Dungeons & Dragons: The Complete Animated Series

In the early 80's a cartoon aired depicting the misadventures of a group of kids who get stuck in the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons. The setup was simple, and was in the opening credits of every season 1 episode: six kids get on an amusement park ride which carries them into another dimension. They wind up in a fantasy world with weapons of power and the Dungeon Master as their guide (of sorts). Each kid had a different archetype. Hank the Ranger was the leader and carried a magic bow with energy arrows. Sheila the Theif had an invisibility cloak, and her little brother Bobby the Barbarian had a club that could create earthquakes. Diana the Acrobat had an indestructible bo staff that could change lengths and reform at will, Presto the Magician had a magic hat that he could pull all sorts of things out of, including modern conveniences (though he did not always get precisely what he asked for), and Eric the Cavalier had a shield that could repel anything and create temporary particle barriers. Dungeon Master would start every episode giving them a riddle and sending them on a quest, kind of like in the game, except in this case the kids were not locals. They were 'playing' to get back home. Every quest the Dungeon Master sent them on supposedly led to a portal back to 1980's Earth, but they always either missed it by thismuch, or they had some ethical reason why they had to turn back. This show actually managed to sneak some fairly realistic ethical dilemmas past the censors who were only interested in morality plays, which enriched the viewing experience of the show. That doesn't make it any less of an 80's show, but it does make it better than average and worth a view if you like fantasy animesque shows. There is some recognizable voice talent on this show, especially if you're familiar with 70's and 80's TV. Hank was played by Willie Aames, better known for the sitcom Eight is Enough. Eric was played by Don Most of Happy Days. Presto was played by Adam Rich, also known for Eight is Enough, and I got to hand it to that actor, he was really convincing at depicting Presto at the age of a guy whose voice is breaking. Katie Leigh, the voice of Alex from Totally Spies, played Sheila. Diana's voice actress, Tonia Gayle Smith, was nominated for a Youth in Film Award for her work on this series. And of course one mustn't forget Peter Cullen of Transformers fame playing the Big Bad, Venger.The animation is very good compared to a lot of similarly themed series from the same era. This series was story-boarded in detail by the Western show-runners, and then animated by Japanese studio Toei. It's nowhere near the crisp lines of 2D computer animation coming out nowadays, but it had some of the most beautiful chiaroscuro I've ever seen in a Saturday morning cartoon. As far as the audio it had a great cast and excellent score, but the creature sound effects could be unintentionally hilarious at times. Uni the baby unicorn sounded like a goat, Venger's steed Nightmare sounded like an old man coughing, and just about every monster the kids encountered pretty much just went "blaarrgghh!" Even the robots. But that doesn't really detract from overall enjoyment of the show. YMMV on Uni.As other reviewers have mentioned, there are two editions of the complete series on DVD that you could be getting here. Personally, I think it's apples and oranges but I'm not in the least bit disappointed with the version I got (the Millcreek version). If you get the Millcreek set, you get all the original soundtrack synced up to the episodes correctly. It is a very good orchestral soundtrack, so I don't blame the audiophiles for recommending the Millcreek version. If you get the BCI version, you'll get a radio show rendition of the last episode, which never made it into production. I've read a transcript of it, and I can tell you that it would have been a very good episode and it's a shame it never aired. From what I've heard neither DVD set has the original season 2 intro (Millcreek definitely doesn't), so you're not missing anything there either way.

