With the vast number of different Justice League cartoons that have been created since the 1960s, it’s easy to get ‘em all mixed up – Super Friends, Challenge of the Super Friends, DC Super Heroes, The Super Powers Team, The Legendary Super Powers Show, Newhart – but the clearest distinction can be made with The All New Super Friends Hour, because this is the show that everyone remembers. Maybe because it was the most ridiculous, and maybe because this was the first appearance of the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna.
It’s hard to ignore a couple of teenagers in purple spandex who have a spring-loaded monkey. As hard as you might try. Man, we tried.
This is the second volume of this ‘All New’ version of the show, as created by Hanna Barbera in 1977. In true Barbera style, the animation is charmingly recycled to a very noticeable degree, and bombastic music is used in the background of every scene, creating an atmosphere of pure action and adventure. Since the cartoons aired before I was born, I can’t claim any nostalgic value, but of all of the cartoons of the 1970s, this one seems to have the most cultural relevance today.
In my teen years, this was the show that was parodied more than anything else, when Cartoon Network was defining itself and got permission to recycle the entire library of old Hanna Barbera animation into new shows and shorts. From that, we got Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021, some aspects of Harvey Birdman : Attorney At Law, and effectively, the whole [adult swim] block of cartoons – the part of the animation renaissance that I quietly obsess over.
Best of all, the very first episode in this set includes two things that I immediately recognize as an avid cartoon watcher in the 90s. First, the infamous Wonder Twins ‘Gopher Moat’ episode, which is a testament to how completely absurd the whole cartoon was in general. You can watch the parody on YouTube, but the original episode wasn’t too much different – which is amazing in its own respect. Additionally, the first episode also includes ‘Coming of the Arthropods’, which includes an army of bugs that look suspiciously like Space Ghost’s Zorak. Hannah Barbera didn’t limit their animation recycling to within the same shows, clearly.
It’s also interesting that Jayna can just say ‘form of a space insect!’ and become one. I mean, I’d just turn into an all-purpose Razor-Fisted Deathosaurus, but I guess that those Wonder Twins weren’t too bright. For proof, please see ‘Gopher Moat’ – and the 12-minute special feature on disc two that details both how horrible and how awesome these guys are.
The DVD includes eight episodes over 366 minutes – each episode divided into four team-up episodes, and interspersed with safety tips and secret code segments, as well as the ‘coming up next’ previews, which were left in tact. Seeing all of the original stuff in context, all of the slips and scratches together in one place, is neat. And of course, an essential part of your superhero or animation collections. It’s all packaged together in a slim cardboard slipcase, so it doesn’t even take up any real space – and it’s definitely good for a well-natured laugh.
Aquaman getting half-eaten by an invisible shark should be required viewing anyhow.
