Kids and Family

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

A guilty, guilty pleasure, perhaps not one a left-wing feminist should be admitting to in public. Female boomers should recall yearly TV reruns of this Rodgers and Hammerstein production, featuring such delights as "Impossible" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" It may appear a bit stark to younger viewers, but part of the charm of this 1964 network TV special, a remake of the live 1957 telecast originally built around Julie Andrews, is its utter simplicity. An extremely young Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon (of General Hospital fame) are joined by Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, and Celeste Holm. Warren is all sweetness and innocence without a hint of saccharine artificiality, while Damon is a clear-eyed romantic. This very handsome love story is a bit of an oddity, but worth owning just for the memorable score. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Classic fairy tale of the rags-to-riches romance of Cinderella in a musical featuring more than a dozen songs.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: G
Release Date: 6-NOV-2007
Media Type: DVD

Little Women (Collector's Edition)

The flaws are easily forgiven in this beautiful version of Louisa May Alcott's novel. A stirring look at life in New England during the Civil War, Little Women is a triumph for all involved. We follow one family as they split into the world, ending up with the most independent, the outspoken Jo (Winona Ryder). This time around, the dramatics and conclusions fall into place a little too well, instead of finding life's little accidents along the way. Everyone now looks a bit too cute and oh, so nice. As the matron, Marmee, Susan Sarandon kicks the film into a modern tone, creating a movie alive with a great feminine sprit. Kirsten Dunst (Interview with the Vampire) has another showy role. The young ensemble cast cannot be faulted, with Ryder beginning the movie in a role akin to light comedy and crescendoing to a triumphant end worthy of an Oscar. --Doug Thomas

Winona Ryder (in an Oscar-nominated role) and Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon (1995 Best Actress Dead Man Walking) star in this "affectionate superbly acted" (Los Angeles Times) family favorite.With her husband off at war Marmee (Sarandon) is left alone to raise their four daughters her "little women." There is the spirited Jo (Winona Ryder) conservative Meg (Trini Alvarado - Paulie) fragile Beth (Claire Danes - William Shakespeare s Romeo & Juliet) and romantic Amy (played at different ages by Kirsten Dunst [Wag The Dog] and Samantha Mathis [Broken Arrow]).As the years pass the sisters share some of the most cherished and painful memories of self-discovery as Marmee and Aunt March (Mary Wickes - The Man Who Came To Dinner) guide them through issues of independence romance and virtue.Gabriel Byrne (End Of Days) Eric Stoltz (TV s Chicago Hope) and Christian Bale (The Portrait Of A Lady) co-star in this "handcrafted valentine" (Newsweek) of a film.System Requirements:Starring: Winona Ryder John Neville Mary Wickes Claire Danes Susan Sarandon Kirsten Dunst Gabriel Byrne Trini Alvarado Samantha Mathis Christian Bale and Eric Stoltz. Directed By: Gillian Armstrong. Running Time: 118 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 043396050440 Manufacturer No: 05044

The Dark Crystal

Jim Henson's fantasy epic The Dark Crystal doesn't take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but like Star Wars it takes the audience to a place that exists only in the imagination and, for an hour and a half, on the screen. Recalling the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, Henson tells the story of a race of grotesque birdlike lizards called the Skeksis, gnomish dragons who rule their fantastic planet with an iron claw. A prophecy tells of a Gelfling (a small elfin being) who will topple their empire, so in their reign of terror they have exterminated the race, or so they think. The orphan Jen, raised in solitude by a race of peace-loving wizards called the Mystics, embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of the Dark Crystal (which gives the Skeksis their power) and restore the balance of the universe. Henson and codirector Frank Oz have pushed puppetry into a new direction: traditional puppets, marionettes, giant bodysuits, and mechanical constructions are mixed seamlessly in a fantasy world of towering castles, simple huts, dank caves, a giant clockwork observatory, and a magnificent landscape that seem to have leaped off the pages of a storybook. Muppet fans will recognize many of the voice actors--a few characters sound awfully close to familiar comic creations--but otherwise it's a completely alien world made familiar by a mythic quest that resonates through stories over the ages. --Sean Axmaker

