My Friend Flicka: This gorgeous 1943 family film stars Roddy McDowell as a Colorado rancher's son who takes a shine to a colt named Flicka and chooses to train her. The boy's father (Preston Foster) isn't happy about the idea: the horse is an offspring of a stormy mare who may not be right in the head. For a while, Flicka seems determined to prove the rancher's point, fiercely resisting young McDowell's efforts at domestication. But persistence and love win the day, and Flicka grows up to be a magnificent animal and friend. The film was shot by director Harold Schuster and cinematographer Dewey Wrigley as if for the ages, marrying such perfect elements as a Technicolor sweep of the beautiful Rocky Mountains setting with a wonderful story, plus McDowell's charismatic earnestness. Based on the Mary O'Hara novel, this film stands up as a perennially worthy adventure tale for kids ages 5 and up. -Tom Keogh Thunderhead, Son of Flicka: A sequel to the wildly popular, heart-warming children's classic My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead stars the original winsome young Roddy McDowall as the horse-lover against all odds. The sequel is every bit as touching, involving, and misty-eye-inducing as the original film. Thunderhead, a headstrong albino colt, is the son of the mare Flicka, and McDowall's Ken McLaughlin sets out to find out what this wild thing can do. Thunderhead, when given his head, can fly as though winged, so Ken decides to enter Thunderhead in some horse races. [+]

Although at first glance it looks like a movie dreamed up by a marketing committee (and in some respects it probably was), Space Jam actually defies the odds against it to become a dazzling display of family entertainment. There's a kind of demented genius to the idea of casting NBA superstar Michael Jordan in a live-action and animated movie co-starring the beloved characters from Warner Bros' Looney Tunes cartoons. They play off each other like seasoned veterans of vaudeville, and Jordan never falls into the kind of awkward, amateurish showmanship that you might expect from a sports idol. He's comfortable in the cartoon land of his co-stars, who include Bugs Bunny and sexy newcomer Lola Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester & Tweety, Speedy Gonzalez, the Tazmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn, and Yosemite Sam. They've all been hijacked to an outer-space amusement park run by the Nerdlucks, who strike a Faustian bargain with the Warners' heroes: if Bugs and Co. can defeat the Nerdluck "Monstars" in a basketball game, they'll win back their freedom; if they lose, they'll be doomed to stay there forever as enslaved entertainers. So they kidnap Jordan as their coach and "secret weapon" while the nefarious Nerdlucks suck out the basketball skills from such stellar victims as Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing. It all leads to reckless abandon on the basketball court, and Bill Murray pops in for some hilarious support. Combining traditional animation and computer-generated Nerdlucks with its live-action cast, Space Jam was made in the anarchic spirit of the original cartoons, where anything goes as long as it's funny and off-the-wall (or the ceiling, or the door, or the floor. [+]

A major Columbia Pictures release in glorious Technicolor, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad was one of Hollywood's first modern fantasy action blockbusters. On a mission to rescue his fiancée, the Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), Kerwin Mathews acquits himself well as Sinbad, while Torin Thatcher is a suitably malevolent magician who has shrunken the princess in a bid to get Sinbad to undertake a perilous quest. Truth be told, no one remembers Ray Harryhausen films for the script or the acting; the real stars are the still impressive action set-pieces, a battle with a cyclops, a giant Roc, a dragon, and a duelling skeleton; this last anticipating a much more lavish battle with skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts. The cast may be all-American rather than Arab but even so, everything about this film works, from the fabulous set design of the Sultan's palace which evokes a real fairytale atmosphere, to Bernard Herrmann's truly classic score. On the DVD: The film exhibits a strong anamorphically enhanced 1. 85-1 ratio image, with powerful mono sound. At about 80 minutes, the extras last almost as long as the movie. The most important and extensive addition is "The Harryhausen Chronicles", a documentary, while "This is Dynamation" gives an introduction to the stop-motion animation process itself. Ray Harryhausen is an affable host, a modest man who talks engagingly about his work in a way that really makes one appreciate the sheer ingenuity and skill which went into making not just The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, but also Jason and the Argonauts, the subject of a further featurette on the disc. On top of this there are trailers for the aforementioned films, plus one for the disappointing but still fun Golden Voyage of Sinbad. [+]

