Coraline, Robot Chicken, Marvel heros and xxxHOLiC‘s anime magic pack the shelves this month.
Coraline
[Universal, $29.98]
Stop-motion visionary Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s twisted tale is the must-have disc of the summer. Coraline’s journey into a deceptive alternate world will be available in three flavors: single disc, two-disc collector’s edition ($34.98) and Blu-ray HD ($39.99), all accompanied by delightful extras.
All releases will feature commentary by Selick and composer Bruno Coulais. Blu-ray and collector’s sets will tack on deleted scenes, a digital copy and featurettes The Making of Coraline and Voicing the Characters. The buffed out Blu-ray discs will also showcase Creepy Coraline, with Selick and Gaiman delving further into the film’s worlds, The World According to Henry, Universal’s U-Control picture-in-picture extras and BD-Live My Scenes Sharing option. And rumor has it that future releases will include in-home 3-D!
[Release date: July 21]
Robot Chicken: Star Wars – Episode II
[Turner, $19.98]
Stoopid Monkey Production’s particular brand of stop-motion irreverence is back in full force. (Pun totally intended.) Hilarious parodies and imaginative interpretations of favorite scenes from the classic sci-fi trilogies will have you laughing until Mountain Dew comes out your nose and give you plenty of one-liners to get you through all those (LAN) parties you’re hitting this month. This DVD version will actually include 15 additional minutes that didn’t air on [adult swim] when the special episode aired last November.
In addition to Robot Chicken regulars, Star Wars stars Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams reprise their roles for the farce (Fisher is also credited as a ferocious Krayt Dragon). Donald Faison, Dana Snyder, Conan O’Brien and more also lend their talents. So put down your lightsaber and tell your mom to drive you to Best Buy!
[Release date: July 21]
Wolverine and the X-Men: Deadly Enemies
[Lions Gate, $14.98]
The marvelous mutants’ latest TV incarnations have zapped, clawed and pounded their way through another five episodes now on disc. The 2D series from supervising producer Craig Kyle harkens back to the ’90s toon, full of bold colors and designs. These episodes feature face offs with Shadow King, Hulk and the genocidal Senator Kelly. The perfect quick fix for those who can’t wait for a complete series set!
[Release date: July 21]
Spectacular Spider-man: Complete First Season
[Sony, $25.95]
Spidey’s 2008 series is rearing a new generation of comic cartoon fans. Centering on a high school aged Peter Parker fighting off a legion of super villains controlled by the Big Man, the show’s creators Victor Cook and Greg Weisman blended the comic series of the same name with elements from the film series and Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Whatever the magic ingredient is, this 2D interpretation is worth catching up on.
[Release date: July 28]
xxxHOLiC: The Complete Series
[FUNimation, $69.98]
This beautifully animated series from all-female manga dream team CLAMP is sure to find a home in most anime fans’ collections! Produced by Japan’s Production I.G, this complex shows follow a high school student plagued by spirits and include plenty of witchcraft, folk lore and supernatural tomfoolery. The series also draws on elements and references from CLAMP’s other succesful series Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and girly favorite Card Captor Sakura.
The set is comprised of four discs packing in the 13 episode series. No word on extras or if the OVA is included, but the gorgeous illustrated box holding the collection is enough of a bonus for your average otaku. Sugoi~!
[Release date: July 28]
