Beer-drinkin' Rednecks! by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
7/01/2003
From creator Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-head) comes the hit animated show, King of the Hill. The show follows the daily lives of "propane and propane accessories" salesman Hank Hill, his wife Peggy and their son Bobby. Also joining them in the half hour comedy is Bill "My Wife Left Me" Dauterive, conspiracy theory nutcase Dale Dribble and Boomhauer who seems to be linguistically challenged. Cotton Hill, Hank's war hero father without shins, finds the time to drop by on his family, and Hank's naive niece Luanne also lives with them. It's an interesting look at a redneck family from Arlen, Texas.
Since the show debuted in 1992 it's become a huge hit, but I've never really been a fan of it. Maybe it's because, living in Canada, I can't relate to the Texan way of life, or maybe I just don't dig those accents. I'll admit though, after watching the 13 episodes from the first season, the show began to grow on me. It was also the success of King of the Hill which paved the way for Family Guy, and probably Futurama as well.
Video
King of the Hill has a different look from some of the other recent Fox animated releases. Family Guy and Futurama both utilized computers in their production, but King of the Hill is traditional animation, giving it a softer, more natural look. The colors look nice, although they shift every once and awhile. There's a bit of dust and other debris in the picture, but nothing that's horrible, and there's also some slight edge enhancement. Some may complain that the image is jittery, but that's due to the animation style and not a problem with the DVD. Chapters aren't set after the opening of the episode.
Audio
King of the Hill contains a couple of fairly nice Dolby Surround tracks; English and Spanish. The show has quite a number of directional effects, but hardly any use of the rear speaks. The Texan accent is reproduced quite well on the set, but it always muffles Boomhauer's voice. Funny how that happens ;) English and Spanish subtitles are included for those that want them.
Commentary Tracks
Various members of the production, and some of the characters, provide commentary on selected episodes in the first season. I found the commentary tracks with the characters to be a little odd. They don't really exist, but they're talking about events in the episode, and sometimes about their lives...which don't exist. Ah, it's entertaining, but I would have liked at least one commentary with the actors as themselves.
Deleted & Extended Scenes (18:34)
Various deleted and extended scenes from the episodes in the first season. Each disc contains the scenes specific to the episodes on the disc.
The Making of King of the Hill (24:00)
A nice documentary covering the show's beginnings, the characters, and what happens behind the scenes. Interviews with Mike Judge, the cast members, animators...there's a lot covered in here. Brittney Murphy sure looks different!
The Do's and Don'ts - Top 60 (39 frames)
One of the coolest extras I've ever seen for an animated show, this is a handbook given to animators on the show which acts like a Bible. It tells them things they should, and shouldn't do, when drawing characters, settings and props. The list is constantly growing, now containing 64 items.
Meet the Hills (54 still frames)
Bios for each of the main characters in the show. Every character has some bio info as well as rough sketches and expressions. Some characters contain another drawing, and Dale's bio contains video snippets of his various conspiracies, taken from the show (2:30 mins).
Barenaked Ladies - Music Video (3:58)
Nice music video from the Barenaked Ladies. I like the song...but the funny thing is, I don't know what song it is; it's not listed anywhere.
Promos (7:16)
Some short promos for the show, 13 in all.
Easter Egg (2:31)
Found on disc 3, the names of all the people who worked on season 1 scroll by while Hank has a beer.
Summary
Well, this is a really nice set for the show. The deleted scenes will be something of interest for any fan, but I thought the real gem of the special features is "The Do's and Don'ts" of animating King of the Hill. The video quality is quite nice given the age of the material, and the fact that it's not created on the computer. The menus are also quite fun. The set also made me a fan of the show, which is a true testament to the set.
