Actually I suppose what most people will remember is the extremely cool and effective opening narration and theme, so its a bit of a shame that on this DVD we only get an abbreviated and version of it; I suppose this is for reasons of space, but it'd still be nice to have the whole thing at least once.

Watching this now I have to say that it's not quite as perfect as I remember; the logic of it doesn't always seem to quite stack up - though I suppose this could be down to an imperfect translation from the French - and the costumes and pantheons of Ancient Greece do sometimes seem to sit uncomfortably alongside the 31st century technology of the Odyssey. But these are very minor gripes; the central premise is still awesome, and the best episodes are still just as tense and thought-provoking as they ever were.


A bit brilliant!   June 1, 2004
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Like many other thirty-somethings I remember this series very fondly from getting home from school twenty years ago... I thought it was great then and think its still great now!

Ulysses 31 is a retelling of the Odyssey, set in the 31st century. The show was a joint French / Japanese production and shares the benefits of each nations' talents with animation and scifi: French scifi is almost always quirky and skewed, at least when compared to the majority of shows from the USA. Japanese animation is always innovative, fast paced and overloaded with stylization and imagery. What this means is that Ulysses 31 is a fast paced, genuinely enthralling space opera for kids and adults alike.

If you have any experience of mythology, be it reading stories or adaptions or watching Ray Harryhausen movies you'll immediately recognize most of the basic plots of the episodes and then really appreciate the fantastic amount of imagination and work put into each one.

This disc is a fantastic way to introduce kids to mythology, and to watch a genuinely entertaining show. Real family viewing- there's something for everyone to like in there (although you may learn to hate Nono, the obligatory small, annoying character...).

The animation still holds up well twenty years on, which is saying something if you take a look at the majority of cartoons from the eighties. The stylization and epic scale is excellent and the voice acting is even pretty good!

Exciting, adventurous, imaginitive and occasionally surreal space adventure stories wholeheartedly recommended to kids of all ages! ... especially those of us who saw them whilst eating our tea twenty years ago!


80's animation at it's best!   May 23, 2004
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

What a fantastic DVD.
9 whole episodes of one of the best ever cartoons from the 'golden era' of animation; the 1980's.
The plot itself loosely follows ancient Homer's 'The Odyssey', which follows Ulysses journey home after the battle of Troy.
In Ulysses31 the story is transported into the far future and set in space with Ulysses, his son, the robot Nono and an Alien girl try to find the way home aboard Ulysses ship 'The Odyssey' whose computer has had the way back wiped from it's memory banks and a frozen crew to look after.

A relatively slow burning cartoon compared with almost everything since, but it boasts excellent, detailed animation, a thoughtful storyline and one of the best and most catchy title tunes ever to grace television.

Love 80's cartoons then you should add this to your collection now!

Looking for a fun and intelligent cartoon to entertain the kids?
Then this is a must buy.