This is definitely a red-letter week for animation lovers! Who would have thought that DVD could provide such a glorious bounty of cartoons that were cut down in the prime of life? Certainly not I!
Normally, I would have led off with the new Invader Zim DVD, but there is one thing that could beat it out: The Ren and Stimpy Show, Seasons 1 and 2 Uncut! Yes, the prime John Kricfalusi years (before Nickelodeon kicked him out and his erstwhile partners took over) are finally available on DVD in their pure, uncut form! Actually, there is some debate about that last fact; some on the internet are reporting that there are indeed some parts that are still edited from the original broadcast. However, given that Man’s Best Friend is finally available in its entirety (Nickelodeon refused to air it at all) and Powdered Toast Man is available uncut (after the first airing, Nickelodeon cut the part where Powdered Toast Man burns up the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights), I’m a happy buy. Best Buy has the best deal I’ve seen, at $27.99, and that includes a preview 44-minute DVD of shorts from season 3. Since this set is authorized by John K. himself, you have no excuse to not pick it up.
Invader Zim is another fantastic show that was cancelled by a short-sighted Nickelodeon (are you sensing a trend here?) after it received poor ratings and was too controversial. Of course, the poor ratings couldn’t have been due to the fact that they kept changing the time slot and pre-empting it. Anyway, complete your collection with Volume 3: Horrible Holiday Cheer, which includes the final Christmas episode. Expect the usual loads of commentary tracks and extra stuff. $15.99 at Best Buy.
