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Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / WALL-E [Blu-ray] [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Jeff Garlin
  • Andrew Stanton
  • Ben Burtt
  • Fred Willard
  • John Ratzenberger
  • Elissa Knight
Release date: 2008-11-24
Run time: 95 min.
RRP: £26.99
Price: £14.50

Review WALL-E [Blu-ray] [2008] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

Pixar genius reigns in this funny romantic comedy, which stars a robot who says absolutely nothing for a full 25 minutes yet somehow completely transfixes and endears himself to the audience within the first few minutes of the film. As the last robot left on earth, Wall-E (voiced by Ben Burtt) is one small robot-with a big, big heart-who holds the future of Earth and mankind squarely in the palm of his metal hand. He's outlasted all the "Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class" robots that were assigned some 700 years ago to clean up the environmental mess that man made of earth while man vacationed aboard the luxury spaceship Axiom. Wall-E has dutifully gone about his job compacting trash, the extreme solitude broken only by his pet cockroach, but he's developed some oddly human habits and ideas. When the Axiom sends its regularly scheduled robotic EVE probe (Elissa Knight) to earth, Wall-E is instantly smitten and proceeds to try to impress EVE with his collection of human memorabilia. EVE's directive compels her to bring Wall-E's newly collected plant sprout to the captain of the Axiom and Wall-E follows in hot pursuit. Suddenly, the human world is turned upside down and the Captain (Jeff Garlin) joins forces with Wall-E and a cast of other misfit robots to lead the now lethargic people back home to earth. Wall-E is a great family film with the most impressive aspect being the depth of emotion conveyed by a simple robot-a machine typically considered devoid of emotion, but made so absolutely touching by the magic of Pixar animation. Also well-worth admiring are the sweeping views from space, the creative yet disturbing vision of what strange luxuries a future space vacation might offer, and the innovative use of trash in a future cityscape. Underneath the slapstick comedy and touching love story is a poignant message about the folly of human greed and its potential effects on earth and the entire human race. [+]
-Tami Horiuchi, Amazon. com.

Review Disney / Tinker Bell [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Lucy Liu
  • Mae Whitman
  • Anjelica Huston
  • Bradley Raymond
  • Raven-Symoné
  • Jane Horrocks
Release date: 2008-11-10
Run time: 75 min.
Creator: Jeffrey M. Howard
RRP: £15.99
Price: £11.98

Review Tinker Bell [2008] / Disney:


Review Disney / The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Andrew Adamson
  • Georgie Henley
  • Ben Barnes
  • William Moseley
  • Anna Popplewell
  • Skandar Keynes
Release date: 2008-11-17
Run time: 144 min.
RRP: £20.99
Price: £11.99

Review The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008] / Disney:

More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C. S. Lewis' classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off. sort of. It's been a year since the Pevensie children-Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)-returned to England from Narnia, and they've just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they're once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again-and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. [+]
They've been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust's Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who's become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he's not the only one threatened: Miraz's people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians-the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees-to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Miraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC version of Prince Caspian. ) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn't disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book. ) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. -David Horiuchi, Amazon. com.

Review Disney / Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [1958]
Actors & Directors
  • Clyde Geronimi
  • Eleanor Audley
  • Mary Costa
  • Verna Felton
  • Bill Shirley
Release date: 2008-10-27
Run time: 75 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £10.99

Review Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [1958] / Disney:

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 Maleficent'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 High School Musical / High School Musical Encore/ High School Musical 2 (Duo Pack) [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Drew Seeley
  • Ashley Tisdale
  • Zach Effron
  • Corbin Bleu
  • Monique Coleman
Release date: 2008-07-21
Run time: 203 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £7.48

Review High School Musical Encore/ High School Musical 2 (Duo Pack) [2006] / High School Musical:

