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Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Lost In Space - Season 1 [1965]
Release date: 2004-02-23
Run time: 999 min.
Creator: Irwin Allen
RRP: £49.99
Price: £35.99

Review Lost In Space - Season 1 [1965] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Lost in Space began life in 1965 as a science-fiction take on The Swiss Family Robinson. Produced by Irwin Allen, then in the midst of his run of spectacular-but-childish TV SF (before he became the master of big-screen disaster movies), the show featured a family of all-American space colonists cast away on a mysterious planet. Gradually the whole thing devolved into a silly (but sometimes fun) exercise in childish camp. This box set includes all 29 black and white episodes from the first season (with a burst of colour at the end of the last show-a foretaste of the garish look of the remaining two seasons) along with "No Place to Hide", the expensive pilot show that sold the series but which prompted Allen to revamp the whole premise in comic mode when network execs responded best to its unintended humour. "No Place to Hide" has action scenes that cropped up in the first six regular episodes but is missing several of the show's trademark aspects, most notably that infectious theme from Johnny Williams (later, John Williams of Star Wars fame) and the scheming presence of Dr Smith (Jonathan Harris) and his alternately menacing and comical robot ("It does not compute"). As the series progresses (or degenerates, depending on your taste), Harris's Smith changes from pantomime villain, a saboteur who is trying to kill the family, into pantomime dame, a panicky old idiot whose foolishness, cowardice and avarice are an endless source of plots. It mostly makes do with the regular cast plus an array of shaggy-suited, snarling aliens, but you do get sterling ham from visiting astronauts such as Warren Oates ("Welcome Stranger"), Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet ("War of the Robots") and a very young Kurt Russell ("The Challenge"). Stories about surviving on an alien world give way to lifts from fairy tale, myth and old movies as Smith gets hold of a wishing cap, becomes a giant, is chosen as a sacrificial king, turns the children over to an alien zoo, squeaks in fright as a werewolf approaches or is cursed with a platinum Midas touch. -Kim Newman.

Review Quantum Leap / Yoga For Kids - Daily Exercises For Beginners [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Kali Ray
Release date: 2007-04-16
Run time: 60 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £4.39

Review Yoga For Kids - Daily Exercises For Beginners [2004] / Quantum Leap:


Review Walt Disney Video / Cinderella [1950] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Hamilton Luske
  • Ilene Woods
  • Wilfred Jackson
  • Claire Du Brey
  • Clyde Geronimi
  • Eleanor Audley
  • James MacDonald
  • Verna Felton
Release date: 2005-10-04
Run time: 74 min.
Creator: Charles Perrault
Price: £41.00

Review Cinderella [1950] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Homevision / Little Lord Fauntleroy [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Benz
  • John Castle
  • Bernice Stegers
  • Betsy Brantley
  • Andrew Morgan
  • George Baker
Release date: 2006-01-24
Run time: 360 min.
Creator: Julian Fellowes
Price: £5.29

Review Little Lord Fauntleroy [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Homevision:

If Little Lord Fauntleroy is a crusty, curmudgeonly sort of book, the BBC Film adaptation is even crustier. For here, amongst these 100 over-starched and often overacted minutes, are more frown lines, furrowed brows, and pasty pallor's than you can shake a Victorian walking stick at. It's not that the story isn't compelling: true to the Frances Hodgson Brunett classic, a humble and kindly 10-year-old boy living a hardscrabble life alongside his widowed mother in 1870s New York is summoned by England's Earl of Dorincourt, his dreary and shrunken-hearted though fabulously wealthy grandfather, to claim his title-he shall be Lord Fauntleroy. This is to the old man's distaste, he being of the unfortunate opinion that unmannered scum dwells across the pond. Worse for young Cedric, his mother, more fully American riffraff than he, is relegated to a cottage outside the castle where he is to live. Predictably, the ingenuous lad, a real gee-whizz kind of a kid, soon lights a fire beneath his grandfather's frosty heart. Right when things begin to feel warm and fuzzy though, another foul American, this one a shameless social climber and pretender on her son's behalf to the lordship, elbows her way in, aiming to conquer the castle. Fortunately, a couple of good ol' boys from back home go all out to blow her cover. A morose mood aside, what whacks away at the modern viewer's funny bone is the cast's brittleness. Everyone's too cut-and-dried and black or white, beaming beatifically or incapable of cracking a smile. [+]
Still, don't count this version out if you're a big fan, or if certain over-5 members of your family display drama-queen or king tendencies. -Tammy La Gorce, Amazon. com.

