Warner Bros. // 2005 // 96 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge David Johnson // April 21st, 2006
Thought saving the world was tough? Try defending the whole galaxy sometime!
And for your next cartoon that I've never heard of...
Young Betty is a green-eyed, red-haired little girl who excels at school, but often has to put up with the usual crap from her idiot classmates. Back at home she kills time with her troublesome cat and her Sharon Stone look-alike MILF of a mom. But there's more to Betty than meets the eye. Much more.
You see, Betty has an alter-ego: the super-powerful "Atomic Betty, Galactic Guardian and Defender of the Cosmos." When called into action by a talking fish space admiral, Betty morphs into her superhero costume, gets beamed aboard her state-of-the-art spaceship and, helped by loyal friends Sparky and X-5, takes on whatever sinister threat has endangered the universe.
That threat usually materializes in two forms: the dark-overlord-who's-also-a-cat, Maximus IQ, and the evil, tantrum-throwing baby Infantor. At any given time one of these diabolical villains could be hatching an appropriately diabolical plan to neutralize Atomic Betty and take over the cosmos.
Betty to the Rescue! features eight, 12-minute episodes:
* "Maximus Displeasure"
Betty is tasked with traveling to a
far-off planet where Maximus IQ is planning yet another galactic takeover
attempt. Her orders: to obliterate his top-secret laboratory.
* "Cosmic Cake"
Another nefarious plot has Maximus IQ
throwing himself a huge birthday party, with an evil trick: the frosting on his
cosmic cake, once eaten, will render people powerless to his will. It's up to
Betty, Sparky, and X-5 to squash the cat's scheme.
* "Attack of the Evil Baby"
Pretty self-explanatory,
actually. Here Betty first meets Infantor, the titular evil baby, who would go
on to become one of her most ruthless adversaries.
* "Crass Menagerie"
That fish guy tells Betty to haul off to
see a famous artist, so she can have her portrait painted. Little does anyone
know that painter is actually Maximus IQ in disguise, and he plans to capture
Betty in his magical menagerie forever.
* "The Trouble with Triplets"
Can this be? Betty has been
labeled a criminal for destroying a space restaurant. Turns out Maximus IQ has
created three Betty look-alikes to run amok, and it will be the real Betty's job
to kick the crap out of them.
* "The Substitute"
Betty learns that her comrades Sparky and
X-5 have been captured. She's given a couple of replacement crew members to help
retrieve her friends -- but wouldn't you know, they're just plants by Maximus
IQ!
* "Infantor Rules!"
This cartoon sure likes to use
exclamation points! Betty and her pals must face Infantor again! And this time
he's trapped them in a video game! Can they survive?!
* "Best (Mis)Laid Plans"
Betty is sent to track down Maximus
IQ, who's made off with top secret plans of a new spaceship. Thankfully, he's,
you know, a cat, so it shouldn't be that hard.
Atomic Betty does nothing for me. It's a mediocre cartoon, featuring all the bluster and craziness typical of ADHD animation like, say, The Fairly Oddparents, but only a fraction of the wit. Mainly, the cartoon is about Betty jumping through the air with fake techno blaring in the background and kicking evil space robots in the face. If that's all you or your kid is looking for, then more power to you. Betty should deliver. Consider me underwhelmed.
Full frame and 2.0 stereo (in three languages) plus a two-minute bonus short comprise the disc's gravy
Nothing about Atomic Betty lifts above the pack of other headache-inducing animation.
The accused is shuttled off to Neptune for a few weeks.
Review content copyright © 2006 David Johnson; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2008 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Video: 85
Audio: 85
Extras: 75
Acting: 75
Story: 75
Judgment: 75
Perp Profile
Studio: Warner Bros.
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (French)
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Spanish)
Subtitles:
* English
* French
* Spanish
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Release Year: 2005
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Bonus Short
* Trailers
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0424603/combined