High School Musical (Encore Edition) The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical is a combination of backstage action and Grease without the unwholesome habits. It's a smash hit with tween audiences (ages 6 to 10), but appealing for all ages. At a New Year's Eve party, Troy (Zac Efron) has a chance meeting with Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) when they share a karaoke song. Lo and behold, when school resumes, they discover that Gabriella has just transferred to Troy's East High School, a campus divided into tight cliques of jocks, cheerleaders, brainiacs, and skater dudes. Eager to recapture the magic they'd discovered during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella consider auditioning for the school's upcoming musical, much to the dismay of the school's frost queen/theatre goddess, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale). Problem is, Troy is also the star of the basketball team and Gabrielle is being recruited to compete in the Scholastic Decathlon. Will they give up their cliques to start something new, or will they do as the show's first big anthem urges and "Stick to the Status Quo"? Well, this is a Disney movie, so maybe the sacrifices won't be that hard, and even the hints of romance are mild. The bestselling soundtrack is catchy in that Disney-pop kind of way, mixing in a dash of hip-hop ("Getcha Head in the Game," punctuated by squeaky basketball shoes and other sound effects), salsa ("Bop to the Top"), and the endearingly hammy ("What I've Been Looking For" performed by Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, played by Lucas Grabeel). It's not hard to imagine High School Musical becoming a semi-staple for high school groups to perform themselves. -David Horiuchi High School Musical 2 What time is it? Time for High School Musical 2, the sequel to the Disney Channel smash. [+]
School is out, and Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are looking forward to a summer to remember, but Troy also needs to earn money so he can go to college. As it turns out, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), the self-proclaimed primo girl of East High, has her eye set on primo-boy Troy, and gets him a job at the country club her parents own. It looks great for Troy when Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats are hired also, but when he gets preferential treatment from the club manager (Mark Taylor) and others, it puts all of his relationships in hot water. Everyone's back from the original movie, including Zac's buddy Chad (Corbin Bleu), Sharpay's brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), and Gabriella's friend Taylor (Monique Coleman). And the songs on the hit soundtrack often parallel the originals and are just as catchy: the Troy-Gabriella duet ("You Are the Music in Me," which is later Sharpay-ized into a rock version), the sports-flavored hip-hop number ("I Don't Dance," but this time on the baseball diamond instead of the basketball court), the Gabriella lament ("Gotta Go My Own Way"), the climactic stage duet ("Everyday"), and the mass-ensemble closer ("All for One"). But the sequel doesn't just stick to the status quo. Other songs include a flashy opener ("What Time Is It"), Sharpay's poolside feature ("Fabulous"), a percussive ensemble number ("Work This Out"), and Zac's solo ("Bet On It"), and the dances are even bigger this time around, relentlessly high-energy and often spectacular. In addition, the "let's put on a show" angle is only a subplot and the romance is now front and center-which means High School Musical has lost a bit of its innocence. But it's still wholesome viewing for tweens of all ages. -David Horiuchi.

Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Dumbo (Special Edition) [1941]
Actors & Directors
  • Ben Sharpsteen
Release date: 2007-05-07
Run time: 64 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.87

Review Dumbo (Special Edition) [1941] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / WALL-E (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Ben Burtt
  • John Ratzenberger
  • Andrew Stanton
  • Fred Willard
  • Elissa Knight
  • Jeff Garlin
Release date: 2008-11-24
Run time: 95 min.
RRP: £20.99
Price: £12.97

Review WALL-E (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

Pixar genius reigns in this funny romantic comedy, which stars a robot who says absolutely nothing for a full 25 minutes yet somehow completely transfixes and endears himself to the audience within the first few minutes of the film. As the last robot left on earth, Wall-E (voiced by Ben Burtt) is one small robot-with a big, big heart-who holds the future of Earth and mankind squarely in the palm of his metal hand. He's outlasted all the "Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class" robots that were assigned some 700 years ago to clean up the environmental mess that man made of earth while man vacationed aboard the luxury spaceship Axiom. Wall-E has dutifully gone about his job compacting trash, the extreme solitude broken only by his pet cockroach, but he's developed some oddly human habits and ideas. When the Axiom sends its regularly scheduled robotic EVE probe (Elissa Knight) to earth, Wall-E is instantly smitten and proceeds to try to impress EVE with his collection of human memorabilia. EVE's directive compels her to bring Wall-E's newly collected plant sprout to the captain of the Axiom and Wall-E follows in hot pursuit. Suddenly, the human world is turned upside down and the Captain (Jeff Garlin) joins forces with Wall-E and a cast of other misfit robots to lead the now lethargic people back home to earth. Wall-E is a great family film with the most impressive aspect being the depth of emotion conveyed by a simple robot-a machine typically considered devoid of emotion, but made so absolutely touching by the magic of Pixar animation. Also well-worth admiring are the sweeping views from space, the creative yet disturbing vision of what strange luxuries a future space vacation might offer, and the innovative use of trash in a future cityscape. Underneath the slapstick comedy and touching love story is a poignant message about the folly of human greed and its potential effects on earth and the entire human race. [+]
-Tami Horiuchi, Amazon. com.

