10-12 Years

Beauty and the Beast (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

The film that officially signaled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) 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. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Schoolhouse Rock! (Special 30th Anniversary Edition)

Schoolhouse Rock the timeless collection of animated songs that taught an entire generation that "Knowledge Is Power" is on DVD for the first time in this Ultimate Collector's Edition 2-disc set.Now every day can feel like Saturday morning as you sing along with "I'm Just A Bill" "Three Is A Magic Number" "Interjections!" and the rest of your favorite tunes. Featuring a catchy new animated song by the original series' creators the 30th Anniversary Edition DVD rocks your house with every Schoolhouse Rock short ever created!Disc 1: The Original 46 Animated Songs All-New Song "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote To College" Play-All Feature Shuffle-All Feature Rockin' Top 10 JukeboxDisc 2: The Long-Lost Song "The Weather Show" Never-Before-Released On Video "Scooter Computer And Mr. Chips" 3-Song Set Behind-The-Scenes Footage Top 20 Countdown "Earn Your Diploma" Trivia Game Arrange-A-Song Puzzles 4 Music Videos By Contemporary Artists Emmy Awards Featurette Nike Commercial Of "Three Is A Magic Number" Audio Commentaries 5.1 DTS Of All-New Song "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote To College"System Requirements:Running Time: 283 Min. Color. This feature is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2002 Buena Vista Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating:  UPC: 786936157826 Manufacturer No: 2304803

It's a good bet that any American kid growing up in the '70s or '80s learned some elementary lesson from the seminal musical series Schoolhouse Rock!. Airing from 1973 to 1984 (and often revived), the ABC Saturday morning shorts effortlessly introduced kids to grammar, science, multiplication, money, and American history--three minutes at a time. In one smart, comprehensive 2-disc set, all 46 songs and plenty of extras are collected. The four creators developed the series slowly, a welcome diversion from their advertising agency jobs, and ended up taking home four Emmys over the years. The background material includes 10 audio commentaries and a making-of feature for the new song, "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College." The DVD subtitle option is a great bonus for those who need to know every word from such favorites as "Three Is a Magic Number," "Interjections," "I'm Just a Bill," and "Conjunction Junction." (Ages 3 and older) --Doug Thomas

Monsters, Inc. (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Sulley and Mike are best friends who work together at Monsters, Inc., a company that uses monsters to scare children and capture their screams to power the city. The trouble is, the monsters are more afraid of the children, than the children are of them.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: G
Release Date: 17-SEP-2002
Media Type: DVD

The folks at Pixar can do no wrong with Monsters, Inc., the studio's fourth feature film, which stretches the computer animation format in terms of both technical complexity and emotional impact. The giant, blue-furred James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (wonderfully voiced by John Goodman) is a scare-monster extraordinaire in the hidden world of Monstropolis, where the scaring of kids is an imperative in order to keep the entire city running. Beyond the competition to be the best at the business, Sullivan and his assistant, the one-eyed Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), discover what happens when the real world interacts with theirs in the form of a 2-year-old baby girl dubbed "Boo," who accidentally sneaks into the monster world with Sulley one night. Director Pete Doctor and codirectors David Silverman and Lee Unkrich follow the Pixar (Toy Story) blueprint with an imaginative scenario, fun characters, and ace comic timing. By the last heart-tugging shot, kids may never look at monsters the same, nor artists at what computer animation can do in the hands of magicians. --Doug Thomas

The Muppet Show - The Complete Third Season

Wocka! Wocka! Wocka! The innovative variety show's sensational third season earned television's prestigious Peabody Award as well as an Emmy(R) Award nomination for outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program. Featuring a sensational lineup of hilarious guest stars -- including Sylvester Stallone Gilda Radner Raquel Welch and Liberace -- Season Three is loaded with more Muppetational moments than any show in primetime history. Experience all 24 episodes from Season Three -- digitally remastered and restored -- in this special 4-disc DVD set. With hours of bonus features including an all-new behind-the-scenes documentary original Muppet commercials and much more THE MUPPET SHOW: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON is unbeatable entertainment for the whole family.System Requirements:Running Time: 612 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 786936755831 Manufacturer No: 05649900

