PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Chop Socky Chooks-Volume 1: Kobura Strikes (2007)

Chop Socky Chooks-Volume 1: Kobura Strikes (2007)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 4-Feb-2009

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Animation Main Menu Audio
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2007
Running Time 110:39
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Sergio Delfino
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI ? Music Lou Pomanti
Nikk Fielden
Michelle Smith


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

   

"Chop Socky!!!"

    Chop Socky Chooks is an animated TV series which was jointly made by Aardman Animation and DMX Media (the Canadian company responsible for kids shows such as Lunar Jim) in 2007. It is directed by one of Aardman's senior animators, Sergio Delfino. It has been shown locally on the cartoon network & ABC1. With this pedigree this should have been a better show, especially considering that the basic idea is great. The concept is that there are a group of three chickens who are martial arts heroes. They fight the baddie, Dr Wasabi using every cliché in the kung fu movie arsenal. The three chickens are Chuckie Chan who is the sensei type character (think Pat Morita combined with Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda), KO Joe who is an afro sporting funky dude in the manner of the Jim Kelly character in Enter The Dragon and Chick P., the Michelle Yeoh of the group.

    The problem with this show is that it is wildly uneven. Some episodes (of the five included on the disc) are excellent, funny & exciting especially Now You Coliseum, Now You Don't however the opening episode (and first of the overall show) is confusing, does a very ordinary job of introducing the characters and is only sporadically funny. This show was obviously made by people who love kung fu movies as most of the jokes are taken directly from that source material. Unfortunately, the core audience of the Cartoon Network (5-12 year old kids) has not seen the movies involved and therefore are somewhat confused. Despite this my boys certainly enjoy the show due to the action and general silliness. Also, some of the episodes have themes which can be a little concerning for kids, such as demons from the underworld and nightmares.

    This disc contains the first five episodes of the 26 which were made. Seemingly, the title was widely misunderstood in the USA, some even thinking 'chooks' was a racist epithet.

    In short, martial arts fans will definitely get a kick out of this show but the core audience will be a little confused & potentially scared despite liking the characters.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout without being crisp. There was no evidence of low level noise or grain of any description. There was some mile MPEG artefcats such as mild macro-blocking.

    The colour was excellent with no blemishes to report.

    There were no noticeable artefacts other than those already mentioned.

    There are no subtitles.

        

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.Some lines of dialogue went by a little too quickly for the kids to understand.

    The music features a fun theme tune which plays over the opening credits.

    The surround speakers were used for atmosphere especially for music.

    The subwoofer was also used for music from time to time.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Nothing except some unrelated trailers.

Menu

    The menu design is simple, motionless but featuring the funky theme tune.

 

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This series does not seem to have been released in other regions at this stage.

Summary

    A kids show which would amuse kung fu movie fans but leaves kids a little confused.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

    No extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Review Equipment
DVDSony DVP-NS708H upscaling to 1080p, using HDMI output
DisplayLG Scarlet 42LG61YD 106cm Full HD LCD. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

Other Reviews NONE