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Kung Fu Panda [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Jackie Chan
  • Angelina Jolie
  • John Stevenson
  • Dustin Hoffman
  • Jack Black
  • Mark Osborne
  • Seth Rogen
Release date: 2008-11-17
Run time: 88 min.
Creator: Cyrus Voris
RRP: £19.99
Price: £8.49

Review Kung Fu Panda [2008] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

What's a panda to do when his dreams of kung-fu awesomeness awake to the cold reality of noodle-making? Clumsy, overweight Po (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a kung fu master like China's revered "furious five," but instead seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the restaurant business. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China's dragon warrior-one kung fu master deemed worthy of possessing the dragon's scroll and its secret to limitless power. Po and all the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace atop the highest mountain to witness the contest between Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), but Po is locked outside the palace. After a miracle of sorts, Po lands inside the palace gates, where he is chosen as the dragon warrior and placed under the tutelage of the decidedly non-plussed master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). An unconventional student to say the least, hilarity reigns as Shifu tries desperately to make Po into some semblance of a kung fu warrior. Can Po possibly fulfill his destiny as dragon warrior, or was Oogway's final decision a critical mistake? A film rich with hilarious moments, superior animation, and an important message about believing in oneself and the power that comes from within, Kung Fu Panda is great entertainment that will have the whole family laughing and begging for more. (Ages 3 and older) -Tami Horiuchi.

Review Buena Vista Home Entertainment / The Jungle Book : 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1967] [1968]
Actors & Directors
  • Wolfgang Reitherman
Release date: 2007-11-05
Run time: 75 min.
Creator: Walt Disney
RRP: £21.99
Price: £6.79

Review The Jungle Book : 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1967] [1968] / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:

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 Walt Disney / Little Mermaid (2 Disc Special Edition) [1989]
Release date: 2006-11-06
Run time: 80 min.
RRP: £21.99
Price: £6.49

Review Little Mermaid (2 Disc Special Edition) [1989] / Walt Disney:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Aladdin (Musical Masterpiece Edition) [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • John Musker
  • Scott Weinger
  • Jonathan Freeman
  • Linda Larkin
  • Robin Williams
Release date: 2008-07-07
Run time: 87 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £7.59

Review Aladdin (Musical Masterpiece Edition) [1992] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

Disney's 1992 animated feature is a triumph of wit and skill. The high-tech artwork and graphics look great, the characters are strong, the familiar story is nicely augmented with an interesting villain (Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman) and there's an incredible hook atop the whole thing: Robin Williams's frantically hilarious vocal performance as Aladdin's genie. Even if one isn't particularly moved by the love story between the title character (Scott Weinger) and his girlfriend Jasmine (Linda Larkin), you can easily get lost in Williams's improvisational energy and the equally entertaining performances of Freeman and Gilbert Gottfried (as Jafar's parrot). -Tom Keogh.

Review Walt Disney Home Video / The Muppet Christmas Carol [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Dave Goelz
  • Frank Oz
  • The Muppets
  • Michael Caine
  • Jerry Nelson
Release date: 2008-09-29
Run time: 85 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.77

Review The Muppet Christmas Carol [1992] / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Shrek the Halls [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Mike Meyers
  • Gary Trousdale
  • Antonio Banderas
  • Eddie Murphy
  • Cameron Diaz
Release date: 2008-11-03
Run time: 22 min.
RRP: £7.99
Price: £6.34

Review Shrek the Halls [2007] / Paramount Home Entertainment:


