This iteration of The Jetsons was well before my time, though I also wasn’t an avid watcher of the 1980s version either, but even so, this was a fun and all around enjoyable animated series.
The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series
(1962-63)
Genre(s): Animation, Family, Comedy
Warner Archives | NR – 621 min. – $29.99 | September 10, 2019
Date Published: 11/16/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Series Synopsis: “Meet George Jetson.” Just those words will prompt viewers of a certain age to join in singing the show’s catchy theme song. This popular primetime cartoon show features the Jetson family living in a utopian future. People live in housing in the sky, work a three-day workweek, drive aerocars that look like flying saucers and have incredible conveniences that leave them with plenty of leisure time. George (GEORGE O’HANLON), his homemaker wife Jane (PENNY SINGLETON), and their children, Judy (JANET WALDO) and Elroy (DAWS BUTLER), also have a robotic maid named Rosie and a talking dog named Astro. Quick Hit Review: Growing up in the 1980s, I don’t recall ever watching The Jetsons all that much, I think I was more into The Flinstones (along with Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock). Of course, I know of this series and had seen an odd episode or two over the years, as well as The Jetsons: The Movie in 1990, so this was my first deep dive into this classic series that, initially, only ran from 1962 to 1963 before being revived in 1985 (and it is possible I watched this iteration from time to time). Only point this out as I don’t have a sense of nostalgia for this series. In any case seeing The Jetsons now, it is a great family comedy that at times does feel dated in its humor, but I had plenty of fun watching it, some breezy fun with no real agenda or some political messaging (which I can imagine will be implemented if the live action version that’s in the pipeline). Now, although I was entertained, this still isn’t high on my list for favorite animated shows (see: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman: The Animated Series, Teen Titans, The Real Ghostbusters) but it is a fun time for the whole family. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5 |
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This three-disc release from Warner’s Archive Collection comes in a standard Blu-ray case. There is a fair amount of features including Two Audio Commentaries with Janet Waldo, the voice of Judy Jetson on ‘Rosey the Robot’ and ‘A Date with Jet Screamer’; The Jetsons: The Family of the Future (8:43) which looks at the history of the series; Space Age Gadgets (4:51) on the futuristic inventions of Jetsons’ world; Family Album (2:41) with character bios; and Rosey the Robotic (3:34), a tribute to the feisty maid. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| This complete series release comes to Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Bros. Archive Collection, presented in its original televised 1.33 full frame aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer on all 24 episodes. This is a rather stunningly good looking picture, the bright, cheerful colors of this futuristic cartoon pop off the screen and it does appear clean, no major instances of any cell damage. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| Each episode comes with a standard DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. Given this is a series from 50+ years ago, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, but this was impressive with the catchy theme song as well as dialogue coming through with good clarity. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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This iteration of The Jetsons was well before my time, though I also wasn’t an avid watcher of the 1980s version either, but even so, this was a fun and all around enjoyable animated series that at times is dated yet still made me chuckle several times. |