For the first time ever, Adult Swim will premiere the first episode of Season 5 of Rick and Morty from space by launching Rick’s Space Cruiser 150,000 feet into the atmosphere. Fans from around the world can Go Rick Yourself (#GoRickYourself) and become part of the series by creating a personalized Rick and Morty avatar, and then create custom t-shirts (US and Mexico only) to commemorate the new season.
WHO:
From creators Justin Roiland (“Adventure Time”) and Dan Harmon (“Community”), fans can catch up before the big day and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD. This outrageous boxed set which includes all 41 episodes from the first four seasons, along with copious special features, including audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, past animatic sketches, and more. Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 is priced to own at $79.99 SRP for the DVD ($89.99 in Canada) and $89.99 SRP for the Blu-ray ($99.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Rick and Mortyis also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
WHERE:
Wubba Lubba Grub Grub! In honor of Global Rick And Morty Day, Wendy’s® and Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty have teamed up to include two new show-themed mixes in more than 5,000 Coca-Cola Freestyle machines in Wendy’s locations across the country through August 22. To sweeten the deal, fans can also score free delivery from Wendy’s in-app through July 1 with no minimum purchase necessary. Fans in the Los Angeles area can also visit Morty’s, a weekend-long restaurant pop-up at Wendy’s Panorama City location from June 18-20. Morty’s will feature a show-inspired menu, like the Jerry’s Single, paired with an out-of-this-world experience. Navigate your spaceship or car through a custom LED drive-thru experience, receive a Rick and Morty-themed menu and be one of the lucky few to enjoy the limited-edition Pickle Rick Pickle Frosty®, a pickle twist on the iconic Vanilla Frosty®, only available at Morty’s.
Fans can also catch up on all things Rick and Morty prior to the event by checking out HBO Max’s curated Rick and Morty fan viewing experience featuring previous seasons, extras, and creator-selected episodes.
Shout out to WB for providing a copy of this product for the review. My opinions are my own.
Rick And Morty is a show about... a seldomly sober scientist (Rick) and his awkward grandson, Morty. I think what grabbed my attention about this show initially (which some of you may agree), is the fact that it gave me this... Back To The Future'ish vibe.
If Back To The Future had a cousin packed with dark humor, booze, aliens, simulations... within simulations... of simulations that make you believe they're truly the only real simulation so you don't speculate anything + other insane adventures, you'd get... Rick and Morty. Run-on sentence for the win!
Before I jump in... I just want to give props to the team, because they've released complete seasons in collections. The complete seasons 1 - 3, have now be followed by the complete seasons 1 - 4 (no season left behind!). Anyway... let's dive into a small unboxing!
Story:In Rick and Morty... you follow the dysfunctional duo on their intergalactic misadventures through the multi-verse. Even when they weren't somewhere in space, it felt that way... like when Morty was sent into the body of a guy dressed like Santa, that old grandpa/scientist/drunkard Rick had on life support. Rick didn't have the guy on life support for the sake of helping him, he used the guy's body as an amusement park... which didn't work out that well. It's action-packed, to say the least.
What grounds this show for me is the fact that they have a home to go back to, and... normalizes it (as much as it can be normalized). How did Rick end up in the house with Morty and the family? Well, Rick Sanchez actually popped up on his daughter's doorstep after 20 years or so. Which was welcomed by Beth, but clearly it was a major... WTF for her hubby, Jerry.
He pops up after 20 years, he's clearly a sociopath... who can't keep a bottle of booze out of his hand + he transformed their garage into a lab, and there are children in the home (Morty and Summer). Clearly, the show is titled Rick and Morty, so he often has his grandson as the plus one on these death-defying adventures. If it were real life, I'd be concerned, but... it's not. It's just a crazy ride from one episode to the next with situational comedy added in here and there (which the comedy can hit differently from one person to the next).
Believe it or not there is substance in there (i.e. Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind), and certain situations actually come with consequences (i.e. Rick's Potion #9). Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!
What I noticed early on and appreciate about the show is that the other family members got their fair share of... shine. They weren't just in the background, and... this continued from season 1 to four. I wasn't hating at all, but I was curious if the show was going to lose steam after season 1 and... it didn't go down. You even had episodes that continued where season 1 progress left off (Ricksy Business to Total Rickall), I like that even if it wasn't a consistent thing for the season... it still gave me confidence that it was moving forward... somewhere.