Review Walt Disney Home Video / Lady And The Tramp 2 - Scamp's Adventure [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Alyssa Milano
  • Darrell Rooney
  • Jeannine Roussel
  • Scott Wolf
  • Jodi Benson
  • Jeff Bennett
  • Chazz Palminteri
Release date: 2001-03-12
Run time: 66 min.
Creator: Tom Rogers
RRP: £15.99
Price: £1.86

Review Lady And The Tramp 2 - Scamp's Adventure [2001] / Walt Disney Home Video:

One of the remarkable things about making an animated sequel is that actors don't age. It took Disney 46 years to make a sequel to its 1955 hit Lady and the Tramp, yet the events of this made-for-video sequel take place only six months later. Lady and Tramp are getting along fine with their human family, the Darlings, and they have four new puppies. The three girl puppies take after mum, the boy, Scamp, has a lot of dad in him. Scamp dreams of "being a real dog", and that means living on the street as a member of the Junkyard Dogs. Despite his dad's warnings, Scamp (voiced by Scott Wolf) runs off and goes through the trials of a mutt, including run-ins with Junkyard leader Buster (Chazz Palminteri); the dogcatcher (Don Knotts); and a fellow stray, Angel (Alyssa Milano). The formula here is the same as other Disney direct-to-video sequels for The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, and the justification to return to a classic movie is flimsy at best. To its credit, Disney has made a quality effort in the animation department, adapting sets and characters from the original with great success. But the story is never engaging, the songs are forgettable, and the impact unsustainable (and at 62 minutes, quite trite). Nevertheless, a Disney kid should dig Scamp's rough-and-tumble adventures and the cute tale of puppy love (Scamp and Angel even revisit the Italian diner). [+]
-Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

Review Family Home Ent / Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Mike Nawrocki
  • Lisa Vischer
  • Tim Hodge
  • Mike Nawrocki
  • Dan Anderson
  • Phil Vischer
  • Phil Vischer
Release date: 2003-03-04
Run time: 82 min.
Creator: Dan Philips
Price: £4.10

Review Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Family Home Ent:


Review Walt Disney Video / The Jungle Book [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Sebastian Cabot
  • Wolfgang Reitherman
  • Sterling Holloway
  • Louis Prima
  • George Sanders
  • Phil Harris
Release date: 2007-10-02
Run time: 78 min.
Creator: Larry Clemmons
Price: £14.66

Review The Jungle Book [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's original, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it one of the studio's stronger feature-length cartoons. Songs include "The Bare Necessities" and "Trust in Me". -Tom Keogh One of the very best animated films that the Walt Disney Studio has ever released (and the last to be produced by Walt Disney himself), and as downright brilliant as it was on its debut in 1967, The Jungle Book makes a very welcome return to DVD in this excellent 40th anniversary double-disc set. Based loosely on the Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name, the film tells the story of man-cub Mowgli, and the friends he makes in the jungle. And it's these friends who ignite the film, with some of the most memorable characters and songs that Disney has ever put on the screen. Kings of The Jungle Book are the likes of Baloo the Bear, King Louie the villainous Shere Khan the Tiger, while supporting characters such as Colonel Hathi are just as memorable. It's astonishing that it packs so much and so many into its relatively short running time. It's an amazing achievement too that The Jungle Book bristles with such energy and fun, and that it's just as likely to enthral the current generation of youngsters as well as those of us who saw it first time round. And when those songs start playing-from Bare Necessities through to I Wanna Be Like You-it'll take some effort to not start tapping your feet. [+]
A brilliant, brilliant film, and as vintage as the Disney back catalogue gets. -Simon Brew.

