Rally-ho! The 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon trio, The Impossibles, is back, along with the mechanical marauder, Frankenstein Jr. on a 2-disc set! Complete with maniacally preposterous villains, witty action phrases and heroic banter, the crime-fighting combination of the dynamic trio and riveting robot brings out a classic sense of comedic superhero-based adventure.
Disguised to the public as a beatnik band of three members, The Impossibles are always ready to save the day and answer the call for justice by communicating with their correspondent on their high-tech instruments. At a moment’s notice the pop band transforms into the Incredible Impossibles: Fluid-man, Coil-man and Multi-man! Their respective powers are pretty self-explanatory. Fluid-man, my personal favorite for the obvious reason that he is the most useful, has the ability to turn himself into a puddle of water, which proves useful when trying to slip through doors or take cover in bottles. Coil-man can stretch his body and utilizes a springboard ability to defeat the villainous rivals and bounce from place to place. Multi-man has the ability to multiply himself indefinitely and trick the dastardly forces of evil that harass the Empire City. The Impossibles have a variety of pesky villains to deal with and are constantly called upon to fight them for extremely important reasons, such as recovering a rich woman’s million dollar tiara, or rescuing a little boy from an unknown country who must judge the princess of the year. Nonetheless, The Impossibles work well together in devising strategic tactics to thwart their foes. Overall, the adventures of the super trio are fun to watch, fast-paced and extremely comical.
In between episodes of The Impossibles, the adventures of Frankenstein Jr. and his young human helper, Buzz, are displayed. Frankenstein Jr. is a metallic hero built by Buzz’s father in an effort to keep the Earth safe from evil. In the first episode it becomes clear that Buzz controls Frankenstein Jr., activating him with his ‘Radar Ring’ and allying with the robot to fly off towards the dangerous forces of evil while his father stays at the lab. Over the course of the cartoon various powers are shown to be possessed by the hulking machine, from head shots, in which Frankie shoots his head off, to the overwhelming and devastating tickle beam, which is too terrible to describe. Buzz can also activate some of these powers from his ring and from the back of Frankie’s head. The villains that face the duo are quite destructive and consist of aliens who make zoo animals massively large with a ray gun, the infamous and despised Spyder-man who traps people in his webs and sends out Hench-menaces…yes, he’s that clever! The adventures of Buzz and Frankenstein Jr. are less frequent than that of The Impossibles, however, it is this infrequence that provides for some sort of cliffhanger in certain episodes and provides a relief from the catchy tunes of The Impossibles. The combination of the two sets of heroes is satisfying and a true blast from the past in the form of humor and captivation.
