Superman: The Complete Animated Series DVD Review

Out on DVD today is one of my favorite cartoons from the 90s, if not my all time favorite; Superman: The Animated Series. I’ve always been a huge Superman fan, and when the Batman crew decided to take on the Man of Steel, I knew it was going to be the best adaptation of the character yet.

Superman: The Complete Animated Series is a massive 7-disc DVD set from Warner Bros. that contains all 55 episodes of the show, with a few bonus features spread throughout the discs. You probably know if you’re a fan of this show or not, and if you don’t own any of the previous DVDs, I’d say you definitely need to pick this one up.

The episodes are presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio they were animated in, and they look pretty sharp. The biggest complaint people seem to have about this set is the fact that they used double-sided DVDs on a few discs. It’s not that big of a deal, but it definitely increases the chances that you’ll accidentally scratch one.

The reviews on Amazon make it sound like it’s the worst thing in the world, but it’s not that bad. Every disc isn’t double sided, just a few.

One reason why I think this series was so successful is because it was the first time Superman was given appropriate challenges in a film or cartoon. A superhero of his caliber needs plenty of giant robots, aliens, and crazy super-villains to make it interesting. As much as I love it, Superman Returns could have used some of those.

The show’s voice cast is spot on, establishing Tim Daly and Clancy Brown as the definitive voices of Superman and Lex Luthor, much like Batman TAS did for Kevin Conroy.

There is also a surprisingly awesome guest voice list, including:

• Brian Cox
• Malcolm McDowell – Metallo
• Michael Dorn – Kalibak & Steel
• Ron Perlman
• Brad Garrett – Lobo & Bibbo
• William H. Macy
• Melissa Joan Hart
• Ed Asner – Granny Goodness

This is a great show, and it’s nice to finally own all the episodes on DVD. If you grew up with this show like I did, or you’re just a fan of Superman, this set is a must-have for the year. It would also make a great Christmas gift for the Superman fan in your life.

This review was based on a product provided by Warner Bros.