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Kids/Family DVDs

Secondhand Lions (New Line Platinum Series)

Sales Rank:292
List Price: $12.98
Lowest New Price: $4.89
Lowest Used Price: $2.35
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

AC-3
Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Subtitled
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Michael Caine
Robert Duvall
Haley Joel Osment
Kyra Sedgwick
Nicky Katt

If you can get past its thick layer of syrup and molasses, Secondhand Lions reveals itself as a thoroughly decent family film that anyone can enjoy. It gets a little sappy sometimes, but there's something to be said for a movie in which Michael Caine and Robert Duvall play eccentric old brothers who take the easy approach to fishing: instead of a peaceful rod and reel, they use 12-gauge shotguns. When 14-year-old Walter (Haley Joel Osment, teetering on puberty) spends an eventful summer with his great-uncles on their vast Texas farmland (he's been dumped there by his delinquent mom, played by Kyra Sedgwick), he soon discovers they've lived lives full of adventure, excitement, passion, and mystery. Either that or they're old-time bank robbers with a long criminal record, and writer-director Tim McCanlies (who invested similar warmth into The Iron Giant) does a nice job of concealing the truth until the very end. Full of enriching lessons and homespun humor, Secondhand Lions has more substance than most family films. If you enjoyed Holes, you'll probably enjoy this movie, too. --Jeff Shannon

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My Neighbor Totoro

Sales Rank:291
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $15.95
Lowest Used Price: $13.97
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

Animated
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
THX
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Hitoshi Takagi
Noriko Hidaka
Chika Sakamoto
Shigesato Itoi
Sumi Shimamoto

My Neighbor Totoro is that rare delight, a family film that appeals to children and adults alike. While their mother is in the hospital, 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei move into an old-fashioned house in the country with their professor father. At the foot of an enormous camphor tree, Mei discovers the nest of King Totoro, a giant forest spirit who resembles an enormous bunny rabbit. Mei and Satsuki learn that Totoro makes the trees grow, and when he flies over the countryside or roars in his thunderous voice, the winds blow. Totoro becomes the protector of the two sisters, watching over them when they wait for their father, and carrying them over the forests on an enchanted journey. When the children worry about their mother, Totoro sends them to visit her via a Catbus, a magical, multilegged creature with a grin the Cheshire Cat might envy.

Unlike many cartoon children, Satsuki and Mei are neither smart-alecky nor cloyingly saccharine. They are credible kids: bright, energetic, silly, helpful, and occasionally impatient. Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki makes the viewer believe the two sisters love each other in a way no American feature has ever achieved. My Neighbor Totoro is enormously popular in Japan, and some of the character merchandise has begun to appear in America. The film has also inspired a Japanese environmental group to buy a Totoro Forest preserve in the Saitama Prefecture, where Miyazaki's film is set. --Charles Solomon

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Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1

Sales Rank:326
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $13.75
Lowest Used Price: $12.41
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

Animated
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
NTSC

Director(s):

Bud Luckey
Alvy Ray Smith
Andrew Jimenez
Brad Bird
Dan Scanlon

Actor(s):

Larry The Cable Guy
Owen Wilson
Michael Wallis
Bonnie Hunt
Paul Newman

Pixar's unprecedented string of hit animated features was built on the short films in this collection. John Lasseter and Ed Catmull used these cartoons the way Walt Disney used the "Silly Symphonies" during the 1930s: as a training ground for artists and a way to explore the potential of a new medium. Although it's only 90 seconds long, "Luxo, Jr." (1986) ranks as the "Steamboat Willie" of computer animation: For the first time, audiences believed CG characters could think and feel. (It was also the first CG film to make audiences laugh.) When the artists began work on Toy Story, they had learned so much from the shorts, they were ready to undertake that landmark creation. In the later shorts, the viewer can see the artists continuing to experiment: with a more realistic human figure in "Geri's Game" and with new ways of suggesting atmospheric effects in "Boundin'." Some of the more recent shorts continue the adventures of the characters from the features. "Jack-Jack Attack" reveals what happened to the hapless baby-sitter while the Incredibles were off fighting Syndrome, while "Mater and the Ghost Light" shows that life goes on for the inhabitants of Radiator Springs. When Sully from Monsters, Inc. tries to adjust his seat in "Mike's New Car," the animators prolong the moment to wring every drop of humor from the situation--just as an earlier generation of animators milked Wile E. Coyote's antics for all they were worth. The long-unseen films for Sesame Street are an unexpected bonus. A delightful collection of entertaining shorts, and a significant chronicle of the growth of computer animation. (Rated G: suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

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Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition)

Sales Rank:413
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $14.49
Lowest Used Price: $13.99
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

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

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Brian Bedford
Phil Harris
Roger Miller
Peter Ustinov
Terry-Thomas

A minor classic from Disney, this 1973 all-animal, all-animated musical version of the familiar story is more charming than one might expect. Perhaps it's the warm, chummy take on key relationships within the legend--the way Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) gets twitterpated whenever the subject of Maid Marian (Monica Evans) comes up or the way best pal Little John (Phil Harris voicing a variation on his own Baloo from The Jungle Book) admonishes the Sherwood Forest hero, "Aw, Rob, why dontcha just marry the girl?" (Then, of course, there's the canny "casting" of the romantic leads as foxes: Robin the sly one and Marian the, well, foxy one.) The rest of the vocal cast is lively and eclectic: Peter Ustinov, Andy Devine, Terry-Thomas, George Lindsey. Roger Miller provides the songs and voice for the minstrel character Allan-A-Dale. The film is ably directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, whose decades of work in Disney's animation division helped create the studio's rich legacy. --Tom Keogh

