Courtesy: Shout! Factory/Nickelodeon
Next Tuesday, October 14th, Shout! Factory will release its latest complete Nicktoons box set thanks to its partnership with Nickelodeon and Viacom. CatDog: The Complete Series follows Shout! Factory’s most recent complete Nicktoons box set Hey Arnold!: The Complete Series. That box set was released August 19th. And as with that series, CatDog: The Complete Series will be available exclusively via Wal-Mart stores nationwide. This latest box set is another wonderful addition to the home library of Nicktoons Nostalgic that grew up in Nickeldeon’s golden era. The most obvious reason that any grown up fan of this series will appreciate this new complete series set is the same as Shout! Factory’s previous full series Nicktoon sets. It contains every episode from the series’ original run on Nickelodeon. In connection to the episodes, they are contained on the same total number of discs from the previously released stand-alone sets. The difference is that the twelve discs that make up the series are contained within only two boxes. This saves space on any DVD rack. It’s one more reason that audiences will appreciate this set regardless of whether they have already purchased any of said the said stand-alone boxes. And last of note that makes CatDog: The Complete Series another welcome release from Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon is the writing that went into the episodes. Together with the set’s packaging and the inclusion of every one of the series’ episodes, it completes the box set and makes it all the more welcome an addition to the home collection of any Nicktoons Nostalgic.
CatDog is one of the last of Nickelodeon’s great series that earned the title Nicktoon. Next to the likes of Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and Doug, it was one of the last of a special breed of cartoons for kids. After it ended its initial run on Nickelodeon, it ran in re-runs for a while until the network’s heads decided to move the kid favorite series over to Nickelodeon’s digital “sister station” Nicktoons. Most cable and satellite carriers general keep Nicktoons on their upper digital tiers, thus making it a premium channel that costs extra for subscribers. Suddenlink made things even more difficult for audiences recently when its dispute with Viacom led the carrier to drop not just Nicktoons but all of the Viacom networks that it once carried for customers across the country. This means that for possibly thousands of audiences, there is now no way to see CatDog on television. This makes CatDog: The Complete Series even more of a positive for anyone that grew up with this series and other Nicktoons. So now regardless of whether or not audiences can get Nicktoons for one reason or another, Shout! Factory have made it possible for every Nicktoons Nostalgic to own one more piece of television greatness in its entirety. Things only get better from here, too. The set’s overall packaging should be taken into consideration, too in its overall success and enjoyment.
The inclusion of CatDog’s complete series in Shout! Factory’s new full series set is something that most definitely should not be taken for granted. There are those that get Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons network and actually get to see this modern classic cartoon, given. But there are also those that don’t get the network for one reason or another. Whether it be because of the cost of subscribing to extra digital tiers on their carriers or their carrier not even carrying the network (as with Suddenlink’s dispute with Viacom), there are in fact those that don’t get to see these episodes. That makes the release of this set quite the welcome addition to those individuals’ home libraries. The set’s overall packaging makes it all the more welcome an addition to audiences regardless of whether or not they already own any of the series’ previously released stand-alone box sets. All sixty-eight episodes that made up the series are spread across twelve discs inside two boxes. Compared to those aforementioned stand-alone box sets, the packaging of the discs in this format takes up much less space on DVD racks than those sets by themselves. So not only do audiences get the complete series in this set, but they also get the complete series in yet another ergonomic package. Once again, the employees of Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon are deserving of their own share of applause for these efforts. It still is not the last of the factors worth noting that makes this latest full series set from Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon a win for fans. The final factor that makes this set a welcome addition to any classic Nicktoons fan’s home library is the series’ animation. It separates the series not only from other Nicktoons of its time but from every other children’s program on television today.
The last piece of the puzzle that makes CatDog: The Complete Series such a welcome addition to the library of any classic Nicktoons fan is the series’ animation. There are still a few children’s shows out there today on cable the feature at least some amount of hand drawn animation. But by and large, most of today’s children’s programs are more based in computer generated “animation” than actual hand-drawn art. Unlike those shows CatDog was created largely by hand. If there was any computer usage in this series, it was minimal at best. Other than that, it gives the show its own identity much like its fellow Nicktoons and those series that came before it in the golden era of the “Big 4.” Taking this into account and the fact that true cartoons have officially gone by the wayside—weekday and weekend—such actual art work becomes increasingly valuable. It serves as one more example of what once made children’s programming so great and still could again one day given the opportunity. And together with both the overall packaging of this set and the inclusion of its full sixty-eight episode run, it makes this set a must have for any Nicktoons Nostalgic and for any fan of real cartoons.
The partnership between Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon has produced a number of wonderful releases up to this point. CatDog: The Complete Series is just one more addition to that long line of proper classic Nicktoons released thanks to that partnership. The set’s packaging and the inclusion of the series’ full sixty-eight episode run works alongside its original animation to make it a joy for any lover of classic cartoons. It may or may not be the last of the complete series releases from Nickelodeon and Shout! Factory. At this time, there is no deal in place for releases of Rugrats, Doug, or even Rocket Power. And there’s no word on when or if Hey Dude! and The Wild Thornberrys will see full series releases. Whether or not any of these series ever get proper releases from Shout! Factory, at least audiences will have CatDog: The Complete Series. It will be available next Tuesday, October 14th. It can be ordered online direct from Shout! Factory’s online store at http://www.shoutfactory.com. More information on this and other releases from Shout! Factory is available online at:
Website: http://www.shoutfactory.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shoutfactoryofficial
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