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 →

The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998)

Sixteen years after the release of the original, “The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue” made its appearance on the children’s movie market. Timmy, the sickly child from the first film, is now healthy and a little bit older. Nicodemus, the prophet leader of the rats, prophesied that someday, Timmy would save them all from NIMH again, and now it’s time for Timmy to prepare for his destiny. He’s going to Thorn Valley, where the rats of NIMH have resettled, to go to school and be taught by Mr. Ages and Justin personally. His brother Martin is jealous … Continue reading →

The Land Before Time (1988)

Probably the most classic of all Don Bluth films, “The Land Before Time” takes us back to the age of the dinosaurs, long before man roamed the earth. It’s a time of great upheaval, figuratively and literally, for a small dinosaur named Littlefoot. His mother, a wonderful, caring female, is killed while protecting him from a T-rex, and an earthquake rips his land apart, causing huge gashes in the ground which separate him from his grandparents. Other baby dinosaurs are separated from their caregivers as well, including Cera, the proud and egotistical Triceratops who will have nothing to do with … Continue reading →

The Little Bear Movie (2001)

If you’re not familiar with the character of Little Bear, allow me to take a moment to introduce you. He began as a children’s book character, the creation of Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrator Maurice Sendak. Later he was turned into a children’s television show which aired on Nickelodeon. He lives with his mother and father in a small but cozy cottage. His father is a fisherman and is often gone, so Little Bear spends much of his time with his mother. He also has friends – Cat, Duck, Hen, No-Feet (a snake) and a little girl named Emily and … Continue reading →

The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)

With a musical score by Barry Manilow, this animated film is, in my opinion, one of the best by Don Bluth, although due to disagreements in the production process, Bluth takes no credit for his work on the project. Renowned actor Martin Short voices Hubie, a shy Adelie penguin. It’s mating season, and all the male penguins are on a special quest – to find a beautiful pebble to present to their sweethearts to signify their engagement. I guess that’s somewhat akin to the giving of a rock to wear on one’s finger, a strange custom practiced by humans. Anyway, … Continue reading →

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

In this animated movie, called by critics “Don Bluth’s best work,” we meet a little mouse named Mrs. Brisbee. Her husband, Jonathan, was recently killed, and with four small children, she feels overwhelmed. This is made worse when one of her sons, Timmy, comes down with pneumonia and she doesn’t know how to cure him. Going to see a wise mouse named Mr. Ages, she obtains an envelope of medicine powder. He also tells her not to take Timmy outside for three weeks, but there’s a problem with that. The mice live in a field belonging to Farmer Fitzgibbons. The … Continue reading →