Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest starts as the TARDIS arrives on the warship of the evil Baltazar (Anthony Head) just as he intends to turn every living creature on Earth into diamonds by enveloping the entire planet in a field of plasma fire, the Doctor (David Tennant) manages to stop Baltazar with a spoon. Afterwards Baltazar's huge mechanical bird named Caw (Toby Longworth) hijacks the TARDIS in space & takes it to his home planet where it tells the Doctor & Martha (Frrema Agyeman) about Baltazar's new plan to find the legendary spaceship Infinite which has the power to grant whatever one desires, fearing that if Baltazar finds the Infinite he will use it's powers for evil the Doctor & Martha set out to find it first & stop Baltazar...
The second official Doctor Who animated feature after Scream of the Shalka (2003) The Infinite Quest was originally broadcast split into twelve weekly parts of three & a half minutes each on the show Totally Doctor Who (since the new series is such a success the BBC really is milking it for all it's worth with the Doctor Who Confidential series as well as the spin-off's like Torchwood & The Sarah Jane Adventures) with the last instalment part of a entire compilation repeat that when all put together runs to the length of a normal Doctor Who episode, it has also subsequently been released on DVD over here in the UK as a complete story. I like Doctor Who as a series, I liked the old series & I like the new series & despite this probably being aimed at children I really liked The Infinite Quest. The story isn't anything overly special but at the same time is not much worse than anything from it's live-action counterpart old or new & I think one could even argue it's better than some, I'm not looking at you Timelash (1985) or then again maybe I am... The character's are fine although most don't stay around for long, the Doctor & Martha are both well represented here with several references to the live-action series including Martha's continued admiration with the Doctor & overall it's jolly good fun that I enjoyed over it 45 minute duration. Probably more than I should have.
The one aspect that stands out on The Infinite Quest is that without the budget restrictions for a live-action show they have given this a much grander scale, from alien planets with three suns on the horizon to snowy landscapes to underground prisons to jungle worlds to huge derelict ships floating in space. There are locations here that the live-action series could only dream about. The cast of character's is also more varied from huge Mantasphid Queen bugs to slinky stylish robots to huge mechanical birds to lizard-men to an entire futuristic pirate crew who are nothing but skeleton's to Baltazar with his shutter blind like eye-protectors & tubes of green bubbling liquid attached to his mask. It looks as if the animation was done entirely on computer but in such a way it resembles traditional hand drawn animation, I though the Doctor & Martha looked great & are instantly recognisable & all the other assorted character's & aliens are very memorable. There are some really nice computer effects as well, from huge swarms of glowing green bugs to a constant snowstorm to huge multi-legged oil rig robots firing laser beams & asteroid belts it seems like a lot of time & effort went into the look of The Infinite Quest. Bottom line is it looks fantastic with a cool Japanese Anime feel to it & it does things & goes places the live-action series can only dream of. It's nice to actually have Tennant & Agyeman provide the voices for their character's as well.
The Infinite Quest was undoubtedly aimed squarely at children but look at all the Disney & Pixar films which are animated & aimed at children but are enjoyed by all, if you like the series then I'd recommend it but if your a stuffy adult who maybe isn't interested in 'children's cartoons' then The Infinite Quest probably isn't for you. I liked it though & thought it was a fun way to pass three quarters of an hour, if you don't agree then sue me.
The second official Doctor Who animated feature after Scream of the Shalka (2003) The Infinite Quest was originally broadcast split into twelve weekly parts of three & a half minutes each on the show Totally Doctor Who (since the new series is such a success the BBC really is milking it for all it's worth with the Doctor Who Confidential series as well as the spin-off's like Torchwood & The Sarah Jane Adventures) with the last instalment part of a entire compilation repeat that when all put together runs to the length of a normal Doctor Who episode, it has also subsequently been released on DVD over here in the UK as a complete story. I like Doctor Who as a series, I liked the old series & I like the new series & despite this probably being aimed at children I really liked The Infinite Quest. The story isn't anything overly special but at the same time is not much worse than anything from it's live-action counterpart old or new & I think one could even argue it's better than some, I'm not looking at you Timelash (1985) or then again maybe I am... The character's are fine although most don't stay around for long, the Doctor & Martha are both well represented here with several references to the live-action series including Martha's continued admiration with the Doctor & overall it's jolly good fun that I enjoyed over it 45 minute duration. Probably more than I should have.
The one aspect that stands out on The Infinite Quest is that without the budget restrictions for a live-action show they have given this a much grander scale, from alien planets with three suns on the horizon to snowy landscapes to underground prisons to jungle worlds to huge derelict ships floating in space. There are locations here that the live-action series could only dream about. The cast of character's is also more varied from huge Mantasphid Queen bugs to slinky stylish robots to huge mechanical birds to lizard-men to an entire futuristic pirate crew who are nothing but skeleton's to Baltazar with his shutter blind like eye-protectors & tubes of green bubbling liquid attached to his mask. It looks as if the animation was done entirely on computer but in such a way it resembles traditional hand drawn animation, I though the Doctor & Martha looked great & are instantly recognisable & all the other assorted character's & aliens are very memorable. There are some really nice computer effects as well, from huge swarms of glowing green bugs to a constant snowstorm to huge multi-legged oil rig robots firing laser beams & asteroid belts it seems like a lot of time & effort went into the look of The Infinite Quest. Bottom line is it looks fantastic with a cool Japanese Anime feel to it & it does things & goes places the live-action series can only dream of. It's nice to actually have Tennant & Agyeman provide the voices for their character's as well.
The Infinite Quest was undoubtedly aimed squarely at children but look at all the Disney & Pixar films which are animated & aimed at children but are enjoyed by all, if you like the series then I'd recommend it but if your a stuffy adult who maybe isn't interested in 'children's cartoons' then The Infinite Quest probably isn't for you. I liked it though & thought it was a fun way to pass three quarters of an hour, if you don't agree then sue me.