DVD Review - Dennis the Menace: Volume One - Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Dennis the Menace: Volume One
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Retail: $12.98
ASIN: B00I2YXN5A
Running Time: 8 Hours 7 minutes
Rating: TV-Y
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Over the last decade, many Saturday Morning cartoon classics from the 1980s have made their way on DVD for old fans to enjoy and new fans to experience. Sadly, the 1986 cartoon series Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip of the same name by Hank Ketcham, has never been available to own, except for a select seven-episode DVD collection released in 2008. Today, Mill Creek Entertainments is releasing Dennis the Menace: Volume One, featuring the first 33 episodes on a three-disc set. As an added bonus there are 3 UMiGo music videos.

The series centers on the young, mischievous blond, Dennis Mitchell, as he goes on numerous adventures in his neighbor, typically annoying his next-door neighbor, Mr. Wilson, in the process. Along for the ride is Dennis' best friend, Joey McDonald and other pals - Tommy Anderson, Margaret Wade, Gina Gillotti, PeeBee Kappa, and Jay Weldon. Of course his dog, Ruff, is always around too.

The 33 episodes on the three-disc set are:

So Long, Old Paint/Trembly Assembly/Private I
A Visitor from Outer Space/Train That Boy/Genie Madness
Cheer Up/Ghostblusters/The Life You Save
Shark Treatment/Jungle Bungle/Racetrack Menace
All the President's Menace/The Love Rowboat/Wilson the Menace
Fishing for Trouble/Future Fortune/Time Bomb
Spa Blahs/Whale of a Tale/Disaster on the Green
Here, Kitty!/Circus Berserkus/The Monster of Mudville Flats
The Price of Stardom/Space Menace/The Magic Flute
Dennis' Yard Sale/The Abominable Snow Menace/It Came from the Planet Dennis
Snowman Madness/The Invisible Kid/Home Destruction
Chitty Chitty Moon Walk/Wet 'N Wild/Dennis at the Movies
The Supermarket/The Big Candied Apple/The Defective Detector
Henry the Menace/Come Fly with Me/Camping Out
Up Up and Away (From Here)/Going Ape/Dennis the Pirate
It's a Ruff Life/Professor Myron Mentalapse/Dennis Race 2000
A Better Mousetrap/The Wizzer of Odd/Canine Car Wash
Ride'Em Cowboy/Tenting Tonight/A Hair Raising Tale
Medieval Evil/Beaver-Mania/Say Uncle
Hopping Mad/Mayan Mayhem/The Big Power Trip
Strong Medicine/Gold Strike/Lights! Camera! Mud!
Invasion of the Blob/Wild West Show-Down/The Hen Party
Up Up and Oh Boy!/The Company Picnic/Aw Nuts!
Clip-Joint Capers/Tanks for the Memory/Second Honeymoon
A Couple of Coo-Coos/The Cloneheads/Nothing But the Tooth
Mummy's Little Boy/Horsing Around/Dennis Plasters Pamplona
Dennis Predicts/Dennis & the Kangaroo Cavalry/Meatball Mess
My Fair Dennis/A Good Knight's Work/Life in the Fast Lane
A Nightmare at the Opera/A Royal Pain/Having a Marbleous Time
Marky the Menace/Dennis the Genius/A Step Ahead
The Boss Gets Scalped/Mr. Dennistein/Lean Green Jumping Machine
Laundry Business/Journey to the Center of Uncle Charlie's Farm/Dennis Springs Into Action
Ruff's Hat Trick/A Moving Experience/Lemon-Aid

I have fond memories of sitting in the floor close to the television set (which is something I wasn't
suppose to do) and watching Dennis the Menace in the afternoons when I was a child back in the '80s. I had completely forgotten about the series until I learned about this week's DVD release, which Mill Creek Entertainment nicely sent me a copy for this review.

Dennis the Menace follows a similar format that other '80s cartoons had, in which each episode was split into three segments, so technically there are 99 mini-episodes on Volume One, which is the first half of the first season. Warning: After watching a few episodes, the theme song will be stuck in your head for days. The picture isn't restored quality, but I'm not complaining, as I'm just glad the series is being released. Overall, I have enjoyed revisiting the mischievous boy in Dennis the Menace: Volume One. I recommend it to other fans. At only $12.98, it would make a great birthday present or an Easter gift for someone, young or old.