When a nasty bite by an irradiated spider endows teenager Peter Parker with miraculous, arachnid-like powers, his death defying heroism wins him admiration from those in need. But being a superhero has its drawbacks...espe... more »cially when you're in college! As Peter gains the trust of his friends, the police call him a vigilante. But he meets the challenge by exercising his wonderful powers for the good of all. Multi-talented performer Neil Patrick Harris (Undercover Brother, Starship Troopers), television star Ian Ziering ("Beverly Hills 90210"), and singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb ("Cake and Pie"), lend their vocal talents to this thrilling, computer-animated version of the comic book classic and mega-hit feature film, Spider-Man.« less
"I bought this DVD blind just because I wanted to see it and I've been getting into animation lately in my DVD collecting. Let me tell ya folks, this is a great series...for several reasons.
1) The CG animation, although a bit awkward at times with "regular" human movement and such, it really shines during the Spidey and villian "battles". Just the fact that the animation is all in 3D (put with a 2D look), allows the camera to do some really interesting things, from pans, to spins, to rotations, and fly-thrus, and of course, the ultra-cool slo-mo effects. This kind of camera control is something that just isn't possible in a traditionally hand-drawn cartoon.
2) The action sequences in general. This isn't your grandfather's Spider-Man. Much like Mainframe Entertainment's other CG shows, the action is much more mature than your ordinary animated show. By that I mean the fight scenes and the "chases" are much more intense and, shall I say, violent than anything else I've seen in a cartoon such as this. In fact, there's actually moments of blood from both Spidey and his enemies. And as some of you may know, blood is almost always a "no-no" for childrens' animated shows. So just with that, the viewer can easily tell that this show was made for a much more mature audience, which is always good in this circumstance, especially for comic book heroes.
3) The audio and video presentation. The video is presented in 1.78 anamorphic widescreen and is extremely sharp. Even looks good on a computer via DVD-ROM drive. And the soundtrack is recorded in both DTS and DD 5.1 (always a plus for any show, eh?) Also the widescreen presentation gives the show a bit of a epic cinematic feel to it. How many cartoons do you know that were created in widescreen?
4) The villians. The villians, some classic (with new looks), others new, were all great with maybe the exception of one, but that's to one's taste. I thought the Terradax group were awesome. Their suits and weapons were just too cool. And again, the maturity of the dialogue for the villians and actions are just what makes these villians great.
So with all that said, let's all hope that this series gets picked up by some outlet for another season or more. I'd love to see what the creators could do with the Venon and Carnage saga. Hell, even Doc Oc, Green Goblin, and Hobgoblin would be great. But can we get Parker out of college? Being almost 10 years out myself, I despise the college atmosphere anymore. Too many crazy activists and party animals."
Spider-man the animated Series...REVAMPED!!!!
heavensfalcon | Port Orange, FL USA | 12/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One Word...AWESOME!!! I was a bit skeptical at first, it being on MTV and all, but I was impressed. I've been a big fan of spider-man since I was like 4 or 5, and I got to see all the reruns of Spider-man and His amazing Friends(ok, it was just ok...), and the original 1968 series. When they came out with the SPIDER-MAN THE ANIMATED SERIES show, I was excited with the premiere episode in December with the Lizard. Then Feb 4th of 1994 I was pumped. The show ended on a clif hanger. The that horrible show, SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED came on...Oh, the animation was ok, but the plots, the characters, Venom and Carnage in general, were HORRIBLE!!!, thank goodness it only lasted like 41-43 episodes. I watched it, but I was kinda freaked out by all that went on in it, being like Marvel didn't even have a hand in the series... It's been a few years since it ended, and after the Spidey movie came out, I couldn't wait for something else to come out...then, this past Summer, SPIDER-MAN came out on MTV(the horror something like that on MTV, but I dealt with it...)...MAN THIS SERIES ROCKED!!!, I mean it was GREAT!!!...by the time the series ended, at the end of September, early October, I was like, WHAT, THAT'S IT?!...I was bummed out, and then like a week or so later, I looked up what would become of it, and lo, and behold, IT'S COMING OUT ON DVD!!!! I can't wait to get it on DVD!!!. This series is gonna be great when they get the second season rolling. I thoroughly enjoyed the first season, and the animation was a bit wierd at first, but I got used to it in like 3-5 minutes, the cell shading is great, I like that it's like watching video game-type graphics, and the stories are great...I MEAN, WITH THE GREAT BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS WRITING THIS, HOW CAN IT BE BAD!!!?!?!? He is a great writer, being his older series and his newer work in the new ULTIMATE UNIVERSE...I think this series is really gonna stick this time, with an actual Spider-man Comic book writer writing it, instead of someone just pulling stuff from the comics, or just out of thin air. That's why I think Spider-man 2 the movie is gonna be better than the first(well, how much better do you want it other than organic web fluid, but hey, beggars can't be choosers...)...J. Michael Straczynski lending a hand with the movie, I think it'll be so much closer to the comics than ever before, which for some people, might be bad, but for me, I'll be a happy person...lolSo, Kudos to this DVD, I'll be waiting for with baited breath for it's arrival...and until Batman runs off with Wonder Woman, Make Mine Marvel!!!"
