Jonny Quest is an animated, science fiction/adventure series by Hanna-Barbera that originally ran for 26 episodes from September 18, 1964 – March 11, 1965. In my review of The Complete Series, I described it as “an imaginative, Saturday morning, boys’ adventure series. After 21 years, the series was revived with 13 episodes of The New Adventures of Jonny Quest airing as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. Next came two TV-movies, Jonny’s Golden Quest (1993) and Jonny Quest vs. the Cyber-Insects (1995), which are paired together on a single Blu-ray from Warner Archive.
Buy Jonny’s Golden Quest / Jonny Quest vs. the Cyber-Insects Blu-rayI am not familiar with the New Adventures so am not sure about any continuity, but the team in Jonny’s Golden Quest continues to feature the titular character (Will Nipper); his father, scientist Dr. Benton Quest (Don Messick returning to the role from original series); family bodyguard Roger “Race” Bannon (Granville Van Dusen); Jonny’s pal, Hadji (Rob Paulsen), who appears to have magical powers (which makes one wonder why he doesn’t always use them); and Bandit, the dog. I was surprised to see Jonny’s mother, biologist Dr. Rachel Quest (Meredith MacRae), as part of the team as Benton was a widower in the original series. Also expanding the female presence is the return of Jade (JoBeth Williams), Race’s ex-wife, who appeared in two episodes of the Original Series, and a young girl named Jesse (Anndi McAfee).
In Jonny’s Golden Quest, the team heads to Peru where mutations of animals and plants are occurring. It turns out frequent Team Quest nemesis, Dr. Zin (Jeffrey Tambor), whose appearance is reminiscent of Fu Manchu, is the reason for the mutations as he is experimenting with cloning. Zin captures Rachel to aid in his escape but both get caught in a volcano eruption. This leads Benton to quit Intelligence-One and leave their Mexican compound to protect Jonny, who blames his father for his mother’s death. Jonny, Hadji, and Bandit encounter Jesse, who asks help in finding her father, Dr. Victor Devlon. Team Quest travels the globe in search of Victor, with Zin’s minions close behind.
The script by Sean Roche has good plot twists and character motivations. When secrets are revealed, they make sense. Jonny also demonstrates growth and maturity. His anger at his father is understandable for a pre-teen but when he finds himself in a similar situation, he then appreciates his father’s decision.
Jonny Quest vs. the Cyber-Insects was the next animated adventure for Team Quest, which includes Jesse as a member. The voice cast for the main characters are predominantly the same except for Kevin Smets taking over the lead role of Jonny. In addition, Tim Matheson, Jonny from the Original Series, voices robot 4-DAC.
After Jonny’s single-mindedness causes him to fail an Orinoquian test manhood in the jungles of South America, a satellite enters Earth’s orbit and causes extreme weather systems around the globe. As if that wasn’t enough to handle, large Cyber-Insects lead an attack on the Quest compound. Turns out, Dr. Zin is behind both from his secret asteroid base, although it’s not entirely clear what his ultimate goal is. He is a wonderful villain though. It’s amusing to watch how he deals failure or even the questioning of his orders from his subordinates.
After Benton is kidnapped and 4-DAC falls under Zin’s control due to a computer virus, Jonny and the team must infiltrate Zin’s base to find Benton and reprogram 4-DAC. However, Zin and his Cyber-Insects don’t make the task easy.
As with Golden Quest, the Cyber-Insects script, by David Bennett Carren and J. Larry Carroll, excels because in addition to providing a fun adventure, Jonny reflects and grows as a result of the failures he experiences, which includes endangering people’s lives.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image delivers colors in bold hues and inky blacks. The latter contributing to a good contrast. The image is clean, free from dirt and defect. What texture detail and depth the animators created is noticeable. The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Dialogue is clear and blend well with the scores and sound effects. There are no extras.
Jonny’s Golden Quest and Jonny Quest vs. the Cyber-Insects are fun throwbacks to Saturday morning adventure cartoons with stories that offer lessons without coming off as preaching. This disc is recommend for fans of the original series as well as newcomers as these movies make good entry points into the Quest franchise. The high-definition presentation does a fine job presenting the material.
