Paramount Studios presents

The Fairly OddParents: School's Out! The Musical (2005)

"Be the first day of summer, already!"- Timmy Turner (Tara Strong)

Stars: Tara Strong, Daran Norris, Carlos Alazraqui, Susanne Blakeslee
Other Stars: Ben Stein, Method Man, Redman
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:24m:05s
Release Date: 2005-06-14
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A-	B+	A	B+	C-

 

DVD Review

The arsenal of programming that the Nickelodeon Channel is armed with seems to be endless. One of their newer broadcasting weapons is the hit show, The Fairly OddParents. This is the story of Timmy, a seemingly normal boy who has a strange pair of "friends." These "friends" are Cosmo and Wanda, Timmy's godparents. They aren't normal godparents, though, they're winged, fairy godparents who grant his every wish.

Timmy's wishes aren't always the wisest of desires, and, when granted, often get him and the town of Dimmsdale into more trouble than he can handle. Cosmo and Wanda must stay hidden at all times, so they usually assume the form of objects that are nearby at times when a "normal" person almost sees them for what they really are.

The key to the show's charm is Timmy's interactions with one of the meanest babysitters in TV history, Vicki. She does all she can to make Timmy's life miserable, and is also the absolute laziest babysitter that money can buy. Vicki almost serves as the voice of the more skeptical viewer, trying to keep things on a realistic level, but still thinking of no one but herself most of the time.

The Fairly OddParents is geared towards pre-teens for the most part, but the little ones will enjoy the characters as well. The big perk of the show is that enough of the jokes and just plain weird humor will appeal to adults as well. I rank this third behind SpongeBob SquarePants and The PowerPuff Girls, as recent cartoons that adults might actually even enjoy slightly more than their children.

Schools Out! The Musical is the near-feature-length episode (47 minutes) of the show, and it is the best story this group of writers has come up with yet. With summer just beginning, Timmy is looking forward to some rest and relaxation. That is, until his parents send him to Flappy Bob's Camp Learn-a-torium, where he is miserable. Things quickly turn around, though, after Timmy wishes that the kids were in charge, and many musical numbers ensue.

A musical episode isn't exactly a new gimmick (it was successfully done in the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer series, for example). It's a little easier to pull off in an animated series, however, as everything is already larger than life and colorful.

The voice work is priceless, with regulars Tara Strong, Daran Norris, Reno 911!'s Carlos Alazraqui, and Susanne Blakeslee flawlessly embodying their respective characters, and guest stars Ben Stein (The Boring Pixies), Method Man, and Redman (The Rapping Pixies) doing great work as well. It's amazing how a bunch of unforgettable voices can simply make an animated show.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The great hand-drawn animation looks even better than it does on television, with colors that are even more bright and vivid, which I didn't think was possible. The full frame transfers also exhibit a great deal of detail, with well defined lines that give each character his own distinct look. There aren't any color blemishes or bleeding, making this a great reference discs for how modern TV animation should appear on DVD.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English, French	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio pales in comparison to the video, but serves its purpose and is slightly more robust than the show sounds on TV. Directionality is utilized to create an enveloping effect during the livelier sequences, and the dialogue is always clearly delivered.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 4 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
5 Other Trailer(s) featuring Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, DuelMasters: From Wizards of the Coast
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Oh Yeah! Shorts: Early animated incarnations of The Fairly OddParents.
2. The Fairly OddParents on MTV's TRL: Clip with the MTV VJ, Quddus.

Extras Review: There are a couple of extras on this disc, including a collection of previews for other Paramount Home Video releases. There's also a pair of Oh Yeah! Shorts, which are brief, early animated clips featuring the characters from The Fairly OddParents. These are interesting because the animation is rough and they make a nice comparison to the current productions of the show.

The Fairly OddParents on MTV's TRL is a two-minute piece where MTV VJ Quddus pays a visit to Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda in Dimmsdale.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

This nice DVD treatment of The Fairly OddParents: School's Out! The Musical will only further whet fans' appetites for season boxed sets of the show. Still, having this elongated version of an episode at the ready is a definite plus, making this a no-brainer purchase for kids and parents of all ages.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-06-15