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Review Walt Disney Home Video / The Lion King II: Simba's Pride [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Rob LaDuca
  • Liz Callaway
  • Michelle Horn
  • Moira Kelly
  • Neve Campbell
  • Matthew Broderick
  • Darrell Rooney
Release date: 2001-02-05
Run time: 78 min.
Creator: Jenny Wingfield
Price: £19.99

Review The Lion King II: Simba's Pride [1998] / Walt Disney Home Video:

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is another made-for-video sequel to a Disney masterpiece. As with the Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas sequels, most of the recognisable vocal talents return, creating a worthwhile successor to the highest-grossing animated film ever. We pick up the story as the lion king, Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick) and Nala (Moira Kelly) have a new baby cub, a girl named Kiara (Neve Campbell). Like her father before, she seeks adventure and ends up outside the Pridelands, where lions loyal to the evil Scar (who died in the original) have lived with revenge in their hearts. The leader, Zira (a spunky turn from Suzanne Pleshette), schemes to use her son Kovu (Jason Marsden) to destroy Simba. As luck with have it, Kiara has bumped into Kovu and fallen in love. This all sounds familiar since all of Disney's straight-to-video sequels have played it very safe, nearly repeating the originals' story, tone, and pace. Perhaps there were too many cooks for this production. Besides the two screenplay credits, there are eight other writers credited for additional written material. The look of the film has none of the surprise of the original but is far superior to other animated videos. [+]
In fact, the film played in European cinemas. For children, the sequel will be a favourite. The comic antics of Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumba (Ernie Sabella) are enjoyable, as is Andy Dick as Nuka, the mixed-up older son of Zira. And there's plenty of action. The best element is the music. Relying on more African-influenced music, the five songs featured are far superior to those in Disney's other sequels. Zira's song of revenge, "My Lullaby," was cowritten by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. The oustanding opening number, "He Lives in You", was created for the Lion King Broadway smash and now finds a whole new audience. -Doug Thomas.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Saban's Power Rangers In Space
Release date: 1999-02-08
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £12.99

Review Saban's Power Rangers In Space / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Walt Disney Video / Sleeping Beauty [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Taylor Holmes
  • Les Clark
  • Candy Candido
  • Eleanor Audley
  • Verna Felton
  • Clyde Geronimi
  • Pinto Colvig
  • Eric Larson
Release date: 2008-10-07
Run time: 75 min.
Creator: George Bruns
Price: £14.51

Review Sleeping Beauty [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist. It's not really all that much about the title character-how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Malificent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. -David Kronke, Amazon. com.

Review Walt Disney Video / 101 Dalmatians [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Hamilton Luske
  • Lisa Daniels
  • Betty Lou Gerson
  • Clyde Geronimi
  • Ben Wright
  • Cate Bauer
  • Rod Taylor
Release date: 1999-11-09
Run time: 79 min.
Price: £31.95

Review 101 Dalmatians [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

Back in 1961, Walt Disney got a little hip with 101 Dalmatians, making use of that flat Saturday morning cartoon style that had become so popular. The result is a kitschy change in animation and story. Pongo and Perdita are two lonely Dalmatians who meet in a London park and arrange for their pet humans to marry so they can live together and raise a family. They become proud parents of 15 pups, who are stolen by the dastardly Cruella De Vil, who wants to make a fur coat out of them. Cruella has become the most popular villain in all of Disney-she is flamboyantly nasty and lots of fun. But it is the Dalmatians who shine in this endearing classic, particularly those precocious pups. Telling the story from the dogs' point of view is a clever conceit, a fundamental flaw of Disney's 1996 live-action remake. -Bill Desowitz Disney may throw around the word 'classic' with a little too much abandon when it comes to some of its animated releases, but its take on 101 Dalmatians is very much the real deal. With lively songs, a terrifically-realised story and one of its very best villains, it remains a towering achievement, over four decades since it first appeared. The story of 101 Dalmatians starts with the two heroes of the tale, Pongo and Perdita. [+]
But when their litter of dalamatian puppies is dognapped by the evil Cruella De Vil's cronies, the pair must spring into action to save their offspring before Cruella gets herself the new coat that she desires. But while Pongo and Perdita may be the pair you end up rooting for, the undoubted star of 101 Dalmatians is Cruella De Vil. A wonderfully twisted, genuinely nasty villainess, she's an astounding creation and adds a real menace to the film. That said, it's not a downbeat or scary tale: toe-tapping musical numbers, plenty of imagination and a good few chuckles make up the rest of the ingredients, and rarely have they all come together quite so well as they do here. Retold by Disney in live action form in 1996, it's nonetheless its animated take on 101 Dalmatians that remains the definitive filmed version. And now packed into a special collectors' DVD set, there's never been a better reason to treat your family to a copy. Unmissable, and a reminder of why Disney's reputation in this field is quite so towering. -Simon Brew.

