- Classification: U
- Studio: Mollin
- VHS Release Date: 4 Dec 2000
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000053TZ5
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,951 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Product details |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
It may not have been the first mainstream cartoon to come out of Japan (hands up those who remember Speed Racer?), but the influence of Battle Of The Planets remains undeniable. The story centres around a group of five teenaged orphans (G-Force) with "cerebonic" superpowers, charged with the defence of the earth from enemy attack. They are aided by their campy robotic guardian 7-Zark-7 (whose main role appears to be worrying about his team and providing frequent plot narratives), while the team's arch-enemy is the evil Zoltar, leader of Spectra--made all the less frightening by his pointy nose and huge ears. The true star of the show is the spaceship, which had the ability to "transmute" into the fiery Phoenix Formation, albeit rarely. Since Battle Of The Planets, numerous programmes have recycled its "teenage guardians" formula, with equally great success: Mighty Morph'n Power Rangers, Voltron, Pokémon, to name but a few. But for an entire generation, Battle Of The Planets was the crowning gem in their Saturday morning schedules.
Beware, children of the late 1970s, the past may not have been as good as you remembered. Although the debut of Battle Of The Planets must have been seen as a godsend by a generation of children weaned on Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the passing years have not been kind to the series, at least by the evidence of these four episodes. That's not to say that Battle Of The Planets isn't good--it's just not that good. Sure, the theme tune is still exciting, and there is still a thrill to be had in watching their vehicles "transmute" into Phoenix Formation. But beyond that the animation is static, with some scenes re-used several times in a different context, and often there are entire scenes where sound effects take the place of any visual action. The stories, meanwhile, are often plodding and melodramatic, especially those episodes that focus almost completely on Mark, the leader of G-Force. It's a shame, really, because Battle Of The Planets is a fondly remembered piece of a generation's childhood. Maybe future releases in this series will live up to its reputation. --Robert Burrow
From the Back Cover
Battle Of The Planets - G-Force! Princess Tiny Keyop Mark. Jason - and watching over them from Centre Neptune their computerised co-ordinator 7-Zark-7! Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies beyond space! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy Always five, acting as one Dedicated, inseparable, invincible!
Attack of the Space Terrapin - Zoltar, leader of the dreaded Spectra, has sent a terrifying new weapon - The Space Terrapin - to attack Earth and steal a soil invigorating mineral. In the Battle that ensues, can G-Force save Earth from the evil clutches of Spectra?
The Space Mummy - On the planet Zarkadia, G-Force are investigating a series of mysterious plane crashes. The arrival of Zoltar and the Space Mummy sees G-Force thrust into another exciting and daring confrontation with the forces of evil!
The Space Serpent - Zoltar's Serpent alien machine is intent on destroying all of Earth's oil refineries. It sets off a series of earthquakes leading the G-Force team into action! A cataclysmic confrontation ensues in which there can only be one winner!
Ghost Ship of Planet Mir - Trapped on the Planet Mir by Zoltar, G-Force face on of their greatest challenges yet, as they try and defeat a huge armada of enemy battle ships. Will they succeed, or will Zoltar triumph in his plan to conquer the Planet?
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As a TV programme, Battle of the Planets stands head-and-shoulders above most of it's 'Saturday Morning Animation' rivals. Though often trite and naïve, there are plenty of wonderful touches which really put the stories and characters in a class of their own. Featuring only 4 episodes of the series, however, the disc does not represent good value for money. If the remaining discs contain the same number, the entire series will be spread over 22 DVDs! The extras are OK, the history of the show was very welcome, but some video clips of Gatchaman would help to tell the story. The title sequences are cool, but - like the character introductions - are simply lifted from the 4 featured episodes. For the remaining volumes, the extra capacity and interactivity of DVD needs to be utilised to bring the additional elements in line with the quality of the shows themselves.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It's Battle of the Planets. Either you remember the series from your childhood (so you'll love it), or you won't see what all the fuss is about. :)
Battle of the Planets is an adaption of an early Japanese anime cartoon made in the 70s, and its age shows. The plots are often illogical, the enemies laughable, and the cut scenes are often irritating. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed watching BoTP again after about 20 years.
It has many shortcomings, but on the positive side the music is excellent (stirs up the memories more than the story does), it has an element of characterization missing from most modern cartoons, and (once you get past the pilot episode on this DVD) actually gets quite exciting at times.
The DVD, however, is little better than the VHS version. The "special features" give very little new material- a few pieces of artwork, a little textual description of the characters, and sections cut from the episodes describing the team, the HQ etc. I was hoping for a remastered soundtrack, and (in my wildest dreams) a cleaned up video, but this DVD has neither. As far as I can tell, with the exception of the Menu (which DOES have improved music), it's exactly the same as the VHS version.
If you saw this as a kid, and don't have the video it's a must buy. Otherwise- don't bother.
Format:VHS Tape
Going back to watch Battle Of The Planets now reduces me to tears of laughter (my poor parents...how I made them suffer :-) !. Loosely based of a Japanese cartoon (with all the violence and plot removed..) the adventures of G-Force (handily narrated by 7-Zark-7) still provide a great deal of amusement - who will turn out to be Zoltar this time? If you remember this from the first time around this will be a wonderful trip into nostalgia, if not you'll be very confused.....
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