Review Disney / Camp Rock [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Julie Brown
  • Demi Lovato
  • Matthew Diamond
  • Daniel Fathers
  • Jonas Brothers
  • Maria Canals
Release date: 2008-12-01
RRP: £14.99
Price: £10.88

Review Camp Rock [2008] / Disney:

Camp Rock is a Disney Channel original movie about a rockin' teen summer camp that's highly appealing to tweenies and young teens despite the movie's failure to favourably compare with truly great Disney Channel movies like High School Musical. Joe Jonas (of the Jonas Brothers stars as Shane Gray, a member of the rock band Connect 3, who is compelled to serve as an instructor at Camp Rock in order to counteract his increasingly negative public image. Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin) is the camp diva whose self-absorption defies description, Caitlyn (Alyson Stoner) is a past Tess groupie who's now ostracised from the popular kids at camp, and Mitchie (Demi Lovato) is a camp newcomer whose mother is the camp cook. Caitlyn initially befriends Mitchie, but the friendship wanes when Mitchie makes up an elaborate story about her family to get accepted into Tess's exclusive clique. As Mitchie struggles to maintain her façade around camp, Shane begins to reform his bad-boy ways and find his own personal voice and he and Mitchie become friends-unfortunately, their new relationship is based partially on Mitchie's lies. In the end, Mitchie's deception is exposed as is Tess' true villainy and the perfect summer camp experience threatens to turn into the worst summer ever for everyone involved. Camp Rock is infused with lots of energy, fun choreography, and a ton of good, if not particularly memorable, music. Add in the cast of generally unlikable characters with extreme characteristics whose changes of heart at the end of the film are not particularly believable, and Disney's got an entertaining film for tweenies and teens that adults might just as well skip. -Tami Horiuchi.

Review Entertainment in Video / The Golden Compass [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Freddie Highmore
  • Chris Weitz
  • Ben Walker
  • Dakota Blue Richards
  • Daniel Craig
  • Nicole Kidman
Release date: 2008-04-28
Run time: 109 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.68

Review The Golden Compass [2007] / Entertainment in Video:

Perhaps it didn't ignite the box office in quite the way it'd been hoped, but that's little reason to pass over the qualities of The Golden Compass now it arrives on DVD. Based on the Phillip Pullman novel His Dark Materials-itself the start of the Northern Lights trilogy, the film isn't without a few problems, but emerges as a quality adaptation. And you certainly can't fault The Golden Compass for sheer ambition. The story, for those new to the series, is primarily that of 12-year old Lyra, who is in search of her friend who has been kidnapped. Naturally, this proves to be quite a challenging adventure, not least because it's through Pullman's vividly imagined world, crossing dimensions as Lyra travels. The film, while toning down and fiddling with some elements of the source material, stays quite close to the book, and it proves to be a good, if not Lord Of The Rings-standard, adaptation. What helps The Golden Compass, on top of the strong effects work and scope of the production, is a solid cast, featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards. And it certainly whets the appetite for the next instalment in the series. Whether the muted box office returns put pay to that remains to be seen: for now, at least, The Golden Compass is a good, solid family movie that's easy to enjoy. -Jon Foster.

Review Peter Pan / Peter Pan (2 Disc Special Edition) [1953]
Release date: 2007-03-12
Run time: 74 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.71

Review Peter Pan (2 Disc Special Edition) [1953] / Peter Pan:

Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colourfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's wondrous focus on child's play is the key to its longevity: kids who don't grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and the magic ability to fly. In short, you can't help wishing the adventure would happen to you. Fueled by a few memorable songs (the stunner being "You Can Fly") and the strong impression of the pixie fairy Tinkerbell and the goofy Captain Hook, Disney's version of this story neither supplants nor lessens the Broadway version with Mary Martin that was produced for television the same decade. Unlike some classics, Peter Pan never ages along the way. -Doug Thomas.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Alvin And The Chipmunks [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Tim Hill
  • David Cross
  • Jason Lee
  • Cameron Richardson
  • Jane Lynch
Release date: 2008-04-14
Run time: 87 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.87

Review Alvin And The Chipmunks [2007] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

