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Blu-ray Review: RICK AND MORTY: SEASON 4

Sep 19, 2020 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Disclaimer: “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-rayTM I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

Eccentric mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his 14-year-old grandson Morty Smith are back for 10 wild and crazy new adventures through space and time in the fourth season of Adult Swim’s adult animated comedy Rick and Morty. As the fourth season opens, Jerry (Chris Parnell) and Beth Smith (Sarah Chalke) are back toegther and sitting around the kitchen table with 17-year-old daughter Summer (Spencer Grammer) and 14-year-old son Morty (Justin Roiland). Father Jerry is a bit simple-minded and always trying to prove himself useful, Summer is always worried about her status and image with her friends, Morty is usually stressed out about something—often related to his major crush on classmate Jessica, and mother Beth has stepped up to be the head of the family. She has put her foot down, telling her father, Rick (also Justin Roiland), that from now on, he must ask Morty’s permission before whisking him off on one of his (often deadly) adventures.

However, this doesn’t really change anything as Rick, Morty and the rest of the family get caught up in some wild adventures this season—on alien planets, in alternate realities, in other times, and even right at home. Some of Rick’s storylines involve him trying to find the perfect (or at least non-fascist) clone of himself after accidentally getting killed; going on a quest for vengeance against the person who used his personal toilet; and going to see the children he potentially fathered with a planet (yes, he F’d a planet!). As for Morty, he becomes obsessed with a crystal that tells him how he’s going to die and tries to use the knowledge to end up with Jessica; he gets a pet dragon; and he becomes obsessed with Morty’s re-spawn button, trying to live life to the fullest, not fully understanding the consequences. Rick and Morty also get stuck on a literal continuity train in an anthology episode; they debate over whether a fake vat of acid is a good way to fake their death to get away from mobsters; and get stuck on an alien planet of mind-controlling face-huggers, where Summer becomes their leader. There is also an amazing heist episode with plenty of insane twists, and a flat tire in space leads to Rick and Morty desperately trying to correct the timeline of a species of space snakes (while also enjoying the smooth sounds of snake jazz). Meanwhile, Jerry befriends a talking cat, makes a bad decision with Rick’s alien intern, gets stuck floating in the air, and tries to take the family camping, only to get ignored. And the season culminates with Beth finally confronting Rick as to whether or not she is a clone or his real daughter.

I had actually never seen Rick and Morty before I received this fourth season Blu-ray for review. However, I quickly became a fan and intend to go back and check out the first three seasons. I’m sure there are many returning characters or callbacks that I didn’t recognize not having seen the first few seasons, but I still fully enjoyed this season. The writing is so smart, complex and well thought out, but at the same time utilizes cursing and low-brow humor for laughs. (I’m not sure how the show originally aired on TV, but this audio track is uncensored and is certainly not for younger viewers!) The characters are great and the dynamic between the surly genius Rick and his naive and anxious grandson is so wrong and yet so much fun. It’s like following the dysfunctional adventures of a seemingly indestructible Time Lord and his young companion. Rick is the kind of guy who is on your side as long as it’s good for him, but he will sell out even his own grandkids at the drop of a hat if it would be benefit him. That said, there does seem to be a bit of an evolution and change in Rick over the course of the season. At the same time, Morty is willing and eager to go on these adventures with his grandfather, even though someone usually ends up hurt or dead (the show can get pretty dark at times).

While the dialogue can be pretty hilarious, the writers and animators also prove that they can do so much even without any words. This season there are two amazing, nearly 5-minute, silent montages that tell hilarious, over-the-top, complete stories without using any words (though one does have hissing). In “Rattlerstar Ricklactica”, we follow the events that cause the space snake society to devolve into a Terminator 2 wasteland, and in “The Vat of Acid Episode”, Morty gets a love story with an homage to the film Alive. There are also many other great film and pop culture homages throughout the season, including the amazing love letter (or maybe hate mail) to all the ridiculous heist films, and references to Alien, Akira, and many more. The season also features a couple of catchy original songs (in addition to the snake jazz).

Not having seen the previous seasons, I can’t name all of the recurring characters that pop up in this fourth season, but Mr. Poopybutthole returns in the heist episode, “One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty”, and Mr. Meeseeks shows up in another episode. The season also includes an impressive list of guest stars for the season, including Sherri Shepherd, Sam Neill, Kathleen Turner, Taika Waititi, Jeffrey Wright, Pamela Adlon, Elon Musk, Justin Theroux, Claudia Black, Matthew Broderick, Liam Cunningham, Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Pepitone, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Meloni, and Susan Sarandon.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pretty immaculate, with rich colors and details. This season has some really complex and elaborate animated sequences (such as massive army battles), and the presentation always looks fantastic, no matter how much action is on screen. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer in the middle of the action, providing an immersive viewing experience. The episodes and bonus material are all included on a single Blu-ray disc, which comes in a standard HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover, along with a code to redeem a digital copy of the Rick and Morty season 4 episodes and bonus features on Vudu. The bonus material includes about 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the filmmakers, and a 5 minute anime short.



