Halloween

Cool Runnings

Based on a true story, this is the comedic saga of four Jamaican athletes going to extremes to compete as bobsled racers at the Winter Olympics. With few resources and virtually no clue about winter sports, it's an uphill course for this troupe from the tropics who are sliding on thin ice as they go for the gold in Calgary, Canada. Refusing to let anything stand in their way, these four Jamaicans enlist the help of a down-and-out ex-champion American slider named Irv. Unavoidably drawn back to a sport he had come to loathe, Irv is faced with coaching a team of complete novices. But once committed, he is determined to turn them around and to somehow right the wrongs of his own failed career. It's a bumpy ride but with pride, determination, and dignity, the bobsledders make their impossible dreams come true.

Based on an improbable but true story, Cool Runnings concerns the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon) does a fine job with both the absurdity of the situation (the athletes had never even seen snow) and the passion behind it (their desire to compete and win). John Candy, in one of his last roles, is touching as a disgraced coach who seizes the opportunity to work with the Jamaicans as a chance for redemption. The bobsled scenes look good, and the races are exciting. The climax, which is entirely unexpected, takes the film to a wholly different level, even if events in the story don't quite match the facts. --Tom Keogh

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

This 1949 Disney feature has never been available on video in its original form until now. The 68-minute film contains two shorts: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The former is a lively version of Kenneth Grahame's book of animal adventures, including Mr. Toad, a rambunctious sort with a passion for motorcars. Basil Rathbone narrates the story. Sleepy Hollow is the Washington Irving story of a stuffy schoolmaster and his ability to win the love of the fair Katrina from the brutish Brom Van Brunt. Many fans will see a resemblance to Disney's masterpiece created some 40 years later, Beauty and the Beast, in style and story. The end is still scary enough to send youngsters under the table. Bing Crosby supplies the narration, character voices, and songs. The opening number in a library including two stories has been included in this good-looking restoration. The shorts were made in Disney's prime, a year before Cinderella, and the look is wondrous. The exaggeration of Ichabod's skinny frame and his slumping horse is a glorious example. --Doug Thomas

In Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toad he sends his friends into a worried frenzy with his reckless driving, and in the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Ichabod confronts the headless horseman.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: DISNEY
Title: ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD & MR. TOAD
Street Release Date: 08/28/2001
Domestic
Genre: CHILDREN'S VIDEO

The Worst Witch (The Movie)

Based on Jill Murphy's book, this charming movie is set in an English boarding school for witches--complete with orange and black school uniforms, broom-flying exercises, and potion assignments for lab. The incompetent student of the title, Mildred, is played by a fetching young Fairuza Balk. Diana Rigg is the nasty head teacher, Tim Curry the (oddly) idolized Grand Wizard, and TV's Facts of Life maven Charlotte Rae does double duty as the school's kindly dean and her evil witch twin, who's bent on taking over the school. Directed by Robert Young, this 68-minute video features less than state-of-the-art effects and several songs that stop the action--most bizarrely an outdoor assembly performance by Curry that turns into a weird music video. Still, preteen girls will identify with the beleaguered heroine who overcomes her wickedly snooty rival, a teacher who doesn't believe in her, and a band of dastardly witches and, of course, saves the day. (Ages 6 and older) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Halloweentown/ Halloweentown II - Kalabar's Revenge

In a place called Halloweentown, good and evil look very different than one might expect. Thanks to a visit from Grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) and her family's tradition of ignoring the Halloween holiday are about to change in the extreme. It seems that Marnie's mother Gwen (Judith Hoag) has been hiding a big secret from her three children--all of them possess supernatural powers. Now that it's Marnie's thirteenth birthday, she must begin her training as a witch or lose her powers forever. While Gwen wants nothing more than to see her children grow up as "normal" humans, Grandmother Aggie and Marnie have other ideas. A brewing crisis between good and evil in the alternate world Halloweentown soon pulls the entire family through a portal and into an intense battle against ghouls, goblins and the warlock Kalabar (Robin Thomas). Halloweentown II takes place two years after Halloweentown and finds Kalabar's son bent on revenge. Marnie has matured as a witch, but her powers are pushed to the limit in a desperate effort to triumph over an evil curse in order to save Halloweentown, her family and the human world. This is good Disney Halloween fun with nice costuming and special effects, a wholesome message about the power of family, cooperation and perseverance, and ghouls that, though creepy looking, aren't likely to inspire nightmares in younger family members. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Join Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) and her grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) as they stir up a cauldron full of comedy and adventure in two Disney Channel classics -- HALLOWEENTOWN and HALLOWEENTOWN II: KALABAR'S REVENGE. On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns she's a witch, discovers a secret portal, and is transported to Halloweentown -- a magical place where ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from the human world. But she soon finds herself battling wicked warlocks, evil curses, and endless surprises. HALLOWEENTOWN DOUBLE FEATURE will charm pixies, trolls, and families everywhere every day of the year.

