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Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Pocahontas 2 -Journey To A New World [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Bradley Raymond
  • Linda Hunt
  • Tom Ellery
  • Donal Gibson
  • Jim Cummings
  • Finola Hughes
  • Irene Bedard
Release date: 2001-02-05
Run time: 70 min.
Creator: Flip Kobler
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.50

Review Pocahontas 2 -Journey To A New World [1998] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

Disney's direct-to-video sequel to their 1995 hit places the Native American princess Pocahontas in harm's way in London, where she is almost tossed into jail and has some other mishaps. She's not alone, however: a cute racoon named Meeko does a nice job as the obligatory funny animal. The songs are about as memorable as those in the first film, but the art and animation maintain far higher standards than most animated sequels dumped onto tape. If you don't drive yourself nuts thinking about the appalling historical revisionism at work here, this is passable family entertainment. -Tom Keogh Disney's direct-to-video sequel to their 1995 hit places Pocahontas in harm's way in London, where she is almost tossed into jail and has some other mishaps. She's not alone, however: a cute racoon named Meeko does a nice job as the obligatory funny animal. The songs are about as memorable as those in the first film, but the art and animation in Pocahontas 2 maintain far higher standards than most animated sequels dumped onto tape. If you don't drive yourself to distraction thinking about the appalling historical revisionism at work here, this is passable family entertainment. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.

Review MGM Entertainment / The Secret Of Nimh [1982]
Actors & Directors
  • Arthur Malet
  • Derek Jacobi
  • Hermione Baddeley
  • Elizabeth Hartman
  • Dom DeLuise
  • Don Bluth
Release date: 2001-04-02
Run time: 79 min.
Creator: Will Finn
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.98

Review The Secret Of Nimh [1982] / MGM Entertainment:

In his book, Robert C. O'Brien called his brave widow mouse "Mrs. Frisby", but Disney escapee animator Don Bluth must have thought children would laugh the wrong way at that. They renamed her "Mrs. Brisby" for The Secret of NIMH. That acronym stands for the National Institute of Mental Health, and the rats that live near Mrs. Brisby came from NIMH-they have strange ways. But they're the only ones who can save her house and her children, so Brisby seeks them out with the help of a humorous crow (Dom DeLuise). The magic gets laid on a little thick but this is Don Bluth's most successful attempt to achieve a complete, sincere, animated film. It's often forgotten, but it's a true surprise and a rare treat in the vast wasteland of insubstantial children's fare. [+]
-Keith Simanton, Amazon. com.

Review ITV DVD / Stingray - Complete Series [1964]
Actors & Directors
  • Ray Barrett
  • Lois Maxwell
  • Don Mason
  • Robert Easton
  • David Graham
Release date: 2001-04-02
Run time: 999 min.
Creator: Sylvia Anderson
RRP: £59.99
Price: £17.92

Review Stingray - Complete Series [1964] / ITV DVD:

Drums pound, building excitement; the music bursts into life with a cry of "Stingray! Stingray!" Who can resist? Especially when a dramatic voice announces, "Anything can happen in the next half hour!". Stingray (1964) was the show Gerry Anderson made just before he really hit the big time with Thunderbirds (1965), producing 39 episodes of the 21st-century adventures of Troy Tempest-tall, dark and handsome (his voice was based on James Garner) captain of the titular submarine. His mission: to protect the seas on behalf of WASP (World Aquanaut Security Patrol). With complex underwater model and puppet effects, this was ground-breaking television, especially as it was the first UK series to be made in colour, though for years it was only seen in black and white. Special effects director Derek Meddings later graduated to the James Bond movies, while Moneypenny herself (actress Lois Maxwell) voiced Atlanta Shore. Here, just as in the Bond movies, she played second fiddle in our hero's affections, the mute Marina becoming Stingray's sex-goddess. The end-credits even featured a song in her honour, "Aqua Maria", which became an international hit. As for the bad guys: half-man, half-fish Titan and his Terror Fish wage dastardly war against humanity and the peaceful underwater citizens of Pacifica. Four decades on the model and underwater sequences still impress, and surely much of the inspiration for the underwater city in The Phantom Menace came from locations in Stingray. Whether as bizarre 60s nostalgia, or winning a new generation of fans, Stingray remains eccentric cult family entertainment. [+]
-Gary S Dalkin.

