While not the classic material that Hanna Barbera is best remembered for like The Flintstones or The Jetsons it was never the less a fun series with some really memorable characters and plenty of goofy slapstick humor. The series revolved around a gorilla, named Magilla obviously, who hung around Peebles' Pet Shop, run by Mr. Peebles. At the beginning of every episode, Magilla would be sitting in the front display window, for sale, and his adventure every week would revolve around how and why someone bought him, what happened while he was out of the store, and how he would inevitably find himself back in there at the end of the show. When Magilla was purchased, it wasn't by someone who wanted a pet, it was usually by someone who had more sinister intent or who wanted to use him in some devious plan, so it was just as well that Magilla was such a big bumbling, dumb ape.

It's hard not to feel a little bit for Magilla. Sure, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed but he's got a good heart and he is a genuinely nice guy. He looks happy with his hat and his suspenders on, proving that ignorance sometimes really is bliss as he finds himself being used by nefarious types day in, day out. Mr. Peebles obviously cares about the guy but has trouble keeping up with him, as having to feed him and having to take care of him is a much more intense job than caring for his other animals. He only wants Magilla to find a good home.

The series has remained popular over the years but didn't last as long as Hanna Barbera probably hoped that it would, what with the tie in toys and what not that were made available as the show launched. Part of the reason that the show didn't last as long as others might have had to do with the other two characters who shared the show's airtime with the titular Magilla, they being Ricochet Rabbit (which was basically a remake of Quick Draw McGraw) and Punkin' Puss And Mushmouth (which was something else entirely, sort of a really annoying remake of Hanna Barbera's Pixie & Dixie & Mr. Jinks without the charm of that cartoon – these bits are very dated now and some of the stereotypes we see here might rub a few folks the wrong way). In each show, there would be two Magilla cartoons and then one a piece for the secondary characters which meant that fifty percent of the content was provided by someone other than Magilla and unfortunately the secondary guys just weren't as interesting or as much fun.

The one major drawback of this set, as has been reported elsewhere, is that for some reason it does not include either the opening or ending title segments for the cartoons. If you've never seen the show before it probably won't phase you so much but if you are at all familiar with the series from when it aired originally or from the various syndicated reruns that have been broadcast over the years, you will notice it right away as the theme song isn't there. Considering that most of the people who will be interested in this set will likely be familiar with the series already and are probably going to want it for nostalgic reasons as much as anything else, this is a pretty glaring omission as it does mess up the flow of the cartoon.

As far as the cartoons themselves go, the Magilla episodes hold up well. There's equal parts pathos and slapstick in here and some of the situations that he finds himself in are not only funny but also very creative. The colorful backgrounds and fun supporting characters add a bit of spice to the routine (and this is very much a routine based series so expect to see more or less the same thing happen ever week) and while watching more than a few in a row will probably ensure that they get old fast, in small doses this is good stuff. The Ricochet Rabbit cartoons are also quite enjoyable even if, as stated, the character is a Quick Draw McGraw clone with bigger ears and a cottontail. The less said about Punkin' Puss And Mushmouth the better – they weren't funny then and they're not funny now, instead they're just dull. But hey, two of three ain't bad.

The cartoons contained in this set make up all twenty-three episodes and therefore represent the entire Magilla Gorilla series They are presented here are as follows and are presented in the following order:

Big Game
Atchison, Topeka & San Jose
Calling All Kin
Gridiron Gorilla
Good Little Bad Guy
Small Change
Private Magilla
Cradle Robber
Hornswoggler
Bank Pranks
West Pest
Muscle Tussle
Groovy Movie
TV Show
Cat Nipped
Airlift
Annie Hoaxley
Army-Nervy Game
Come Blow Your Dough
School Daze
Seein' Is Believin'
Mad Scientist
Sheepy Wolf
Courtin' Disaster
Masquerade Party
Big Thinker
Tale Of Two Kitties
Come Back Little Magilla
Two Too Many
Chomp Romp
Fairy Godmother
Bad Guys Are Good Guys
Catch As Cat Can Day
Planet Zero
Itchy-Finger Gunslinger
Jump Bumps
Prince Charming
Clunko Bunko
Nowhere Bear
Motorcycle Magilla
Slick Quick Gun
Legend Of Bat Mouseterson
Is That Zoo?
Mostly Ghostly

Video:

Each and every one of these episodes was meant to be seen fullframe and that's exactly how they appear in this set. Thankfully, the elements look to have been in pretty good shape for this release as the video quality is good, despite some obvious dirt here and there and the fact that the limitations of the source material do shine through on DVD. These don't look quite as good as other Hanna-Barbera sets but the colors are nice and strong particularly in the backgrounds, print damage is surprisingly minimal, and there aren't any mpeg compression issues noticeable at all. There is a mild coat of grain overtop the picture pretty consistently but that's to be expected considering the age of the material. Overall, the series looks good on DVD, just not quite perfect. Sound:

The original English mono mixes are maintained here on this release and for the most part, they all sound pretty decent. Things do get a bit flat in one or two scenes and those used to the flurry of activity present on more modern animation releases such as the DVD releases for The Simpsons might be disappointed but there aren't any serious problems with these tracks at all. Dialogue is clean and clear and easy to understand, the background music and sound effects levels are balanced properly in the mix, and there is nary a trace of hiss or distortion present at all. There are no subtitles are available but an English closed captioning option is provided.