The Water Horse Legend of the Deep Two-Disc Special Edition DVD

A Heartwarming and imaginitive Tale for the whole Family
Review by J. Larsen

As a big fan of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, the new film "Water horse" brings the spirit as well as the excitement of the time honored legend to life like never before. Set in the era of World War II, the story takes place in the highlands of Scotland where a lonely young boy named Angus discovers a mysterious egg that turns out to hatch into a spunky and mischievous waterborne dinosaur known as the ancient Water horse named Crusoe. With his beloved father gone at sea fighting the German U-Boats and his mother and older sister not paying any particular attention to him Angus takes the orphaned Crusoe in and raising him as his pet. But Angus quickly realizes very early on that doing so and trying his best to keep the little creature a secret brings with it some rather unusual problems as well as, some comically outrageous misadventures along the way. For example, when baby Crusoe escapes from his water filled bathtub and encounters an aggressive Royal Army bulldog named, "Churchill" who chases him around the house and then eventually ends up wrecking a lavish evening dinner party hosted by the lady of the house and some promptly dressed British soldiers. However, the film is not without its tender moments and adventurous scenes of peril as the cold realities of a bitter war come to prey on the people and the isolated beauty of such a spectacular place.

Inspired by the children's book by Author Dick King Smith, the film's director Jay Russell whose past credits include such films as, "Ladder 49 and Tuck Everlasting" goes to great lengths to bring this wonderfully imaginative story to life. The DVD comes with some impressive behind the scenes documentaries and one of the things that I found most interesting was that Russell actually visited Loch Ness in order to get an idea of where to shoot the film. At first glance he didn't think too much about the famous legend but as he got closer to the water's edge he found himself looking at the pristine water with an opened mind that just maybe there could be something big and mysterious swimming the depths of the Scottish lake. The film and DVD features are definitely worth checking out. If you're a fan of fantasy films or just like a story that let's you're imagination run wild, this movie is for you.

The Little Mermaid Ariel's Beginning DVD

Sounds great to me!
Review by D. Mulman (NoHo, CA, USA)

"The Little Mermaid" was a classic and got me (at the age of 28) hooked on Disney anew. The sequel, "The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea" has been bashed time and time again, and I simply don't understand why! It was very good and Tara Charendoff (now known as Tara Strong) was wonderful as Melody, Ariel's daughter. Jodi Benson (Ariel) and Tara harmonized beautifully on "For A Moment." Tara returns as some of Ariel's sisters in "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning" and that makes me hope for a new song performed by all the mermaid sisters! It is also nice to finally see Ariel's mother and to find out why King Triton has such a soft spot for his youngest daughter. I do think the villainess has a corny name (Marina Del Ray), but since she is being voiced by Sally Field (TV's Gidget and The Flying Nun), I am hopeful she will be well-performed. This DVD will be something new for the kiddies and something nostalgic for us older folks who still sing along with Disney movies. I hope everyone will at least give it a chance before bashing it unseen.

Ratatouille DVD

3D Rats in 1080p glory!!
Review by R. Park (Arlington, MA)

This movie - made by the same guy who created The Incredibles - truly raises bar for state-of-the-art computer generated animation feature. Never mind the story; yes a rat (later rats!) cooking in the kitchen is not that appetizing. But the character animations, combined with great voice acting, great rendering of Paris, makes this move a Disney classic. The quality of imagery is just outstanding!! Our two year old toddler son enjoys it so much, when he gets up in the morning he asks for "Rata! Rata!"

Highly recommended!

Finding Nemo Two-Disc Collector's Edition DVD

FINDING FAMILY
Review by Mark Turner

Disney and Pixar have come together over the past few years to bring about a revolution in animated motion pictures. While many studios have faltered in their attempts or fallen back on trying to adapt anime as a way to make movies inexpensively, these two studios have taken a different route and joined the art of animation with cartoon storytelling.

The movie tells the story of Nemo, the only offspring of two clown fish raised along by his single father Marlin (Albert Brooks). Having lost his wife and hundreds of unhatched eggs to the sea, Marlin has been overprotective of little Nemo. And when Nemo rebels and is captured his first time out to the big ocean, it seems as though all of Marlin's fears were right.

Fearful of the ocean himself, Marlin must make a journey to find his son and save him. He heads out to sea not so much boldly and without fear as much as he does out of concern and love for his son.

Along the way, Marlin makes many new friends, among them another fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who has short term memory but ends up being a help anyway and Crush, a cool dude sea turtle voiced by the films writer/director Andrew Stanton.

Nemo himself finds new friends as well. It appears that he was captured by a snorkeling dentist who intends to present him as a gift to his destructive niece. The other fish in the tank try and help Nemo to escape.

Word of Marlin's adventures as he searches for Nemo go so far as to reach Nemo's "ears". Marveling at the tales of his father's love, Nemo and the tank fish do all they can to escape. It's not until nearly the end of the picture that you find out if the father and son are reunited or if Nemo becomes just another fish tossed down the toilet bowl.

The humor in this film is so on the mark it's fantastic. Not only are there jokes that the kids can laugh at, but there are a few in jokes for parents to get as well. This path seemed to work well for animators in the heyday of cartooning in the 40s and plays well here too.

The animation is nothing short of phenomenal. The waves on the surface, the vibrant colors of the fish, all mingle together to form a feast for the eyes.

But beneath it all is something much more important. The rest is mere icing on the cake. Because at the heart of this movie is the story of two people, parent and child, who may not see eye to eye on all things. But the deep rooted love of that father for son is enough to make him forge ahead and do all within his power to protest and save the one most important thing in his life. His son.