Ultimate Spider-Man: The Animated Series. 'Nuff Said.
Robert D Wilson | Near Washington, D.C. | 11/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the most perfect Spider-Man series of any yet made. Though it lacked the jazzy tunes of the original sixties series ;-), it far surpassed the convoluted mess that Marvel gave us in the early 90s.With Brian Michael Bendis as an executive producer, how could this not be good? The visuals were excellent, lending a nifty neo-comic-book feel to the environments. The stories were inventive, coming up with some nifty new spins on classic pieces of the Spidey mythos. The best revision, of course, was that written by the not-infalliable-but-close BMB himself; taking the one-d villain Electro in a direction different from either the main or Ultimate comics stories but no less entertaining. The Legion of Super Voice-Actors is in great form here: Neil Harris, Lisa Loeb, and Ian Ziering turn in performances that are almost always sonically superior to Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco respectively. The guest stars shine, most notably Stan "the Man" Lee himself as Ezekiel (or whatever they called him, the guy who advised Peter to kill Kraven).In short, if you're any sort of Spider-Man fan and you didn't catch it the first time around, I highly recommend purchasing the DVD of this series. It's something for everyone: a continuation of the movie in bite-size chunks, an animated adaptation of Ultimate Spider-Man, a way to get pumped for 2004's Spider-Man 2, and just a rollicking great cartoon all around. Five stars.A single caveat: If you didn't know, this cartoon originally aired on MTV. With that sort of a target audience in mind, it should be no surprise that they made this series UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. If you're a parent who considered 2002's Spider-Man movie too intense for your child (as many, quite reasonably, did) this series is not a wise investment. Rather, find some of the other fine animated Spider-Man DVDs avaliable on Amazon.com- the ones you're looking for say (Animated), in parentheses, after the title, and are suitable for all ages."
Not really for kids
A. Richards | 09/28/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The series is entertaining for adults, however, you may not want to buy
this for kids. I bought it for my 9 yr old son. The story lines and animation
are good... but... lots of sexual innuendo. And some curse words. Why the
cursing is in there is beyond me. must be an MTV thing. but it ruins
the show for broad viewing. The sexual implications are also unnecessary but added in to entice hormone-overdosed kids."
A fantastic series!
Blindguy07 | Arkansas, Conway, USA | 08/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I ask people if they remember this version of Spider-man from Mtv, most of them usually(and here I'm guessing) just shake their heads. But if you haven't seen this shortlived hit, you need to experience it. This version has more of a comicbook feel to it because it was geared toward an older audience. Young adults, I believe. But it felt more real than any other animated version I've been introduced to. I grew up watching the animated series seen on Fox and that will always be my favorite, but until they release that on dvd, like they're ever going to, we have this to enjoy. And in this version, Spidy gets to punch out the villains as much as his heart desires. That's one thing the creaters of the 1994 animated series were forbidden to do... To allow Spidy to throw a punch because those were the days when all that antiviolence stuff was going on.
But anywho, this set features all 13 episodes from the series. I only wish that more had been created. That's the problem with American animated series today. Too many people enjoy Anime and don't give stuff like this a chance anymore.
We get to see such clasic villains as the Lizard, Kingpin, and Electro. New but interesting villains include the Terradax organization, and a few more surprises as well. So you'll enjoy this series if you purchus it. The audio commentaries are great too. So check it out!"