Review Walt Disney Home Video / D2 The Mighty Ducks [1994]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Tucker
  • Kathryn Erbe
  • Sam Weisman
  • Carsten Norgaard
  • Emilio Estevez
  • Jan Rubes
Release date: 2002-09-23
Run time: 102 min.
Creator: Steven Brill
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.33

Review D2 The Mighty Ducks [1994] / Walt Disney Home Video:

This follow-up to the surprise Disney hit about a hockey team of misfits brings Emilio Estevez back to the role of the kids' yuppie coach. This time, Estevez assimilates his Ducks into the higher-stakes Team USA in the Junior Goodwill Games, an opportunity that could bring fame and money. Entirely perfunctory, this sequel is basically an excuse to revisit the eccentricities of some of the younger characters, extend some of their conflicts into adolescence and showcase their allegedly entertaining but ethically dubious abilities on the ice. Estevez is okay but even he had enough after this movie. -Tom Keogh.

Review Universal Pictures UK 0534563 / It's A Wonderful Life [1946]
Actors & Directors
  • Thomas Mitchell
  • Henry Travers
  • Lionel Barrymore
  • Donna Reed
  • Frank Capra
  • James Stewart
Release date: 2006-11-27
Run time: 130 min.
Creator: Philip Van Doren Stern
RRP: £17.99
Price: £10.43

Review It's A Wonderful Life [1946] / Universal Pictures UK 0534563:

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming-in the teary-eyed final reel-his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. -Robert Horton.

Review Walt Disney Home Video / The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Julie Andrews
  • Anne Hathaway
  • Heather Matarazzo
  • Garry Marshall
  • John Rhys-Davies
Release date: 2005-02-21
Run time: 109 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £2.98

Review The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement [2004] / Walt Disney Home Video:

Okay, sure, if you're a ten-year-old girl, this sequel to Disney's 2001 hit will completely transfix you. How could it not? Bubbly Mia (Anne Hathaway), the American teenager who in the first film learned she was actually European royalty, finishes college and-whoosh!-heads off to Genovia, where she's given a closet full of fabulous clothes and jewelry in preparation to rule the kingdom under the tutelage of grandmother Julie Andrews. Throw in a horse and a volatile but innocent romantic attraction to the dreamy young stud (Chris Pine) who's also vying for the throne, and you have the kind of stuff that prepubescent girls rhapsodize about at slumber parties. Oh-and there's a slumber party here, too, featuring a bevy of cute, international young princesses mattress-surfing down a giant slide. Resistance is futile. For the rest of us, though, director Garry Marshall has managed to make his Laverne & Shirley days seem positively Shakespearean in comparison. The movie is precious, padded (two hours!), and pandering twaddle; Andrews, in her role as Queen Mother, is even shoehorned into a faux-hip-hop duet with Disney Channel favorite Raven (one of many, many grueling moments intended to sell the soundtrack). Then the film takes a maddening left turn three-quarters of the way into the plot and decides that, despite all the preceding consumption and connubial fantasies to the contrary, it's really about feminine emancipation. But don't worry-what causes you to smack your forehead in frustration will go right over the heads of its hypnotized target market. -Steve Wiecking.

