Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 6th, 2006
Synopsis
At first glance Once Upon a Mattress would appear to be a bit of a Disney cash grab, an often performed musical featuring a couple of aging comediennes, one of which had performed a role in the musical for decades.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Disney has released a DVD that appears to be part of a compilation, and provided some karaoke subtitles and marketing it as a sing-along entitled “You Can Fly”. With animated (but dated) introductions by Disney characters, the songs featured are from such films as Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins and Dumbo.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2006
Disney’s Timeless Tales is a collection of six classic cartoons, each running about ten minutes long. It’s a lightweight release with not much to speak of, but it will please the kids, and includes some annoyingly catchy little tunes that are hard to shake. The most famous inclusion here is that of “Casey at the Bat.” One nice add-on worth noting is the small insert which includes the short “Casey” tale in its entirety, so you can follow along as you watch. The classic tale of Casey, which deals with overconfi...ence and its repercussions, could have been executed at a better pace, and, believe it or not, is not the best short featured, despite having one of the most memorable stories.
I would give “best” nods to “The Wise Little Hen,” which features the first appearance of Donald Duck, and carries a message of its own. Donald and Peter Pig play a couple of freeloading friends, who refuse to help with the corn harvest for the Hen, whom they live with. She is forced to harvest the corn by herself with only her baby chicks to help, and remembers Donald and Pig’s refusal come mealtime. Other shorts include the following: “The Golden Touch,” “Morris the Midget Moose,” “Brave Little Hiawatha,” and “Ben and Me.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
When I sat down with this title, I was all ready to breeze right through it, making comments about how this is a disc that will only appeal to kids, and that the quality was just enough to keep kids happy. Imagine my surprise when I really got into this little 70-minute film. This is actually a pretty entertaining cartoon, and I was surprised by its superior quality. Stanley is a little boy that gets easily lost in his imagination, and gets most of his ideas from his “Great Big Book of Everything”, which is something...of a living encyclopedia. In this film, Staley's family goes to visit his Uncle's dude ranch, only to find that the ranch isn't doing so well. Leave it to Stanley and his friends to save the day by raising enough money to pay off the bank and keep the ranch out of the hands of the evil corporate real estate mogul. Obviously, this is a story that has been told time and time again, but for a children's title, this is a quality program that is well told and entertaining for children and parents alike.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2006
Disney continues to pull its disappearing acts on DVD with their limited time offers, this time using the new Toy Story 2 2-disc release as the proverbial carrot in front of the mule. While such marketing tactics may be a little annoying to those of us that don’t like to be told when we can or can’t see a movie, there should be no greater incentive to pick this up if you haven’t yet claimed a copy of the film. Toy Story 2 cemented Pixar’s name in quality animation and continued to prove the little studi... that could, could continue to knock one after the other out of the park.
In this outing, Woody’s the one in trouble. A yard-sale robbery has placed him in the hands of the villainous Al from Al’s Toy Barn. Al (voiced by Seinfeld’s Wayne Knight) needs Woody to complete his Woody’s Round-Up collection, and now that he has him, he plans on selling the entire display to a Japanese toy museum. That’s when all the lovable toys from Andy’s toy box come together for one of the greatest rescue missions in Disney animation history. Highlighted by moments of spot-on satire, kid-friendly humor, heart-felt poignancy (as in the teary-eyed memories of Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl), and an unforgettable airport finale (with its own share of twists, turns, and thrills), Toy Story 2 equals its predecessor and takes Pixar to the next level of superior entertainment.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 17th, 2006
Jodie Foster stars in this film as a propulsion engineer named Kyle Pratt who decides to take her six year old daughter Julia on a transatlantic flight aboard a brand new jumbo jet (which she helped design). Aboard the plane, her daughter goes missing. Naturally she has no clue what is going on as the captain (Sean Bean), nor the sky marshal (Peter Sarsgaard) are of any assistance. Foster calmly looks around the plane for her daughter wondering what has happened to her. We learn more and more facts about the daughte... as the movie progresses, some of which will definitely surprise you. That is what makes this film so overly effective. How it takes a fairly common plot but adds more flare and spark to the plot by having certain areas jump out at us.
Flightplan is being compared to Foster 2002 film Panic Room due to the similar concepts (Woman and a daughter are in peril). However, the problem Foster faces in Flightplan is far more inquisitive and far more interesting. Did her daughter suddenly disappear or was she kidnapping? How could all of this occur on a airplane with tons of passengers? Foster is a usual form in this film. She comes off a resourceful and extremely brave woman. As the plot progresses forward, Foster’s response continues to change as do her overall tactics. She tends to scream out, as would any of us in a similar situation. The director, who I will get to later, seems to know how an audience’s mind work as he constantly has Foster’s character think ahead of what she will do, almost anticipating the next development of the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Having zipped through The Emperor’s New Groove awhile back (yes, I have Disney DVDs), I was somewhat familiar with the story and the cast behind it. I was aware that the original film enjoyed some theatrical success, but I didn’t understand why the film necessitated a sequel. But here I am, trying to wrap my head around the logic for this sequel.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Director Brian Henson continues a family tradition with father Jim’s creations, The Muppets. He also carries on another tradition, this time in the form of the long-told tale “A Christmas Carol” by legendary author Charles Dickens. The combination goes so well together I can hardly understand why it wasn’t done sooner, as in by Jim himself before his untimely death. Michael Caine does an extraordinary job, as usual, in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a hopeless miser, who receives visits from three very different ghost... in a last ditch chance at redemption. It doesn’t matter how many times the story is told, or in how many ways – it never seems to lose its power, and The Muppets’ retelling in their own unique way only serves to enhance the tale.
There is something missing without Jim Henson as the voice of Kermit the Frog, but his replacement does a comparable job, and we still get Frank Oz in his usual roles of Miss Piggy and Animal. The result is something any Muppets’ fan will be proud to place on the shelf alongside the other children’s classics for which this troupe is responsible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 28th, 2005
Synopsis
It would appear that the 1961 Disney film The Parent Trap helped to spur popularity within Disney’s non-animated film section. Films like the Herbie films, and films featuring other stars like Kurt Russell would soon follow several years later. Based on a book by Erich Kastner, and written and directed by David Swift (Eight is Enough, Barney Miller), the film is centered around Sharon and Susie (both played by Hayley Mills, Saved by the Bell, Pollyanna), who are i...entical twins who do not realize that they are sisters. After some initial bristling between the two, they manage to get along and learn more about each other.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
It did take a little bit of intestinal fortitude to sit down and be willing watch Herbie: Fully Loaded, but I did it dammit, because I care about YOU. Fully Loaded is not a remake, but an extension of The Love Bug films with Buddy Hackett and others. In this new edition, Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls) is the daughter of racing legend Ray (Michael Keaton, Batman) and brother of Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer, Road Trip). She is going to work for ESPN now ...hat she’s just graduated college, but she’s still a racer at heart.
