It is an age of men and beasts. Centuries of war have left nothing but a dying planet to conquer. Habitable lands have become scarce, and toxic wastelands stretch to the edge of the world. Hidden beneath this desolation lives the Mad Doctor Mindskull. Originally created to be the first super-being, he was split in two when fears arose, dividing his superior strength from his superior mind. As a result, two beings were created: one with abnormal super strength but the brain of a child, and the other a super genius, but with a weak and frail body. Although the physical strength could be contained, a mind so powerful could not, and Dr. Mindskull became an uncontrollable danger—capable of anything imaginable, and even things once thought impossible. Now, plotting against the human race, he has created the ultimate weapon. Using the planet’s core essence of life and creation, he wields the power of death and total annihilation. Can mankind find a way to stop Dr. Mindskull before his vision of a new world is complete? The only answer lies out of reach… within the Nova Seed.

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Video Quality

Nova Seed arrives on Blu-Ray with a lovely 1080p presentation that allows the film to look its best. The charming animation style exudes a singular quality that delights in the scrappy nature of the production. The lines are not quite crisp and perfect, but they are not supposed to be with this aesthetic intention. The screen appears to be notably clear with a world of textures within the artwork. The colors look amazing with bold primaries making an impression. There are no major digital anomalies present such as compression artifacts or unsightly banding. All of the material within the film looks as strong as you would wish for an independent endeavor. Cartuna continues to be an exciting space for animation.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that shows some of the limitations of the production. As noted in the end credits, no post-audio facilities were used in this version of the film and all sound FX come from the original source files. This means that the original voice recordings struggle to sound homogeneous with a bit of a tinny or hollow quality. We respect DIY filmmaking, but we have to advocate for putting in the effort to get your film properly finished with pleasant audio. It is not a complete travesty by any means, but it does sound a bit jarring to experience the lacking element. That being said, it is a shortcoming with the source and not an issue with the track. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Nick DiLiberto provides a commentary track over a video that shows the finished movie on the left side and the original storyboards on the right. There are some great insights into the production of the film and the narrative at large.

Original Trailer #1 (0:47)

Original Trailer #2 (0:39)

Original Trailer #3 (0:59)

Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring artwork from the production is provided.

Final Thoughts

Nova Seed is a big, ambitious adventure that quickly establishes and explores its world to very entertaining effect. The film obviously lacks the resources of many of the animated features that typically make their way to our screens, yet it makes up for it in other ways. There is a lot packed into this hour that impresses and delights. Cartuna has released a Blu-Ray featuring a good A/V presentation and a small assortment of special features. Animation fans should definitely give this one a spin. Recommended

Nova Seed is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome or select indie retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cartuna and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.