Why So Blu?

Rick And Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 (Blu-ray Review)

While we eagerly await the next batch of Rick and Morty episodes to be unleashed upon the world, we can always revisit them. Some of you do that OnDemand or by way of Hulu. But us cool kids revisit it on Blu-ray with all the bonus goodies and commentaries. Rick and Morty have had some terrific Blu-ray releases over its 4 seasons. And now, instead of buying them all separate or buying the Seasons 1-3 set and Season 4 together, you can buy all 4 seasons in one fell swoop with Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 set. No, nothing new in terms of extras or added presentation. But, you do get some new artwork, shelf space saved and sweet poster for you grandmother’s basement’s wall. This set will be available on March 2nd, but you can pre-order it now to have it for or around the day it releases. You can also used the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review to do so. If you’re the kind, thoughtful type (Sorry about the grandmother’s basement joke. I’m sure she keeps it tidy for you).

Series

After having been missing for nearly 20 years, Rick Sanchez suddenly arrives at daughter Beth’s doorstep to move in with her and her family. Although Beth welcomes Rick into her home, her husband, Jerry, isn’t as happy about the family reunion. Jerry is concerned about Rick, a sociopathic scientist, using the garage as his personal laboratory. In the lab, Rick works on a number of sci-fi gadgets, some of which could be considered dangerous. But that’s not all Rick does that concerns Jerry. He also goes on adventures across the universe that often involve his children, Morty and Summer.

Out of the gates, Rick and Morty came swinging like no other. Sure, show’s on Adult Swim have had some similar humors to them. But, Rick and Morty actually acts and a heavily continuity focused, laser specific reference humored adventure that adds crazy layers, puzzles and other wild elements to keeps its viewers thoroughly engaged. To say the show has a rewatchability factor is a complete understatement. Personally, I don’t get much time to do so these days, but even I’ve been through it twice and am thinking about going for a third (My wife still has never seen it. Time to inaugurate!).

Rick and Morty is also that really popular thing that kids know about and envy. I remember those being horror movies and such for me growing up. However, being animated, Rick and Morty have themselves that sort of draw. Its a friendly element that offers itself visually to all ages. My kids shout “I’m Pickle Rick!” and have NO IDEA what they are referring to. They just hear it on their YouTube videos or video games. They WANT to know, but its going to be QUITE a while before I show them. But that’s the type of reach this show has.

While having its own inventions and continuity, it does lean in some very interesting spots for inspiration. There are science fiction ideas and the like explored and celebrated that I’d never have imagined hit pop culture like Rick and Morty has made it such. That’s the beauty of it, too. Its made things like Zardoz something people know about again. And it excites me that there are some people discovering some old goofy genre movies and tv shows that I love because of this show.

And not to be left out, the show is funny as hell. I’ve had many a gut busters with this show and its infinitely quotable. And even in the fourth season they are adding some surprisingly effective character drama moments to things as well. Fight as you may, once you walk the Rick and Morty path, you’re bound to like it. There’s nothing quite like it on TV, and one I look forward to scarfing up whatever it is Justin Roiland and company are going to serve me while it airs.

Episodes

1. Pilot
2. Lawnmower Dog
3. Anatomy Park
4. M. Night Shaym-Aliens!
5. Meeseeks and Destroy
6. Rick Potion #9
7. Raising Gazorpazorp
8. Rixty Minutes
9. Something Ricked This Way Comes
10. Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind
11. Ricksy Business

1. A Rickle in Time
2. Mortynight Run
3. Auto Erotic Assimilation
4. Total Rickcall
5. Get Schwifty
6. The Ricks Must Be Crazy
7. Big Trouble In Little Sanchez
8. Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate
9. Look Who’s Purging Now
10. The Wedding Squanchers

1. The Rickshank Rickdemption
2. Rickmancing the Stone
3. Pickle Rick
4. Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender
5. The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy
6. Rest and Ricklaxation
7. The Ricklantis Mixup
8. Morty’s Mind Blowers
9. The ABC’s of Beth
10. The Rickchurian Mortydate

1. Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat
2. The Old Man and the Seat
3. One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty
4. Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty
5. Rattlerstar Ricklactica
6. Never Ricking Morty
7. Promotyus
8. The Vat of Acid Episode
9. Childrick of Mort
10. Star Morty Rickturn of the Jerri

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail:  Primarily 2-D animations with a flat color scene like Rick and Morty have no trouble shining on the Blu-ray format.  One might worry that all of the 30 minute episodes and bonus features are crammed on one disc, but there’s no real sign of that harming the viewing. The image is vivid, strong and features plenty of details clearly done in the animation to go with an overall sharp image.

Depth: There’s a pretty strong, three dimensional, depth of field on display where the 2D and cgi animations marry. Character movements are smooth and feature no issues with distortion.

Black Levels: Blacks are nice deep, flat color. They do well in shadow and night, with good defined outlining helping to sharpen the image. No crushing present.

Color Reproduction:  Colors pop quite strong and this really has a nice vivid palette to display. There are wonderful glows and other bright moments from lasers, lighting and such.

Flesh Tones: N/A

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Format(s): English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: Ricky and Morty carries a nice 5.1 mix as the series has been known to have on these releases. Its a crazy as a blockbuster with the sound design and carries that weighted impact. Its a nice lossless mix that is balanced and thorough with its playful behavior toward the vocals, effect and music.

Height: N/A

Low-Frequency Extension: Blaster fire, bass drops, explosions, ship engines and much more really provide a nice pounce and bounce from your subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation: This is pretty playful and well thought out with effects and atmospherics really commanding the room and leaving no speaker unturned. Sound travel is quite dynamic and really whooshes back and forth across the room with a real grace and impact.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Vocals are clear and crisp with good characteristics of the actors’ diction being picked up with the mix.

Extras

Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 is a 4-Disc set and comes with a redeemable digital code that includes all the episodes. No new bonus features are found on this release, all remain the same discs as previously released. This release does come with an exclusive poster that folds out featuring a fun piece of artwork.

Season 1

Audio Commentary

• Every episode features commentaries from the creators and animators in different combinations including Justin Roiland (every episode), Dan Harmon (every episode), Ryan Elder, Ryan Ridley, Eric Acosta, Wade Randolph, Tom Kauffman, Bryan Newton, Stephen Sandoval, Pete Michels 
• There are also Special Guest commentaries that include Matt Groening, Al Jean, J. Stewart Burns, Max Pross, Matt Selman, Jon Kern, Tom Gammill, Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Pendleton Ward, Kent Osborne

Behind The Scenes (HD, 19:08)

Animatics

• Pilot (HD, 21:44)
• Lawnmower Dog (HD, 21:40)
• Anatomy Park (HD, 21:12)
• M. Night Shaym-Aliens! (HD, 21:00)
• Meeseeks and Destroy (HD, 20:29)
• Rick Potion #9 (HD, 20:51)
• Raising GazorPazorp (HD, 21:06)
• Rixty Minutes (HD, 21:26)
• Something Ricked This Way Comes (HD, 22:21)
• Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind (HD, 21:52)
• Ricksy Business (HD, 22:05)

Deleted Scenes

• Pilot (HD, 1:36)
• Anatomy Park (HD, :23)
• M. Night Shaym-Aliens! (HD, :31)
• Meeseeks and Destroy #1 (HD, :55)
• Meeseeks and Destroy #2 (HD, :57)
• Rick Potion #9 (HD, 1:10)
• Rixty Minutes #1 (HD, :29)
• Rixty Minutes #2 (HD, :33)
• Rixty Minutes #3 (HD, 1:10)
• Ricksy Business (HD, :22)

Season 2

Audio Commentary

• Every episode features commentaries from the creators and animators in different combinations including Justin Roiland (every episode), Dan Harmon (every episode), Ryan Ridley, Wes Archer, Erik Wolpaw, Jay Pinkerton, Cabe Newell, Dan Guterman, Mike McMahan, WWE Superstar Sheamus, Abed Cheith, Tom Kauffman, Sal Governale, Richard Christy, Bryan Newton, Juan Meza-Leon, Dominic Polcino