Review Universal Pictures UK / Barbie - Fairytopia
Actors & Directors
  • Barbie
Release date: 2005-03-14
Run time: 70 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.31

Review Barbie - Fairytopia / Universal Pictures UK:


Review Walt Disney Video / Toy Story/Toy Story 2 [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • John Lasseter
  • Joan Cusack
  • Ash Brannon
  • Tom Hanks
  • Tim Allen
  • Kelsey Grammer
  • Lee Unkrich
  • Don Rickles
Release date: 2000-10-17
Run time: 546 min.
Creator: Doug Chamberlin
Price: £54.95

Review Toy Story/Toy Story 2 [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

John Lasseter and his gang of high-tech creators at Pixar create another entertainment for the ages. Like the handful of other great movie sequels, Toy Story 2 comments on why the first one was so wonderful while finding a fresh angle worthy of a new film. The craze of toy collecting becomes the focus here, as we find out Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is not only a beloved toy to Andy but also a rare doll from a popular 60s children's show. When a greedy collector takes Woody, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) launches a rescue mission with Andy's other toys. To say more would be a crime because this is one of the most creative and smile-inducing films since, well, the first Toy Story. Although the toys look the same as in the 1994 feature, Pixar shows how much technology has advanced: the human characters look more human, backgrounds are superior, and two action sequences that book-end the film are dazzling. And it's a hoot for kids and adults. The film is packed with spoofs, easily accessible in-jokes and inspired voice casting (with newcomer Joan Cusack especially a delight as Cowgirl Jessie). But as the Pixar canon of films illustrates, the filmmakers are storytellers first. Woody's heart-tugging predicament can easily be translated into the eternal debate of living a good life versus living for forever. [+]
Toy Story 2 was deservedly a huge box-office success. -Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

Review Hit Entertainment / Pingu - Bouncy Fun
Actors & Directors
  • Pingu
Release date: 2007-04-09
Run time: 46 min.
RRP: £4.99
Price: £2.82

Review Pingu - Bouncy Fun / Hit Entertainment:


Review Walt Disney Video / The Little Mermaid [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Pat Carroll
  • Christopher Daniel Barnes
  • Jodi Benson
  • John Musker
  • Paddi Edwards
  • Rene Auberjonois
  • Ron Clements
Release date: 2006-10-03
Run time: 83 min.
Price: £15.02

Review The Little Mermaid [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits of The Little Mermaid in 1989 it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured a "magic" that had been dormant for 30 years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand", Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull and a flounder. The lyrics and music by song-writing team Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering 1991's Beauty and the Beast into cinemas. A modern Disney classic. -Keith Simanton.