Outside of Season 2 holding it's own, we also saw some character growth in there... especially Rick. I won't say that Morty didn't grow, because Rick would say that he's begun growing a pair. That's bound to happen tagging along with someone who can cause you to attend your own funeral.
Season 3 didn't slow things up, it starts off with Rick's here, Rick's there, Rick's every flippingwhere... after that hook in Season 2! They also ventured back to something that occurred in season 1, which helped Morty and the ever evolving badass... Summer get access to Rick's portal gun. They didn't start off light in S3S1, I've watched that episode like 4 or 5 times.
I don't want to drop a spoiler on you, but... I'm glad that Jerry ended up getting his own space. Jerry can be annoying sometimes, but he is basically the chopped liver of Rick and Morty (kind of like Meg from Family Guy). It was good to see him get some sort of break from the rag fest, and it goes back to Rick... because he really jacked up any resemblance to a normal relationship. Beth chose daddy because she didn't want him out of her life again, which didn't mean that he had to be... but I was thinking about the same thing occurring with their children. Regardless, I'm glad he has his own space. I won't dish on Season 3 in full, but... The Rickchurian Mortydate was comical and brought things back down to earth (on the home front) as the hook going into season 4.
I give the team props, because they've been going hard... season after season with Tyson style uppercuts in the season openers. Season 4's opener was no different, I like the Akira concept and Rick actually tried to talk some sense into Morty. Yes... that Rick.
You go from sitting back in your seat wondering what the show's about in the first season... but then you sit up a few episodes in. You slide to the edge of your seat in season 2, falling on the floor in season 3, before you end up on a pillow on the floor in season 4... possibly wondering if your family judges you for watching such a crazy show. Rick literally fights a freaking God in a particular episode in season 4... acting as the stepdad of a civilization (which also showcased more of that unspoken tug of war between Rick & Jerry where the family often sides with Rick... just because).
That's not even the final episode of Season 4, but I won't even speak on the finale that gears you up for the latest season. It's just a weird crazy partially sexy good show... where family is still the centerpiece, even if you're unsure if they're clones of the originals, versions from other universes, or even... bots.
Since the creators don't limit themselves to what makes sense, sci fi could keep this show chugging for quite some time. I just hope the team knows how to take their bow whenever that time comes.
Visuals:Visuals are delivered in full 1080p HD video. The characters have sort of a plain look to them that reminds me of a really clean... doodle (that's the first thing that came to mind). This art style works for the show and doesn't put the show in a plain category at all, there is a lot going on here with crap-tons of eye catching visuals. Lazers, beautifully animated explosions, creepy looking aliens, and other visual effects.
The show intro is a perfect mesh of the art you can expect on the show... and once you get your hands on Rick And Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 4, you will notice how the intro is tweaked to reflect the new season.
Speaking of visuals... here's some Rick and Morty vs. Genocider love directed by Takashi Sano.
Audio + Extras:The audio is... solid and interesting. You definitely get the sci-fi vibe and these cool sound effects that sound sweet with the Blu-Ray 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.
Before you check out the extras... check out this Rick & Morty X Run The Jewels love. Hit It!
Extras include:
Season 1:
Commentaries for Every Episode
Animatics for Every Spisode
Behind the Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Season 2:
Commentaries for Every Episode
Animatics for Every Episode
Deleted Animatic Sketches
Rick and Morty Season 2 Premier Party Featuring Chaos Chaos
Season 3: Commentaries for Every Episode Animatics for Every Episode "Inside the Episode" for Every Episode Exclusive "Inside the Recording Booth" Origins of Rick and Morty Part 1 & 2
Season 4: A Day at Rick and Morty: Inside Season 4 "Inside the Episode" for Every Episode Creating Snake Jazz Directing Rick and Morty Samurai and Shogun Prop Process Character Creation Animation Challenges
As you this is a pure fanfest... and I usually see content stuffed in collections when teams want you to get more than a small dose of the extras they have to offer. I'll continue my thoughts on this in the price category because... (hmmm) let's just get to the price.
Price: Pricewise... Rick And Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 4 comes in at an SRP of $79.99 SRP on DVD and $89.99 SRP on Blu-Ray (add $10 on that for Canada). The single season DVD and Blu-Ray + Digital Copy are similar in price... so I can't say that it's overpriced, but if you want to save... grab it here. The total runtime of Rick and Morty action is over 900 minutes plus the poster!
Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1 - 4 is a damn good time, and the extras feel like the backstage pass that includes a trip to the studio. So if you're a fan of the show, you have more than enough extras to indulge in.
