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Review Dr. Dolittle / Doctor Dolittle Quadrilogy [1998]
Release date: 2008-12-01
Run time: 340 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £17.24

Review Doctor Dolittle Quadrilogy [1998] / Dr. Dolittle:


Review Live/Artisan / The Silver Stallion [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Amiel Daemion
  • Caroline Goodall
  • Russell Crowe
  • Johnny Raaen
  • John Tatoulis
  • Buddy Tyson
Release date: 2004-04-20
Run time: 93 min.
Price: £6.42

Review The Silver Stallion [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Live/Artisan:


Review Cinderella/the Little Mermaid / Cinderella/The Little Mermaid
Release date: 2007-10-01
Run time: 154 min.
RRP: £18.99
Price: £28.92

Review Cinderella/The Little Mermaid / Cinderella/the Little Mermaid:


Review Momentum Pictures / The Santa Claus Brothers [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Caroline Rhea
  • Richard Kind
  • Bryan Cranston
  • Kevin McDonald
  • Harland Williams
  • Mike Fallows
Release date: 2002-12-02
Run time: 45 min.
Creator: Jon Cooksey
RRP: £14.99
Price: £1.35

Review The Santa Claus Brothers [2001] / Momentum Pictures:


Review Lions Gate Home Entertainment / Hansel And Gretel [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Jacob Smith
  • Lynn Redgrave
  • Gary J. Tunnicliffe
  • Taylor Momsen
  • Delta Burke
  • Tom Arnold
Release date: 2008-03-03
Run time: 85 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.07

Review Hansel And Gretel [2002] / Lions Gate Home Entertainment:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / The Great Locomotive Chase [1956]
Actors & Directors
  • Fess Parker
  • Francis D. Lyon
  • Jeffrey Hunter
Release date: 2006-08-07
Run time: 72 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £13.98

Review The Great Locomotive Chase [1956] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Universal Pictures UK / Nanny McPhee/Peter Pan
Actors & Directors
  • Kirk Jones
  • Imelda Staunton
  • Emma Thompson
  • Derek Jacobi
  • Angela Lansbury
  • Colin Firth
  • P.J. Hogan
Release date: 2007-03-26
Run time: 214 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £9.91

Review Nanny McPhee/Peter Pan / Universal Pictures UK:


Actors & Directors
  • Mareme Niang
  • Ousseynou Diop
  • Aminata Fall
  • Magaye Niang
  • Djibril Diop Mambéty
  • Christoph Colomb
Release date: 2005-09-06
Run time: 85 min.
Creator: Medoune Faye
Price: £12.03

Review Touki Bouki [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Kino:


Review Walt Disney Video / The Little House on the Prairie [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Erin Cottrell
  • Danielle Chuchran
  • David L. Cunningham
  • Gregory Sporleder
  • Cameron Bancroft
  • Kyle Chavarria
Release date: 2006-03-28
Run time: 255 min.
Creator: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Price: £15.21

Review The Little House on the Prairie [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Universal Studios / Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Christine Baranski
  • Jeffrey Tambor
  • Bill Irwin
  • Jim Carrey
  • Ron Howard
  • Taylor Momsen
Release date: 2001-11-20
Run time: 104 min.
Creator: Peter S. Seaman
Price: £8.12

Review Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Universal Studios:

