Captain Planet and the Planeteers: The Complete Franchise
review by Bobby Blakey
All of us have those cartoons we loved as a kid and the nostalgia that comes along with them. For me there was an era in the late 80s that I loved despite being older at the time with shows like Silverhawks, Bionic Six, M.A.S.K., Galaxy Rangers and of course G.I. Joe, He-Man and Transformers. In 1990 a new series with a message looked to take the fun of these others and bring more focus to saving the environment with Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The series ran for six seasons and even had a crossover with the show OK K.O.! in 2017.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers follows 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.
The show follows all the criteria of the shows of the time complete with over-the-top wacky villains and plenty of action and adventure. The idea was a head of its time when it was released with it solely focusing on saving the planet which is both
unique and the reason the series never really worked for me. The animation and characters work with it leaning towards trying to walk the line of the younger and older kids of the time.
The idea of these kids coming together from all different places around the world is fantastic and gives it a representation element that wasn’t seen as often then. Them needing each other to conjure up Captain Planet has a message all its own, but it is also the reason the show wears thin pretty quick. Every episode feels less like straight up action and fun instead they have taken the vignettes that we used to get to learn things in shows like G.I. Joe but made whole episodes about it.
Every episode comes off more preachy than fun after a while and the sole reason I walked away from it before ever really got into when was originally released. While I appreciate it a little more now, I still get frustrated with it being shoved down my throat so I still couldn’t get into it still to this day. I know that is the point of the show, but I think it could have worked so much better had they made it feel more natural instead of in your face.
The animation still holds up and looks great but can someone please tell me why they don’t just summon Captain Planet right away as none of these kids can ever do anything. When he does show up, he gets smacked around every episode in a formula they needed to think more about. The show delivers for those that were into it and I am sure will find an audience with our more ecofriendly attempts on the world these days so hopefully this new release will find the audience that it deserves.
This new collection features both Captain Planet and the Planeteers animated series in 1990 that lead into The New Adventures of Captain Planet animated series that has now come together for the first time ever on DVD with all 113 episodes from the iconic franchise. The series features an all-star voiceover cast including Martin Sheen, Meg Ryan, Whoopi Goldberg and LeVar Burton as well as a great collection of special guests including Danny Glover, Louis Gossett Jr., Phyllis Diller, Fred Savage, Neil Patrick Harris, Vanna White, the late Kevin Conroy and so many more.
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Grab your copy of Captain Planet and the Planeteers: The Complete Franchise when it hits DVD on October 15th from Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment.