Sony | 2010 | 313 mins. | NR
Without a doubt, Boondocks isn’t for everyone. Controversial, Aaron McGruder first created the comic strip for The Diamondback (the University of Maryland’s independent student newspaper) in 1997; The Boondocks soon made its way to the pages of The Source, and received a distribution deal with Universal Press Syndicate in 1999. Its history in newspapers has been shaky; several papers dropped the strip due to complaints from readers. Nonetheless, The Boondocks remained a popular enough entry to be developed into an animated series, with the television and film rights quickly snapped up by Sony. Unfortunately, the strip has been on hiatus since 2006.
Boondocks debuted as part of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. Anyone familiar with the series knows that McGruder’s characters are an outlet for his political views. Namely, Huey, the narrator and one of the series’ main characters; voiced by Regina King, he is politically militant. His younger brother Riley (also voiced by King), is eight and far more interested in pop culture than politics. The two boys are being raised by their granddad (John Witherspoon), Robert Jebediah Freeman in the peaceful suburb of Woodcrest, Illinois.
The Huey of the third season seems a bit muted. In the season premiere, “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman” is a look at Barack Obama’s presidential victory, and different individual’s reactions to it. As one might expect, some are thrilled while others are horrified. Huey treats the victory with a decided air of nonchalance. To him, it’s business as usual.
Like the previous season, The Boondocks mixes off color humor with social commentary. In “The Red Ball,” we get an examination of foreign policy set against a pretty serious kickball game. Most of the episodes are like this, a heavy message framed against something that borders on the ridiculous. The third season’s fifteen episodes features an impressive roster of guest stars including the following: Bill Maher, Werner Herzog, Ed Asner, Charlie Murphy and Billy Dee Williams.
Presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio and enhanced for 16×9 displays, The Boondocks boasts a strong color palette that helps to accentuate the visual design. Like the previous seasons, several episodes suffer from interlacing issues and mild compression artifacts. Otherwise, The Boondocks looks good and should please fans.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix is clean and clear, boasting strong bass that suits the dialogue-driven show. The music plays an important part in many episodes, and it often extends to the rear channels along.
Cedric Yarbrough and Gary Anthony Williams provide short introductions and conclusions that bookend all of season three’s episodes. These are supplemented by Audio Commentaries with Yarbrough and Williams (also featuring John Witherspoon) during “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman”, “Stinkmeaner III: The Hateocracy”, “Mr. Medicinal” and “The Fried Chicken Flu”. These commentaries are pretty funny…but with no input from series creator Aaron McGruder, they lack a little bit of weight. Also peppered throughout all three discs are a few Animatic to Screen Comparisons.
The only two remaining extras are collected on Disc 4. “Slink on the Street: Who is Your Favorite Character?” (3:19) is a collection of interviews with costumed convention attendees. We also get a Sketch Gallery by supervising director Seung Eun Kim These bonus features are presented in anamorphic widescreen and include no Closed Captions or subtitles.
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
