You may not know that I am somewhat of a fan of Mr Pratchett's Discworld and decided to treat myself just before Christmas last year after I had bought a new DVD player.

I saw the box set and decided to get it.

What you get in the box are the two 1996 DVD's of the animated cartoon version of Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music together with a paperback edition of Going Postal. I believe the set was issued to coincide with the release of Going Postal in Paperback in Oct 2005.

I'm afraid that this is a rather long review.

So to start for those who do not know with some general background information.

The Discworld is carried through space on the back of four enormous elephants that are carried on the back of a giant space going turtle. This Discworld is a flat disc where magic works. It is a world of Wizards and Witches, of Princes and Paupers and every strata of society in between. Not only are there humans but other races as well, like Trolls and Dwarfs.
It is a world rather like our own, but not quite.

1st Wyrd Sisters.
This is set in the mountainous country of Lancre. This is the home of three witches. Magrat Garlic, Nanny Ogg and Mistress Weatherwax. The King of Lancre has just died of a fatal illness. Falling down the stairs with a dagger in your back IS a fatal illness of Kings. Duke Felmet has now taken over, but he is dominated by his duchess. There is, of course, a legitimate
baby heir who winds up in the hands of the Witches. The Duke however hates the country and soon Lancre, the Country, is pressing the Witches to find somebody who will care for it.

This story shows in a very humorous way something of the power of words. Duke Felmet, who has usurped the crown by the murder of his cousin, is a man dominated by his wife. He is not a happy man and hates the country he now rules. In return, the Country is not very fond of him.

Being somewhat on the boundary of sanity, he can be a very cunning and cruel man. He believes that The Witches oppose him and has some rather exotic beliefs in their powers. The ordinary population sometimes revere and sometimes fear the witches. After all they perform many a task around the community, acting as midwives and the local health shop.

But where there is an element of fear, then it can be played upon and using words, a foe can be demonised where weapons would only make a martyr.

Terry Pratchett tells us, through humour, what Shakespeare said so many years ago. "The plays the thing whereby we catch the conscience of the king" or something like that.

All in all a rather funny tale, with clever use of language.

Major cast list:- Voice only,
Christopher Lee .... Death
Jane Horrocks .... Magrat
June Whitfield .... Nanny Ogg
Annette Crosbie .... Granny Weatherwax
Eleanor Bron .... Duchess Felmet
Les Dennis .... The Fool/Tomjon

Run time 140 mins 2hr 20 mins approx
Rated PG
extras
Menu is in 4 sections:-
About the DVD
Scene select
Specials
Play.

Specials are divided into:-
Terry Pratchett A written biography
Welcome to Discworld. An animation about the Discworld.
Character Biography
Storyboard
Books
Web Links

Quotes;
Granny Weatherwax: I don't hold with looking at the future... But now I think the future's looking at me. And I don't like its expression.

Granny Weatherwax: People will come looking. Serious people. Serious-looking. Pull-down-the-walls-and-set-fire-to-the-thatch looking.

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Disc 2
Soul Music.

Having a death in the family can be rather a tragedy, but what happens when your family includes DEATH, the person. That can make for rather difficult times.

DEATH is very good at his job, after all he has been doing it for a very long time, and he is rather fascinated by humans. They do seem to get up to such fascinating things and have some interesting habits, like not seeing the World as it really is and forgetting things.

In the rain swept country of Llamedos lives the Druids. The son of one of them, Imp-Y-Celyn is a young musician and not appreciated by his parents. So it's off to the Big City, Ankh-Morpork, to find fame and fortune. He has sworn to be the most famous musician on the Disc. As anyone knows, swearing like that can be dangerous.

In Ankh Morpork, the greatest of all disc cities, Imp has met some fellow musicians, Glod Glodson, a dwarf who plays the horn and Lias Bluestone, A troll who plays the rocks. After an accident to Imp's harp a replacement guitar is found. It has come from a very mysterious shop, But the music is soon loose and seems to want not to fade away.

DEATH has gone away to think about things but death does not stop. So Susan, his granddaughter, is dragged in to fill the vacancy. She has had an education and does not believe in silliness. Seeing a skeleton rat running around is just silly.

But Susan has to do the duty and gets rather interested in the new music, from a professional point of view.

This is a complete send up of the Rock and Roll lifestyle. It may not necessarily change your beliefs, but it can make you laugh. There are some very funny references and names to go along with. Some of the images conjured up are rather good also. Spotting all of them is part of the fun.

Major characters, voice
Christopher Lee .... Death
Graham Crowden .... Mustrum Ridcully
Andy Hockley .... Imp y Celyn
Neil Morrissey .... Mort
Debra Gillett .... Susan Sto Helit

Run time 3 hr 06 mins approx
Rated PG

Extras on this disc
Interview with Mr T Pratchett,
Discworld Pilot,
Storyboard,
Terry Pratchett's biography,
Character Biography,
Filmographies,
Discworld Bibliography.

Interactive menu allows for scene selection and playing of separate scenes.

Quotes;
Death: I shall leave your room exactly as you left it...
Susan Sto Helit: Thank you.
Death: ...- a mess!