The Dark Crystal is a masterful live - action fantasy starring some of Jim Henson s most imaginative creatures ever! Directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz and produced by Gary Kurtz the Dark Crystal brilliantly weaves a timeless myth of Good and Evil!In another time The Dark Crystal - a source of Balance and Truth in the Universe - was shattered dividing the world into two factions: the wicked Skeksis and the peaceful Mystics. Now as the convergence of the three suns approaches the Crystal must be healed or darkness will reign forevermore!It s up to Jen - the last of his race - to fulfill the prophecy that a Gelfling will return the missing shard to the Crystal and destroy the Skeksis evil Empire. But will young Jen s courage be any match for the unknown dangers that await him?System Requirements:Directed By: Frank Oz and Jim Hensen. Running Time: 94 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 1999 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: PG UPC: 043396028494 Manufacturer No: 02849

Hook

Steven Spielberg's deeply flawed but sporadically fun and moving update of the Peter Pan legend stars Robin Williams as the grown-up Pan, a corporate-takeover type who must embrace his old identity in order to save his kids from Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman). The stars put on a good show, including Hoffman's read of Hook's hysterical personality, Julia Roberts mini-turn as a tiny Tinker Bell, and Maggie Smith's touching performance as the aged Wendy. The visual contrast between the adult Pan's bustling outside world and the insulated fantasy of Neverland is striking, but Spielberg's ideas about the Lost Boys--politically correct in their ethnic diversity, energetic on skateboards--are contrived and cheapening. On the plus side, the story's theme about adults finding their innocence again through their children is very touching (though some people have found it cloying). If you can look beyond the glaring problems, there's plenty to like here. --Tom Keogh

A high-flying adventure from the magic of Steven Spielberg Hook stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as the infamous Captain Hook.Joining the fun is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell Bob Hoskins as the pirate Smee and Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy Darling who must convince the middle-aged lawyer Peter Banning that he was once the legendary Peter Pan. And so the adventure begins anew with Peter off to Neverland to save his two children from Captain Hook. Along the way he rediscovers the power of imagination friendship and magic. A classic tale updated for children of all ages Hook nominated for five 1991 Academy Awards including Best Visual Effects is "a 10. A film that will entertain generations generations from now." (Gary Franklin KABC-TV)System Requirements:Starring: Dustin Hoffman Bob Hoskins Julia Roberts Robin Williams and Maggie Smith. Directed By: Steven Spielberg. Running Time: 142 mins. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright: 2000 Columbia Tri Star Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 043396039308 Manufacturer No: 03930

Oliver!

Film buffs and critics can argue until their faces turn blue about whether this lavish Dickensian musical deserved the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968, but the movie speaks for itself on grandly entertaining terms. Adapted from Dickens's classic novel, it's one of the most dramatically involving and artistically impressive musicals of the 1960s, directed by Carol Reed with a delightful enthusiasm that would surely have impressed Dickens himself. Mark Lester plays the waifish orphan Oliver Twist, who is befriended by the pickpocketing Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and recruited into the gang of boy thieves led by Fagin (played to perfection by Ron Moody). The villainous Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) casts his long shadow over Oliver and his friends, but the young orphan is still able to find loving care in the most desperate of circumstances. Full of memorable melodies and splendid lyrics, Oliver! is a timeless film, prompting even hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael to call it "a superb demonstration of intelligent craftsmanship," and to further observe that "it's as if the movie set out to be a tribute to Dickens and his melodramatic art as well as to tell the story of Oliver Twist." --Jeff Shannon