For the uninitiated, this series tells the tale of six kids who, after riding the Dungeons & Dragons rollercoaster, mysteriously get sucked into its fantasy world. There, each of them gains magical talents and abilities, all the better to survive their time in the Realm. The bow-shooting ranger, the acrobat, the thief, the cavalier, the wizard, and the boy-barbarian are soon joined by a baby unicorn, and tutored by the mysterious Dungeon Master. Opposing them is the evil sorcerer Venger, as well as various monsters and entities all intent on keeping the kids from getting back home. This was one of CBS' most popular animated series, airing for 27 episodes from 1983-1986, and again in the '90s on the Fox Kids network as reruns. Created by the legendary Marvel Productions, the series was based on the popular TSR role-playing game created in 1974, which spawned an entire industry. The complete animated series was released on DVD in 2006 by BCI Eclipse and again in 2009 by Mill Creek Entertainment. Since both releases are vastly different, I will try to outline the differences between both.In 2006, Dungeons & Dragons- The Complete Animated Series was released in a re-mastered 5-disc boxed set loaded with extras by BCI Eclipse. The only negative was that certain episodes had some of its original music replaced. This set is now out-of-print and can only be bought from private sellers since BCI closed down in 2008. Here are the special features on this set;*All-new half hour documentary, 'Entering the Realm of Dungeons & Dragons' featuring interviews with the show's production team, writers, animators, and network executives*Two commentary tracks for episodes 'Night of No Tomorrow' & 'The Dragon's Graveyard' with producer Bob Richardson, story editor/ voice director Hank Saroyan, writers Mark Evanier & Michael Reaves, and CBS executives Ted Field II & Judy Price*Radio show-style presentation of the unaired final episode 'Requiem' featuring select original voice cast members*Full length animated storyboard with interactive episode comparison for Episode #16 'The Girl Who Dreamed Of Tomorrow'*'Choose Your Own Adventure' DVD Game & 'Uni's Fun Facts' Trivia*50 characters, creatures & artifacts profiles with bios, images & clips, plus extensive gallery of original model sheets & memorabilia*Short live-action film by fan Sean Kennedy*Alternate and rare footage plus hidden easter eggs*DVD-ROM features including scripts for multiple episodes (including the un-produced series finale script), complete storyboards and the original series bible*Episode guide booklet with show's synopsis, writers and original air dates*Official 'Dungeons & Dragons' hard-cover game supplement created exclusively by Wizards of the Coast featuring 32 pages of character profiles and stat blocks. The adventure is a prelude to the episode 'The Dragon's Graveyard' and is designed to bridge the game and the animated TV series. The characters and world within the animated series are now playable with the traditional RPG game.In 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment released Dungeons & Dragons: The Complete Animated Series as a bare bones 3-disc set with none of the special features. However, the original music for all of the episodes was restored for this release. The BCI release is definitely aimed at the hardcore fans while the Mill Creek release is better suited for the casual, cost conscious fans. Of course, diehard fans will probably want to pick up both complete series releases given they each has pros and cons. As for the show, it is unfortunate that sagging ratings led to its premature cancellation in 1986. But thanks to these DVD releases, fans can relive all these great adventures anytime they want!

Beautiful crisp, clean copies of these well written and well animated stories! I could not be more delighted with this set and I am so glad to have them to enjoy over and over in the years to come!

Edizione in lingua inglese senza sottotitoli, ma a prezzo accettabilissimo e comunque comprensibile nei dialoghi

Por fin la tengo para mi colección, es una serie que miré durante mi infancia y hoy por fin logro tenerla, el audio es inglés pero afortunadamente no tengo problema con ese idioma.

When I was about 12 I used to love this show,when I saw that it was available as a box set I decided that I had to own it.It's every bit as good as I remember it being when I first saw it all those years ago,I now enjoy watching it with my 8 year old daughter,she also loves it.The adventures are well written and exciting as the kids try to get back home after being sucked into a vortex that transported them back to a time of some very strange creatures and the evil Venger,their guide the Dungeon master and the colossal dragon Tiamat.All 27 episodes are included and no they didn't get home at the end,I clearly remember the show ending this way.A fantastic set one well worth purchasing,please note the best version is the Mill Creek set.Thanks for for reading and I hope that you enjoy the show as much as I do.

Zum Inhalt der Serie schreibe ich nichts, dieser ist einfach im Internet zu finden,mir geht es einfach um die Umsetzung und die Serie an sich.Die "Complete Series" kommt auf 4 DVDs daher, 3x mit 7 Folgen, und 1x mit sechs Folgen,bisher jedoch nur im englischen Original, aber diese lässt sich auch auf einem deutsch-codierten Player abspielen.Als Bonus gibt es Fankommentare zu verschiedenen Folgen, Charakterstudien und Zeichnungen zu den Folgen, alles in allem aber recht dürftig.Optisch ist die Serie gut hergestellt worden, mir sind nur bei 2 Folgen Farbschwankungen aufgefallen.Die Tonspur ist soweit ok, ganz selten (vielleicht 1x alle 2 Folgen) gibt es einen kleinen Verrutscher.Über Sinn und Qualität der Serie lässt sich streiten,aber es macht Spaß wieder in seine eigene Kindheit einzutauchen, und die Helden auf ihrem scheinbar endlosen Weg nach Hause zu begleiten.Klassische 80er-Jahre Klischees finden sich hier kindgerecht verarbeitet, und lassen mich heute noch viel mehr schmunzeln.Alles in allem wirklich schön für Fans der Serie, oder solche, die sie einfach nochmals sehen wollen; und bei dem Preis ist es auch verschmerzlich, wenn man vielleicht nur eine Folge pro Halbjahr sehen möchte.