Death: Oh... bugger!

Death: I need to imbibe vast amounts of alcohol.

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Going Postal, The Paperback.

I shall quote what is written on the back cover. Not that I am running out of words, but I doubt that I could say it as well.

Moist von Lipwig is a con artist…
… and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.
It's a tough decision.

But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.
Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope…

This was the last but one book in the Discworld. To modify a certain commercial, " Mr Pratchett does write exceedingly good books"

This book had me laughing from the start to the finish. It has been reviewed by others on this site and I do not want to go over the same ground again. I will say that I enjoyed this book immensely and found that perhaps there was just a shade more romance that some of the previous books. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Terry Pratchett is a very clever writer. The characters are all superb. You feel that you know them. In fact you may well know somebody who is like one of the persons portrayed in these books.

I feel that these books just keep getting better as the series goes along. Re reading is as much a pleasure as the first time. You may suddenly get something that you missed the first time around. I know that I have, sometimes I can be a little slow to get the joke. And the jokes are there.

For me it's always a pleasure to visit Ankh-Morpork, but I am not sure that I would like to live there.

Quoted Reviews from:-
Time Out
'Like many of Pratchett's best comic novels, it is a book about redemption ... Pratchett is never frivolous.'

Guardian
'This darkness and concrete morality sets his work apart from imitators of his English Absurd school of comic fantasy.'
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Now to look at the other Discs.

I feel that there is so much that I would like to say but would only spoil your enjoyment of the films. So I will try to restrict myself. I may over do it.

These were made for Channel Four Television in 1996.

The production values were of the highest. The animation is of the flat 2D cartoon variety. This is not a cartoon or animation as say Shrek. But it is a very good film. Of course it is not going to please everybody.

I have some of Paul Kidby's artwork and I will forever see the characters in light of these drawings. Perhaps it would have been just too expensive to try to animate using these as a template.

But that aside, the characters are all well drawn and well thought out. A lot of time and effort has gone into making this. When you watch you can get into the story and forget how you thought any character might look and just enjoy the film.

Getting the voices right is always a problem. I must say that I feel that Christopher Lee brings a certain graveness to the voice of DEATH. He gives the character a certain life.( sorry but I couldn't resist) DEATH always speaks with a gravity and I feel that Mr Lee has done a fine job.

The three witches, Jane Horrocks ....Magrat, June Whitfield ....Nanny Ogg Annette Crosbie ....Granny Weatherwax are all very well played. You can get the feeling that you do not want to mess with witches. Stern and aware Granny weatherwax. Rather motherly and slightly disreputable Nanny Ogg and very unworldly Magrat.

Eleanor Bron ....Duchess Felmet. Here is a very good voice. Matched with the visual image forming a very believable character. A woman who would love to dominate.

Les Dennis ....The Fool/Tomjon. Here is a character who may be wiser than he looks, Well he would have to be wouldn't he. He also has a bit of a secret but you can trust witches to soon find that out.

For Soul Music.
Graham Crowden ....Mustrum Ridcully, Andy Hockley ....Imp y Celyn, Neil Morrissey ....Mort and Debra Gillett ....Susan Sto Helit. Whilst they are all well portrayed I do regret that I cannot say that much about the individual voices. I do not know or recognise them. But mated with the visual image they do make for believable characters.

Imp, comes over as the teenage rebel, lost in the larger world and Susan is a sixteen year old who believes firmly in logic until other things take a hand, like the Death of Rats and a talking raven.

One of the best characters, who does not have many lines, was The Death of Rats. He tends to say "Squeak" but can put a depth of feeling into that line. Also the Librarian, who can put a whole sentence into a single "Ook" Who took these voices I do not know.

Using voices with many a different accent really helped these productions. It would not have been as enjoyable if all the characters had similar accents.

Even the music played in this disc feels authentic. I do not think that any big named groups actually played for this but it does feel right. It is very interesting to note how the style of the band changes with the gigs that they play. See if you can recognise the groups depicted.

There is also a running joke about Imp, whose name translated means bud of the holly. That one I won't tell. You will just have to find it for yourself. There are some clever digs about names in this. See if you can spot all of them.

Of course with an adaptation there are some things that have to be changed from the book to the film. As Mr Pratchett himself was involved, I do not think they made a bad job. There are just so many little details scattered in each film that make for part of the enjoyment. Too many to tell and it would spoil it if I did.

Special Limited Edition Details:
Region 2 encoding
Box set, PAL
Number of discs: 2
ASIN: B000AC53E6
Catalogue Number: 8236359
Box set released Sept 2005
Total run 5hr 36 mins approx.

When I bought my copy I paid £13.97 not including delivery.
Now these are advertised on Amazon.co.uk as new and used at £68.95
Used £70.00

There were none on offer on E Bay when I last looked.

Given the rise in price you may well be tempted to buy them individually.

However you do go about it, Get them. You will not regret it.
As they say. "Bee There Orr Bee A Rectangular Thyng"

I would just love to see a version of The Discworld as live action/animation or even all animation as Shrek say. Just who could they get to play DEATH in a live action film anyway?