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A Christmas Carol

Sales Rank:199
List Price: $14.98
Lowest New Price: $6.98
Lowest Used Price: $6.94
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Format:

Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

George C. Scott
Frank Finlay
Angela Pleasence
Edward Woodward
Michael Carter

In the same year that he directed a handsome version of The Scarlet Pimpernel for television, Clive Donner also made this worthy 1984 small-screen production of the Dickens tale. George C. Scott can't quite muster a decent English accent, but he does bring some new colors to this movie's interpretation of Scrooge, making the character less nasty for the sake of nastiness and more a product of a life of lovelessness. The supporting cast is first-rate, and the production is far more handsome than most TV fare. --Tom Keogh

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The Polar Express (Full Screen Edition)

Sales Rank:285
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $9.96
Lowest Used Price: $7.27
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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Scholastic Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics (Scholastic Video Collection)

Sales Rank:38
List Price: $99.95
Lowest New Price: $49.99
Lowest Used Price: $62.95
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Animated
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

100 award-winning and classic children s stories are faithfully adapted and brought to life in this comprehensive 16-DVD collection. From the Maurice Sendak classic Where the Wild Things Are, to the beloved adventures of Curious George and Corduroy, parents and children alike are sure to enjoy these classic treasures, featuring celebrity narration from Sarah Jessica Parker, James Earl Jones and many more!

The Treasury Includes 16 Favorites from the #1 Award-Winning Children s DVD Series:
Where the Wild Things Are... and other Maurice Sendak Stories
Harry the Dirty Dog... and more terrific tails
Curious George Rides a Bike... and more tales of mischief
Good Night, Gorilla... and more bedtime stories
Chrysanthemum... and more Kevin Henkes stories
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom... and lots more learning fun!
Harold and the Purple Crayon... and more Harold Stories
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type... and more fun on the farm
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly... and more stories that sing
Make Way for Ducklings... and more Robert McCloskey Stories
Corduroy... and more stories about friendship
Strega Nona... and more Caldecott Award-winning folk tales
The Snowy Day... and more Ezra Jack Keats stories
Is Your Mama a Llama?... and more stories about growing up
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon... and more slightly scary stories
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People s Ears... and more stories from Africa

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Christmas in Connecticut

Sales Rank:220
List Price: $19.98
Lowest New Price: $10.30
Lowest Used Price: $10.29
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Format:

Black & White
Closed-captioned
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Subtitled
NTSC

Director(s):

Don Siegel
Peter Godfrey

Actor(s):

Barbara Stanwyck
Dennis Morgan
Sydney Greenstreet
Reginald Gardiner
S.Z. Sakall

Christmas in Connecticut is a holiday film that plays 365 days of the year. Barbara Stanwyck gives a brilliant, sardonic performance as Elizabeth Lane, a columnist for Smart Housekeeping magazine, whose enticing descriptions of the exquisite meals she prepares for her husband and baby on their bucolic Connecticut farm earns her fame as "America's Best Cook." A writer, she is; a cook, she is not. As she types the words, "From my living room window, as I write, the good cedar logs cracking on the fire..." the view is of clothes flapping on the line outside her bachelorette Manhattan apartment. An able supporting cast keeps her lie on life support: her editor, her stuffy and detestable architect suitor, and the wonderful "Uncle" Felix (S.Z. Sakall), an English-garbling Hungarian chef who provides the recipes that fill her column.

Cut to Jefferson Jones, a sailor adrift at sea for weeks after his destroyer is torpedoed. Memories of the food described in Lane's columns are central to his survival. After his rescue, as he's recuperating in a naval hospital, a marriage-minded nurse thinks she might nudge Jones to the altar if he could only experience a real domestic Christmas. And it just so happens that she was nurse to the grandchild of Alexander Yardley, the wealthy and powerful publisher of --you guessed it--Smart Housekeeping magazine. And so, she pens the letter that could unravel Lane's carefully constructed fraud. She writes to Yardley asking that Jones be included in America's ultimate Christmas--the one to be held at the Lane family farm in Connecticut. The pompous Yardley (ably portrayed by Sidney Greenstreet) believes the Lane myth and instantly sniffs a story that will send his magazine's circulation skyrocketing. And staring down a lonely holiday, he decides to join the Lanes for Christmas on the farm, too. Now, all Lane has to do is come up with a farm. And a husband. And let's not forget the baby. Christmas in Connecticut is classic screwball entertainment of the best kind, with its on-target skewering of social convention and house-of- cards-about-to-tumble tension: a perfect farcical vision of domestic blitz. --Susan Benson

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Dumbo (Big Top Edition)

Sales Rank:414
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $12.99
Lowest Used Price: $9.39
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)

Format:

AC-3
Animated
Color
Dolby
Dubbed
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Original recording remastered
Special Edition
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

Sterling Holloway
Edward Brophy
Herman Bing
Billy Bletcher
Jim Carmichael

A Disney "classic" that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your video collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the "cold, cruel, heartless" world that can't accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracized from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He's jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo's ears, even though the youngster's ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC "Jim Crow" crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful "When I See an Elephant Fly," should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don't mist up during the "Baby Mine" scene, you may be legally pronounced dead. --Keith Simanton

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Spirited Away

Sales Rank:368
List Price: $29.99
Lowest New Price: $15.99
Lowest Used Price: $11.95
MPAA Rating: Unrated

Format:

Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC

Director(s):

Actor(s):

The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon

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