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Animation DVDs

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Deluxe Edition)

Sales Rank:806
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $6.94
Lowest Used Price: $6.93
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Anamorphic
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
DVD-Video
Live
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Christine Baranski
Jim Carrey
David Costabile
Michael Dahlen
Josh Ryan Evans

Under a thick carpet of green-dyed yak fur and wonderfully expressive Rick Baker makeup, Jim Carrey is up to all of his old tricks (and some nifty new ones) in this live-action movie of Dr. Seuss's holiday classic. He commands the title role with equal parts madness, mayhem, pathos, and improvisational genius, channeling 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 realizes 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 movie 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 5 and older.) --Jeff Shannon

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Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

Sales Rank:211
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $24.75
Lowest Used Price: $6.00
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

AC-3
Anamorphic
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Special Edition
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Ron Clements
John Musker

Actor(s):

Scott Weinger
Robin Williams
Linda Larkin
Jonathan Freeman
Frank Welker

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

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The Nightmare Before Christmas [Blu-ray] + Digital Copy

Sales Rank:641
List Price: $39.99
Lowest New Price: $17.85
Lowest Used Price: $17.89
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Anamorphic
Animated
Collector's Edition
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
HiFi Sound
Original recording remastered
Surround Sound
THX
Widescreen

Director(s):

Actor(s):

L. Peter Callender
Randy Crenshaw
Judi M. Durand
William Hickey
Edward Ivory

For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is! The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful James and the Giant Peach), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." --Jim Emerson

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The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition)

Sales Rank:310
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $11.00
Lowest Used Price: $11.65
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

AC-3
Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Restored
Special Edition
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Phil Harris
Sebastian Cabot
Louis Prima
George Sanders
Sterling Holloway

Disney's 1967 animated feature 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. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, 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

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The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Beginning

Sales Rank:392
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $9.32
Lowest Used Price: $7.24
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Animated
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Jodi Benson
Sam Wright
Jim Cummings
Kari Wahlgren
Parker Goris

A prequel to The Little Mermaid, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is good family entertainment that deserves a spot in every Disney collection--even if the film isn't quite as striking as the original. It's hard to imagine the underwater world of Atlantica without music, but following the death of Ariel's mother Queen Athena, King Triton (Jim Cummings) outlaws music because of the painful memories it evokes. Ariel (Jodi Benson) and her six sisters are unhappy with their boring daily routine, unfeeling governess Marina Del Ray (Sally Field), and superficial relationship with their father; but only Ariel has the courage to confront their father with a desire for a more fulfilling life. A chance meeting with Flounder (Parker Goris) leads Ariel to the underground Catfish music club where the Caribbean jazz is hot and the starred soloist is none other the King's Chief of Staff Sebastian (Samuel Wright). Suddenly, a whole new world full of promise and excitement opens up for Ariel and her sisters, but things get ugly when Marina tells King Triton about the club and his fury erupts. Can the power of music, combined with Ariel's heartfelt pleas, convince King Triton to pardon all the underground music lovers and reconsider his ban on music? Ariel's Beginning is a wholesome story about love, family, and the power of music that's nicely animated and features a host of good music--the only things missing from the first movie are Ariel's innocent sense of wonder and the extreme catchiness of the original songs. Bonus features include two deleted scenes, four sing-along songs with on-screen lyrics; a mermaid discovery game in which viewers learn about Ariel and her six sisters; a quiz that matches viewers with the character most like themselves; an interview with director Peggy Holmes, and a look at the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid Under the Sea. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)

Sales Rank:212
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $8.92
Lowest Used Price: $5.01
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Color
Dolby
DTS Surround Sound
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Amy Adams
Patrick Dempsey
James Marsden
Timothy Spall
Rachel Covey

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The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man / Alias Nick and Nora)

Sales Rank:952
List Price: $59.98
Lowest New Price: $35.91
Lowest Used Price: $29.99
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Box set
Black & White
Digital Sound
NTSC

Director(s):

Basil Wrangell
Tex Avery
Jules Dassin

Actor(s):

William Powell
Myrna Loy
Clancy Cooper
Chick York
John Nesbitt

Almost as welcome as a shaker full of martinis, The Complete Thin Man Collection represents an eagerly awaited DVD milestone for fans of the fizzy MGM movie series. The best film in the series came first: The Thin Man (1934), W.S. Van Dyke's marvelous adaptation of a Dashiell Hammet novel. The movie gods were in a generous mood when they paired William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, the upper-class sophisticates whose sleuthing escapades somehow joined the classic form of the whodunit with the giddyup of screwball comedy. Among the series' many attributes, one of its most radical notions was the idea that a married couple might find each other delightful and view life as a goofy adventure together.

It is common wisdom that the Thin Man sequels adhere to the law of diminishing returns, and while none of the follow-ups reach the diamond level of the first film, all afford pleasures. There's the cocktail-swilling chemistry of Powell and Loy, for one thing, as well as the considerable satisfaction of average movies made during the studio system: the craftsmanship of studio hands, and a gallery of terrific character actors filling in supporting roles. First sequel After the Thin Man (1936) is very good, with the couple in San Francisco and a supporting part for rising player James Stewart. The scenery moves again, to Long Island, for the rather impudently-titled Another Thin Man (1939), which adds baby Nick, Jr., to the mix (a "bad idea," thought Pauline Kael, perhaps a sign of the domestication of the series).

