6/26/02 Aardman On DVD, Doggie Style

A&E Home Video has announced it will be releasing Aug. 27 the first two seasons of Rex The Runt, the acclaimed British series from Aardman Animations, on DVD.

Rex The Runt: The Complete Series will include all 26 episodes of the irreverent romp, which follows the misadventures of four domesticated plasticine dogs.

Rex, Wendy, Bob and Vince are quite unlike Wallace & Gromit, the heroes of Chicken Run or any of Aardman’s other creations. In fact, they’re more akin to the classic Saturday Night Live catastrophe-prone clay cad Mr. Bill. The gang is subject to "almost daily maimings, crushings and other unpleasantness with no ill effects at all" as they encounter the Easter Island stone-head aliens, singing sausages, a Sinister Secret Laboratory — home to the marginally nefarious and inept Dr. Dogg — and more.

And, like Mr. Bill, Rex is geared more to an adult audience. Having produced a number of kid-friendly animated films, Aardman set out to push the envelope with the series, which created a national stir when it premiered in BBC2’s 1998 holiday schedule.

Created by Aardman animator Richard "Golly" Golezewski and co-produced by Egmont Imagination and the BBC, Rex features an unconventional mix of stop motion animation, 3D sets and live-action backgrounds.

The 2-disc collectors set will retail for $39.95 and will be available for pre-order on July 30 at www.AandE.com.

Special Features Include:

• Aardman Chronology

• Character Bios

• Photo Gallery

260+ mins.