On DVD: Tripping the Rift The Movie

 

 

Directed By Barnie Denk

Starring Stephen Root, Jenny McCarthy, Rick Jones

 

This "movie" is actually a compilation of a few of the best episodes of the third season of this adult animated series that originally ran on the SCIFI Network.  I remember being a bit underwhelmed by what should have been a really fun series back during season one.  I hope that looking at it with fresh eyes in this film version that I'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

The Movie

 

If you aren't familiar with the series it's basically set in a future where all sorts of aliens and humans live and "love" together.  There are two powerful forces tugging at control of the universe.  There's the sterile and boring group that will definitely remind you of the federation from Star Trek and then there's the other group that's an amalgamation of different science fiction stereotypes most notably of which is the leader who takes cues from Darth Vader..

 

Caught in between these two rival groups is a rag tag group of troublemakers traveling through space on a ship of fart jokes and sexual innuendo.  Now, don't take that comment as necessarily a bad thing, hell I like a good fart joke and some sexual innuendo.  The problem is that this series and the film too is attempts to be an edgy rehash of everything from Star Wars to 2001 A Space Odyssey and it does it mostly badly.  More than a spoof it comes off as a fan fiction than a real well done spoof of science fiction. 

 

Now with complaints lodged I must say that nearly as often as these episodes fail thy also succeeded in at least making me smirk if not giggle a bit.  Some people have complained about the low budget animation work on the series but I actually appreciate it.  The creators do a lot with a little here even if does look a bit too much like reboot 2.0 at times.

 

Futurama, South Park, and Robot Chicken all do a better job of spoofing science fiction and movies in general than this show but if you like them then Tripping the Rift is at least worth a rent and this movie, which is a compilation of episodes is great way to start.

 

6.5/10

 

The Video

 

The widescreen presentation here is as crisp and clean as you'd expect from a film that was completely created digitally.  Colors are vivid throughout (other than the black and white segment of course), contrast is solid, and black levels are pretty good.  There are some animation hiccups here and there marring the presentation and detail could be better too.

 

7/10

 

The Audio

 

The Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation here is a no frills let's get the job done sort of presentation.  Dialogue, score, and effects are clean and well mixed within the surround environment but the dynamic range is flat as a pancake.  There's also not a lot of good use of the surround speakers.  Just a basic TV presentation.

 

6.5/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

The single disc release is packaged in a standard amaray case with a glossy slipcover with artwork form the series.  It's definitely eye catching and it feels pretty lavish for a compilation of episodes loosely tied together as a film.  The only real extra is a brief making of featurette where the voice actors gush about the series, no depth just a marketing package.

 

3/10

 

This film is promoted as "Unrated" which means there's some uncensored cussing, that's about it.  There's just a bit of additional footage added to these episodes to tie them all together so that might make this film worth a buy for fans.

 

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

The Review

The Movie 6.5/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 6.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 3/10

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

 

-Stephen Lackey