: 2008-01-29
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A+	A+	B+	B+	B+

 

DVD Review

The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” late-night programming segment is responsible for some of the funniest, edgiest programming on television today. The hallmark of this greatness is the series Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which has been airing since the end of 2000, and is still going strong. In 2007, the show spun-off into a feature length film with the outrageous title Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Unfortunately, it was a bomb at the box office, but the show’s ratings continue to be strong for the network. The shows leading up to the movie’s release have been compiled and are being released on DVD from Warner as Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Season 5.

Each 15-minute episode follows the further adventures of Frylock (Carey Means), Master Shake (Dana Snyder), and Meatwad (Dave Willis), a talking box of French fries, a live milkshake, and childlike ball of meat, respectively. They live in a rundown house (complete with a door shaped like Master Shake), and are constantly at odds with their slob of a neighbor, Carl Brutananadilewski (also Willis). These ex-private detectives don’t get a lot of clients these days, but between getting on each other’s nerves, they still find the time to fight crime, fend off aliens, and do what they can to better society… well, sort of.

This new two-disc set features 13 episodes (one of which is a two-parter), beginning with Dirtfoot. In this show, Shake’s quest for more action with the ladies finds him moving into a new bachelor pad. In typical Shake fashion, his new place is at the bottom of a well, and is inhabited by the monster, appropriately named Dirtfoot. Boost Mobile is a so-so installment, but it’s followed by the much-better Dickesode. The episode’s title pretty much says it all, as Carl suffers the phallic consequences of winning a restaurant’s contest.

After Hand Banana, we get a guest appearance from Andrew W.K., who does his partying best to cheer up Frylock in Party All the Time. Bart Oates finds Carl being visited by a ghostly image of former New York Giants center Bart Oates, who punishes him for illegally selling the team’s merchandise. Shake’s new nuclear-powered grill leads to some major fallout in Global Grilling, and the guys are paid a visit by Dan from Grim Reaper Gutters in…brace yourself…Grim Reaper Gutters.

The Mooninites, Ignignokt and Err, finally show up in Moonajuana, where they do everything they can to get our heroes high on the titular substance. This is followed by one of the series’ best installments, Ezekiel, which is powered by the voice of Patton Oswalt, who plays a mini version of Master Shake, claiming to be his son. During Antenna, Carl sells his house to a couple of aliens who use their new abode to build a giant, evil antenna, and in Carl Wash, Meatwad is working at a car wash owned by the floating brains Carl, and Carl Jr. This all leads up to the two-part Star Studded Xmas Spectacular, which is a series of deleted scenes that Master Shake and Meatwad claim are from Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. This brings another fitting batch of ATHF shows to an end and has us eagerly awaiting the next group to grace a few DVDs.

Rating for Style: A+
Rating for Substance: A+

 

Image Transfer

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

Image Transfer Review: All episodes are presented in their original full frame format, and they look quite good. The animated images feature crisp detail, with bright, vivid colors that are never muted. There is a bit of grain and some edge enhancement, but flaws are kept to a bare minimum.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio makes liberal use of the surrounds but doesn’t overdo the audio effects. The hilarious dialogue is always easy to understand, and is seamlessly integrated into the overall mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 14 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
16 TV Spots/Teasers
3 Deleted Scenes
1 Documentaries
2 Featurette(s)
Packaging: 2 disc slip case
Picture Disc
2 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Learn to Shred Like the Master
2. Space Ghost Coast to Coast “Chambraigne”
3. The Worst Game Ever

Extras Review: The number and quality of the extras is a nice surprise, beginning with 10 “Favorite Episodes Promos” that last for over nine minutes, and followed by a segment called Aqua Teen's Respond to the Critics. This piece is five minutes of TV promos masquerading as the show’s characters responding to specific, negative reviews for the ATHF movie.

One of the most entertaining extras is a look at the movie’s premiere with Space Ghost. This 30-minute piece features the very funny George Lowe in a Space Ghost costume and interviewing those attending the premiere, which include Seth Green.

Three deleted scenes, from Bart Oates, Grim Reaper Gutters, and Moonajuana, are up next, followed by Learn to Shred Like the Master, a 90-second clip of guitar shredding, and the well-worthwhile Tera Patrick Eats a Hot Dog. This is a minute-long clip that shows Tera doing her voice work for the show.

Granny Takes Her Top Off runs for just under three minutes and shows us an elderly actress recording her voice work for the show, while Space Ghost Coast to Coast “Chambraigne” is the full, 11-minute episode of that show that introduced us to the brains that are Carl and Little Carl.

Finishing things up are a trailer for an upcoming ATHF video game and a look at The Worst Game Ever. The title says it all, as this interactive “game” has you control a horribly rendered Master Shake and Meatwad, basically watching them move along the screen. There’s supposed to be an exclusive movie clip if they get to the end, but it appears the joke is that there really is no end to this game.

Extras Grade: B+
 

Final Comments

Warner Home Video continues to give a great series its due with the DVD release of Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Season 5. Sticking with the series’ oddness, this is actually a collection of fourth season episodes, but fans will be in on the joke. This is another great effort from the studio, as the shows feature great audio and video, along with a ton of excellent bonus features on the second disc.

Chuck Aliaga 2008-03-04