Warner Brothers Archive Collection / 1982 / 312 mins / NR

THE SERIES:
Video arcade games were certainly the rage back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and one of the most popular, iconic and enduring games of them all is undoubtedly the Pac-Man franchise. It is no wonder that marketing suits everywhere were jumping on Pac-Man Mania, trying to sell every conceivable item they could think of with the bright yellow character and the four ghosties that chased him. It was and continues to be one of the most beloved arcade games of all time. One of the most bizarre things to come out of Pac Mania was an animated series (the first ever based on a video game). And even more bizarre, it was created by the legendary animation studio of Hanna-Barbera, creators of THE FLINTSTONES, THE JETSONS and a boat load of other major cartoon superstars.

The series ran in ABC’s Saturday morning kids line up from 1982 - 1983. Each episode featured two different cartoons. The series was so popular, that it not only was renewed for a second season, it also can boast having TWO Prime Time holiday specials (one for Halloween and the other for Christmas.)

The story lines for all 13 episodes (or 26 cartoons depending on how you count them) in this set are very similar: Pac-Man (voiced by Marty Ingels) and his family, wife Pepper (Barbara Minkus), child Pac-Baby (Russi Taylor), dog Chomp-Chomp (Frank Welker) and their cat Sour Puss (Neil Ross) all live happily in Pac-Land, which looks a little bit like a rounded, softer version of Bedrock. The evil Mezmaron (Allan Lurie), who looks suspiciously like Darth Vader would look without his helmet in the following year’s RETURN OF THE JEDI, and his hench-ghosts Blinky, Pinky (both voiced by Chuck McCann), Inky (Barry Gordon), Clyde (Neil Ross) and Sue (Susan Silo) desperately attempt to find the location of the “Power Pellets” that give the Pac family their ghost munching abilities. That’s it, folks. You could apply that synopsis to almost every episode.

Looking at the PAC-MAN series today from an adult perspective, I have to wonder what we were all on as kids in the 80’s. This is a seriously trippy cartoon, not unlike the wild and weird world of the TELETUBBIES. While things don’t simply happen in a stream of conscious manner (most of the series was written by veteran cartoon writer Jeffrey Scott of SUPER-FRIENDS fame after all), the visuals certain do. Pepper finds a batch of “Power Pellets” and tosses them in the air, quickly to be followed by Pac-Man floating through the air munching them ala the game. Most Dr. Seuss characters would feel right at home in Pac-Land. Is this a good cartoon series? Not really. There just isn’t anything substantial there. Is it an excellent look into the pop culture psyche of the early 1980’s? Oh yeah!

THE DISC:
While these don’t appear to have been restored at all, the full frame 1.33 transfers look amazingly bright and colorful for a thirty year old cartoon. The odd light scratch, light speckling and dirt do pop up here and there, but they are not in the slightest bit distracting. The source prints used for this set are in excellent condition and this oddball cartoon looks far better than it has any right to.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack is likewise very clear and clean. The soundtrack consists of nothing but dialogue, goofy sound effects and music so don’t expect any immersion or depth, but true to the original broadcast this disc sounds great.

THE EXTRAS:
Nothing.

MY SAY:
This is one out there cartoon, but one iconic of its era. If you are a fan of the PAC-MAN cartoon series you should be very happy with the set Warner Archives is delivering here. Wocka-Wocka-Wocka!

Reviewed by Jeff Allen