Written and Directed by Sean Baker, Spencer Chinoy, Dan Milano
Back in 2002, Greg the Bunny aired on Fox and starred Eugene Levy, Sarah Silverman and Seth Green, just to name a few. This “little puppet show that could” had lots of fans, but as usual, Fox canceled it before the first season completed. Lucky for Greg the Bunny fans, Independent Film Channel offered them a place on their channel. Shout Factory recently released The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies: Volume Two on DVD and I gave it a spin.
The Series
In the original Greg the Bunny show, Greg was the co-star of a children’s television show called Sweetknuckle Junction.Greg the Bunny treated puppets as though they were real creatures within the reality of the show, although in this show, they were treated as a racial minority, sometimes struggling against second-class citizenship. This back-story for Greg was re-tooled for the IFC episodes.
In the IFC episodes, Greg lived with Spencer Chinoy and Sean Baker and created spoofs of movies such as Annie Hall, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider and Pulp Fiction. The cast for these segments primarily features puppets Greg and Warren Demontague, with appearances from Count Blah and a new character Pal Friendlies, and returning character, The Wumpus. If Tardy the Turtle and Susan were some of your favorites from the Fox show, they were unable to appear in the IFC series because they were the property of Fox, so that is sad news.
Okay, now that you are caught up on the premise of the show, let’s see what is included on this release:
“Wumpus the Monster” (parodying Patty Jenkins’ Monster) is a standout episode. It not only includes a parody of Monster, but of A Clockwork Orange. Wait until you see a puppet wearing a mini droog costume. You will never forget it.
“Sockville” lampoons Lars Von Trier’s minimalist film Dogville. They absolutely nail the feeling and sets of this minimalist film.
In one of my favorites, “Blue Velveteen” , the gang take on David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. This is the second time Greg and his pals parody Lynch as in a previous episode, they did Eraserhead. Not only do they skewer Blue Velvet in this episode, but they even work in a references to Dune and The Elephant Man.
“Plush- Behind the Seams” which is a parody of VH1’s Behind the Music series. Greg and Warren’s band, Plush, explore their creative process show the ups and downs of stardom. Hey, it’s hard on a puppet too.
“Wacky Wednesday” is a sendup of Face Off. You just have to see this one to believe it. Trust me, its funny.
“The Passion of the Easter Bunny – Fabricated American Movie” is another great episode. Mel Gibson has influenced Greg and he proceeds to try to do his own version of “The Passion of the Christ”. I don’t know how Mel feels about this episode, but I found it hilarious.
“Fur on the Asphalt”, is a reunion special that was made to transition Greg’s story from Fox over to IFC. It is a great episode and even features puppets gambling in a casino.
Revisiting Greg the Bunny and gang and these parodies was a hoot and I highly recommend giving it a whirl.
Any film fan will get a kick out of The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies: Volume Two. If you are fan of Greg the Bunny, this is probably already on your shelf.
7/10
The Video
The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies: Volume Two is presented in the original full frame aspect ratio. As far as TV transfers go, this one is respectable. I did not notice any instances of grain or artifacts.
7/10
The Audio
The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies: Volume Two is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. It is not the DVD to pop in to give the home theater a work out, but it gets the job done.
6/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies: Volume Two is presented in a standard amaray case with a cute picture of Greg and Warren Demontague.
Some nice bonus features await your perusal on this release.
First up, some Webisodes are offered. A Gag Reel and Deleted Scenes. Several commentaries by cast and creators are offered to you. There are some behind-the-scenes clips and photos. If you are a fan of Warren and Greg’s band Plush, you can watch their first music video.
Uncut: Supper with Friends is really funny . I think my favorite bonus feature is the never before seen clips of Junktape, the public access show that first introduced Greg the Bunny to the world. Watching Greg interact with people on the street is priceless.
The selection of bonus features should make any Greg the Bunny fan happy.
7.5/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10
The Review
The Series 7/10
The Video 7/10
The Audio 7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 7.5/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10