"Jackie Chan Adventures" is everything I love about cartoons; cool characters, bad guys you really hate, situations that could only be in a cartoon, and a story that makes you laugh.
The star of the show is Jackie Chan, an archeologist who is asked to join Section 13 by his friend Captain Black. Captain Black wants him to track down artifacts (talisman) that the Dark Hand has been pursuing. Each talisman contains a hidden power and Jackie can't allow the Dark Hand to get any of the 12 talisman. Joining Jackie is his niece Jade from Hong Kong, and Uncle, Jackie's uncle that owns an antique shop.
"Jackie Chan Adventures" is a great show for the little ones, or those of us that wish we were. Lots of action, great animation and an interesting story. Jackie doesn't always win, which keeps you guessing.
Video
The video on this DVD is beautiful! The colors are very vibrant and look super on a properly calibrated TV. Don't look at the shots on the back of the package because it simply doesn't do the DVD any justice. I caught an episode of the show on broadcast TV and was shocked by the dull colors compared to the DVD. I noticed some shimmering in a few scenes, but it's very, very minor. I tried the DVD in my computer which usually makes spotting flaws in the video really easy. Nothing. No banding, no compression problems, nothing. All I saw were bright, beautiful drawings.
Now for something that isn't minor. I think the first two episodes have been cut! As I mentioned, I caught an episode of "Jackie Chan Adventures" on TV and it just happened to be episode 4, the first episode on this disc. I was shocked when the episode started because it wasn't the same as what's on the DVD; the DVD is missing roughly a minute. The episode on TV started in a musuem where Jackie found a talisman was being displayed. He turns and bumps into one of the Dark Hand henchmen causing him to drop, and break, a spy camera. Jackie apologizes for this, then realizes who he bumped into, the gets ready to fight. This is the point where the episode starts on the DVD. The first two episodes on this disc appear on TV next week so I'm going to tape them and compare them with the DVD. I know the first one is cut, and it appears the second one is cut as well. Please note: I didn't reduce the video score because of the cut.
Updated 2/27/2002 - As mentioned above, two of these episodes aired on TV and I was able to tape them and compare them to the DVD version. The show starts out with a 1 min "intro" before the opening credits. It's this intro piece that has been cut from the DVD in both the first and second episodes (I haven't seen the third episode on TV so I can't comment on that). Columbia TriStar knows of this and will get back to me with more information.
Audio
The English audio on this release is in Surround, with the disc also containing Spanish, French and Portuguese audio tracks and English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai subtitles. The audio isn't impressive, but is very clear and without problems. To be honest, I thought it was in stereo like the first release. I can't say I noticed the rears being used at all.
Fans of extras will be let down with this release. You'll find:
Trailers
"3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain" - 1:02
"The Karate Kid Part II" - 1:26
The packaging says: "Exclusive Jackie Chan Interview". This lasts 1:31, but it isn't exclusive, or an extra as far as I'm concerned. Jackie answers 3 questions, but these are part of the TV show (air at the end) and are also included in the feature. I expected more.
Summary
If you can overlook the cuts to the episodes it's a great disc. Although the extras are lacking, the story is excellent and the video is superb. I had a smile on my face for an hour while I watched Jackie, Jade and Uncle fight "The Dark Hand". If this show wasn't already near the end of it's second season I'd consider catching it on TV. Oh well...keep those releasing coming Columbia TriStar!