Review 4 Front Video / Muppets - The Great Muppet Caper [1981]
Actors & Directors
  • Jim Henson
  • The Muppets
Release date: 2002-07-01
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £4.98

Review Muppets - The Great Muppet Caper [1981] / 4 Front Video:

The second motion-picture outing for the adventurous Muppets, The Great Muppet Caper, finds them in London hunting down jewel thieves while staying at the city's most cheerfully derelict dive, The Happiness Hotel. Filled with song and dance (and swimming!) numbers, this Jim Henson-directed feature is worth seeing, if for nothing else than to see the cantankerous Charles Grodin (Beethoven) swoon over Miss Piggy. But The Great Muppet Caper has a lot more going for it: cameos from John Cleese, Peter Falk, and Oscar the Grouch, among others; Miss Piggy parading down a catwalk; and Kermit the Frog on a bicycle. The Muppets are fond of breaking down that pesky fourth wall, which gives the movie some of its cleverest moments and will elicit the biggest laughs from the kids. (Kermit to Miss Piggy: "You're overacting. You're hamming it up. ") By the time a framed Miss Piggy is freed and the real jewel thieves are caught, you'll forget the occasional slow spots and remember the musical numbers and the banter. -Kimberly Heinrichs, Amazon. com.

Actors & Directors
  • Peter Harwood
  • Tony Hart
  • Morph
Release date: 1999-03-22
Run time: 56 min.
RRP: £2.99
Price: £9.00

Review More Morph / Channel 5:


Review Walt Disney Video / Winnie the Pooh: Springtime With Roo [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Kath Soucie
  • Ken Sansom
  • Elliot M. Bour
  • Saul Andrew Blinkoff
  • John Fiedler
  • Peter Cullen
  • Jim Cummings
Release date: 2004-03-09
Run time: 65 min.
Price: £9.85

Review Winnie the Pooh: Springtime With Roo [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

Friendship and compassion provide a memorable Easter celebration in Springtime with Roo. Roo's excitement on Easter morning is boundless, but when he, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore arrive at Rabbit's door for the big Easter egg hunt, Rabbit seems to have forgotten Easter and proclaims it "Spring Cleaning Day" instead. A dispirited Pooh and his gang quickly rally and decide to surprise Rabbit by putting up his Easter decorations. Rabbit is not at all happy with their efforts and furiously declares that Easter is cancelled. It turns out that everyone involved has been selfish in some degree by failing to consider the feelings and desires of one another. Can a little mutual understanding and caring salvage Easter for Roo, Rabbit, and the rest of the gang? -Tami Horiuchi.

Review Disney / MICKEY AND THE GANG
Actors & Directors
  • MICKEY MOUSE
Run time: 42 min.
Price: £0.98

Review MICKEY AND THE GANG / Disney:

CONTAINS SIX GREAT EPISODES BOAT BUILDER CANINE CADDY MOUSE HUNTERS SQUATTERS RIGHTS CHIPS AHOY MICKEY DOWN UNDER

Review PBS Home Video / Teletubbies: Silly Songs and Funny Dances [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Rolf Saxon
  • Penelope Keith
  • Sandra Dickinson
  • Toni Barry
  • Alex Pascall
  • David Hiller
Release date: 2002-05-21
Run time: 100 min.
Creator: Sue James
Price: £36.95

Review Teletubbies: Silly Songs and Funny Dances [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / PBS Home Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / The Santa Clause: 3 Movie Collection (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Eric Lloyd
  • David Krumholtz
  • Elizabeth Mitchell
  • John Pasquin
  • Tim Allen
  • Michael Lembeck
  • Spencer Breslin
Release date: 2008-10-07
Run time: 293 min.
Creator: Leo Benvenuti
Price: £22.82

Review The Santa Clause: 3 Movie Collection (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / Inspector Gadget 2 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Tony Martin
  • Mark Mitchell
  • French Stewart
  • Caitlin Wachs
  • Elaine Hendrix
  • Alex Zamm
Release date: 2003-03-11
Run time: 89 min.
Creator: William Robertson
Price: £3.93

Review Inspector Gadget 2 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

Inspector Gadget 2 sees the unlikely detective with higher-tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (from TV's Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget being replaced by a completely robotised female. Parent Trap's Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of "G2". Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanise the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn't even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon with endless over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that's small comfort. -Kimberly Heinrichs.