Review MGM Entertainment / The Black Stallion [1979]
Actors & Directors
  • Mickey Rooney
  • Teri Garr
  • Clarence Muse
  • Carroll Ballard
  • Hoyt Axton
  • Kelly Reno
Release date: 2003-04-07
Run time: 112 min.
Creator: William D. Wittliff
RRP: £12.99
Price: £5.90

Review The Black Stallion [1979] / MGM Entertainment:

Adapted from the beloved novel by Walter Farley, The Black Stallion is a 1979 family classic that was hailed by no less than hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael as "may be the greatest children's movie ever made". A visual feast from start to finish, the timeless tale plays out on almost mythic terms. A young boy survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a deserted island with a graceful black stallion, with whom the boy develops an almost empathic friendship. After being rescued and returning home, the two make a winning team as jockey and lightning-fast racehorse under the tutelage of a passionate trainer, played by Mickey Rooney in an Oscar-nominated role. From its serenely hypnotic island sequence to the breathtaking race scenes, this delightful film is guaranteed to enthral any viewer, regardless of age. The Black Stallion is a genuine masterpiece of family entertainment. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

Review Universal Pictures Video / Field of Dreams [1989]
Actors & Directors
  • Ray Liotta
  • Gaby Hoffmann
  • James Earl Jones
  • Amy Madigan
  • Phil Alden Robinson
  • Kevin Costner
Release date: 2003-07-21
Run time: 107 min.
Creator: W.P. Kinsella
RRP: £15.99
Price: £11.00

Review Field of Dreams [1989] / Universal Pictures Video:

Field of Dreams is, in the words of its makers, a baseball film that "isn't about baseball". Rather, it's a magical film that works its spell on all but the most hard-boiled of viewers, an altogether superior slice of apple-pie sentimentality. Kevin Costner plays a young Iowa farmer who finds himself pestered by a whispering voice urging him, "If you build it, he will come". With the consent of an uncharacteristically supportive Hollywood wife (Amy Madigan) he sets about building a baseball diamond in the middle of his land. This action invites the prospect of bankruptcy-however, it also invites the spirit of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, a baseball superstar disgraced following his role in the 1919 World Series scandal. The supernatural voices continue to urge Costner to "go the distance"-and he seeks out reclusive writer Thomas Mann (James Earl Jones) and "Doc" Graham (Burt Lancaster), impelled by purposes he is as yet unable to divine. Field of Dreams works because it touches so endearingly on themes of redemption, inner peace and the possibility of second chances-the "dreams" which elude most of us. It also cites baseball as an idyllic metaphor for all that is decent and constant about America. Costner gives immense plausibility to an utterly, deliberately implausible scenario. On the DVD: Presented in anamorphic 1. [+]
78:1, the vivid, almost unnaturally natural Iowa colours are depicted to vivid effect (much of the diamond grass had to be painted green when it died). Generous extras include a making-of feature, an interview with WP Kinsella, author of the novel on which the book is based, and Costner. Director/writer Phil Alden Robinson also provides a director's commentary in which he describes the logistical difficulties of assembling 1500 automobiles for the memorable final scene. -David Stubbs.

Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment / Finding Nemo/Monsters, Inc. [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Peter Docter
  • Lee Unkrich
  • David Silverman
  • Andrew Stanton
Release date: 2007-10-29
Run time: 185 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £14.97

Review Finding Nemo/Monsters, Inc. [2001] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment:


Review The Adventures of Black Beauty / Black Beauty - Series 1 - Complete
Release date: 2007-09-03
Run time: 650 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £12.69

Review Black Beauty - Series 1 - Complete / The Adventures of Black Beauty:


Review Warner Home Video / The Scooby Doo Live Action Movie Collection : Scooby Doo / Scooby Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed (2 Disc Box Set) [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Linda Cardellini
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar
  • Rowan Atkinson
  • Matthew Lillard
  • Freddie Prinze Jr.
  • Raja Gosnell
Release date: 2004-10-18
Run time: 171 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £7.80