Jim Carrey is up to all his old tricks (and some nifty new ones) in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, a live-action film of Dr Seuss's holiday classic. Under a thick carpet of green-dyed yak fur and wonderfully expressive Rick Baker makeup, he commands the title role with equal parts madness, mayhem, pathos and improvisational genius, channelling Grinchness through his own screen persona so smoothly that fans of both Carrey and Dr Seuss will be thoroughly satisfied. Adding to the fun is a perfectly pitched back-story sequence (accompanied by Anthony Hopkins's narration) that explains how the Grinch came to hate Christmas, with a heart "two sizes too small". Ron Howard proves a fine choice for the director's chair with a keen balance of comedy, sentiment and light-hearted Seussian whimsy. Production designer Michael Corenblith gloriously realises the wackiness of Whoville architecture, and his rendition of the Grinch's Mt Crumpit lair is a marvel of cartoonish, subterranean grime. Then there's Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), the thoughtful imp who rallies her village to recapture the pure spirit of Christmas and melts the gift-stealing Grinch's cold, cold heart. You've even got a dog (the Grinch's good-natured mongrel, Max) who's been perfectly cast, so what's not to like about this dazzling yuletide movie? The production gets a bit overwhelmed by its own ambition, and the citizens of Whoville (including Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon and Bill Irwin) pale in comparison to Carrey's inspired lunacy, but who cares? If a film can unleash Jim Carrey at his finest, revamp the Grinch story and still pay tribute to the legacy of Dr Seuss, you can bet it qualifies as rousing entertainment. (Ages five and older. ) -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com. [+]
On the DVD: You'd be hard pushed to cram any more special features on to this disc: as well as four deleted scenes, there's over an hour of behind the scenes featurettes. From a documentary about the stunts, the Oscar-winning make-up and how the team visually translated Dr Suess' festive tale to the screen, to a segment on the visual effects and CGI, allowing you to follow the filmmaker's process from beginning to end. And just when you think you have filled up on Grinchy extras there's another menu with the cinema trailer, "Wholiday" recipes, statistics about the film, cast and crew biographies, a trailer for the PlayStation game and the Faith Hill music video "Where are you Christmas". In a bid not to exclude the kids in this DVD bonanza, the Grinch's canine chum takes you through "Max's Playhouse" including interactive games and music, Dress the Grinch, a read-along story and a rhyming game. The candy-cane colours of the Christmas-obsessed town of Whoville shine brightly in anamorphic widescreen; the Dolby 5. 1 Soundtrack will fill your house with festive cheer; and the intelligent commentary from Ron Howard give you some great behind the scenes info. -Kristen Bowditch.

Review Polygram Vermietkassette / Spice World - the Movie [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • Geri Halliwell
  • Emma Bunton
  • Bob Spiers
  • Victoria Beckham
  • Melanie Chisholm
  • Melanie Brown
Release date: 1999-10-01
Run time: 93 min.
Creator: The Spice Girls
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.43

Review Spice World - the Movie [1997] / Polygram Vermietkassette:

One of the reasons that the Spice Girls remain so much fun is that in the great British tradition, they don't take themselves too seriously. Like The Beatles before them, the girls are more than happy to take pot-shots at their own manufactured image, something that Spiceworld: The Movie revels in. It doesn't hurt, of course, that plenty of others are along for the ride: Richard E. Grant chews scenery as the road manager; Meat Loaf is the kindly, ever-reliable bus driver; Elvis Costello (!) makes a tongue-in-cheek cameo; and Roger Moore is. well, bizarre. The plot, as such, is merely a convenience, somehow tying together the girls' first-ever live concert, a pregnant friend, a documentary film crew, a non-Spice love story, and something or other about a tabloid photographer. But that's not the point-what matters here is a surprisingly deft touch by director Bob Spiers and a script that refuses to take anything too seriously; the result is a gentle self-parody that knows just how far to take the joke. -Randy Silver.

Review Universal Pictures UK / E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial -- 3-Disc Collector's Edition (1982 & 2002 Versions)
Actors & Directors
  • Drew Barrymore
  • Erika Eleniak
  • Henry Thomas
  • Peter Coyote
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Dee Wallace
Release date: 2002-12-09
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: Satyajit Ray
RRP: £27.99
Price: £36.99

Review E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial -- 3-Disc Collector's Edition (1982 & 2002 Versions) / Universal Pictures UK:

