DVD REVIEW FOR "THE LITTLE RASCALS" (1994) (Travis Tedford, Bug Hall) (PG)
Length
Screen Format(s)
Languages
Subtitles
Sound
Sides
83 minutes
Letterbox (1.85:1) 16x9 - Widescreen
English French Spanish
English Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.0
1
Plot: The big screen remake of the classic childrens shorts has Spanky and his "He-Man Womun Haters Club" trying to breakup the romance between Alfalfa and Darla while also trying to recover their go-cart for a big race.
(Parental Review currently not available)
VIDEO:
(B) Beyond some film artifacts (scratches, etc...), the film suffers from compression-related pixelation that's noticeable throughout much of the picture, particularly in any shots that show the sky (whether blue or grey colored) or any other lighter solid colors. In addition, the picture occasionally has that frozen or slow-motion look to it that's also a result of poorly handled compression.
While that's a noticeable drawback and the picture consequently doesn't look as sharp as it should, the rest of the picture quality is okay, with decent amounts of detail and good color saturation.
AUDIO:
(A) Despite the absence of the .1 part (the subwoofer output) of the usually standard Dolby Digital 5.1 sound-field (this one arrives only as 5.0), the audio still sounds great. While this sort of film obviously doesn't ask much from the soundtrack, a few spatial effects are present and the lively musical score -- including the well-know Rascals theme and more modern tunes) -- perfectly complements the film's tone.
EXTRAS:
Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
Production Notes -- 13 pages of on-screen text.
Cast & Director Biographies and Filmographies.
Theatrical trailer.
COMMENTS:
Obviously aimed at young kids who probably aren't even aware of the original Hal Roach shorts, and more suited for the small screen than its original theatrical release, the film has the right spirit and is a decent big screen adaption of those classic films. A series of cameos by the likes of Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Daryl Hannah and Donald Trump, etc..., however, that were obviously included to appease the parents of the target audience, add little to the proceedings.
What's not included -- probably to avoid comparisons and perhaps for legal reasons -- is any supplemental video material on those original B&W shorts. It would have been nice to have seen a documentary about them and/or whatever happened to the kids who starred in them.
Instead, some brief production notes and the standard filmographies/biographies and theatrical trailer are all that's present. Even so, younger kids will probably enjoy the film and it's bearable enough for the parents to sit there with them and reminisce about watching the original productions when they were kids themselves.
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