Review Showtime Entertainment / Run the Wild Fields [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Paul A. Kaufman
  • Cotter Smith
  • Alexa Vega
  • Sean Patrick Flanery
  • Joanne Whalley
  • Bill Lake
Release date: 2002-05-28
Run time: 101 min.
Creator: Rodney Patrick Vaccaro
Price: £6.71

Review Run the Wild Fields [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Showtime Entertainment:


Review Revelation Films / Round The Twist - Series 3
Actors & Directors
  • Rian McLean
  • Esben Storm
  • Andrew S. Gilbert
  • Pino Amenta
  • Matthew Waters
  • Ray Boseley
  • Ebonnie Masini
Release date: 2005-07-25
Run time: 280 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.40

Review Round The Twist - Series 3 / Revelation Films:


Review Walt Disney Video / The Incredibles [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Brad Bird
  • Dominique Louis
  • Jason Lee
  • Bud Luckey
  • Craig T. Nelson
  • Roger Gould
  • Holly Hunter
  • Samuel L. Jackson
Release date: 2005-03-15
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: Rob Gibbs
Price: £11.40

Review The Incredibles [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / Eloise at the Plaza [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Debra Monk
  • Kevin Lima
  • Kenneth Welsh
  • Gavin Creel
  • Jeffrey Tambor
  • Julie Andrews
Release date: 2003-11-11
Run time: 89 min.
Creator: Kay Thompson
Price: £4.03

Review Eloise at the Plaza [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Actors & Directors
  • David Ogden Stiers
  • Gary Trousdale
  • Paige O'Hara
  • Robby Benson
  • Richard White
  • Kirk Wise
  • Jerry Orbach
Release date: 1993-09-04
Run time: 81 min.
Creator: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
RRP: £14.99
Price: £0.89

Review Beauty And The Beast [1992] / Walt Disney Home Video:

The film that officially signalled Disney's animation renaissance and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman, (winning the 1991 Oscar for Best Song and Menken's score won a trophy as well). The downright funniest song is "Gaston", a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication and pure joy. -David Kronke, Amazon. comOn the DVD: Beauty and the Beast's regular DVD release still offers some special features, but doesn't hold a candle to the Collector's Edition. The "making-of" featurette is informative charting the production from Walt Disney's original idea to the final musical version. [+]
"The Story Behind the Story" shows the origins of many of Disney's adapted fairy tales. The two games are fun, if a little slow to load. Celine Dion's original video is slightly on the dull side, but Jump 5's remixed version of "Tale as Old as Time" is just ridiculous. As always the sing-along track is great fun for all budding Belles or Beasts in the house. The transfer is as pristine as could be expected from a 1991 release. On the DVD: Beauty and the Beast's two-disc Collector's Edition really is the stuff of fairy tales. Disc 1 has three versions of the movie, the best being the "Work in Progress" edition which offers the unfinished film, sketch lines and all. The theatrical cut has a pristine transfer and the sound is immaculate. The director's commentary relies on a lot on name-dropping and you'll find more interesting insight in the "making-of" feature on the second disc. The sing-a-long track (as with all Disney releases) is fantastic, particularly for such a well-loved score. Disc 2 is packed full of information, fun and games. The best of the informative features is "Animation Magic", an intelligent look into the production of Disney cartoons. In the games section you'll need to head straight for the West Wing to continue an adventure with Chip (Tip: finish the game "Maurice's Workshop" first), but get your fingers warmed up as it needs a little remote control action. This disc only really falls down on the slowness of some of its games and the appalling remix video of "Tale as Old as Time". -Nikki Disney.

