Friday, June 4, 2010

Daria: Is it Fall Yet - A Movie Worth More than A Special Feature on a DVD Boxset

One of my most loved possessions is my DVD boxset of the Daria TV series. The official one released from MTV, not a bootleg full of TV-Rips of Noggin edited episodes that have been circulating the Convention circuits.
I love the boxset. The episodes are like little nuggets of knowledge. Part of the DVD Box is the inclusion of the made for TV feature "Is it Fall Yet?," A Daria movie that takes place in between seasons 4 and 5. The movie is noteworthy for allowing the main characters in Daria to progress and age unlike most animated characters that are never allowed to age.
The Simpsons anyone? Bart's been in 4th grade forever. And don't get me started on Maggie. And while we're on it, The Archies? Archie and his friends must be the oldest High Schoolers.

The plot deals with Daria's first boyfriend, Tom, who is also her best friend Jane's ex-boyfriend. It picks up at the butt end of a love triangle storyline between the three that is masterfully handled, especially for an animated series at the time.
So much happens in this one movie. Aside from Daria dealing with her new boyfriend and trying to maintain a friendship with her best friend Jane who is also his ex, Jane herself is at an Art Colony where she sees the ugly reality of the art world as well as question her own sexuality thanks to the help of characters voiced by Dave Grohl and Bif Naked. Quinn, Daria's usually shallow little sister, gets a chance to grow as she works with a tutor (voiced Carson Daly) to help get her grades up.

With so many plotlines to deal with, I didn't even mention Daria's job at a sensitivity camp, you'd think that the movie would be a jumbled mess, but the storylines do tie in together with the exception of two separate storylines dealing with co-stars Jodie, Mack, Britney and Kevin and their summertime jobs.
The movie in it's initial DVD release did work as a stand-alone feature, especially since it included the two episodes - "Fire!" and "Dye Dye My Darling" - that set-up the movie's main storyline of Daria dealing with the love triangle. Sadly, the only way to see the movie now is as a special feature on the DVD boxset, which also includes the series finale feature "Is it College Yet?"
The movie really does deserve a seperate release on it's own, or maybe as a double pack with the uncut version of "Is it College Yet." Sadly I'm pretty sure it won't happen. But how about we all write to MTV about a Blu Ray release :-) It worked for Aeon Flux.

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