Though it's not in the same league as the classic screen musicals, Annie's heartwarming rags-to-riches storyline, social comment (shallow as it may be) and catchy songs make for an entertaining and unpretentious 90 minutes' viewing. Aileen Quinn is the irrepressible titular orphan, by no means as irritating as she looks in the cover picture; Albert Finney is Oliver Warbucks, the tyrannical tycoon (with a hidden heart of gold, of course) who adopts her for a week in the interests of good PR. The real show-stopper, though, is Carol Burnett as the gin-soaked harpy Miss Hannigan, ruling with an iron fist over an orphanage full of unruly girls, flirting with every man in sight and eventually scheming with her unscrupulous brother (Tim Curry) to kidnap Annie and reap a fat Warbucks reward cheque. While the songs-including "Tomorrow", "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" and "It's a Hard Knock Life"-are excellent, the kids' voices are shrill and the production pretty low-rent: Annie is very obviously a stage show brought to screen on a low budget. But while it lacks the polish that make the Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe musicals so special, it's funny and sweet and has a rough charm all its own. On the DVD: The film is presented in widescreen, preserving its original 2. 35:1 aspect, and is enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs; the soundtrack is Dolby surround, though as noted above the music score is relatively rough and ready so top-notch sound isn't actually as important as it would be in other musicals. The extras are pretty disappointing-an uninspired interactive menu features only the obligatory multi-language subtitles, (very) short biographies of the key cast members, a few publicity cards and posters, the theatrical trailer and-most interestingly-an isolated musical score. No commentary from director John Huston, no documentaries, nothing about the 1930s cartoon strip that was, apparently, one of the most popular of its day. There's actually more information in the accompanying booklet than there is on the disc. [+]

A combination of modern technology and more traditional filmmaking, Stuart Little 2 is, like its predecessor, a beautifully innocent children's movie. While the likes of Shrek and Monster's, Inc. have taken human actors visually out of the picture, Stuart Little 2 is more old-fashioned in its approach and themes: the tale of a big-hearted little mouse is familiar to anyone raised on classic Disney. For those who haven't seen the first film a fairly hefty suspension of belief is required, but this is an engaging tale. Packing everything into to a succinct 70 minutes the plot is a simple story, full of heartfelt platitudes and uplifting messages. Nathan Lane adds a welcome touch of sharp humour as the voice of Snowball the cat, and Hugh Laurie and Geena Davies' portrayal of Mr and Mrs Little has a knowing edge beneath their squeaky clean exterior. It may lack the cultural suss of some of its competitors, but Stuart Little 2 is hugely recommended for those wishing to be entertained, young and old alike. On the DVD: Stuart Little 2 is an absolute visual delight, interweaving the worlds of real action and computer generation to sumptuous effect. The colours are vivid and bold, giving the film a cartoon, almost fantasy, quality that suits the feel of the story. There's a rake of extras, including several behind the scenes and technical featurettes that could possibly spoil some of the magic for younger children. [+]

The hot girl rock group The Cheetah Girls is about to discover just how important dreams and true friendship are as they head to Barcelona for an exciting summer vacation. When Chanel's (Adrienne Bailon) mother announces a trip to Barcelona to meet her current boyfriend's family, Chanel is distraught at being separated from the Cheetah Girls for the summer and worries that her mother may decide to move to Barcelona permanently. Galleria (Raven-Symoné) soon cooks up a plan that lands all of the Cheetah girls in Barcelona for a music festival, but once there, the girls' individual interests in music, dance, fashion design and even romance sweep them in so many different directions that there's little time for rehearsing together. Add in some very real competition from Barcelona's favorite upcoming singer Marisol (Belinda Peregrin), her conniving mother and a lack of familiarity with the music festival rules, and the Cheetah Girls chances of winning the contest begin to fade. Galleria soon realizes that she must let each of her friends go in the direction their dreams take them, even if it means the end of the Cheetah Girls. In the end, all the girls learn a vital lesson about the importance of tolerance, friendship, and dreams. This production is bursting with tight music and awesome dance segments choreographed by High School Musical's choreographer Kenny Ortega. -Tami Horiuchi.

This pleasant, lightweight live-action version of the popular cartoon is about as good as you might expect. The kids should love the broad humour and the Henson Studios creatures but like The Addams Family movies, the look and the cast are the best things going for it. Considering that the nature of the material is so sparse, the thinly plotted story works better than other TV-to-movie fare. Our fabulous Stone Age man is promoted per a calculated move by a scheming exec (Kyle MacLachlan, whose casting ensured at least one cute guy). As a comedy, the humour is one-note and flat for anyone older than 12. The special-effects creatures look wondrous, though not as seamless as in other movies, such as in Roger Rabbit. The most joyous moments come during the full-scale re-creations of the famous credits. The Flintstones provided a major launching pad for Halle Berry as a vamping secretary. -Doug Thomas.