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) sets the action around a racetrack, and is the last of the series to be directed by the fast-working Van Dyke. The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) finds Nick escorting family to his parents' house for a visit. Song of the Thin Man (1947) engagingly adds a jazz milieu to the Charles's detective work; at this point, Nick, Jr. was played by child star Dean Stockwell. The series stuck with certain staples: the unveiling of the guilty party, a wirehaired terrier named Asta (who became a star in its own right), and booze. When Nick opines, in the first film, that a dry martini should always be shaken to "waltz time," you know why audiences fell in love with these guilt-free comedies. --Robert Horton

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The Polar Express (Full Screen Edition)

Sales Rank:943
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $8.36
Lowest Used Price: $6.30
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

AC-3
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
Animated
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

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Shrek the Halls (Widescreen / Fullscreen Edition)

Sales Rank:1731
List Price: $19.99
Lowest New Price: $9.75
Lowest Used Price: $6.72
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

AC-3
Animated
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Antonio Banderas
Eddie Murphy
Mike Myers
Cameron Diaz

Despite its 22-minute run time, Shrek the Halls (originally written as a half-hour TV special), is packed with plenty of laughs and holiday cheer. The animation is rich, and the character interplay among all the folks we know and love--Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots--endearing and spot-on. Shrek wants to throw the "perfect Christmas" for Fiona and the kids, but as an ogre, has no Yule experience. So he starts at the local bookstore, where a winsome clerk (voiced by Marissa Jaret Winokur) quickly sizes up Shrek's hapless situation and pronounces: "I know all about Christmas, and I have just the book for you: 'Christmas for Village Idiots.'" Shrek becomes so focused on doing the holiday "by the book" that he fails to notice the magic and comradely chaos unfolding all around him. Fiona, for instance, has some neat tricks for making holiday decorations (watch how she turns a festively striped snake into the perfect candy cane). The kids are happily frolicking with the kids of Donkey and everyone else in the village--but the commotion is too much for Shrek, who snaps. Will his ogrely hissy fit ruin Christmas--and make him overlook the meaning of Christmas that can't be found in a book? Even viewers who might guess the answer will enjoy the trip, including competing versions of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," better known as "The Night Before Christmas." Puss's version: "He was dressed all in fur / From his head to his paws / And he stood there heroic, / A real Santa... Claws." And the film is full of cute references to holiday classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" ("Excuse you for what?" barks Shrek after one of his kids does a dainty Fiona belch knockoff). Even bit players get big laughs, like the three German pigs, ready to have a Christmas Eve sleepover. One points out to his brothers: "Look! We are pigs, ja? Und we are in a blanket, ja? It's funny, ja?" Ja! Warning to parents: There is one scary, almost gruesome scene that involves Santa Claus, but it's over quickly and then the film is back to its funny and heartwarming purpose. Extras include an animated sing-along "Twelve Days of Christmas" featurette as well as several holiday games to keep the tykes engaged after the last present is unwrapped. --A.T. Hurley

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The Venture Bros. - Season One

Sales Rank:396
List Price: $29.98
Lowest New Price: $12.94
Lowest Used Price: $13.23
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Christopher McCulloch
James Urbaniak
Patrick Warburton
Michael Sinterniklaas
Doc Hammer

If Jonny, Haji, Race Bannon, and the rest of the Jonny Quest gang were idiots, their animated adventures might play out like The Venture Bros., a consistently funny spoof on '60s adventure cartoons from the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming. The premise should be immediately familiar and nostalgic for any Saturday morning TV aficionado who grew up in the '60s and '70s: Dr. Venture (James Urbaniak from Henry Fool) is an inventor, while sons Hank and Dean's insatiably curiosity lands them in hot water with supervillains, robots, magicians, and the like. Brock Sampson (voiced by the very funny Patrick Warburton of The Tick) is the good doctor's right-hand man, who rescues the boys with good old-fashioned manpower. The twist in The Venture Bros. is that every single character, down to the supervillains' henchmen, are complete and utter dolts, and their adventures are inspired more by foolishness, personal obsessions (for Brock, it's sex and violence, and for Dr. V, it's diet pills and a daddy fixation), or just plain cosmic weirdness than any sense of post-Kennedy-era adventure and derring-do. The result is subversive and occasionally shocking insanity (Dr. V loses his kidneys in the series opener "Dia de Los Dangerous"; Dean suffers an unmentionable personal injury in "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean"; the boys believe that Dr. Venture's stomach tumor is actually a pregnancy in "Return to Spider Island"), but with enough flashes of surreal brilliance to make this a must-have for modern animation fans. The Season One two-disc set contains all 13 episodes, as well as two bonus episodes--the show's original pilot, "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" (for Hank and Dean, the secret is something decidedly salacious), and "A Very Venture Christmas," as well as a handful of deleted scenes. Commentary by the show's creators and cast can be heard on five episodes, including "Turtle Bay," and the extras are rounded out by "Behind the Scenes of the Live-Action Movie," a 20-minute mockumentary that features much of the voice-over talent dressed in some ridiculous costumes. --Paul Gaita

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