Review of House Of Rock

Introduction

Initially shown late at night as part of Channel 4`s `4Music`, `House of Rock` follows the lives of dead rock stars `in limbo` and trapped in a house together. The animated late musicians include Freddie Mercury, John Denver, Kurt Cobain, the Notorious B.I.G. and John Lennon. In these circumstances, tensions run high, arguments break out and no-one can decide what to watch on the TV.

The disc comprises the ten 11-minute episodes from season 2 and two bonus cartoons.

Video

The animation style is basic, similar to `2DTV` or `Monkey Dust` and is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1; the transfer is very sharp, with terrific definition.

Audio

Like the video, the disc only has the DD 2.0 stereo that it was broadcast in, but as this is dialogue-driven, there is no need for surrounds, so the stereo soundtrack is perfectly adequate.

Features

The only extra features are two 11-minute cartoons from Fireside Favourites, which I didn`t actually find that funny. `All Aboard the Cat Bus` follows Gwyneth Paltrow, driving the titular vehicle, whilst trying to find her English accent. `Popcultamania` is a quiz show, hosted by an animated Alfred Hitchcock, with animated team captains Andy Warhol and Che Guevara. The guests are real, appearing in TV sets next to the team captains, but the whole thing is a bad idea and not worth your time.

I would have liked to hear from the creator and voice artists, to see how they devised the show, if there were any legal obstacles and the process of creating `House of Rock`.

Conclusion

A show poking fun at the dead is clearly not aimed at the easily offended and those interested in this disc will undoubtedly know what they are letting themselves in for. Behind the parody is an obvious affection for the lampooned celebrities with a keen eye for their character traits: Kurt Cobain is a doped-up paranoiac, Freddie Mercury is a self-obsessed drama queen, John Lennon is a laid-back hippie, Notorious B.I.G. is an aggressive, gun-toting homophobe and John Denver is the calm little religious centre of the house.

`House of Rock` is not the most accomplished (the voices aren`t even remotely accurate) or consistently funny animated show ever made, but it is amusing, enjoyable and eminently re-watchable, with the short episodes not requiring a great investment of time or attention. Almost the cartoon equivalent of `Stella Street`, this is funny not because it`s precise and logical, but because the situations are so off the wall, the characters so exaggerated and the jokes so outrageous.

From everything that I can find, series 2 comprised 11 episodes, the first being an awards ceremony, yet this disc contains only 10, beginning with `Big Brother` - an episode in which Marc Bolan was voted off the show to be replaced by John Lennon. I imagine for big fans of the show that the omission of one of the episodes will be annoying and a let-down and I don`t understand why it`s not included. Actually, come to think of it: where`s the first series?

If you loved the show when it was originally broadcast, then you`ve probably been waiting for a DVD for years, but in all likelihood this won`t live up to your hopes due to the extra features and what isn`t there, rather than what is. A recommended purchase for avid fans and a disc worth checking out for anyone else.