In the murky alleyways of New York City, homeless Maxx huddles in his box and dreams of crushing evil villains. But when he bursts into the colorful netherworld of the Outback, the Maxx is a hero, in full purple splendor. His friend Julie, a freelance social worker, thinks the Maxx’s alternate universe is just an escape from the harsh reality of New York-not realizing that she, too, roams the Outback as the Jungle Queen.
Join the Maxx for deliciously demonic adventures in both worlds, as he scours streets and jungles in search of the link between his two realities. Will he be able to find the connection before it’s too late?
Includes all 13 Episodes plus interviews with Creator Sam Kieth & Director Gregg Vanzo, and audio commentary on all 13 Episodes.
This disc is expected to play back in DVD Video “play only” devices, and may not play in other DVD devices, including recorders and PC drives.
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.
Buy “The Maxx: The Complete Series” For Only $14.99
May 7, 2008
#1
I HAVE SAID BEFORE IN A REVIEW FOR THE ORIGINAL TAPE AS PRACTICALLY EVERYONE HAS AND NOW IT IS FINALLY HAPPENING! THE MAXX ON DVD! AND IT SAYS THAT THERE ARE BONUS FEATURES! EVEN BETTER! Although there is no release date yet…
May 7, 2008
#2
As the previous reviewer said, Finally!! Yes, finally, it’s on DVD. Would be nice to know the release date and I pray it actually happens (unlike other items that get cancelled at the last minute). I taped this series when it was shown on television all those years ago, still have the tapes but the DVD would be more than worthwhile.
“The Maxx” is a very intriguing story, and may well tell you a lot about yourself, especially the last few episodes when it all unravels. This animation is one of my favourites, next to the Aeon Flux animation.
If only MTV would do all their “little”, less known, animations on DVD, now that would be cool!!!
May 7, 2008
#3
The Maxx is AWESOME. No question about it.
However, make sure you read this above:
“This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.”
I don’t want to buy a burned disc. That is ridiculous. I thought the chance to buy a proper version of The Maxx was finally here, but this will not do.
May 7, 2008
#4
I am glad this came out. I remember watching this in junior high and thought it was so wickedly cool and very unique. It was one of the best animations that truly felt like a comic coming to life. I’m only sad about the DVD-R thing. Wish MTV had more money but I guess I can’t blame them since it’s not like the can rely on word of mouth. It would be hard to push for the pressing if it meant that the release could be cancelled. This could explain why MTV has yet to release all their other shows…that and probably record label red tape.
Final decision…..I’m definately getting it!
May 7, 2008
#5
I would hazard to say The Maxx is the most cerebral and progressive cartoon MTV ever dared to show. Aeon Flux tried to be deep, but it was really just an eye candy show. Beavis and Butthead was a low brow cartoon and proud of it. The Maxx came along at the same time as these shows and it delved more into story and character development than any other before or after. And being a short series at that.
The Maxx was originally a comic book created by Sam Keith, and it was his brainchild. From that comic came a very strange and different story that delved more into questions than answers. You have a hero and villain both with mysterious origins who steps between two different worlds. The comic kept you asking which world was real, along with other questions to be answered by the end of the series. The television series captured much of the same vibe as the cartoon (and the freaky artwork), which is why there is a lot of love for the show.
I’ll be the first to tell you that if you are a stickler for high quality animation this show won’t be up to snuff. They take a ton of shortcuts animation-wise to the point of seeing a fair amount of scenes with a still image moving in front of a static background. Add to that a little mix of CGI and live action shadows to make the format even more eclectic. This may sound like a bad thing, but in fact all of this only lends more style to an already artistically stylish cartoon. Trust me. The animation/art style something many of you have never seen before and it’s great for that.
The story is not quite as convoluted as the comic book, but it’s very close. While some of the comic’s questions aren’t all that hard to answer early on in the TV series that in no way lessens the tangled web Sam Keith put together. You will still weave through the show with little details like who is The Maxx? What is the Outback (the alternate world)? Who is Mr. Gone and why is he doing what he is doing? Where does Julie fit into all of it? The show is good with all this even when it gets weird.
Being born of a comic book one of the things those of us who previously read the book wondered about the dialog and audio. Would it fit what we imagined the characters sounded like? Would the dialog fall flat when actually spoken? Well rest assured they found the perfect voice actors for their parts. The Maxx sounds like a gruff-tough hero type while at the same time personally reflective. Mr. Gone sounds menacing and sage. Julie and Sara come off with the right indignance in their voices. Back when the comic was out they made a cassette audio book of the first few issues. I never heard it so I have no idea whether or not the voice acting is similar (anybody know?). Music is sparse so much of the background sound is just that. Little noises of the environment that fill out the visuals and dialog. All in all it works very well.
There is a question I have about this DVD that I wanted to address and hopefully will get answered for all of us. MTV previously released the show on VHS, but it wasn’t complete. Part of episode 8 was cut due to licensing issues. Basically the original comic was published by Image Comics and they had a crossover issue using a bad guy from another Image comic. Well a different version of that villain ended up in the TV show, but apparently the copyright holders didn’t get what they wanted to have that segment appear on video (MTV stingy with royalties?). I want to know if that missing footage is going to show up on this DVD. People are saying the video quality is not that great and practically HVS quality so there is a lack of mastering here as well. There are interviews and commentaries on the episodes so that’s something.
The Maxx is an excellent 12 episode animated series and it deserves to get some additional exposure. It’s sad that the initial DVD release comes down to a “we’ll burn you a copy if you order one” format and not an unedited, remastered one with sweet extras kind of send off. At least now you can get a legit copy instead of bootlegs.