Review Uca Catalogue / The Famous Five - Five Run Away Together / Five Go To Mystery Moor
Release date: 2003-07-21
Run time: 50 min.
Creator: Peter Moth
Price: £5.99

Review The Famous Five - Five Run Away Together / Five Go To Mystery Moor / Uca Catalogue:


Review Deutsche Grammophon / Humperdinck - Hansel Und Gretel (Solti, Vpo) [1981]
Actors & Directors
  • August Everding
  • Helga Dernesch
  • Edita Gruberova
  • Sena Jurinac
  • Hermann Prey
  • Brigitte Fassbaender
Release date: 2005-11-14
Run time: 109 min.
Creator: Jacob Grimm
RRP: £19.99
Price: £13.91

Review Humperdinck - Hansel Und Gretel (Solti, Vpo) [1981] / Deutsche Grammophon:


Review Warner Home Video / The Dawn Patrol [1938] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Robert Clampett
  • Donald Crisp
  • Bobby Connolly
  • Mel Blanc
  • Roy Mack
  • Basil Rathbone
  • Errol Flynn
  • David Niven
  • Edmund Goulding
Release date: 2007-03-27
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Dan Totheroh
Price: £8.98

Review The Dawn Patrol [1938] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review 2 Entertain Video / The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 3 - On To White Deer Park [1992]
Release date: 1993-11-01
Run time: 85 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.19

Review The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 3 - On To White Deer Park [1992] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review MGM Entertainment / Blizzard [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • LeVar Burton
  • Whoopi Goldberg
  • Christopher Plummer
  • Leif Bristow
  • Brenda Blethyn
  • Kevin Pollak
Release date: 2005-11-14
Run time: 95 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £39.77

Review Blizzard [2004] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Walt Disney Video / Finding Nemo (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Lee Unkrich
  • Brad Garrett
  • Ellen DeGeneres
  • Albert Brooks
  • Alexander Gould
  • Willem Dafoe
  • Andrew Stanton
Release date: 2003-11-04
Run time: 100 min.
Creator: David Reynolds
Price: £14.63

Review Finding Nemo (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba diver, a nervous clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast-and astonishingly detailed-ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both a help and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and thrilling ride-rarely do more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence appearing that's destined to become a theme-park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic successes (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc). Supporting voices here include Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush and Allison Janney. -Bret Fetzer.

Review Walt Disney Home Video / Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Actors & Directors
  • Whoopi Goldberg
  • Whitney Houston
  • Victor Garber
  • Bernadette Peters
  • Jason Alexander
  • Robert Iscove
Release date: 1998-06-22
RRP: £10.99
Price: £22.98

Review Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review Warner Home Video / The Hobbit [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • John Huston
  • Richard Boone
  • Cyril Ritchard
  • Arthur Rankin Jr.
  • Orson Bean
  • Brother Theodore
  • Jules Bass
Release date: 2001-09-11
Run time: 90 min.
Creator: Romeo Muller
Price: £4.92

Review The Hobbit [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Browse Family Favourites:

Models & Brands:
Lost In Space - Season 1 [1965], Yoga For Kids - Daily Exercises For Beginners [2004], Cinderella [1950] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Little Lord Fauntleroy [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Lady And The Tramp 2 - Scamp's Adventure [2001], Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Jungle Book [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Run the Wild Fields [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Round The Twist - Series 3, The Incredibles [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Eloise at the Plaza [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Beauty And The Beast [1992], The Famous Five - Five Run Away Together / Five Go To Mystery Moor, Humperdinck - Hansel Und Gretel (Solti, Vpo) [1981], The Dawn Patrol [1938] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 3 - On To White Deer Park [1992], Blizzard [2004], Finding Nemo (REGION 1) (NTSC), Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Hobbit [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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