Casper (Widescreen Special Edition)

This 1995 family film tries to put a fun spin on the story of a paranormalist and widower (Bill Pullman) who moves into a new house with his daughter (Christina Ricci) and meets up with the ghost of a dead little boy. Based on the comic book about Casper the friendly ghost, the film is a dreary series of awkward interactions between live actors and computer effects, and you can almost see Pullman and Ricci reconsidering the project while on camera. A few cameo appearances from uncredited stars help things a bit. But there's no way, based on this film, that one could have guessed that its director, Brad Silberling, would go on to make the exceptional drama City of Angels. --Tom Keogh

Max & Ruby's Halloween

The Halloween and autumn adventures of two bunnies, Ruby and Max.
Genre: Children's Video
Rating: NR
Release Date: 8-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD

Monster Bash Fun Pack (Alvin And The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein / Alvin And The chipmunks Meet The Wolfman / Monster Mash / Archie & The Riverdale Vampires)

Monster House (Widescreen Edition)

Even for a 12-year old D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbor Horace Nebbercracker who terrorizes all the neighborhood kids is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker's mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker's property promptly disappears swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives. D.J. has seen it with his own eyes! But no one believes him not even his best friend Chowder.What everyone does not know is D.J. is not imagining things. Everything he's seen is absolutely true and it's about to get much worse than anything D.J could have imagined.System Requirements:Run Time: 91 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 043396154193 Manufacturer No: 15419

The spooky shadows and eerie creaking of a rickety old house are brought to life via lush CGI in Monster House. A young boy named DJ has suspicions about the house across the street and the cranky old man (voiced by Steve Buscemi, Fargo) who lives there. When the old man has a heart attack and is carried away by an ambulance, DJ thinks the danger is over. Unfortunately, as he, his friend Chowder, and a candy-selling prep-school girl named Jenny discover, the house itself has plans--plans that include eating all the kids who'll be trick-or-treating that Halloween night. Monster House begins with some deliciously creepy scenes that will send chills down children's spines (and may be too intense for younger viewers); animated movies rarely make such effective use of what isn't being shown. The animation is vivid and detailed (though CGI still has a ways to go in capturing the full range of human facial expressions). But like most horror movies, the anticipation of horror is much more exciting than the horror itself; as the secrets of Monster House are revealed, the movie's thrills unravel. The noisy explosions at the end aren't half as much fun as the slow twitches of a few blades of grass in the movie's elegant beginning. --Bret Fetzer

More Monster House on Amazon.com

CD Soundtrack

The Art of Monster House

Playstation 2

Stills from Monster House (click for larger image)

Garfield: Holiday Celebrations (Garfield's Halloween Adventure / Garfield's Thanksgiving / A Garfield Christmas)

No one loves the cold months better than acerbic fat cat Garfield, who thrives on a bounty of junk food and traditional meals in the delightful collection of musical-comedy TV specials Garfield Holiday Celebrations. "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" finds the portly hero and airhead-sidekick Odie the dog scrounging through owner Jon's attic to find perfect costumes, then encountering ghosts and ghoulies that seem a tad authentic. "Garfield's Thanksgiving" is a screwball special in which Jon harasses veterinarian Liz into being his Turkey Day guest. Trouble is, Jon is clueless about how to cook a big bird; fortunately, starving Garfield has the good sense to call in Jon's spirited grandmother for a culinary rescue. Grandma shows up, too, in "A Garfield Christmas," about a family get-together that covers all the nice holiday stuff and, of course, lots of bickering, pouting, and jealousy. As long as Garfield gets his Yuletide lasagna, however, all is right with the world. --Tom Keogh

Adventures of Garfield the cat, Odie the dog, and Jon their hapless owner.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: NR
Release Date: 26-OCT-2004
Media Type: DVD

Halloweentown High

Prejudice and acceptance clash in Halloweentown High when Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) attempts to prove that humans and the supernatural inhabitants of Halloweentown can peacefully co-exist in the mortal world. Thanks to a slip of the tongue, Marnie's brainstorm to sponsor a high school exchange student program between Halloweentown and her own high school quickly turns into a battle to save the Cromwell family's magical powers and keep the portal between worlds open. An already arduous undertaking becomes even more difficult when the supposedly fictional Knight of the Iron Dagger starts haunting the Halloweentown exchange students right in the mortal world. In the end, it is the common mortals who, by demonstrating tolerance and a commitment to equality, possess the power to save the Cromwells' magic and the entire human world. This third movie in the Halloweentown trilogy focuses primarily on Marnie. Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), Gwen (Judith Hoag) and the other Cromwell family members are secondary characters with less prominent roles than in the previous two productions. Makeup and costuming is top rate in this Disney Channel original movie, the trolls and ogres are not too scary, and bonus games and activities are plentiful. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Back to school's never been so cool or supernatural for Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown), her grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), and her family of witches in this latest chapter in the ever-popular series of HALLOWEENTOWN movies. When Marnie convinces the Halloweentown Council to send several teenagers to her high school in the mortal world, she even promises to give up her magic if any harm comes to them. But soon, Marnie and her new friends are in trouble and out of luck when the evil Knight Of The Iron Dagger appears. He's determined to destroy all things magical, and it's up to Marnie to save her high school, the human world, and her magic. For a bewitching good time, HALLOWEENTOWN HIGH is the perfect treat.