Three unique detectives, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, share a rental house in New Jersey. This mystery-solving trio is comprised of human-sized food products: Master Shake, the big-mouthed, self-appointed team leader with a short attention span and no work ethic; Frylock, the only reasonable member of the group, who happens to be a box of French-fried potatoes–spuds with power; and Meatwad, a talented round mound of meat who can take the shape of a hot dog or an igloo. Together, this triple threat tackles unusual cases from the luxury of a neighbor’s swimming pool–unless they’re confronted by danger. Then, of course, the three run like hell.
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Video Quality
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Baffler Meal Complete Collection comes to DVD in a 20-Disc set with a 480p transfer that looks pretty strong despite the lack of a HD option. These discs lack the definition that a Blu-Ray would provide, but it does mostly avoid an abundance of digital anomalies such as artifacting and digital noise. With a show that has been on so long, you can see improvements in the visual quality as it progresses, even if the show is purposefully a bit rough around the edges. This is a show bursting with bright colors throughout most of the run, and it still does somewhat pop off the screen despite format limitations. The disc provides fairly decent black levels for a clean viewing experience free of ugly crush. The animation style is distinct with harsh line detail which remains appropriately strong throughout with occasional instances of blurring and jagged texture along edges. The DVD presentation is a very enjoyable experience, but I would probably die from happiness if this one ever made its way to Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
This release boasts a Dolby Digital 2.0 track for the first volume and Aqua Something You Know Whatever, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track for the rest of the disc, all of which gets the job done well but feels somewhat restrained during some of the more chaotic moments. Dialogue is rendered clearly with no issues of clipping from what we observed. There is a fair amount of substance to the mix during the chaos of certain confrontations, but it does not hit like an action film or anything of that sort. There is some memorable music which this track provides with pleasing fidelity and clarity. Warner Bros. has done a fine job with this audio track considering the limitations of the format. Subtitle options are inconsistent throughout, but there are always English subtitles with French and Spanish included on some of the discs.
Special Features
Volume One
- Episode Commentaries
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- Rabbot – The Original Cut: Dave Willis, Matt Maiellaro, and Jay Edwards
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- Mayhem Of The Mooninites: Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro
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- Space Conflict From Beyond Pluto: Dave Willis, Dana Snyder, Andy Merrill and Carey Means
- Rabbot – The Original Cut: The original 15-minute pilot is provided here complete with unfinished animation.
- San Diego Comic-Con International 2002: A four-minute video in which Master Shake and Meatwad speak to the Comic Con audience.
- Easter Eggs: Click around on the menus a bit for some brief additional scenes and random videos.
Volume Two
- Episode Commentaries
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- Super Trivia: Dave Willis, Matthew I. Jenkins, C. Martin Croker, Bob Pettitt
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- Meat Zone: Jay Edwards, Ned Hastings, Scott Fry, Craig Hartin
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- Cybernetic Ghost Of Christmas Past From The Future: Dave Willis, Dana Snyder, Carey Means, Matt Maiellaro
- Baffler Meal: The 12-minute episode of Space Ghost Coast To Coast is provided here which provides an early incarnation of our Aqua Teen Hunger Force characters. This also includes an appearance from Willie Nelson.
- Baffler Meal Music Video: A three-minute music video performance is provided here.
- Future Wolf II: Never Cry Wolf – Origin Of The Series: A six-minute featurette which kind of explores the creation of the series through some fictionalized events.
- Future Wolf III: A 19-minute journey through early character designs, sketches, behind the scenes photos and more.
- Deleted Scenes: There are four unused scenes totaling nearly two minutes which provide some additional hilarious moments.
- Easter Eggs: Click around on the menus a bit for some brief additional scenes and random videos.
Volume Three
- Episode Commentaries
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- The Last One: Jay Edwards, John Brestan, Scott Fry, Carey Means, Dave Willis, Matt Maiellaro, Bob Pettitt and Craig Hartin
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- The Clowning: John Brestan, Scott Fry, Dave Willis, Matt Maiellaro, Jay Edwards, Vishal Roney, Dana Snyder, and Nick Ingkatanuwat
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- Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary: Jay Edwards, Ned Hastings, Nick Ingkatanuwat, Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Matt Maiellaro and Khaki Jones
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- The Shaving: Bob Pettitt, Ned Hastings, Dana Snyder, Craig Hartin, Vishal Roney, Scott Fry and Carey Means
- Scripts: You can find scripts read out loud for The Last One, Frat Aliens, The Dressing and Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary.
- Promos: Eleven promos are provided here.
- Karaoke: Three karaoke tracks are provided which tie into Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary.
- On Loan From The Private Collection of Vishal Roney: An eight-minute look at pencil tests and other rough sketches.
- How To Score Big – Making Money Writing For Television: A 36-minute piece which screws around for quite a while before finally getting to the point of a script read.
- [Put This On Your Phone For Instant Popularity]: Some audio fun with some of your favorite characters.
- Deleted Scenes: There are three unused scenes totaling nearly five minutes which provide some additional hilarious moments.
Volume Four
- Episode Commentaries: This volume seems like it was recorded during a company gathering with so many people coming in and out who do not clearly introduce themselves, so I will not attempt to list them all here.
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- Video Ouija
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- Unremarkable Voyage
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- Gee Whiz
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- eDork
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- Little Brittle
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- Mooninites 4: The Final Mooning
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- Dusty Gozongas
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- Hypno-Germ
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- Spacegate World
- Funny Pete Stuff: A nearly seven-minute collection of promo videos.
