The Movie

Honor! Family! Tradition! What the hell is this, and why do I like it so damn much?

Mucha Lucha (which translates to "a lot of fighting") is a charming and clever animated series that takes place on a parallel Earth in which crazed Mexican wrestlers have become the predominant social class. You know the type: spandex-clad heroes wearing colorful masks, sporting thick South-of-the-Border accents and bravado the breadth of which could sink the Grand Canyon. Yes, stereotypes fly fast and free in this show designed for the attention-deficient among all of us, but damn if I didn't find myself rather delighted by the entire affair.

Mucha Lucha is a kind of animated hybrid that cross-pollinates Ren & Stimpy, The Powerpuff Girls, and the wacky world of Mexican Wrestling into some crazed hyper-reality. The show centers around the adventures of three kids -- Rikochet, Buena Girl, and The Flea -- as they attend wrestling school in search of their elusive "signature move". Their world is filled with a host of colorful, energetic characters, students and professors alike, whose entire existence is built around wrestling. Each episode moves at a kinetic pace, loaded with sight gags, puns, pratfalls, and extremely affectionate nods to Latino culture.

Mucha Lucha is as irreverent as cartoons come, which is to say that it never takes itself too seriously. Yet there's obviously a great deal of love in these cartoons, both for the characters and their culture. The writing is fairly witty, especially for children's fare, and the stylized animation, character designs, and situations display copious amounts of both imagination and fun. Is the show a classic? Time will tell, but so far I've enjoyed what I've seen. A lot.

The Mucha Lucha: The Heart of Lucha DVD contains the following episodes:

Episode 1:

·         Back to School

·         Weight Gaining

Episode 2:

·         How Ricochet Got His Move Back

·         Heart of Lucha

Episode 3:

·         Woulda Coulda Hasbeena

·         The Anger of Cindy Slam

The DVD

Video:

Mucha Lucha is a staple of the Kids WB line of programming, and thus retains a full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Most of Warner Brothers animation releases have been pretty stellar in terms of presentation quality, and that continues with this release. Colors are bright, rich, and vibrant, with some of the most eye-popping chromatic spreads I have seen. Contrast levels are also well rendered, with deep blacks and dazzling brights. There is no discernable compression noise on this transfer. Mucha Lucha is a relatively new creation, and the transfer is clean and free of mars, specks, debris or other artifacts. Unfortunately, like many recent releases, the image detail is excessively sharp. While image detail levels are very fine, excessive sharpness levels has resulted in noticeable jagged edges, shimmering, and haloing. The result is an overly crisp and digitized image that should have been softened. This is the only fault in an otherwise stellar transfer. 

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, with language options in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and is remarkably impressive for a two-channel soundtrack. While obviously limited in its spatiality, the audio provides a satisfying accompaniment to the program. The soundtrack sounds punchy and deep, with solid bass levels and sharp, expressive highs without distortion, harshness, or clipping. Dialog appears natural and bright without flaw. Surrounds show some occasional use but this is primarily a front stage production.

Extras:

The Lucha behind the Mucha! is a surprisingly informative nine-minute behind-the-scenes look at Mucha Lucha. Series creators Eddie Mort and Lili Chin talk about the origins of the series, and discuss the characters and settings of their creation. They also share some unseen footage featuring earlier iterations of their universe. Other cast and crew, including the vocal talent, producers, and creative directors, are also included in the feature. While this documentary is short, it is quite substantial and very enjoyable during its scant running time.

Chicos de Barrio Music Video runs slightly over three minutes. The video intersperses clips from the show with footage of the band performing the show's catchy theme song. It's a cute addition, and I have to admit the song is pretty good.

Mucha Moves is a trivia game in which you have to match a Mucha Lucha wrestler with their signature move. The game is fairly forgettable, but young fans might get a kick out of it.

Finally, Family Favorites contains trailers for What's New Scooby Doo?, Ozzy and Drix, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico.

Final Thoughts

Lucharaaaaaan! What a quirky, funny show! I've always had a fascination with Mexican wrestlers; they always seemed to be having a lot more fun and brought more heart to their profession than their American counterparts. Since they seem like living cartoons anyhow, the transition to animated form seems rather natural. In any case, I really enjoyed Mucha Lucha: The Heart of Lucha. This is definitely a fun recommendation for children, although older animation fans may probably want to give this one a rental first. Chalk this DVD up as a charming surprise for this reviewer.