When the Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot DVD box set came out a few years ago fans of the Kaiju TV show were ecstatic about the news. But the fans were a little disappointed when they found that the full- length feature, Voyage Into Space, was not included. For many of us, we didn’t have the luck to live in an area where they broadcast the Johnny Sokko show. But the film, cobbled together from a few episodes, was included in a package that many stations throughout the US were running and that is how we discovered this unique universe. Those memories of seeing a condensed version of the tale of a boy and his giant robot remain sweet and this release will stoke those memories in a way the TV episodes can’t touch.

Those already familiar with Johnny Sokko know the wacko scenarios well. But for the uninitiated, prepare for the ride of your life! And I don’t doubt that there are new generations of CGI giant monster fans who want to go back and check out the early man-in-a-rubber-suit masterpieces. But the world of Johnny Sokko involves more than just monsters. The good guys are the agents of Unicorn. They sport orange motorcycle helmets with light blue scarves and have these awesome jetpacks they wear on their backs. The bad guys are the Gargoyle Gang. They are aligned with aliens from the planet Gargoyle who want to take over the earth. The leader of the Gargoyle Gang is named Spider and with his aviator glasses and bad attitude he is totally awesome. And what an array of aliens! There is the leader, Emperor Guillotine, who has a weird octopus-like head. And his accomplices are just as colorful including the tattooed and footless Dangor the Executioner and my fave, the silvery green Doctor Botanus. The aliens have brought giant monsters from their home planet and Johnny’s giant robot battles them to keep the world safe.

The film looks fantastic. In certain scenes the picture is so clear you can really see the details and craft of the monster suits. And this cut runs an hour and 37 minutes. I still have my old VHS I recorded off of KTLA CH 5 and the Blu-ray has some longer scenes and short little bits that were shaved when broadcast. The sole Sokko-related extra is a commentary with author/Kaiju historian August Ragone. But as usual with Scorpion the trailers included are awesome. Fans of the series will see this as a must have item and I admit, much like when I was a kid, I cried at the end.