An iconic variety show that ran from 1976 to 1981, The Muppet Show was a masterpiece of puppetry and slapstick humor as well as a showcase for the best musical and comic talent of its day. Season three ran 1978-1979 and featured 26 famous guest stars, including Roy Clark, Pearl Bailey, Jean Stapleton, Harry Belefonte, Danny Kaye, Cheryl Ladd, Raquel Welch, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Sylvester Stallone. Some of the most unique episodes of the season were the Lynn Redgrave show, in which she and all the Muppets used the entire show to re-enact the story of Robin Hood; the Loretta Lynn episode, which was ostensibly filmed at the railroad station when the theater was being fumigated; and the visual effects-laden Alice Cooper episode. Other notable moments include Liberace's performances of everything from a Chopin Nocturne to a Boogie Woogie piece, Gilda Radner's amusing musical rendition from Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "Carrots of Penzance" (or was that "Parrots of Penzance," or "Pirates of Penzance?"), and Danny Kaye's appearance as the Swedish Chef's uncle. Naturally, the season features all your favorite Muppet characters like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Scooter, Rowlf, Crazy Harry, Beaker, and Animal as well as the beloved skits Muppet Labs, Pigs in Space, Swedish Chef, Veterinarian's Hospital, and Muppet Newsflash. Truly timeless entertainment for all ages, this third season of The Muppet Show is just as adept at bringing back memories as it is making new ones. --Tami Horiuchi

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Widescreen Edition)

Lord Voldemort has returned but few want to believe it. In fact the Ministry of Magic is doing everything it can to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth - including appointing Ministry official Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. When Professor Umbridge refuses to train her students in practical defensive magic a select group of students decides to learn on their own. With Harry Potter as their leader these students (who call themselves "Dumbledore's Army") meet secretly in a hidden room at Hogwarts to hone their wizarding skills in preparation for battle with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. . New adventure - more dangerous more thrilling than ever - is yours in this enthralling film version of the fifth novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. A terrifying showdown between good and evil awaits. Prepare for battle!Running Time: 138 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY UPC: 012569593268 Manufacturer No: 1000014849

Alas! The fifth Harry Potter film has arrived. The time is long past that this can be considered a simple "children's" series--though children and adults alike will enjoy it immensely. Starting off from the dark and tragic ending of the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins in a somber and angst-filled tone that carries through the entire 138 minutes (the shortest of any HP movie despite being adapted from the longest book). Hopes of winning the Quidditch Cup have been replaced by woes like government corruption, distorted media spin, and the casualties of war. As the themes have matured, so have the primary characters' acting abilities. Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), and especially Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) are more convincing than ever--in roles that are more demanding.

Harry is deeply traumatized from having witnessed Cedric Diggory's murder, but he will soon find that this was just another chapter in the continuing loss he will endure. Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned and, in an attempt to conceal this catastrophe from the wizarding public, the Ministry of Magic has teamed up with the wizard newspaper The Daily Prophet to smear young Potter and wise Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)--seemingly the only two people in the public eye who believe the Dark Lord has returned. With no one else to stand against the wicked Death Eaters, the Hogwarts headmaster is forced to revive his secret anti-Voldemort society, the Order of the Phoenix. This welcomes back characters like Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), kind Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), fatherly Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and insidious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and introduces a short list of intriguing new faces. In the meantime, a semi-psychotic bureaucrat from the Ministry (brilliantly portrayed by Imelda Staunton) has seized power at Hogwarts, and Harry is forced to form a secret society of his own--lest the other young wizards at his school be left ill-equipped to defend themselves in the looming war between good and evil. In addition, Harry is filled with an inexplicable rage that only his Godfather Sirius seems to be able to understand.

This film, though not as frightening as its predecessor, earns its PG-13 rating mostly because of the ever-darkening tone. As always, the loyal fans of J.K. Rowling's books will suffer huge cuts from the original plot and character developments, but make no mistake: this is a good movie. --Jordan Thompson

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi aid the Queen of Naboo in an attempt to thwart the invasion of her home planet; meanwhile, they come across Anakin Skywalker, a young boy with strong Jedi powers.
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: PG
Release Date: 22-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD

"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads, and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breather Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo, and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora, and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film--the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park.

Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim), and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog, and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over skeptics.

Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson

My Fair Lady

Lerner and Loewe's musical version of 'Pygmalion' about a Covent Garden flower girl who becomes a lady.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: G
Release Date: 8-DEC-1998
Media Type: DVD

Hollywood's legendary "woman's director," George Cukor (The Women, The Philadelphia Story), transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. The letterbox edition of this film on video certainly pays tribute to the pageantry of Cukor's set, but it also underscores a certain visual stiffness that can slow viewer enthusiasm just a tad. But it's really star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza's determined suitor. --Tom Keogh

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

One of the brightest nuggets from Disney's golden age, this 1937 film is almost dizzying in its meticulous construction of an enchanted world, with scores of major and minor characters (including fauna and fowl), each with a distinct identity. When you watch Snow White's intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney's artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character. When the wicked queen's poisoned apple turns from killer green to rose red, the effect of knowing something so beautiful can be so terrible is absolutely elemental, so pure it forces one to surrender to the horror of it. Based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is probably the best family film ever to deal, in mythic terms, with the psychological foundation for growing up. It's a crowning achievement and should not be missed. --Tom Keogh

The Magic School Bus - Human Body

The Magic School Bus is off on a roller-coaster ride through our insides and anybody could be the next field trip! As Ms. Frizzle leads the way the class takes an action-packed journey through Arnold's digestive system a pulsating excursion through Ralphie's bloodstream and an exciting exploration through the Ralphie Robot to learn about bones joints and muscles. Their valiant vehicle can go anywhere and be anything so each field trip is an awesome adventure. Includes three 30-minute TV episodes: For Lunch; Inside Ralphie; and Flexes Its Muscles.Running Time: 80 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 085365818323

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! - The Complete First and Second Seasons

The whodunit format was a daring new frontier for an animated series but the members of the Mystery Inc. team have grown to become authentic popular-culture icons. To solve their newest mystery - finding the most awesome Scooby-Doo DVD ever with 25 vintage episodes and snackin' good extras on 4 discs - you need only follow this simple clue: you're holding it!Running Time: 549 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 014764233321

Chuck Jones and other great studio animators sneered at the cheap look and lazy craftsmanship of Hanna Barbera's television cartoons in the 1960s, but there's no question HB's original, 35-year-old Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is enduringly beloved. The Complete First and Second Seasons includes all 25 stories first broadcast from September '69 to October '71, a growth period in which canine hero Scooby's voice (by Don Messick, who also voiced The Jetsons's pup, Astro) was gradually refined from murky garble to Scoob's more familiar, "Rrroowwrr"-inflected, human-like speech. This set also represents the pre-frills Scooby-Doo: no guest appearances by Don Knotts or Batman, no Scrappy-Doo--just adventure and occasional bubblegum pop tunes by Danny Janssen and sundry co-writers (e.g., "Pretty Mary Sunlite" in the episode "Don't Fool with a Phantom").

Watching all the shows back-to-back reveals evolving complexity in the scripts. Over time, Scooby-Doo's creators added multiple bad guys in cahoots with major villains, and developed sub-plots, backstories, and even appealing allies and friends of Mystery, Inc., a traveling band of young debunkers of supernatural phenomena. Riding around in their psychedelic Mystery Van, preppie leader Fred and his friends--haughty Daphne, brainy Velma, quasi-hippie Shaggy, and Shaggy's best pal, Scooby, an excitable Great Dane--chase down and are chased by alleged ghouls who generally turn out to be venal humans running various scams.

Included here is Scooby-Doo's premiere, "What a Night for a Knight," in which the gang looks into the disappearance of a noted archaeologist and end up in a "haunted" museum. The fun "Go Away Ghost Ship" finds our heroes helping a shipping company daunted by the apparent ghost of pirate Red Beard, while the silly classic "A Tiki Scare Is No Fair" concerns a Hawaiian vacation for Mystery, Inc. disrupted by a witch doctor. --Tom Keogh