Captain Planet is now on Blu-ray. The Complete Franchise Collection set includes both television series, Captain Planet and the Planeteers & The New Adventures of Captain Planet. That’s six years’ worth of remastered episodes across nine discs. By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet (or at least a Blu-ray review of his show).
“Five courageous teens from all over the world are brought together to embody the power of the elements and protect the planet. With their powers magnified, the Planeteers can summon Captain Planet to help because saving our planet is the thing to do! Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise features the voice talents of Martin Sheen, Meg Ryan, Whoopi Goldberg, LeVar Burton, and many more!” says the official description.
I watched Captain Planet as a kid, and it was particularly cool to revisit the first season of the program. It’s actually wild how stacked the voice cast was as Ted Turner, who also co-created the show, clearly spared no expense. Whoopi Goldberg, Meg Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, Sting from the Police, and Martin Sheen are just a few of the A-list stars who provided voices. While only a few stuck around for more than a year (and many, like Whoopi, were replaced after the switch to the sequel series), it’s a real trip to hear them doing a cartoon.
The show was never a masterpiece, and the animation isn’t top-notch, but it has aged well both in nostalgia and novelty. Captain Planet had a progressive message at the time (it’ll be interesting how much of that would be in a potential movie), and its focus on unity and environmentalism is sadly needed now more than ever. Some episodes even deal with overpopulation and the AIDS pandemic, so it’s not your typical superhero watch, even if you’ve got a hero who is overcoming the odds and defeating the evil plots of villains. You’ll likely tire of the series before you’ve seen the 113 episodes in the Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise Blu-ray, but it’s nice to see it all remastered in one set.
Most of the Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise Blu-ray looks fantastic, as the remaster has turned out really well. However, there are occasional scenes, which include the iconic intro, that have just been upscaled. It’s a noticeable change in quality, although I got used to it quickly, and it is likely due to some film missing from the masters and having to be sourced elsewhere. Overall, the quality is much higher than the previous releases, and if you’ve seen the remastered version that aired on MeTV, then you’ll know what to expect.
It’s also worth noting that the Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise Blu-ray set doesn’t include any special features. That’s never ideal, but at least the packaging is a lot better than some recent TV show complete editions. The back of the cover lists all the episodes and tells you what is on each of the nine discs, which are each nicely packed in the Blu-ray case.
Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict
The Captain Planet Blu-ray set is a great way to revisit the show or share it with your own children. The remastered release looks great in high definition, even if some scenes have had to be simply upscaled. The show’s message is still an important one, and the series boasts an impressive amount of star power for a cartoon.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received product from the distributor for our Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise Blu-ray review.