What’s Included:

    Episodes: (3:42:54)

      Blu-ray:

      • All 10 episodes of the fourth season.
        “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat”, “The Old Man and the Seat”, “One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty”, “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktime’s Morty”, “Rattlerstar Ricklactica”, “Never Ricking Morty”, “Promotyus”, “The Vat of Acid Episode”, “Childrick of Mort”, “Star Morty Rickturn of the Jerri”
      • 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
      • Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
      • Subtitles: English SDH​

      Digital: (Expires 9/30/2021)

      • Digital HD copy of the episodes and bonus material redeemable via Vudu.

    Extras:
    Most of the bonus material is also included with the digital copy, except for the “A Day at Rick and Morty” featurette.

    • A Day at Rick and Morty: Inside Season 4 (9:11)
      Cameras take a visit to the Rick and Morty offices on November 12, 2019 to get a behind-the-scenes look as the artists and animators from the various departments are trying to wrap up the fourth season episodes and start preparing for season five. Those interviewed include producer Sydney Ryan, associate producer Dave Otterby, associate producer Steve Levy, design assistant Josh Barish, design coordinators Jennifer Vogan & David Weiser, director Erica Hayes, storyboard artists Phylicia Fuentes, Douglas Einar Olsen, Eugene Huang, Dick Pose, Samantha Gray & Fill Marc Sagadraca, lead character designers Carlos Ortega & Kendra Melton, character designers Justin Noel, Kari Kilpela & Elisa Phillips, lead prop designer Brent Noll, lead background designer Vance Caines, color supervisor Carol Wyatt, assistant art director Jason Boesch, animation supervisor David Marshall, and animator Ferguson Winston.
    • Creating Snake Jazz (2:30)
      Composer Ryan Elder and the filmmakers discuss the process of creating the unique, infectious sound of “snake jazz”. Also includes interviews with director Jacob Hair and co-creators Justin Roiland & Dan Harmon.
    • Directing Rick and Morty (2:55)
      Several of the show’s directors talk about the responsibilities involved with being a director for an episode of Rick and Morty. Includes animatics, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with directors Bryan Newton, Erica Hayes, Jacob Hair & Anthony Chun, and co-creator Dan Harmon.
    • Samurai & Shogun (5:24)
      Rick and Morty take on a band of samurai out to kill them in this short anime adventure written and directed by Kaichi Sato. Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
    • Prop Process (2:48)
      The prop designers for the series discuss the process of creating the elaborate sci-fi props for the series, from Rick’s spaceship, the plumbus, Rick’s portal gun, and other episode-specific devices. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with lead prop designer Brent Noll, co-creator Justin Roiland, storyboard artist Dan O’Connor.
    • Character Creation (2:36)
      The animators discuss the process of designing new characters such as Wasp Rick and the Slut Dragons, drawing the character deaths, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with art director James McDermott, character designers Elisa Phillips, Kari Kilpela, Mike Diederich, Orlando Velez & Justin Noel, and lead character designers Kendra Melton & Carlos Ortega.
    • Animation Challenges (2:30)
      The directors talk about the more challenging aspects of this season, including crowd scenes, a big Game of Thrones-inspired army battle, animating four-legged animals, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with technical director David Marshall, art director James McDermott, and directors Bryan Newton & Anthony Chun.
    • Inside the Episode (16:46)
      The creators, writers and directors discuss the themes, stories and characters of each episode. Those interviewed include co-creators Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland, directors Bryan Newton, Anthony Chun, Jacob Hair & Kyounghee Lee, and writers Mike McMahan, Michael Waldron, Caitie Delaney, Jeff Loveness, James Siciliano, Albro Lundy & Anne Lane. Select from:

      • Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat (1:23)
      • The Old Man and the Seat (1:24)
      • One Crew over the Crewcoo’s Morty (1:22)
      • Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktime’s Morty (1:24)
      • Rattlerstar Ricklactica (1:23)
      • Never Ricking Morty (1:39)
      • Promotyus (1:47)
      • The Vat of Acid Episode (2:13)
      • Childrick of Mort (2:04)
      • Star Morty Rickturn of the Jerri (2:07)

     


    Final Thoughts:

    My Rating
    Episodes:
    Video:
    Audio:
    Extras:
    Highly Recommended

    As a first time viewer of Rick and Morty jumping in at the fourth season, I was pleasantly surprised by the series. This is a really fun and entertaining series with some hilarious characters and some wonderful, smart and complex writing. The episodes lend themselves to multiple viewings due to the layers of story and humor in each one. I definitely see myself catching up on the first three seasons and re-watching this excellent fourth season again. Warner Bros.’ Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and includes a nice selection of bonus material that is sure to please any fan of the series. It’s also great to see nearly all of the bonus material also included with the digital copy! This release comes highly recommended for both fans of the show or fans of adult animated comedies in general.