Redwall Season One Slipcover – Front
A few weeks ago, FUNimation Entertainment released Redwall – Season One on DVD– a two disc set containing the first thirteen episodes of the series. All thirteen episodes have been reviewed in-depth on RWTV: Redwall on TV, so there’s little need to get into specifics here. However, I’m sure many fans are curious as to what the set looks like and what is included on it, so here are some impressions and an idea of what you can expect out of the purchase.
First and foremost you’ll be struck by the fact that the packaging looks nothing like the previously released cover art. While that art is present on the case itself, the primary attention-getter is the slipcover (seen left). The slipcover is simple cardboard, with no top or bottom, that is made up to look like an aged leather book cover with a circular impression of Matthias above the title of the show. The spine of the case continues the theme, with “Brian Jacques’ Redwall Season One” done up to look like it’s been embossed into the leather. The back of the slipcover is a simple affair, a piece of parchment rolled out against the leather. It lists the titles of each episode, the extras, and includes a quote from Brian Jacques (see below).
Slide the slipcover off, you’re greeted with a more traditional DVD package sporting the cover art seen in online catalog listings (below), of Matthias’ attempt to recover the lost tapestry from Cluny. The back contains a simple description of the show over Matthias and Cluny’s duel, next to a sidebar of six screenshots (again, see below).
Somewhat disappointingly, the inside of the set consists of only the two discs– no booklet or insert is to be found. The first disc once again shows Matthias and Cluny’s duel, while the second shows Matthias with Abbot Mordalfus (for the last time, see below). Disc one contains episodes 1 thru 7, disc two contains episodes 8 thru 13.
Redwall Season One Slipcover – Back
As far as DVD extras go, they remain sparse. Disc one contains “The Characters of Redwall”– six text biographies next to a picture of the character in question. Matthias, Cornflower, Cluny, Abbot Mortimer, Constance, and Basil Stag Hare are the only characters to receive bios– probably because they comprise the principal cast of the show.
On disc two, we have “The Artwork of Redwall”, which is an image gallery of promotional RWTV artwork. In essence, you’ll find the various covers for previous VHS and DVD releases in here, sans title dress. Sadly, nothing too groundbreaking.
Rounding out the discs are previews for other titles from Nelvana/FUNimation. Most of these are of no interest to Redwall fans. Included on disc one’s rundown is a preview for The Redwall Movie, which consists of a short scene (Cluny taking over the Abbey) and a title card. On disc two’s rundown, we find a preview for Redwall Season Two (aka Mattimeo), which consists of season two’s opening animation set to season one’s audio track and a “Coming Soon” title card.
As for the episodes themselves, picture and sound quality is great and vastly superior to any VHS copy out there. The opening and credits air with each episode, rather than simply bumpering the first and last ones.
All things considered, RWTV was given a fairly nice DVD release. Fans of the show should keep an eye out for it.
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