|
DVDs for your inner 10-year-old |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by asap
|
|
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
 Being an adult isn't always fun. But thanks to the popularity of 1980s cartoon series on DVD, more grown-ups are recapturing their childhoods one half-hour at a time.
"It's kind of fun to come home after a stressful day and watch something that you watched as a kid," said 25-year-old K.C. Spangle, who bought the Voltron DVD that was released last month. "For that little bit of time, you can forget about having to go back to work the next day."
 There's never been a better time to reconnect with your inner 10-year-old. In November alone, cartoon fans can look forward to DVD releases from the She-Ra, Transformers, Voltron and Thundercats series.
The busy slate of releases is spurred in part by the unexpected recent success of cartoon DVDs. Last month, some Best Buy and Wal-Mart locations couldn't keep the first volume of  Voltron: Defender of the Universe in stock, said Tiffany Ilardi, a spokeswoman for the DVD's distributor World Events Productions. Meanwhile, Thundercats and He-Man releases in 2005 exceeded expectations at Warner Home Video and BCI Eclipse, the series' respective distributors.
Hollywood has taken notice of the cartoons' resurgence in popularity, with a live-action Transformers movie scheduled for release in the summer and a live-action Voltron movie planned for 2008.
 Still, some adults feel the need to conceal the extent of their affection for these cartoons. When Spangle told his wife they needed to stop at Best Buy recently, he said he tried to act surprised when he saw the new Voltron DVD set sitting on the shelf.
"My wife gave me a look like, 'Are you kidding?'" said the Wilmington, N.C., resident. "But then I get to give her the same hard time when she buys Disney cartoons."
Leona Stevens, 28, of Binghamton, N.Y., said it's been a little easier for her to get away with buying all of the He-Man DVDs over the past year.
"When I go to the store, I have my 5-year-old and 3-year-old daughters with me," Stevens said. "It looks like I'm buying it for them, so I don't get so many strange looks, but I'm really buying it for me."
Stevens has been pleasantly surprised to find that her daughters actually enjoy the He-Man cartoons and are eagerly awaiting the release of She-Ra: Princess of Power.
Chad O'Rourke, 26, of Lexington, Ky., said the Voltron DVDs have given him a chance to spend more time with his 4-year-old daughter.
"I saw it online and thought, maybe I'd go out and buy it," O'Rourke said. "Now my daughter is always saying, 'Daddy, I want to watch the lions.'"
Both fans and distributors seem to agree that now is a great time to be releasing cartoons from the '80s on DVD. Besides the convenience and flexibility offered by DVD that wasn't really possible with VHS, the primary demographic seems to be at just the right age.
Besides a lack of nostalgia, O'Rourke had a more pragmatic reason for not being as interested in the shows ten years ago.
"I probably wouldn't have had the money then," O'Rourke said. "Plus, in high school, you wouldn't want your friends knowing you were buying cartoons."
Spangle agreed that he never would have discussed cartoons with his friends in high school. However, the last time Spangle visited his hometown, he went out with some high school buddies, and they all started reminiscing about cartoons they watched as kids.
"The entire group has kind of shifted," Spangle said. "So we're at the bar, and we're all sitting around, drinking our beers, talking about cartoons."
___
On the Web:
Transformers movie: http://www.transformersthemoviedvd.com
Upcoming releases: http://www.inkandpaintdvd.com
Voltron: http://www.voltron.com
___
asap contributor David Fischer works in the AP's Miami bureau. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
