‘Rick and Morty’ Seasons 1-4 Is a Welcome Distraction With New DVD/Blu-ray Box Set (Review)

Rick and Morty are opening a portal into your home with a new box set of Seasons 1-4, available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital. The collection comes with all 41 episodes of the series so far, plus a huge swath of behind-the-scenes content and bonus features. For the die-hard fans out there, it is a must-have.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing the Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 box set on Tuesday, March 2, and it is everything fans have been hoping for. A review copy obtained by PopCulture.com came with four Blu-ray discs packed into one sleek case, taking up no more than one movie’s worth of space on the shelf. Inside the dust jacket is an exclusive poster, which shows the Smith family in various compromising positions with no lettering or slogans to distract from the art. Of course, the real value comes in the content itself.

The first three discs include commentary tracks for each episode, which may be the biggest draw for fans who want to dig deep on the show. Each episode has a relatively straightforward commentary track, including at least one of the co-creators, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, as well as other writers, cast members and producers. However, many also have other stars weighing in, seemingly at random. One track has singer-songwriter, John Mayer, for example, while another has Courtney Love and Marylin Manson. As entertaining as these tracks may be, it’s worth noting that they have been included in previous Rick and Morty home video releases, so they are not exclusive to this box set. There are no new commentary tracks for Season 4.

There are also animatics for every episode in the first three seasons, giving the process nerds among us a way of dissecting the animation process. Some deleted scenes are also in animatic form, while others are more fleshed-out. The animators tend to weigh in more and more in the later seasons, where the show becomes more visually complex. Some big draws of the collection include deleted scenes from the beloved “Interdimensional Cable” episodes, showing fans improv sketches that didn’t quite make it to air.

Seasons 3 and 4 come with an “Inside the Episode” featurette for every episode as well, which fans may have seen circulating on social media around the premieres of those episodes. They are now collected in one place, along with other featurettes like “Inside the Recording Booth,” “Directing Rick and Morty,” “Prop Process,” “Animation Challenges,” “Character Creation,” and “Creating Snake Jazz.” Finally, familiar animated shorts like “Samurai and Shogun” are gathered here as well.

The Blu-ray version of the set comes with a digital code and allows fans to add Rick and Morty to their virtual library on platforms including iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu PlayStation, Xbox and more. Sadly, these digital codes are not included with the DVD version, which is a factor some customers may want to consider.

Simultaneously, all these episodes of Rick and Morty are available to stream now on both HBO Max and Hulu, so digital accessibility may not be a factor for some. Instead, the draw of the box set is likely the premium feel and personal ownership, both of which come through strong here. The dust jacket and the case are lined with new art not seen in the series, yet which does not seem out of place.

Still, there is something to be said for putting the show on your shelf and knowing that you can watch it any time, regardless of licensing deals or intellectual property rights changes. If that appeals to you, then Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 box set are right up your alley. The collection officially went on sale on Tuesday, March 2. You can buy the DVD version here, and the Blu-ray version here.