Review Walt Disney Video / Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Rickey D'Shon Collins
  • Chuck Sheetz
  • Andrew Lawrence
  • Courtland Mead
  • Jason Davis
  • Ashley Johnson
Release date: 2001-11-06
Run time: 63 min.
Creator: Stephen Swofford
Price: £6.35

Review Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / Mulan [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Barry Cook
  • Tony Bancroft
  • Miguel Ferrer
  • James Hong
  • Harvey Fierstein
  • Freda Foh Shen
  • June Foray
Release date: 1999-11-09
Run time: 88 min.
Price: £41.95

Review Mulan [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

1998's Mulan is solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source is a Chinese fab\ le about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a cal\ l to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced\ by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the Matchmaker and decides to challenge soc\ iety's expectations (that she should be a bride). She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair and impersona\ tes a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the other soldiers with some help from her side\ kick, Mushu, a wise-cracking dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns eye to eye to protect he\ r Emperor. The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and computer-generated animation. Directors\ Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best Hollywood a\ ction films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad. [+]
The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not \ a fully fledged musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man", is sung during boot camp). Eddie Murphy is an in\ spired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin (1992). T\ hese are minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top of Disney animated heroines; she has\ the right stuff. -Doug Thomas Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride). She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair and impersonates a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns eye to eye to protect her Emperor. The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad. The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a fully fledged musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man", is sung during boot camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams' in Aladdin. These are minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. -Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

Review Walt Disney Video / Piglet's Big Movie [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Peter Cullen
  • Francis Glebas
  • Andre Stojka
  • Jim Cummings
  • Ken Sansom
  • John Fiedler
Release date: 2003-07-29
Run time: 75 min.
Creator: Brian Hohlfeld
Price: £9.30

Review Piglet's Big Movie [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Monica Evans
  • Terry-Thomas
  • Wolfgang Reitherman
  • Brian Bedford
  • Peter Ustinov
  • Phil Harris
Release date: 2006-11-28
Run time: 83 min.
Price: £15.36

Review Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

A minor classic from Disney, this 1973 all-animal, all-animated musical version of the familiar story of Robin Hood is more charming than one might expect. Perhaps it's the warm, chummy take on key relationships within the legend-the way Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) gets twitterpated whenever the subject of Maid Marian (Monica Evans) comes up or the way best pal Little John (Phil Harris voicing a variation on his own Baloo from The Jungle Book) admonishes the Sherwood Forest hero, "Aw, Rob, why dontcha just marry the girl?" (Then, of course, there's the canny "casting" of the romantic leads as foxes: Robin the sly one and Marian the, well, foxy one. ) The rest of the vocal cast is lively and eclectic: Peter Ustinov, Andy Devine, Terry Thomas, George Lindsey. Roger Miller provides the songs and voice for the minstrel character Allan-A-Dale. The film is ably directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, whose decades of work in Disney's animation division helped create the studio's rich legacy. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Noddy - The Magician
Actors & Directors
  • Shadia Simmons
  • Michelle Melanson
  • Lauren Collins
  • Daniel Magder
  • Gina Sorell
Release date: 1996-10-07
Run time: 50 min.
Creator: Rick Siggelkow
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.99

Review Noddy - The Magician / 2 Entertain Video:


Browse Characters & Series:

Models & Brands:
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride [1998], Saban's Power Rangers In Space, Sleeping Beauty [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC), 101 Dalmatians [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Barbie - Fairytopia, Toy Story/Toy Story 2 [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Pingu - Bouncy Fun, The Little Mermaid [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Muppets - The Great Muppet Caper [1981], More Morph, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime With Roo [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC), MICKEY AND THE GANG, Teletubbies: Silly Songs and Funny Dances [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Santa Clause: 3 Movie Collection (REGION 1) (NTSC), Inspector Gadget 2 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Mulan [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Piglet's Big Movie [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Noddy - The Magician

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