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STUDIO: Sony
MSRP: $34.99
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 313 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
– An Introduction and wrap by Cedric Yarbrough and Gary Anthony Williams for every episode
– Animatic to Screen Comparisons
– Commentary on It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman with John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough & Gary Anthony Williams
– Commentary on Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy with John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough & Gary Anthony Williams
– Commentary on Mr. Medicinal with John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough & Gary Anthony Williams
– Commentary on The Fried Chicken Flu with John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough & Gary Anthony Williams
– Slink on the Street: Who is Your Favorite Character?
– Seung Eun Kim Sketch Photo Gallery
The Pitch
Aaron McGruder’s acerbic take on the pitfalls of Black culture returns for a third season.
The Humans
- Huey Freeman – Regina King
- Riley Freeman – Regina King
- Robert “Granddad” Freeman – John Witherspoon
- Uncle Ruckus – Gary Anthony Williams
- Tom Dubois – Cedric Yarbrough
- Sarah Dubois – Jill Talley
- Jazmine Dubois – Gabby Soleil
“No, Granddad, we don’t know who busted a bunch of caps in The Family Circus. Why do you ask…?”
The Nutshell
The
Freeman family, ten-year-old Huey, his eight-year-old brother, Riley,
and their grandfather, “Granddad” Robert, who is the boys’ legal
guardian, have relocated to the suburb of Woodcrest from the
South Side of Chicago. There they live a life that is rarely
boring, whether it be from the machinations and adventures of Huey, who
is an intellectual martial artist, Riley, who is addicted to the gangsta
rap lifestyle, or Robert, who tries to live the quiet life but
frequently finds himself unable to do so. The Freemans find
themselves mixed up in everything from kung fu gangs to candy bar mafia doings to international kickball intrigue to an epidemic centered around chicken.
Reminds me of an R. Kelly video. Except the girl is too old…
The Lowdown
I covered Season 2 of The Boondocks here. My take on the show hasn’t changed much: I love it. It’s a romp, making pointed and poignant satire of race relations and the Black condition in America, as well as just having laugh-out-loud moments. The Anime look of the show adds to the appeal and the show is highly worth catching if you haven’t already. McGruder tackles several areas of race, from Obama, to fried chicken, to rednecks, to the rap mentality and the the Black family unit. All of his characters bring something different to the equation and McGruder, his staff and cast succeed in creating a show that revels in its foulness, lunacy and skewering of American pop culture.
Anybody not want to see this happen to Chris Hanson?
The main trio of Huey, Riley and Robert continue to offer three very different takes on things, with Huey being the level headed nonconformist, Riley the wild, thug life-aspiring rapscallion, and Robert the at-times overwhelmed voice of the older generation. Uncle Ruckus is still the same n-word spewing racist; Tom the same erudite, un-hip Black neighbor, Jazmine the same overly-excitable, doe-eyed bi-racial girl. Thugnificent is back as well, but he undergoes a life-changing event that tempers (ever so slightly) his outlook on the world. Also, Stinkmeaner may be gone, but his legacy returns to haunt the Freemans some more.
Like the previous seasons, there’s a wide variety of subjects tackled in Season 3. The first episode, “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman,” deals with the Freeman family reaction to President Obama’s victory in the 2008 election, or more importantly, Huey’s non-reaction. “Bitches to Rags” deals with Thugnificent having to abandon the rap life when his material tanks and creditors come calling. A rap beef with the new up and coming act proves fruitless (he essentially tells a 15-year-old kid to eat a dick), and after his life as a drug dealer fizzles, Thugnificent has to get a real job. One of the funniest episodes is “The Red Ball,” where Huey, who is a kickball prodigy, finds himself heading a team made up of misfits to defeat an all-star Chinese team in order to save Ed Wuncler’s investments, which include the Freeman family home.
Whatever bit of political or socio-economic satire this particular shot is making, I support it fully…
“The Story of Jimmy Rebel” finds Ruckus befriending his hero, racist country singer Jimmy Rebel; “Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy” has Stinkmeaner’s crew attacking the Freeman family for payback over Stinkmeaner’s death, and Robert’s having to hire Bushido Brown, the greatest martial artist egomaniac in the world, for protection. “The Fundraiser” has Riley becoming the ultimate candy bar-selling baller, and “Pause” is a direct send-up of all things Tyler Perry when Robert is cast in the production of a play by Winston Jerome, who’s a closet homosexual. “A Date With The Booty Warrior” is one of the funniest episodes of the season. In it, Tom has to deal with his overwhelming fear of being anally raped when he takes a group of school kids, including Huey and Riley, on a Scared Straight trip to prison. This is right as it’s taken over by the inmates who are looking to anally rape someone. Whenever they have a Tom-centric episode, it usually doesn’t disappoint.
As in previous seasons, there are a plethora of guest stars, including Werner Herzog, Bill Maher, DJ Vlad, Charlie Murphy, John landis, Clifton Powell, Samuel L. Jackson, Billy Dee Williams, Gina Torres, Mark Hamill, Marion Ross, Star Jones, Edward Asner and John C. McGinley. Again, McGruder wrote or co-wrote all of the episodes and I like his biting sense of humor and satire. The animation on the show is sharp and overall The Boondocks is a fun watch.
The Package
The transfer of the episodes is clear and again, the animation is sharp and looks great. Sound is available in English Dolby 5.1. There are several special features, including the following introductions by Cedric Yarbrough and Gary Anthony Williams for every episode and Animatic to Screen Comparisons. There are commentaries on “It’s a Black President, Huey Freeman”, “Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy”, “Mr. Medicinal” and “The Fried Chicken Flu” with actors John Witherspoon, Cedric Yarbrough & Gary Anthony Williams. Slink on the Street: Who is Your Favorite Character?, and a Seung Eun Kim Sketch Photo Gallery round out the offerings.
Stimulus package…