DVD Review: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

The two-disc DVD for the Aqua Teen movie, as per Williams Street standards, piles on the extras, though they might not be the extras die-hard ATHF fans were hoping for. Disc one has a commentary track with musician Patti Smith, Onion editor Todd Hanson, SNL's Fred Armisen (who also provides the voice of Time Lincoln), and Dana Snyder, the voice of Master Shake. Like most Adult Swim commentary tracks, it's just for shits 'n giggles and doesn't really provide any insight on the making of the film, but it's still fun to listen to. Plus, I now know a lot more about Patti Smith than I ever cared to know. For those who actually care about how the movie was made, there's a short behind-the-scenes documentary featuring the cast and crew, storyboards, and a pretty funny foley artist session including, in a bout of Mythbusters-inspired lunacy, the firing of a real-life potato cannon.

The selling point of the second disc is Colon, an 80-minute "deleted movie," which is essentially an early 2005 workprint version, before the addition of the Egypt opening, the Walter Melon subplot and before the special guests signed on (except for Bruce Campbell). Most of the deleted scenes that appear in Colon already appeared in finished form in the Aqua Teen "Star Studded Xmas Spectacular," which is also included on the disc. Most worth your while, however, are the music videos, which consist of either recording sessions or live performances at the movie's Atlanta premiere. The best of these are the ones featuring a quartet of radio jingle singers recording the opening song, "Groovy Time for a Movie Time," and Mastadon recording their death-metal response, "Cut You Up With a Linoleum Knife." There's just something about a group of middle-aged men and women collectively singing "Don't pull your penis out unless you really need to!" that puts a smile on your face. All of Dana Snyder's "man-on-the-street" promos are here, as well as the mock-interview he did with Bob Odenkirk, playing the obnoxious film critic Danny Mothers.

Overall, some pretty nice extras to complement a downright hilarious movie. My only complaint is that there aren't a lot of tidbits on how the movie got made exactly. How did they get all their special guests (other than by offering a fat paycheck)? Who came up with the idea for that ridiculous opening sequence? And how did the Boston bomb scare affect the marketing of the film? Other than a brief mention during the commentary that the Mooninites are the "Bin Ladens of the cartoon world," the subject is never brought up.

Maybe I'm just looking way too much into this.

New on DVD

Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law: Volume 3
(Warner Bros. Home Video/Adult Swim; $20.99 at Amazon)

As Adult Swim continues its slow descent into crude potty humor and bland concepts with the likes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show and Saul of the Mole Men, the late night programming block also took the liberty of ending one of their best programs, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. The two-disc set skimps on the special features (no commentaries this time around), but all 12 episodes are essential viewing, and include non-stop laughs from the show’s stellar cast, including Gary Cole (as Birdman), Stephen Colbert (as Phil Ken Sebben and Reducto), John Michael Higgins (as Mentok, the Mind Taker), and Paget Brewster (as the perky and suggestive Birdgirl). Special guest Lewis Black portrays the Deadly Duplicator, who runs the shop Birdman gets his copies from, and Turner Classic Movies’ Robert Osborne stops by to premiere an classic Hanna-Barbera “Birdman” cartoon, which has been skillfully redubbed by the show’s cast. Overall, the set is worth owning simply for the inclusion of the “Sebben & Sebben Employee Orientation” episode, as well as the half-hour final episode, “The Death of Birdman.”

Zodiac
(d. David Fincher; Paramount Home Video; $17.99 at Amazon)

Every time David Fincher gets another film of his released on DVD, it’s always a bare-bones version the first time through. Then, a few months later, a fully loaded 2-disc (or, in the case of Panic Room, a 3-disc set) will emerge, and used DVD stores will soon become flooded with single-disc editions of Fight Club and Se7en. The same goes for Zodiac, which doesn’t even bother to put the usual, fake special features on the back like “Scene Selections” or “Animated Menus.” In fact, its only special feature is a handful of previews for movies that have been out for a while and (get this) a commercial for the 2-disc director’s cut of Zodiac, which will be released sometime next year! It’s sad, really, because Zodiac is David Fincher’s finest effort, and the best movie I’ve seen so far this year, and really doesn’t deserve this “bait and switch” marketing ploy.

New Free Music from Adult Swim

Despite the fact that all five of Adult Swim's new pilot episodes that aired last week were ten times better than both Tim and Eric Awesome Show and Saul of the Mole Men, only one shall be made into a new show. (Please, let it be Drinky Crow! Please!)

Still, one aspect that Adult Swim always excels on is their generosity, and to prove it, they've just released, for FREE, a new full-length compilation entitled Warm & Scratchy, featuring brand-new tracks by TV on the Radio, The Rapture, Broken Social Scene, Sound Team, Liars, and The Good, The Bad, & The Queen. Plus, there's a really sweet video for "Me-I," the TV on the Radio track, featuring bird costumes, dancing trees, and a knife-wielding sandwich. What could be better than that?

