Warner Archive rereleasing the before-he-was-an-attorney-at-law 1967-68 animated series "Birdman & the Galaxy Trio" on DVD on December 5, 2017 shows the usual excellent Archive timing. This show and a (reviewed) "Space Ghost" rerelease is perfect viewing for frigid snowy Saturdays stuck inside. A word of warning is that repeatedly shouting the battle cry "BIRDMAN" in a rich manly baritone is great fun but can cause mild domestic strife.
Another interesting side note is that Michael "I am Batman" Keaton plays a quirky version of this winged superhero with Ra-given powers in the indie cult classic "Birdman" three years before playing The Vulture in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
One of the best brains behind the (HILARIOUS) aforementioned satirical Adult Swim "Attorney-at-Law" series provides the best insight regarding "Birdman" in noting that it, "Space Ghost," and similar mid-60s super-hero fare are the response of Hanna-Barbera to the aforementioned friendly neighborhood web spinner and his amazing friends from several 'verses invading the Saturday morning turf of the folks behind seemingly infinite animated classics. Hanna-Barbera bringing in the big gun in the form of hiring legendary super-hero comic book artist Alex Toth to helm these projects shows that that studio did not take any prisoners.
"Birdman" sticks to tradition in following the three shorts format of many of its series. Each episode begins with a "Birdman" adventure, then has the companion program "The Galaxy Trio" offer thrills and excitement, and ends with a second "Birdman."
A typical "Birdman" outing has this winged and cowled do-gooder and his purple eagle Avenger fighting evil-doers who usually either are out to steal military secrets or to capture and/or kill our hero. The Achilles heel of this solar-powered man with god-given abilities is his need to constantly be in the sunlight (not to mention the spotlight.) The bad guys being aware of this weakness makes keeping Birdman out of the sun a central part of most nefarious schemes. Just as often, going toward the light is an integral part of saving the day.
Avenger regularly rescuing Birdman is a great example of the element of an animal being the hero that is an awesome part of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This is especially true in the '70s classic "Josie and the Pussycats." Many episodes of this "Scooby-Doo" clone finds the villain of the week capturing the titular rock band and its entourage only to have Sebastian the actual cat use his claw to pick a cell lock or otherwise free the meddling kids.
Speaking of "Scooby," "Birdman" utilizing the dramatic and/or eerie music that is a classic of the subsequent series is terrific fun." Speaking of "Josie," "Trio" can be thought of "The Fantastic Four" minus one meets "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space," which itself is a variation of the live-action '60s cult-classic series "Lost in Space." The "Trio"/"Pussycats" similarities extend to space craft and other elements in the former showing up in the latter.
The origins of the aforementioned team of three capeless crusaders are unknown. Meteor Man has fists of granite and can grow to gigantic proportions when clobberin' time comes around; Vapor Man can convert himself to a vaporous form and emit all but the most predictable noxious gases when subduing the bad guys requires doing so; Galaxy Girl (who does not warrant the designation of "woman" in the inadvertently sexist '60s) can manipulate gravity and otherwise send out charges to help save the day.
Another awesome aspect of "Birdman" is that it arguably evolves to the Blue Falcon character in the mid-70s "Scooby" paired "Dynomutt" series. A less awesome aspect of this is the term "Blue Falcon" having a very negative meaning in military circles. Based on the initials BF, this expression describes a comrade-in-arms who betrays his band of brothers to an extent that warrants labeling him a buddy f***er.
Blue Falcon is the Batman to Birdman's Superman in that that millionaire caped crusader lacks any super powers and largely depends on the (somewhat reliable) gadgets install in his titular robotic K-9, who can be considered the Avenger of the series. Further, both heroes have epic battle cries and receive marching orders via an elaborate early video-conferencing system.
The love of Archive for this important piece of animation history extends beyond rereleasing it for a generation of kids deprived of Saturday mornings in front of huge console TVs eating Quisp cereal and watching the products of the best brains at Hanna Barbera. The remastering looks and sounds fantastic, and the aforementioned special feature equally entertains and informs.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Birdman" or "Space Ghost" is strongly encouraged either me to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy. BIRDMAN!!!
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