by Matt Sernaker, Editor-In-Chief
Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Monkey! … I mean… Heart! Go Planet!
When the Earth is in danger, five kids are selected to become its protectors. They are each given a ring of incredible power, and when those powers combine, they form Captain Planet! Thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise is headed to DVD this month.
Official Synopsis:
The Planeteers, five teenagers from different parts of the earth, each receive a ring of elemental power–earth, wind, water, fire or heart–to combat eco-villains everywhere in the world. And when they combine the powers of their rings, a new superhero, Captain Planet, is created, with powers far greater than the sum of the five.
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Captain Planet and The Planeteers originally aired from 1990-1996 and ran 113 episodes (including The New Adventures of Captain Planet). The original concept for the series came from Ted Turner, and was designed to focus on educational entertainment (or “edutainment”), which would encourage kids to become more aware of their environment. The series brought together large number of notable voice actors, including LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Ed Asner (Up), Martin Sheen (West Wing), Whoopi Goldberg (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Frank Welker (Transformers), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park), Maurice LaMarche (Futurama), Dean Stockwell (Battlestar Galactica), Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally), Sting (he’s Sting…nuff said), and Tim Curry (Clue).
Episode Highlights:
“A Hero For Earth”- Witness the origin of the Planeeters! Gaia summonds five kids from across the globe to help stop an impending threat against our planet. Can Wheeler, Kawame, Linka, Ma-Ti, and Gi stop Hoggish Greedly (yes that is his name…and yes he does look like a pig-man) and use their powers to summon Captain Planet?
“Mission to Save Earth (Parts 1 and 2)”- The Eco-Villains have a new plan to unleash destruction upon the Earth! Dr. Blight has stolen the Planeeter’s rings, proceeding then to create five evil versions of their powers. When these forces combine they create the evil version of Captain Planet….CAPTAIN POLLUTION! Now the Planeeters must find a way to stop Captain Polution before he does unrepairable damage.
“Two Futures (Parts 1 and 2)”- Dr Blight is at it again! This time creating a device that will allow her to travel back in time and increase global warming! During an attempt to stop Blight, Wheeler accidentally messes up the plan and he begins to doubt whether or not he should be a Planeeter. Blight uses this self doubt to convince Wheeler to go back in time to talk his younger-self out of wielding the power of fire and becoming a Planeeter. Gaia shows Wheeler a glimpse of the future where the Planeeters no longer exist, and where the Eco-Villains have taken control and have fully polluted the planet. Can one person alone make a difference and fix history?
Overall:
Captain Planet was definitely a staple of our childhood, and this new release from WBD is a nice addition to our DVD collections. It would have been nice to see some special features included, but this release is consistent with other complete series DVD sets that we’ve seen in recent years.
ComicsOnline gives Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise – 4 out of 5 pop culture DVD releases.
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