Review The Scooby Doo Live Action Movie Collection : Scooby Doo / Scooby Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed (2 Disc Box Set) [2002] / Warner Home Video:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / I'll Be Home For Christmas [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Arlene Sanford
  • Jessica Biel
  • Adam LaVorgna
  • Jonathan Taylor Thomas
  • Gary Cole
  • Eve Gordon
Release date: 2008-09-29
Run time: 83 min.
Creator: Tom Nursall
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.26

Review I'll Be Home For Christmas [1998] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Soda Pop / Azur and Asmar - The Princes Quest [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Michel Ocelot
Release date: 2008-07-28
Run time: 100 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £6.60

Review Azur and Asmar - The Princes Quest [2008] / Soda Pop:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Tim Hill
  • Jennifer Love Hewitt
  • Billy Connolly
  • Breckin Meyer
Release date: 2006-12-11
Run time: 82 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £4.00

Review Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties [2006] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Lassie Come Home / Son Of Lassie / Courage Of Lassie (3 Disc Box Set)
Actors & Directors
  • Fred M. Wilox
  • Tom Drake
  • June Lockhart
  • Elizabeth Taylor
  • Donald Crisp
  • Roddy McDowall
Release date: 2008-06-02
Run time: 271 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £9.84

Review Lassie Come Home / Son Of Lassie / Courage Of Lassie (3 Disc Box Set) / Warner Home Video:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / The Muppets Take Manhattan [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • Steve Whitmire
  • Dave Goelz
  • Frank Oz
  • Jim Henson
  • Frank Oz
  • Richard Hunt
Release date: 2000-11-06
Run time: 94 min.
Creator: Tom Patchett
RRP: £12.99
Price: £1.97

Review The Muppets Take Manhattan [1986] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Scooby Doo - Live Action Movie [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Rowan Atkinson
  • Linda Cardellini
  • Matthew Lillard
  • Freddie Prinze Jr.
  • Raja Gosnell
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar
Release date: 2002-11-25
Run time: 96 min.
Creator: William Hanna
RRP: £13.99
Price: £2.89

Review Scooby Doo - Live Action Movie [2002] / Warner Home Video:

Ghosts haunting spooky old factories? Hip kids being brainwashed? The Darkopalypse about to engulf the world? Scooby-Doo, where are you? But the gang have all fallen out and dissolved the Mystery Inc partnership for good. Jinkeys! Luckily a strange invitation to solve a mystery on Spooky Island has unwittingly reunited the now-flopped members of the team. Can ghoul-getting gang get along again? The latest in a long line of live-actioned-up retro cartoon faves, Scooby-Doo features superb action set-pieces and seamlessly blended live actor/CGI interaction-our eponymous hero is rendered with particular panache. What's more, the special effects are backed by a scarily well-written script and some frighteningly good performances. The Buffy-tastic Sarah Michelle Gellar was born to be Daphne, and Matthew Lillard is show-stealing as the dream-to-play Shaggy. The characters themselves are darkly developed-Fred is now a vain egotist, Velma a last-picked-at-sport geek and Daphne a Clueless-style airhead. Happily, Shaggy and Scooby are still a pair of snack-happy gormless goofs for whom friendship outweighs all else. Scooby-Doo manages to be great fun for the kids without neglecting the fans of the original (1969!) series. Alongside the fun, frights and frantic action are clever in-jokes and even a few hints at some rather adult goings on-Shaggy getting "toasted" in a smokey hippy-style camper van may explain why he's always so peckish. Throw in a surprise appearance from a love-to-hate familiar face, some Charlie's Angels-style wire work and a storming rap-rock soundtrack and this'll frighten the life out of the competition. [+]
If you're thinking of missing it-Scooby-Don't. On the DVD: Scooby-Doo is beautifully realised in this anamorphic widescreen transfer-the picture is crisp, the colour dazzling and the sound crystal-clear. The menu screen is entertainingly presented with plenty of extras to explore. Highlights include the "Daphne Fight Scene", the Outcast music video and the "making-of" short "Unmasking the Mystery", which features a rare appearance from an ancient Joseph Barbera and reveals the cast and crew to be a personable, fun-loving bunch. The real stand-out here, though, is the "Alternative Scenes" section. The dropped scenes-which include a superb cartoon intro sequence-really add an extra level of understanding to the film, and one suspects that it's only because of today's attention-span challenged audiences that some of the best bits ended up on the cutting-room floor. -Paul Eisinger.