UPDATE: I got rid of the streaming player 'cause I couldn't figure out how to keep it from automatically playing when I opened the blog. Still, you can listen to the whole thing here.


UPDATE 2: Check out some really cool production stills from the making of the TV on the Radio video.

New ATHF:MFFT TV Spots

Some really funny TV spots for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie, including some really bad CGI, a golden egg, and a squirrel dry-humping a streetlight.

Plus, you get to see Carl riff on Grindhouse.

Robot Chicken vs. Calvin and Hobbes

I don't know what to think about this recent segment from Robot Chicken that parodies the ever-popular "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip. Parts of it are pretty clever, but it strays so far away from the original concept of the strip that most of the cartoon comes off as more disturbing than funny. I'm sure if Bill Watterson knew about this, he'd be making a few calls to Turner Broadcasting. And I bet Bill is a lot harder to pay off than the city of Boston.

UPDATE: The YouTube link is dead, so I switched it to the link to Adult Swim's website.

Get Off Your [as]

Bored out of your mind? You must be; you're reading this blog. But now that [adult swim] has finally made their streaming video service The Adult Swim Fix Mac-compatible, it's time for me to tell you what you ought to be looking at on a website that is not my own. Let's have a looksee:

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: "Sebben and Sebben Employee Orientation"

One of the newest episodes of Birdman, this episode plays out like an old 16mm film showcasing the benefits of employment at the law firm of Phil Ken Sebben (voiced by Stephen Colbert). Listen for special guest Lewis Black as an irate office supplies manager.

The Brak Show: "Brak Street"

The famous "rap episode" of the short-lived Brak Show, featuring Cee-Lo, the singing half of Gnarls Barkley, as Prime Cut. Also, keep an eye out for a certain glob of meat on a scooter.

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job: "Cats"

Despite the show's somewhat disappointing pilot episode, Tim and Eric might have finally found their footing in this insane, yet witty and provocative third episode, featuring special guest appearances by Michael Cera ("George Michael" from Arrested Development), comedian Zach Galifianakis, and Paul "Pee-Wee" Reubens. While the individual bits are pretty good, the running gag involving Tim transforming into a cat are brilliant.

The Venture Bros.: "The Trial of the Monarch"

Finally, what block of [as] content wouldn't be complete without a priceless episode of Venture Bros? This one, from the end of the first season, chronicles the Monarch's fall from grace as he is arrested for disturbing the peace in front of Dr. Girlfriend's house...I mean, Dr. EX-Girlfriend! Worth watching almost entirely because of the opening sequence. MECHA-SHIVA!

Live Action on [adult swim]?

The verdict on Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job is...unimpressive. While I did enjoy the seemingly off-the-cuff nature of the show, there didn't seem to be much in the way of content. The episodes best segments, "Hacky Sack Extreme" and "B'Owl," had already been played ad nauseum on adultswim.com, and the "B'Owl" bit didn't even feature Tim or Eric. Which leads me to my next problem with the show. While Bob Odenkirk did make a funny guest appearance, having John C. Reilly, a truly wonderful actor, appear but not do anything funny seemed like a waste of time and talent. It did seem like he would be making more appearances on the show, so hopefully, next time around, they'll give him more to do.

Surprisingly, I found much more to like on the second all-live-action [adult swim] show, Saul of the Mole Men. A witty premise, intentionally bad special effects, imaginative costumes, and an awesome theme song helped propel the show above its seemingly unoriginal concept. Sid and Marty Krofft parodies have been done many times, the best being "Drugachusetts", by the aforementioned Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

Still, neither show has yet to reach the level of humor and innovation of previous AS hits, like The Venture Bros., Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, and the show recently voted Most Likely to Cause a Bomb Scare in Boston, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Does live action have a place on [adult swim] or should it be cartoons only?

Perhaps you'd like to take it up with Mr. Laser?

It's so nice to know that, in this day and age, something as innocent-looking as a Mooninite from Aqua Teen Hunger Force flicking off unsuspecting passersby can cause people to collectively freak out so chaotically. Of course, now that the city of Boston has been considerably embarrassed by endorsing and encouraging mass hysteria, they're looking desperately for a scapegoat, which they have found in the form of their two "fugitives from justice," Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28.

Seriously? Are we so jumpy that a couple of strategically-placed "lite brites" can incite a citywide panic? If that's the case, then we don't stand a chance in our so-called "war on terror."

Coincidentally, this is going to give Aqua Teen Hunger Force tons of free publicity, all thanks to Assistant Attorney General John Grossman. Congratulations, sir. You've managed to single-handedly make yourself look like the elderly grandparent in the room, constantly berating at the youth of America for listening to that "dang-blasted rock 'n roll."

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters Trailer!

I'm gonna go ahead and predict that Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters will either be the best film of 2007, or make all film projectors that try to run it start bleeding. Or both.

Trailer time:


Flaming chicken!!