Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors: Vol. 1 DVD Credits:

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Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors: Vol. 1 DVD Release Date: 24th March 2008

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Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors: Vol. 1 DVD Review:

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors is one of those great cartoon shows that you’ve never heard of from the 1980s. It was only on for 65 episodes, which isn’t much more than a season in the world of children’s cartoons, but it was still an original and entertaining show for the time that it was on. It has a loyal cult following of viewers who watched it during the time that it was on, but it hasn’t gained much new viewership since its initial run because it hasn’t seen any syndication on television and its home video releases have been few and far between. As such, a four-disc DVD set containing the first 33 episodes of the show in one package is a pretty big deal for fans of the show and newcomers alike, and that’s just what’s being released this week with Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors: Vol.1. Presumably, if it sells reasonably well the studio will release the other 32 episodes in another set to complete the series on DVD.

The setup of the show is a unique, though undeniably strange, premise. When a solar flare wreaks havoc on his botanical experiments, Jayce’s father is forced to flee from his accidental creations: Saw Boss and his band of ruthless mutated plant life called the Monster Minds. Now it’s up to Jayce, joined by the valiant Lighting League, to reunite with his father and combine the two halves of the magic Root Amulet—the only object capable of purging the universe of Saw Boss and his army forever.

There are some familiar archetypes on display here, and one can’t help but think of a certain Space Opera film trilogy (*cough* Star Wars) when watching Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, but the comparisons are mostly superficial. Jayce himself is a naïve farm boy in search of greater things much like Luke Skywalker. Gillian, the old wizard that looks after him fills a mentor role similar to Obi Wan Kenobi. Even Herc Stormsailer, the greedy but good-natured space bandit, is a little bit too much like Han Solo to turn a blind eye to. However, as with Star Wars, these characters are archetypes more than anything, and they’re actually very unique beyond their superficial character descriptions. Even if Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors DOES steal from Star Wars a little, there are definitely worse movies that a sci-fi show could draw inspiration from.

The central characters may be a bit familiar, but the universe that they inhabit is an entirely original one, even twenty years later. During every consecutive episode the characters visit imaginatively-designed planets inhabited by all sorts of different creatures and aliens. Even the supporting characters of the show are unique in their own ways. The character of Oon is a short robotic squire who talks in a metallic voice and always carries around his lance that is two times larger than he is. The character of Flora is literally a psychic flower child who has a pet flying fish named Brock. Even if the main characters aren’t entirely new conceptually, the supporting characters and worlds take up the extra slack by being fully-realized and wholly unique.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors’ writing is also surprisingly strong for a children’s cartoon show. J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the hit sci-fi show, Babylon 5, cut his teeth as a writer on this show, and the quality can be seen in episode after episode. The strongest asset Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors has from a writing standpoint is its cohesive over-arching structure. Children’s cartoon shows these days are almost invariably episodic in nature. They have their usual cast of characters and every episode involves a self-contained mission for those characters to embark on. Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, on the other hand, is actually a good old fashioned sci-fi action serial. Every episode has a self-contained miniature story, but there is a constant over-arching plotline unfolding at the same time. This gives the show a lot more gravitas than one might expect from a cartoon.

The animation itself is what you might expect from a 1980s era cartoon television show. It’s obviously not the highest budgeted animation ever, as it’s rather stilted and choppy, with none of the fluidity found in modern animation. However, the show is populated by such colorful worlds and characters, and supported by such entertaining stories, that one can pretty easily look past the animation flaws.

There’s not too much on the DVD in the way of extras, but the more curious viewers out there will want to check out what’s available. There are scripts for two of the episodes and concept art for the show as a whole. Again, casual viewers will probably skip right over this stuff, but it’s worth a look for those who are interested.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors may not have the largest following ever, but that’s the beauty of DVD: to reveal forgotten gems to a whole new crowd of people who were never exposed to them originally. What’s even better is that viewers can watch one episode after another consecutively and enjoy the broader plotline without having to wait days in between. If you’re a fan of the more adventurous shows found on cartoon network then Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors might be right up your alley, as it’s a solid and entertaining cartoon show that has enough depth and imagination to be appreciated by children and adults alike.

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Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors: Vol. 1 DVD review written by: Anthony Berk