Cartoon DVD Headquarters
Find your favorite 'toons on DVD
Welcome to Cartoon DVD Headquarters: your source for the best cartoon DVDs! Find all of your favorite animated tv shows and movies on dvd and video, specializing in the great cartoons of the 80s and 90s!
Freakazoid Finally Released on DVD
7/28/08
At long last, Freakazoid has been released on DVD. The complete first season (13 episodes) was released today in a 2 disk set. The zany adventures of Dexter Douglas AKA Freakazoid first aired on the WB in 1995. From the same creators of shows like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, Freakazoid
featured insane, quick-witted humor. It was a show that was ahead of its time. While it holds up well for today's audience, the pop and cultural references from the mid-90s might be lost on younger audiences.
For more info, click here.
Voltron Coming to DVD this Fall!
4/16/06
World Event has finally announced the upcoming release of both Voltron series on DVD. The plans are for 8 Sets, with 15 episodes each, all restored and remixed, and tons of extras. Rumor has it World Events might also release the episodes in their original Japanese as well.
Visit our Voltron page for further information when it becomes available with more specific details.
The Animated Tick Series is Coming to DVD in August!
4/12/06
SPOOOOOON!!! It looks like the Tick Animated Series will finally be coming to DVD. It is expected to be released in late August. Keep checking back for more details to follow. The Tick Animated Series, based on the comic by Ben Edlund, ran on Fox Kids from 1994-1997.
Punky Brewster Animated Series News
4/12/06
The DVD for the third season of the live-action Punky Brewster DVD will include some episodes of the animated series as bonus features. The 3rd season is due out July 25th.
The Punky cartoon series aired from 1985-1989 on NBC and was produced by Ruby-Spears.
Animaniacs and Pinky & The Brain are FINALLY Coming to DVD
4/10/06
In the it's-about-friggin-time category, Warner Bros finally has gotten around to releasing Animaniacs and Pinky & The Brain on DVD. Volume 1 of both series will be released on July 25th.
Shout Factory Releasing More of the DIC Library
4/08/06
Shout Factory is continuing to release more of the DIC Animation library. In March, Super Mario Bros Vol 1 was released and in February the first volume of C.O.P.S. was released. On April 25th, they will be releasing a 4-disk Inspector Gadget set, which include interviews with DIC head-honchos Andy Heyward and Michael Maliani.
Hopefully, Shout Factory will continue digging through the DIC library and might release some other great DIC cartoons like Pole Position or M.A.S.K.
North American Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon DVD in the Works!
3/23/06
Mark Evanier reports on his site that he's currently recording commentaries for the US release of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon! FINALLY! Hopefully that means D&D will be out some time this summer.
We're also hoping for a lot of great bonus features. Evanier is okay, but the guy worked on the series for less than a week as a script-doctor. It's our hope the Michael Reaves, Karl Geurs and Jeff Scott are also interviewed, and that there's more than the same ol' stuff from Mark Evanier on the commentaries.
Goof Troop & Quack Pack DVDs Released Today
2/14/06
Two of Disney TV Animation's 1990s cartoons arrive on DVD today. Both Goof Troop and Quack Pack DVDs have three episodes each and are aimed at the children's market. There are no bonus features, but are competively priced.
Defenders of the Earth Coming to DVD in the US!
2/12/06
BCI Eclipse reports that Defenders of the Earth was including in their deal for the Filmation archive and that they plan on eventually releasing it on DVD. There are a total of 65 episodes.
The series features classic comic book heroes Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake and Lothar, as they team up to fight Ming the Merciless along with their kids: Rick, Jedda, Kshin and LJ.
The first five parter was very, very good - well written and great animation. After that, the series was hit-or-miss with rather rushed animation. The theme song's lyrics were co-written by Stan Lee and is one of those classic 80s theme songs.
It's very odd that it's included in Filmation's archive, because the series was made by Marvel Entertainment. It was one of the series they were working on while doing Transformers and GI Joe.
She-Ra Coming to DVD in July!
2/10/06
It looks like BCI Eclipse will have the first She-Ra, Princess of Power, DVD out in time for the San Diego Comic Convention this July. (Comic Con is July 20-23). Speculation is that the first release would be the Secret of the Sword movie (either as the theatrical cut or as the five part series episodes, which are slightly different).
When is Voltron coming out on DVD?
1/5/06
It seems like we've been hearing rumors of the 80s Voltron cartoons (primarily the more popular Lion version) being released on DVD in North America for years now. VoltronForce.com says there will be a major announcement coming soon about the DVDs. Hopefully it is good news.
For those of you in Australia (or with multi-regional DVD players), AV Channel has released both the Lion and Vehicle Series DVDs.
Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon Coming to DVD in the US?
12/30/05
Dungeons and Dragons came out last year on DVD in Europe, but there has been no word on a US release. Until now. TVShowsonDVD.com reports from unnamed sources that a US release is now in the works. We'll keep you updated!.