Deleted Animatic Sketches (HD, 2:11)

Rick and Morty Season 2 Premiere Party Featuring Chaos Chaos (HD, 43:13)

Animatics

• A Rickle In Time (Attempt 1) (HD, 19:13)
• A Rickle In Time (Attempt 2) (HD, 22:03)
• Mortynight Run (HD, 21:48)
• Auto Erotic Assimilation (HD, 22:21)
• Total Rickall (HD, 21:30)
• Get Schwifty (HD, 21:31) 
• The Ricks Must Be Crazy (HD, 21:59) 
• Big Trouble In Little Sanchez (HD, 22:14)
• Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate (HD, 22:01)
• Look Who’s Purging Now (HD, 22:52)
• The Wedding Squanchers (HD, 22:22)

Season 3

Audio Commentary

• Every episode features commentaries from the creators and animators in different combinations including Justin Roiland (every episode), Dan Harmon (every episode), Mike McMahon, Juan Meza-Leon, John Mayer, Courtney Love, Marilyn Manson, Jessica Gao, Jordan Brock, Lance Wehrly, Anthony Chun, Russell Brand, David Benioff, DB Weiss, Peter Dinklage, Sarah Carbiener, Erica Rosbe, Chris Parnell, Erica Hayes, Tom Kauffman, Karl Wahlgren, Dominic Polcino, James Siciliano, Bryan Newton, Wes Archer, Jeffrey Thompson

Animatics

• The Rickshank Redemption (HD, 22:58)
• Rickmancing The Stone (HD, 22:39) 
• Pickle Rick (HD, 22:57)
• Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender (HD, 23:06) 
• Rest and Ricklaxation (HD, 22:52) 
• The Ricklantis Mixup (HD, 22:41) 
• Morty’s Mind Blowers (HD, 22:19) 
• The ABC’s of Beth (HD, 21:57) 
• The Rickchurian Mortydate (HD, 22:14)

Inside The Recording Booth (HD, 6:14)

Rick and Morty Origins: Part 1 (HD, 4:55) 

Rick and Morty Origins: Part 2 (HD, 4:38)

Inside The Episode

• The Rickshank Redemption (HD, 2:37)
• Rickmancing The Stone (HD, 2:33) 
• Pickle Rick (HD, 2:39) 
• Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender (HD, 2:04)
• The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy (HD, 2:14) 
• Rest and Ricklaxation (HD, 1:59)
• The Ricklantis Mixup (HD, 2:09)
• Morty’s Mind Blowers (HD, 1:48)
• The ABC’s of Beth (HD, 1:57) 
• The Rickchurian Candidate (HD, 2:42)

Season 4

A Day At Rick And Morty: Inside Season 4 (HD, (9:11) 

Creating Snake Jazz (HD, 2:30) 

Directing Rick And Morty (HD, 2:55) 

Samurai And Shogun (HD, 5:24) 

Prop Process (HD, 2:48) 

Character Creation (HD, 2:36)

Animation Challenges (HD, 2:30) 

Inside The Episode 

• Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat (HD, 1:23)
• The Old Man and the Seat (HD, 1:24)
• One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty (HD, 1:22)
• Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty (HD, 1:24)
• Rattlestar Ricklactica (HD, 1:23)
• Never Ricking Morty (HD, 1:39)
• Promortyus (HD, 1:47)
• The Vat of Acid Episode (HD, 2:13)
• Childrick of Mort (HD, 2:04)
• Star Mort: Rickturn of the Jerri (HD, 2:07)

Summary

Rick and Morty is rightfully one of the most beloved and deeply followed shows on television. Odds are, if you are a huge fan of the show, you already own these seasons. The only appeal for you would be to spend money to save shelf space and own a new poster that has Rick’s butt on it. If you don’t own them, here’s an all in one set. The show looks and sound great, and the extras provided are terrific. And every season is amazing.

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