DVD Review: Nickelodeon’s Heroes In Action, Robot Invasion and Rugrats

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Over the decades Nickelodeon has kept kids entertained with their various animated series. The company has just put out four DVDs that cover their earliest and most recent hits. Heroes In Action and Robot Invasion are compilations that each include a mix of SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sanjay and Craig. Rugrats: Outdoor Shenanigans! and Rugrats: Reptar Returns! brings back the wee wonders.

Heroes In Action includes SpongeBob SquarePants‘ “Patrick-Man” and “Gary’s New Toy.” “Patrick-Man” makes Patrick his own kind of superhero. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles‘ “I Think His Name Is Baxter Stockman” is from the recent CGI version of the show. The turtles must battle a guy in his version of high tech armor. Sanjay and Craig is a recent series about Sanjay Patel (Weeds Maulik Pancholy) and the talking snake Craig (Chris Hardwick). “Muscle C.O.P.S.” involves law enforcement and miracle growth calves. “Cold Hard Cash” is about frozen money. There’s a lot of people thinking they’re being heroic on this DVD set. Robot Invasion is about mechanical attacks on the same trio of shows. “Krab Borg!” makes SpongeBob think his boss has been replaced with a mechanical version. “Rock-a-Bye BiValve has him raising a baby scallop with Patrick. “Metalhead” brings out a robot teenage mutant ninja turtle. Can it process pizza? “Partybot” proves Sanjay and Craig need android help to get wild. “Traffical Island” gives a J.G. Ballard bent to a kid’s show as the duo and friends gets stuck on a traffic island.

Rugrats: Outdoor Shenanigans! and Rugrats: Reptar Returns! bring back the wee wonders to home video. Outdoor Shenanigans are five episodes that send them out of the house with “Discover America,” “Barbecue Story,” “Moose Country,” “Gold Rush” and “Sand Ho!” Reptar Returns brings back the show’s tribute to Godzilla. “Runaway Reptar” is a movie event that’s two episodes long. The kids go to see the latest Reptar movie at the drive-in and they basically get sucked into the screen. “Reptar 2010” shows a bit of imagination when the kids have to finish a movie after the VCR refuses to say what happened to Reptar. “The Big Showdown” is another Reptar induced nightmare for the kids. Strangely enough, Josie did not want to watch the Reptar episodes for fear of having nightmares. Perhaps Reptar is best viewed by kindergarteners instead of preschoolers.

Here is Josie’s review of the four DVDs:

The video is 1.33:1 full frame on Rugrats. The other shows are 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfers are ok for the older Rugrats episodes. The audio is Dolby Digital stereo. The levels are fine for all the shows. The episodes are Closed Captioned.

No bonus features.

Heroes In Action, Robot Invasion, Rugrats: Outdoor Shenanigans! and Rugrats: Reptar Returns! are a fun way to experience Nickelodeon without all the commercial breaks. The only warning is that Reptar might be too much for a wee one.

Nickelodeon and Paramount present Heroes In Action, Robot Invasion, Rugrats: Outdoor Shenanigans! and Rugrats: Reptar Returns!. Starring: Dora and Boots. Released: July 8, 2014.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.