The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie (1979)

I got this movie in the mail today from Netflix, and sat down to watch it with my kids. We all enjoyed it a lot–in fact, we watched it twice. We begin our show with an interview with that most dashing of all movie heros, Bugs Bunny, which takes place in his posh Hollywood mansion. He tells us the secret of his success, which is that movie goers love a good chase. From the dawn of time, men have been chasing animals (to eat) each other (as competition) and girls (because they’re in love). Then women started chasing too, creating … Continue reading →

Bee Movie (2007)

“Bee Movie” is a recent cartoon released by Dreamworks and written by Jerry Seinfeld. I watched it with my children last night and we enjoyed it. Barry is a young bee who has just graduated from college. The lifespan of a bee being somewhat short, his entire college career lasted three days, but his graduation is still a big deal. He can now choose which job he wants out of all those offered in the hive. He can stir honey. He can sweep the floors. He can clean the bathrooms. Whatever job he takes, he will do it the rest … Continue reading →

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

“The Great Mouse Detective” is set in London in the late 1800s. Olivia Flaversham, a cute young Scottish mouse, and her father, the toymaker Hiram, fall victim to crime as Hiram is mousenapped right out of his own workshop. Olivia seeks the help of the most famous rodent detective in the country, Basil of Baker Street. At first, Basil isn’t interested in the case, but then he realizes that the abductor sounds very much like a mouse who works for his old enemy, Ratigan. He’s been trying to get Ratigan arrested for years, but to no avail. Maybe this time, … Continue reading →

Surf’s Up (2007)

Have you ever wanted to step outside the norm, accomplish something that no one thought you could? That’s Cody Maverick (Shia LeBeouf) for you. A penguin from Antarctica, he spends his time surfing on a board made of ice. His hero is Big Z, the world’s greatest penguin surfer, who died in a freak surfing accident some time before. When talent scouts come looking for new blood to compete in the Big Z Memorial competition, Cody is eager to go. As the competitors travel to Pen Gu Island, where the contest is to take place, he makes friends with Chicken … Continue reading →

The Reef (2006)

Take a small orange fish who has been separated from his parents by persons in a boat who are carrying a net, and then add to the mix a long journey of discovery, and what do you get? “Finding Nemo,” right? Well, you would be right, but you’d also be right if you said “The Reef.” The two plots are pretty similar, except that in “The Reef,” it’s the parents who are taken in the net and the kid who’s left behind. Pi (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.) sees his parents scooped up in a giant net that captures hundreds … Continue reading →

Barbie as the Island Princess (2007)

I am constantly impressed by the level of quality not only in the CGI animation, but also in the storytelling of the Barbie movies. The latest installment, Barbie as the Island Princess is yet another remarkable addition to this must-own collection. A Tale Of Woe Barbie stars as Ro in this film, a young girl who was shipwrecked on an island in the South Seas. She is raised by friendly animals that she can communicate with. Sagi the red panda, Azul the beautiful, royal peacock and Tika, the elephant. Ro has no idea where she came from or who her … Continue reading →

Anastasia (1997)

I’ve been fascinated by Russia all my life and have loved the story of Anastasia Romanov, the daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra who supposedly survived the assassination and came back to claim her throne. This Don Bluth film examines her story and conjectures an animated fairy tale about the things that might have happened to her. I do put forth right at the beginning that very little of the movie is actually historically correct, but if you take the movie for what it is, it’s very enjoyable. Meg Ryan stars as Anya, a girl who has lived in an orphanage … Continue reading →

80s Flashback – Do You Remember?

Do you remember when Gen X was the thing to be? Growing up, the early 80s labeled all of us mid-thirties people as Generation X. We were going to change the world – or maybe we were just going to change entertainment, who knows? But the current DVD climate is appealing to the Generation of X with releases like Voltron, He-Man, She-Ra and now G.I. Joe as well as Thundercats and more. These were regular afternoon cartoon fare that included heroes and heroines saving their world one evil bad guy at a time. For Voltron, it was always the evil … Continue reading →

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales – Follow Your Dreams (2007)

From the first commercial ad on television, my daughter was hooked. She’s a huge Disney princess fan and she loves their animated featurettes with the different princesses. What makes this new DVD different from previous installments is that these are themed tales designed to help empower children (girls specifically) and they do so through the art of storytelling. In Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams we join Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Jasmine (Aladdin) through two different tales. The theme is perseverance. Despite being direct-to-DVD, the tales actually have nuances and the animation is extremely well done. Keys to the … Continue reading →

Arthur & The Invisibles (2007)

This little film is very forgettable for me, but for my six year old it gets three thumbs up – her words, not mine. What I didn’t know, originally, was that the film was directed by Luc Besson, the mastermind behind The 5th Element. That being said, Arthur & The Invisibles is a rather charming fairy tale that features a truly wonderful young actor named Freddy Highmore. (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory & Finding Neverland) The film mixes live action with CGI. The film opens with Arthur (Highmore) at his grandmother’s (Mia Farrow) farm. The year is 1960. Arthur’s grandfather … Continue reading →