- San Diego Must Be Destroyed 2004: A three-minute video in which Master Shake, Meatwad and the Mooninites speak to the Comic Con audience.
- Spacecataz: A ten-minute piece which strings together all of the intros from this volume along with a proper ending.
- Raydon: A nearly 13-minute short film is provided here.
- F-Art: A 12-minute slideshow of fan art.
- The Faces In Front Of The Throats That Make The Voices That Speak Into The Microphone: A 21-minute behind-the-scenes look at the recording process of the series.
- Send Us Money For This: A 40-second tease of the Aqua Teen movie.
Volume Five
- Favorite Episodes Promos: A nearly 10-minute collection of brief promos mostly featuring the creators playing guitar on stage while some odd things occasionally happen.
- Aqua Teens Respond To The Critics: A five-minute piece in which various characters respond to the critics who didn’t like the Aqua Teen movie while encouraging audiences to go see the film.
- “I Like Your Booty But I’m Not Gay” Music Video: A two-minute animated video is provided here.
- ATHF Movie Premiere with Space Ghost: A 30-minute special in which a live action Space Ghost reports from the premiere of the Aqua Teen movie including interviews with the creative team and fans.
- Deleted Scenes: There are three unused scenes totaling nearly four minutes which provide some additional hilarious moments.
- Learn To Shred Like The Master: A minute-and-a-half humorous tutorial is provided here.
- Tera Patrick Eats A Hot Dog: A minute-long video giving a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of a memorable sequence.
- Granny Takes Her Top Off: A three-minute behind-the-scenes look at recording with grandma.
- Space Ghost Coast To Coast “Chambraigne”: A 12-minute episode of Space Ghost Coast To Coast which shows early iterations of some fan favorites.
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am Trailer: A minute-long video game trailer is provided.
- The Worst Game Ever: An interactive game is provided here.
Volume 6
- Episode Commentaries:
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- Reedickyoulus: Jay Edwards, Dave Willis, Dana Snyder
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- Hoppy Bunny: Dana Snyder, Nicholas Day, Thom Nicolette, Ted Murphy
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- The Marines: Dana Snyder, Alexander Katz, Dave Willis, Bob Pettitt, Jay Edwards
- I’m Pissed: There are 14 shorts clips totaling nearly 35 minutes of Carl spouting off about a range of topics, mostly involving sports. i
- More Funny Pete Stuff: A three-minute collection of amusing previews of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies.
- Terror Phone: A bizarre 14-minute live action short film involving a demonic telephone.
- ATHF Zombie Ninja Pro-Am Minus The Explosions: There are 17 clips totaling 25 minutes provided from the video game that came out around the time of this original release.
- Radical Axis Presents Radical Axis Presents: A nearly five-minute humorous behind-the-scenes look at Radical Axis.
Volume 7
- Live Action Behind The Scenes – The Making Of 12 Minutes Of Television That Changed Television For 12 Minutes: A nearly 19-minute look at the team gearing up for a live episode.
- Rubberman Behind The Scenes: Your Mom and Uncle Sing About Condoms: A nearly four-minute look at the creation of a notable song from the series.
- Dumb Down Your Smart Phone: A collection of audio clips are provided here of Carl and Meatwad that are centered around cell phones.
- Terror Phone II – The Legend Of Rakenstein: A nearly 16-minute installment in this strange short film series.
- Live Action Carl: The Dave Long Story – Shave Your Head, Grow A Mustache and Gain 80 lbs For A Shot At Fame: An 11-minute look at the realization of the “Live Action Carl” complete with differe
Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1: Season 1
- Terror Phone 3: A nearly 15-minute installment in this strange short film series.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Film For Theaters
- Audio Commentary: Patti Smith, Todd Hanson, Dana Snyder and Fred Armisen.
- Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (2:30), an Alternative Trailer (1:33), and a Sizzle Reel (3:46).
- The Thing We Shot Wednesday Night: A 26-minute making-of featurette which shows some table reads and more as the team collaborates on the film.
- Art & Music Gallery: A nearly 17-minute collection of sketches backed by some original rock music.
- Jon Schnepp 3D: A three-minute look at 3-D animation from the film without title credits.
- Deleted Movie: An alternate 80 minute version of the film which plays pretty closely to the feature film with some alterations inserted in the form of animatics, stills, rehearsal footage and more.
- Fake Endings: Ten unused endings are provided here.
- Deleted Scenes: Seven unused scenes totaling about 12 minutes are provided here. This also provides the Star-Studded X-Mas Spectacular.
- Music Videos: A collection of nine music videos and behind the scenes footage of musical portions of the film.
- Pete Promos: Three promos totaling nine minutes are provided here.
- Legal Page
Final Thoughts
Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of the all-time great Adult Swim shows thanks to its balance of clever, confident writing and its embrace of the utterly unhinged. Even if you just had the main trio of characters, you would have enough to keep you entertained for a very long time, but the wide array of personalities they bring into the fold elevates the humor tenfold. Even with it lasting for over a decade, the show never got stale. For the first time, the complete run of this show has been brought together on DVD in one collection that sports a good A/V presentation and many interesting special features. Those who are a fan of audacious, boundary-pushing animation with tons of laughs should consider this a must-own. Highly Recommended
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Baffler Meal Complete Collection is currently available to purchase on DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.