The Veronica Mars DVD/BluRay shows just how much the cast and crew loved making the film

A long time ago, we all used to be friends with a little television show called Veronica Mars. The show – whose brilliance was never really fully appreciated – lasted three seasons before being unceremoniously cancelled (the show had taken a new direction from the network and was seeing improved ratings). Years passed; fans hoped for more, but rumors of a film remained just that. Then, as everyone who has connected to the internet in the last 14 months probably knows, Kickstarter happened.

For fans of the show, the Veronica Mars film was the fulfillment of a promise Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell made when they produced the “Season Four” trailer that was part of a pitch to avoid cancellation: More Mars. The Kickstarter campaign – more specifically the backers – were as much a part of the making of the film as the cast and crew, a fact that the special features on the Blu-Ray/DVD – released this week – focus a great deal of time on.

Veronica Mars was a unique production in myriad ways, and the release of the film was no exception. The film debuted in US theatres on March 14^th, 2013 and was simultaneously released through digital channels; it was actually the first film by the six-major studios to be released in the theatres and be available for home viewing on the same day. Veronica Mars raked in just under $3.5m worldwide, well under the Kickstarter contribution and likely in the ballpark of what Warner Bros. pitched in. The likelihood of “More-More Mars” now hangs on the success of the BluRay/DVD release (though 40,000 of those Kickstarter backers already have theirs included through their contribution).

The BluRay that we were provided had a great transfer – the video is significantly improved from the HD download – and had a good collection of Special Features. There were several obligatory deleted scenes, a gag reel and a series of six featurettes that cover everything from to the new offices of Mars Investigation to the story of the guy in the ape suit that Rob Thomas went off on during filming (if you don’t know the story, it’s totally worth checking out).

The highlight of the features, though, was the hour-long making-of documentary, By The Fans: The Making of the Veronica Mars Movie. Filmmakers followed the cast and crew around throughout the whole process, starting with hanging out with Thomas when the Kickstarter kicked off. The highlight was the section that covered the group of backers visiting the production to appear as extras in the film. The cast and crew proved several times just how much the campaign meant to the production, but their interactions with the backers during that time period really hammered home the point (though, the backers sharing what was basically the same story about their involvement again and again did get a bit repetitive). I also enjoyed the SDCC stuff, and that’s not because you can spot fellow Clacker Keith McDuffee and I in the crowd at the fan event.

Films like this rarely get made. It’s rare that an underperforming cult favorite gets a major motion picture made (more rare when your name isn’t Joss Whedon). I’d like to think the Veronica Mars movie lived up to fan expectations – it did to this fan at least. The BluRay is a solid release that most fans will want to have in their collection, even if they already own a copy via digital download. The only thing really missing on the disc is a Cast/Crew Commentary; I think Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell walking us through the film would be a lot of fun, and not that difficult to pull off, but it seems that good Commentaries is a trend that is dying a slow death.

Disclaimer: This review is based on a complimentary copy, provided to CliqueClack by Warner Home Video, solely for the purpose of this review.