I’ve previously written about Disney (over two posts), Warner Bros. (over several posts), and Paramount regarding availability of their major cartoons on DVD and Blu-ray. Thus, I thought i”d tackle the remaining major conglomerate, Comcast (who own NBC Universal, but for simplicity I’ll just refer to them as “Comcast”). The cable TV and broadband giant own several major animation related studios/collections, including: DreamWorks (home of Shrek), Illumination (home of the Minions), the DreamWorks Classics (aka Classic Media) library of acquired IP (Richie Rich, Underdog, etc.), the old Walter Lantz library (Woody Woodpecker), and some material produced under the Universal Animation label (Curious George, the “Back to the Future” animated series, etc.).
Through Universal, Comcast co-owns with Warner Bros. a DVD/Blu-ray production company. As such, Comcast has done a better job than Disney at releasing their animation library to physical media, though (as shown below) there’s still a lot of noticeable gaps in what’s available.
Below, I look at the major Comcast-owned animated TV shows available on DVD and Blu-ray as of this writing.
Criteria
- “Major” is subjective, but I view a property getting spin-offs, holding some sort of prominence, having a lengthy episode/season run, etc. as things I consider. There’s also my need to keep this list somewhat manageable length-wise. Sorry, fans of “Father of the Pride.”
- I’m only looking at TV shows, not movies, specials, or theatrical shorts. Pretty much all DreamWorks/Illumination films are available on DVD and Blu-ray. So if you’re just looking for “Shrek,” “Despicable Me,” or “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” you’re all set. Also, most of Woody Woodpecker’s major theatrical shorts (including the one introducing Woody’s archenemy Buzz Buzzard/with “The Woody Woodpecker Song,” as well as the one with the Martian termites) are available on DVD/Blu-ray.
- The Rankin-Bass specials Comcast owns (the pre-1974 ones, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”) are also all on DVD/Blu-ray, so I won’t cover those below.
- The current rights to “Rocky and Bullwinkle” (and related characters) lie with the Jay Ward estate, so it won’t be listed below, beyond DreamWorks co-productions. That said, the entire series (as well as “George of the Jungle”) is available on DVD.
Major Comcast animated TV shows not on DVD/Blu-ray
- The Adventures of Puss in Boots
- The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show
- Noddy, Toyland Detective
- Harvey Girls Forever!
- The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants
- Archibald’s Next Big Thing
- Fast & Furious Spy Racers
- Madagascar: A Little Wild
- Trolls: TrollsTopia
- Gabby’s Dollhouse
- The Croods: Family Tree
- Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight
- Jurassic World Chaos Theory
- Mighty MonsterWheelies
- The New Woody Woodpecker Show
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Both seasons of this early 90s “Back to the Future” spin-off is on a complete series DVD set.
The Boss Baby: Back in Business
All four seasons are available on two DVD sets.
Casper the Friendly Ghost
In 2011, Shout Factory released a DVD box set with what looks like all of the Golden Age theatrical “Casper” shorts, as well as the 1960s TV series. A few of the theatrical shorts are starting to receive Blu-ray releases.
Meanwhile, only a handful of episodes of this 90s “Casper” series are on DVD. The 2009 “Casper’s Scare School” series received two DVD releases, covering part its run. The late 70s Hanna-Barbera series “Casper and the Angels” isn’t on DVD at all, though Hanna-Barbera’s Casper Halloween and Christmas specials are on DVD.
Curious George
The long-running PBS Kids “Curious George” series has the first 9 seasons (out of 15) on DVD sets, as well as the various movies/specials.
Dawn of the Croods
A few episodes are available on a single DVD.
Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh
A few episodes are available on a single DVD.
How to Train Your Dragon
To sum up the multiple “Dragon” TV spin-offs:
- Riders of Berk: all on DVD
- Defenders of Berk: all on DVD
- Race to the Edge: all on DVD
- Rescue Riders: not on DVD
- The Nine Realms: not on DVD
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous
The first three seasons (out of five) are on a DVD set.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
All three seasons are available on a complete series DVD set.
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Some episodes are on various single-disc DVDs, but there aren’t any season sets.
Madagascar
Only a handful of episodes of “Penguins of Madagascar” and “All Hail King Julien” are on DVD.
Masters of the Universe (He-Man/She-Ra)
The 1980s “He-Man” and “She-Ra” series are available on complete series DVD sets. The 1990 and 2002 “He-Man” series are also available on complete series DVD sets. Out of the two 2021 made-for-Netflix He-Man series, the Kevin Smith-produced “Masters of the Universe” doesn’t seem to be on DVD, though the more child-friendly “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” series has a complete series DVD set.
As for the 2018 reboot “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” only first three seasons (out of five) are available on a single DVD set. This has gotten attention recently, as the show’s been pulled from Netflix, along with some of the other made-for-Netflix DreamWorks shows on this list.
Richie Rich
The 1980 “Richie Rich” series only has part of its first season available on DVD, as part of “The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show” DVD release. (Though as of this writing, the entire series is available to stream for free via Tubi.) The short-lived 1996 series doesn’t’ seem to be available on DVD at all; the same goes for the awful live-action 2015 in-name-only sitcom.
Spirit Riding Free
A spin-off of an early DreamWorks animated film (“Spirit”), all eight seasons of “Riding Free” are available on two DVD sets, as well as its Christmas special.
Tennessee Tuxedo/Underdog
1960s animation studio Total Television’s two most famous shows, “Underdog” and “Tennessee Tuxedo,” both have complete series DVD sets, thanks to Shout Factory.
Fans of Total’s first show, “King Leonardo and His Short Subjects” (aka “The King and Odie”) are out of luck. Despite the movie “The Matrix” (of all films) briefly referencing a backup segment (“Tooter Turtle”), it’s got no DVD presence at all. These days, the series’ segments (when seen at all) are part of “Underdog”’s current syndication package, despite formerly having been syndicated as its own show.
Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia
The first season is available on DVD.
Trolls: The Beat Goes On!
The first four seasons (out of eight) are on a DVD set.
Turbo FAST
“Turbo FAST” (a spin-off of the “Turbo” movie) is Netflix’s first animated series. It debuted in 2013, the same year as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black,” the two shows that shifted Netflix from “DVD rental by mail service” to “streaming service.” “Turbo FAST” is available on DVD as a complete series set, as well as individual season sets.
VeggieTales
Despite how prominent the “VeggieTales” franchise has been over the years, it doesn’t seem like there’s any complete series sets, instead just numerous compilation DVDs. The movies, of course, are on DVD.
Image: “Turbo FAST” and “Underdog.” (DreamWorks)