Reports are coming in that this film was the highest box office successes of the summer it was released and it's easy to see why. It's because it works on all levels and appeals to every viewer out there. It is a movie that is one to watch again and again.

The Spiderwick Chronicles Widescreen Edition DVD

A Heart Pounding Family Fantasy Adventure
Review by Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)

The Grace family is moving from New York to the family estate in the middle of nowhere. It is no one's first choice, but newly single mom Helen (Mary-Louise Parker) has a job in the area. And it allows them a chance to move into the Spiderwick mansion. Helen is related to the Spiderwicks. In fact, she has inherited the mansion, so it cuts down on costs.

Of her three kids, daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and son Simon (Freddie Highmore) are okay with the change. Simon's twin Jared (also Freddie Highmore) is not. He can't wait for his dad to come and get him out of there.

The house is creepy, and right away things start to go missing. Jared hears a noise in the wall that leads to the discovery of a dumb waiter and a hidden room. Exploring further, Jared finds an old book with a warning on the cover. Ignoring the warning, Jared opens the book and starts to read.

It's only after reading the book that Jared realizes what he's done. See, the book contains the secrets of all the creatures that are in the world around us that we can't see, like fairies, goblins, and ogres. And one ogre in particular, Mulgarath (voiced by Nick Nolte), wants that book so he can destroy everything. Now Jared, Simon, and Mallory are in the fight of their lives to find a way to defeat Mulgarath and stay alive. Can they do it?

This movie is an adrenaline fueled ride. It is creepy and intriguing from the first few seconds and builds from there. I was on the edge of my seat by the end. While I absolutely loved it, it might frighten young kids. I would seriously question whether anyone under 8 or so would enjoy it. Of course, you know your own kids best, so judge accordingly.

While a fast paced thrill ride, the story still hangs together. A couple things got glossed over in the ending, but they were minor. The acting is great as well, especially from Sarah Bolger and Freddie Highmore who carry the film since they are in every scene. Freddie makes both his characters different. I expect we'll be seeing lots more from him in the future.

The special effects could have been a little better. I don't know whether they were going for stylized or what, but they aren't up to the level we are used to seeing these days. And it just goes to show how spoiled we are because they are certainly adequate. They just aren't the blow your socks off stuff we normally see these days.

If this movie won't scare your kids, see it. Heck, see it even if you don't have kids. This is an entertaining fantasy thrill ride that anyone old enough will love.

Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD

Excellent tool to help your child learn their letter sounds
Review by Stephanie Druley McDowell (East Falmouth, MA)

A friend of mine recommended this DVD when I mentioned my 4 yo was having difficulty learning the different letter sounds. This is a short cartoon that holds your child's interest. I loved the technique of showing them the letters and incorporating a catchy tune which for each which helps them remember what sound each letter makes (example R is a racecar making rrr sounds when it goes fast). One of my sons favorite parts is the last one in which he gets to play a letter game - they give him the sound the letter makes and he uses the remote to highlight that letter. Great reinforcement and you can skip the other part of the video and go directly to this section if you want. I would HIGHLY recommend this product.

The Batman The Complete Fifth Season

The Batman Season 5
By Pj Thorp

In Season 4, the writing and art improved.
Also, the last scene of Season 4's final episode introduced the Justice League.
This season will see Batman interacting with both his own Gotham team (Robin and Batgirl), and the Justice League. Superman is added to the cast of characters too.
We can expect a great 13 episodes to wrap up the five season series.
Cover art looks terrific too.

The series has told back stories not covered in the equally addictive (Kevin Conroy voicing:) Batman cartoons of the 1990s. The gradual introduction of the Justice League as semi-regular supporting characters is a plot device in both The Batman Season 5 and Smallville Season 6.
Enjoy them both for comparison.

And Warner, how about throwing in the live 1997 Justice League pilot as an extra in future releases of DC shows. I'm surprised it never made to the Justice League DVDs, when they came out.

The Muppet Show The Complete Third Seaso DVD

What are you waiting for?
Review by K. Reed (United States)

I have all 3 avalible seasons in special edition and can't wait for 4 and 5! Although I miss the pop up Muppetisms from season 1 having the behind the scenes footage makes up for it. There is nothing, absolutely nothing like the Muppet Show.

If you remember when the first show came out you'll want this. Each episode contains something you've never seen before, a sketch that was only aired in the UK version. That's right, there were 2 different versions of each episode, the US version would have one musical number while the UK version would have a completely different one. The sound and picture is clear and if you look close you might spot the very rare top of the head or mysterious third arm coming in to frame.

For those new to the Muppets this is a treat. These are the origonal Muppeteers, the late Jim Henson and Richard Hunt and the pretty much retired Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmere round out the key cast along with Louise Gold and perhaps even a young Brian Henson throwing penguins.

Don't worry about letting young viewers watch, this is true family friendly entertainment. On the season 3 set you even get a rare and wonderful look at how puppets work. This should spark many a curious mind and get many new Muppeteers off and running. Some of their performers, Richard Hunt and Bill Baretta to name a few, started off as fans and became members of the family.

Batman Gotham Knight Two-Disc Collector's Edition

BATMAN: Gotham Knight
Review by Efstratios Xeni (Cyprus)

At last a decent Batman cartoon after Batman: The Animated Series! Kevin Conroy, the true Batman voice, Bruce Timm, the man who created BTAS, Alan Burnett, the guy that made some of the best Batman stories, are all here to this latest Batman anime feature! Ive been watching Batman since 1992 (BTAS) and as many of you i felt that "The Batman" was a discrace to the original! So i HIGHLY recomend this one to all who just want to see Batman as the way they know he is! July 8 Batman: Gotham Knight must be your No.1 purchase for all Batman fans!