The Adventures of Milo & Otis

Japanese filmmaker Masanori Hata made this above-average family film about a dog and a cat--friends with a tendency to make mischief--who go on an unanticipated adventure when one is rushed downriver and the other follows. Hata, who took four years to complete the work, relies on purely cinematic storytelling techniques (these animals don't have human voices on the soundtrack), making the film an international favorite. Dudley Moore narrates, but the film works because Hata's filmmaking fundamentals are so good. Kids love this, but adults can easily appreciate and enjoy it, too. --Tom Keogh

A curious kitten named Milo and his inseparable friend a pug-nosed puppy named Otis tumble through on exciting escapade after another in The Adventures of Milo and Otis a heartwarming live-action film.Milo and Otis start life together on a farm and spend their days exploring the barnyard and the surrounding countryside. One day the little feline is swept down a rushing river and Otis takes off in pursuit to rescue his friend thus beginning a series of adventures. The Adventures of Milo and Otis which took four years to complete is a film that will delight both the young and young at heart.System Requirements:Directed By: Masanori Hata. Running Time: 75 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2001 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 043396501492 Manufacturer No: 50149

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

Fly Away Home (Special Edition)

There are some filmmaking teams that invariably bring out the best in each other, and that's definitely the case with director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. They previously collaborated on The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, and Fly Away Home is their third family film that deserves to be called a classic. Inspired by Bill Lishman's autobiography, the movie tells the story of a 13-year-old girl (Anna Paquin) who goes to live with her estranged, eccentric father (Jeff Daniels) following the death of her mother. At first she's withdrawn and reclusive, but finds renewed happiness when she adopts an orphaned flock of baby geese and, later, teaches them to migrate using an ultralight. Sensitively directed and stunningly photographed, the movie has flying sequences that are nothing short of astonishing, and Daniels and Paquin (Oscar winner for The Piano) make a delightful father-daughter duo. (Ironically, the digital video disc is not available in widescreen format, but the image quality is brilliant.) --Jeff Shannon

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

Welcome to Grouchland, U.S.A., place of a thousand stenches. This is where everyone's favorite red monster winds up when he stars in his first feature film, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Elmo learns a lesson when he refuses to share his blanket with his best friend, Zoe, then loses it in Oscar's can, where it goes all the way to Grouchland. There the beloved blanket winds up in the clutches of the greediest man alive, Huxley (played by Mandy Patinkin), and Elmo has to venture alone to Huxley's lair to get it back. The Sesame Street gang follows Elmo but ends up in the Grouchland jail. Fortunately, whenever things start looking too bleak, our hosts Ernie and Bert stop the film and offer reassurance. There are also numerous opportunities for audience participation (canned kids' voices will prevent parents from feeling too silly when viewing at home). This 73-minute film has plenty to entertain the youngsters as well as details and inside jokes for parents. And of course there are marvelous animated effects--although seeing Elmo dance in 1999 isn't quite as remarkable as it was to see Kermit ride a bicycle in 1977's The Muppet Movie. The songs are fun and bouncy, and veteran performers Patinkin and Vanessa Williams (as the Queen of Trash) contribute their exceptional talent. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland was conceived as a film kids could see in theaters; in the safe environs of home, it's good fun for anyone over the age of 2, or even younger in small doses. --David Horiuchi

Join Elmo in his biggest adventure yet! Co-starring Vanessa Williams and Mandy Patinkin. Elmo and his beloved blue blanket are inseparable. When Oscar carelessly tosses the fuzzy blanket into his trash can Elmo dives in after it. He is suddenly plunged into Grouchland the land of Grouches stinky garbage and the greedy Huxley (Mandy Patinkin) who hasn't learned how to share. Elmo and all his friends from Sesame Street embark on a fun-filled adventure with one mission: to rescue Elmo's blanket. On the way Elmo encounters a giant chicken and even the Queen of Trash (Vanessa Williams) herself! It's a grouch-loving good time filled with fun sensational songs and all of your favorite characters!System Requirements:Running Time: 72 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 043396041684 Manufacturer No: 04168