This 20th Anniversary edition of E. T. introduces the warmth and sense of magic of Steven Spielberg's much-loved movie to a whole new generation. And it is the youngsters at whom this new version has been aimed, with the film being given a Star Wars-style make-over in the hope that it will appeal to a generation weaned on digital effects. Thus, ET now has a souped-up space ship and the pursuing FBI agents are more politically correct, carrying walkie-talkies in place of guns. They've even given ET himself a CGI face-lift, digitally replacing the beloved puppet in certain scenes. But this is no Apocalypse Now Redux. The re-edited scenes are small and insignificant to the plot: the only additional footage of any note is ET taking a bath and demonstrating that he can breathe underwater, which is amusing but irrelevant. The surprise is that the deleted scene with Harrison Ford playing Elliot's school Principal has still not made it to the new version. Despite such grumbles, E. [+]
T. is still the joyful experience it was 20 years ago, only this time grown-ups can follow the story through an added glow of nostalgia, as they fondly remember just how great BMXs were! -Nikki Disney On the DVD: E. T. -20th Anniversary Edition has the revised version of the movie (but not the original cut) on Disc One, presented in 1. 85:1 anamorphic widescreen and with a choice of gloriously remastered Dolby 5. 1 or DTS sound options. The major beneficiary of this new presentation is John Williams' outstanding music score, which uniquely can also be played along with the film in the live version from the LA Shrine Auditorium 2002 premiere. A documentary about Williams conducting this extraordinary performance and a feature on his original scoring sessions are the best extra features on Disc Two. Other documentaries cover the "Evolution and Creation of ET"; a "Reunion" of the principal cast and crew with some fun behind-the-scenes footage; a piece on the planets of the Solar System narrated by ET himself (!); a photo gallery; trailers, and DVD-ROM extras. There's no director's commentary, but Spielberg does briefly introduce the movie on Disc One. -Mark Walker.

Review Firefly Entertainment / The Complete Collection - Trumpton / Chigley / Camberwick Green [1969]
Actors & Directors
  • Brian Cant
Release date: 2003-04-21
Run time: 540 min.
Creator: Alison Prince
RRP: £19.99
Price: £99.99

Review The Complete Collection - Trumpton / Chigley / Camberwick Green [1969] / Firefly Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fourth Season [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Alexis Bledel
  • Kenny Ortega
  • Keiko Agena
  • Chris Long
  • Melissa McCarthy
  • Daniel Palladino
  • Scott Patterson
  • Jamie Babbit
  • Lauren Graham
  • Amy Sherman
Release date: 2005-09-27
Run time: 959 min.
Price: £30.82

Review Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fourth Season [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review Warner Home Video / Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Will Friedle
  • Dean Stockwell
  • Curt Geda
  • Kevin Conroy
  • Angie Harmon
  • Mark Hamill
Release date: 2002-04-23
Run time: 77 min.
Creator: Paul Dini
Price: £3.52

Review Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:

Some diehard Batfans have been slow to warm to the animated series Batman Beyond even though it was created by the same team responsible for the excellent Batman cartoon of the early 1990s. The Dark Knight should be a brooding avenger in a noir-nightmare Gotham City, the purists argue, not some smart-aleck teen four decades in the future, with jet packs, invisibility shields, and other sci-fi gizmos loaned him by an elderly Bruce Wayne (voiced, excellently as always, by Kevin Conroy, his stony bass given a raspy hint of old age), now confined to hobbling about on a cane and monitoring his protégé's activities from the Batcave. Between its respectful re-examination of the "tortured hero" mythos and its sleek, animé-inspired look, this feature-length movie should go a long way toward quieting their complaints. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they've brought back the most legendary figure in the Rogues Gallery (voiced by Mark Hamill, deliciously deranged), but exactly how and why the Joker has managed to turn up 40 years after his last meeting with Batman still as youthful and diabolical as ever is explained not only logically but terrifyingly as well. The secret behind his arrival is perhaps the saddest, grimmest twist any purported "kids' show" has dared to attempt. (Parents may well want to preview this tape before screening it for the very young. ) Once again, Warner Brothers' cartoon Batman has outshone all the live-action films, never allowing the thrilling action set pieces or flashes of wry humour to drown out the drama, even tragedy, of the all-too-human superheroes. -Bruce Reid, Amazon. com.

Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Return From Witch Mountain [1978]
Actors & Directors
  • John Hough
  • Kim Richards
  • Bette Davis
  • Christopher Lee
  • Jack Soo
  • Ike Eisenmann
Release date: 2004-03-22
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.24

Review Return From Witch Mountain [1978] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / The Three Worlds Of Gulliver [1960]
Actors & Directors
  • June Thorburn
  • Jo Morrow
  • Kerwin Mathews
  • Jack Sher
Release date: 2002-04-22
Run time: 94 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.14

Review The Three Worlds Of Gulliver [1960] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

The 1960 children's feature The Three Worlds of Gulliver brings to life the first two sections of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels in a version which, while sanitised for youngsters, retains some of the satire and intelligence of the original. It also boasts excellent-for-the-time special effects by Ray Harryhausen, though the effects wizard keeps his trademark stop-motion animation to a minimum, featuring it only when Gulliver (Kerwin Mathews from 1958's The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad), has problems with an outsized crocodile and a foraging squirrel. Instead, Harryhausen concentrates on portraying the miniature Lilliputians and the giant Brobdingnagians, and the results still impress over 40 years on. This is a colourful, witty, charming film, though it is also heavily Americanised, the dialogue anachronistic and some of the accents decidedly trans-Atlantic. Mathews is a little stiff in the role of a British doctor, but English actress June Thorburn makes a spirited and beautiful Elizabeth, Gulliver's fiancée who in this version comes along for the journey. While the 1996 TV mini-series Gulliver's Travels comes much closer to Swift's intentions Harryhausen's version will delight younger viewers and has the advantage of a beguiling score from the great Bernard Herrmann. Some viewers may be startled to learn that in the 17th century there were Spanish mountains just outside London, and that Wapping was just a minute's walk from the beach. On the DVD: The Three Worlds of Gulliver on disc has good mono sound while the picture, which is anamorphically enhanced and presented at 1. 77:1, is of variable quality. There are very distracting fleck marks where the emulsion has been damaged on the print in many shots featuring Gulliver against a bright blue sky. [+]
These really should have been restored before transfer to DVD. Although the packaging refers to "The Ray Harryhausen Chronicles" featurette, this is actually the same superb 57-minute TV documentary which has appeared on other Harryhausen titles. Everyone should have it in their collection once. "This is Dynamation" is a three-minute special effects promo for The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Also included is a five-minute original "making of" featurette and trailers for The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1. 70:1 letterboxed), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (4:3) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1. 77:1 anamorphic), as well as basic filmographies of Jack Sher, Arthur Ross, Ray Harryhausen and Kerwin Mathews. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review ITV DVD / Thunderbirds: Volume 5 [1965]
Actors & Directors
  • John Tate
Release date: 2004-07-19
Run time: 197 min.
Creator: Sylvia Anderson
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.73

Review Thunderbirds: Volume 5 [1965] / ITV DVD:

"Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines-the real stars of the show-while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company. ) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: The four episodes are: "The Man from MI5", "Cry Wolf", "Danger at Ocean Deep" and "Move and You're Dead".

Review Marquee Pictures / A Kid Called Danger [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Randi-Lynn Strong
  • John Armstrong
  • Devin Gardner
  • Mace Melonas
  • Clayton Taylor
  • Eric Hendershot
Release date: 2001-04-01
Run time: 90 min.
Creator: Steven A. Lee
RRP: £4.99
Price: £0.95

Review A Kid Called Danger [1999] / Marquee Pictures:


Review Hit Entertainment / Angelina Ballerina - The Magic Of Dance
Actors & Directors
  • Keith Wickham
  • Kitty Taylor
  • Roger McIntosh
  • Judi Dench
  • Finty Williams
  • Jo Wyatt
Release date: 2004-05-24
Run time: 68 min.
Creator: Paul Larson
RRP: £6.99
Price: £0.99

Review Angelina Ballerina - The Magic Of Dance / Hit Entertainment:


Browse Family Favourites:

Models & Brands:
Doctor Dolittle Quadrilogy [1998], The Silver Stallion [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Cinderella/The Little Mermaid, The Santa Claus Brothers [2001], Hansel And Gretel [2002], The Great Locomotive Chase [1956], Nanny McPhee/Peter Pan, Touki Bouki [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Little House on the Prairie [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Spice World - the Movie [1997], E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial -- 3-Disc Collector's Edition (1982 & 2002 Versions), The Complete Collection - Trumpton / Chigley / Camberwick Green [1969], Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fourth Season [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Return From Witch Mountain [1978], The Three Worlds Of Gulliver [1960], Thunderbirds: Volume 5 [1965], A Kid Called Danger [1999], Angelina Ballerina - The Magic Of Dance

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