A staggering surprise success at the box office just before Christmas 2007, the reason for the popularity of Alvin and the Chipmunks soon becomes clear. Not only is it a new adventure for a popular set of characters of old, it's also a fun, breezy family movie, that the kids in particular will enjoy. Starring Jason Lee (of My Name Is Earl fame), Alvin and the Chipmunks mixes in live action and CGI chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) in a story that sees that moved from their natural habitat into the midst of the big city. The plot then becomes as predictable as you'd expect, but there's still plenty of fun to be had anyway. For Alvin and the Chipmunks has plenty in its corner. It's funny, first and foremost, and moves along at a good pace, never forgetting that its prime job is to entertain its audience. And that's something it easily manages to do, wrapping everything up by remembering not to outstay its welcome, either. Considering that Alvin and the Chipmunks enjoy a legion of fans that stretch back decades, it's perhaps not a surprise after all that the film enjoyed the success it did. But what's pleasing is that the spirit of the source material, in spite of its contemporary setting, is adhered to, and there's fun for all in the end product. -Jon Foster.

Review Peppa Pig / Peppa Pig - Peppa's Christmas
Release date: 2007-10-29
Run time: 60 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.50

Review Peppa Pig - Peppa's Christmas / Peppa Pig:


Review Buena Vista Home Entertainment / The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Andrew Adamson
  • Tilda Swinton
  • Sophie Winkleman
  • Georgie Henley
  • William Moseley
  • Liam Neeson
Release date: 2006-04-03
Run time: 137 min.
RRP: £20.99
Price: £3.47

Review The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005] / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:

C. S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation-it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie-for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson). Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. [+]
Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren't knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. -Dan Vancini.

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / The Spiderwick Chronicles [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • David Strathairn
  • Martin Short
  • Freddie Highmore
  • Seth Rogen
  • Mark Waters
Release date: 2008-07-14
Run time: 92 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.54

Review The Spiderwick Chronicles [2008] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

A very good adaptation of the popular series of books by Tony DiTerllizi and Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of the few family films in recent years to seamlessly integrate magical elements with a potent drama that will strike a chord with many kids. An exceptionally talented Freddie Highmore (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) plays twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, caught up in their parents' divorce and coping with a decision by their mother (Mary-Louise Parker) to uproot the boys and their sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger) from New York City to a small town. There, the broken family moves into a spooky old mansion passed on to them by the kids' great-aunt, Lucinda (Joan Plowright), who is spending her twilight years in managed care and whose scientist father, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn), disappeared some 80 years ago. Jared, angry, defiant, and determined to live with the father who seems to have abandoned him, investigates strange happenings and discovers Arthur's secret notations on fairies, ogres, and other mythical creatures that live both in and outside the house. Having no idea where his curiosity is leading, Jared soon finds that he and his family are under siege from goblins and a powerful ogre (Nick Nolte) who wants Arthur's notebook. Suddenly, the boy who is a lightning rod for a troubled family becomes a resourceful warrior intent on saving his loved ones from powerful forces. The Spiderwick Chronicles benefits enormously from a script (partially written by John Sayles) that treats, quite seriously, the emotional pain of its human characters and makes Jared's will to survive the very real engine of an otherwise fantastic story. It helps, too, that director Mark Waters, who brings a warm and knowing touch to outlandish material (Freaky Friday), has a way of making the spectacular elements of The Spiderwick Chronicles genuine enough to stir real excitement and suspense. This is one of the better film adaptations of best-selling fiction for kids in some years. -Tom Keogh.

Models & Brands:
WALL-E [Blu-ray] [2008], Tinker Bell [2008], The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008], Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [1958], High School Musical Encore/ High School Musical 2 (Duo Pack) [2006], Dumbo (Special Edition) [1941], WALL-E (2 Disc Special Edition) [2008], Kung Fu Panda [2008], The Jungle Book : 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1967] [1968], Little Mermaid (2 Disc Special Edition) [1989], Aladdin (Musical Masterpiece Edition) [1992], The Muppet Christmas Carol [1992], Shrek the Halls [2007], Camp Rock [2008], The Golden Compass [2007], Peter Pan (2 Disc Special Edition) [1953], Alvin And The Chipmunks [2007], Peppa Pig - Peppa's Christmas, The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005], The Spiderwick Chronicles [2008]

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