He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special Comes to DVD
12/7/05
BCI has released the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special for the holiday season. This is the first time any episodes featuring She-Ra have been released. The 45 minute special has He-Man and She-ra having to team-up to save a pair of Earth children from Skeletor and Hordak. Bonus features include several documentaries and a rather unusual music video for "I Have the Power". It's definately a great, underrated holiday special.
For more information, visit our He-Man and She-Ra pages.
Thundercats DVD Season 1 Part 2 Released This Week
12/7/05
The second volume of Thundercats Season 1 was released this week. The 6 disk contains 32 episodes of this animated classic, including fan-favorite episodes like the five part Lion-O's Anointment. Bonus features include a featurette about the Thundercats phenomenon.
For more info, click here.
Gargoyles Season 2 Part 1 Released This Week
12/7/05
Gargoyles Season 2 Part 1 was released on DVD December 8th. It contains the first 26 episodes of the 2nd season. Bonus features include episode introductions by creator Greg Weisman, four audio commentaries by Weisman, writer-extraordinaire Michael Reaves and producer Frank Paur and a featurette about the cast & crew the includes interviews with quite a few of the voice artists.
For more info, click here.
Duck Tales and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Out on DVD
11/10/05
Disney is finally releasing some of their 1980s animated series. The first volumes of Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers were released this week. Both are three disk sets and contain 27 episodes.
For more info, click here.
Hopefully Disney will finally get around to releasing Gummi Bears on DVD eventually...
Legend of Zelda Comes to DVD
10/19/05
The Complete series of Legend of Zelda has been released on DVD. The three disk set features all 13 episodes of this series, produced by DIC in 1989.
For more info, click here.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 3 Release Date
10/19/05
TMNT Season 3 Part 1 will be released on December 6th. There are 47 episodes in Season 3, so presumably the set will contain between 23 and 24 episodes. Season 3, which originally aired during 1989-1990, features some of the best Turtles episodes (including Attack of the 50 Foot Irma, The Maltese Hamster and Turtles At the Earth's Core). This was the height of the series, before it went to CBS. More about TMNT on DVDs.
Problems With the He-Man DVD
07/15/05
With the Best of Masters of the Universe DVD released this week and the Season 1 and 2 sets due out later this year, there is some distressing
news about the quality of the DVDs released that brings up the problems with releasing cartoons made in the 80's that the
rights holders never assumed would be worth anything.
Hallmark, which purchased the Filmation library in the 90s, converted all of the He-man episodes to PAL. Believing that
these episodes would only be seen in Europe and thought no profits were to be made in the US, so they destroyed the original NTSC (US) masters.
PAL, the European format, has the audio slightly pitched up and the video slightly speed up. While most children watching
this would never know the difference, fans of the show and film buffs will especially notice that Adam and Orko's voices
will be higher pitched and squeaky. The frequent pans of backgrounds will be jerky, as if an earthquake is hitting
Eternia every time the camera pans.
Fixing this problem is not difficult. The problem is that it would cost a few thousand dollars per episode and BCI won't
spend the money to fix it. They want fans to just live with it. While that's acceptable for fans desperate to see their favorite cartoons again,
it's a shame that it can't be right. Many would be willing to pay an extra buck or two to have the episodes transferred correctly.
Destroying the masters also left other problem. Some scenes had been edited out of the PAL masters the Hallmark had,
and there are no quality copies left to restore those scenes.
Unfortunately this just goes to show the consequences of how no one expected the popularity of 80s cartoons on DVD. How many other series will have been lost since master tapes have been destroyed?
Best of Masters of the Universe
07/12/05
The Best of Masters of the Universe was released today. The 2 disc set contains
10 episode chosen by fans: Evilseed, Quest For He-man, Diamond Ray of Disappearance, Prince Adam No More, Teela's Quest, Into the Abyss, Teela's Triumph, The Problem With Power, To Save Skeletor, and The Origin of the Sorceress.
Extras include two documentaries on the show, collectible cards, trivia and scripts.
For more info, click here.
Rhino Looses Rights to Marvel/Sunbow DVDs (Transformers, GI Joe, Jem)
07/1/05
Rhino has lost the rights to the Marvel/Sunbow series like Transformers, Jem, GI Joe and Inhumanoids. The rights have been purchased by Sony Wonder, which has no plans at this time to release any of these series.
The final sets of Jem and GI Joe (Jem Season 3 Part 2 and GI Joe Season 2 Part 2) will not be released for the foresable future.
All of these series are now out of print. Jem Season 1-2 is now incredibly difficult to find and selling on eBay for more than $200. Jem Season 3 Part 1 is getting more difficult to find, as are some of the Transformers and GI Joe sets.
Fans of these series can send feedback to Sony here and request that they release the final sets of GI Joe and Jem.
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If your favorite series has not been released on DVD yet, do not worry. You might be able to find it on video. We are your source for finding hard to find, out of print VHS. If you have any questions, please email us at cartoondvdhq@yahoo.com