Review Goldhil / Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Season 6
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Landon
  • Michael Landon
  • William F. Claxton
  • Lindsay Greenbush
  • Scottie MacGregor
  • Sidney Greenbush
  • Maury Dexter
  • Richard Bull
Release date: 2005-06-27
Run time: 1140 min.
Creator: Chris Abbott
Price: £19.00

Review Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Season 6 / Goldhil:


Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Flash Gordon [1980]
Actors & Directors
  • Topol
  • Mike Hodges
  • Ornella Muti
  • Melody Anderson
  • Max Von Sydow
  • Sam Jones III
Release date: 2008-08-04
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.47

Review Flash Gordon [1980] / Optimum Home Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962]
Actors & Directors
  • Sylvia Anderson
  • David Graham
  • Gerry Anderson
  • John Bluthal
  • Paul Maxwell
Release date: 2003-10-20
Run time: 975 min.
Creator: Ian D. Struthers
RRP: £39.99
Price: £15.93

Review Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962] / ITV DVD:

Languishing in the vaults for decades, during which time it became a semi-legendary show among TV fans of a certain age, Fireball XL5 (1962) was Gerry Anderson's second puppet-animation science fiction series, the direct forerunner of Stingray (1963) and Thunderbirds (1964). This is the show on which Anderson established the formula for his later classics: a pseudo-military organisation engaged in desperate Earth-saving adventures against overwhelming odds; superb model work; puppets with very obvious strings but endearing personalities; iconic music by Barry Gray; and absolutely massive explosions. Colonel Steve Zodiac pilots the coolest spaceship then seen on British TV, the titular Fireball XL5, and is joined by medical officer Venus, a forerunner of Lady Penelope voiced by Sylvia Anderson, and comedy relief Prof Matt Matic (David Graham). Along for the ride is Robert the Robot, a thinner version of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956), a character who would soon turn up in Lost in Space (1965). The plots are ridiculous, with typically Cold War-era aliens routinely bent on planetary destruction for no reason, and there's zero attention to even rudimentary astronomy or anything else approaching actual science. Yet the gadgets, vehicles and puppetry are first-rate and the fast-paced, action-filled episodes are relentlessly entertaining. It's a cult just waiting to be reborn, and essential viewing for all Anderson fans. On the DVD: Fireball XL5 is presented with all 39 episodes (they run 25 minutes each) on five discs. Despite the colourful packaging, the episodes are all black and white, and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though there are occasional instances of over-compression, which results in artefacting on smooth walls and the like. Some shots look a little soft, but detail is usually strong, making the models and puppets look better than ever. [+]
The mono sound is fine, if unremarkable. There are no extras beyond optional subtitles. -Gary S Dalkin.

Browse Family Favourites:

Models & Brands:
Pocahontas 2 -Journey To A New World [1998], The Secret Of Nimh [1982], Stingray - Complete Series [1964], D2 The Mighty Ducks [1994], It's A Wonderful Life [1946], The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement [2004], The Black Stallion [1979], Field of Dreams [1989], Finding Nemo/Monsters, Inc. [2001], Black Beauty - Series 1 - Complete, The Scooby Doo Live Action Movie Collection : Scooby Doo / Scooby Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed (2 Disc Box Set) [2002], I'll Be Home For Christmas [1998], Azur and Asmar - The Princes Quest [2008], Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties [2006], Lassie Come Home / Son Of Lassie / Courage Of Lassie (3 Disc Box Set), The Muppets Take Manhattan [1986], Scooby Doo - Live Action Movie [2002], Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Season 6, Flash Gordon [1980], Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962]

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