American Dad, Vol. 3: DVD Review (2008)

“American Dad, Vol. 3”

The CIA under direct fire.

The third season of “American Dad” follows CIA agent Stan Smith, whose life, shall we say, continues to be unconventional in ways that perhaps only animation can best underscore--the medium finds truth in the abstract, and this show is all about the abstract.

Highlights include the episodes “An Apocalypse to Remember” and “Bush Comes to Dinner,” in which the president is enthusiastically skewered.

Developed by the creators of “The Family Guy,” the show has yet to mine its predecessor’s potential, but with this season proving a vast improvement over what came before it, there's every indication that it will.

Grade: B

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- American Dad, Vol. 3 - Episodes 1-8

1. Main Titles/Bush Essay [5:47]
2. The Winner [4:03]
3. Off the Wagon [3:41]
4. The Drunken President [5:36]
5. Lost Cause/End Titles [2:40]
1. Main Titles/Unregistered [6:10]
2. Cele-Bear-Tions [3:44]
3. A Different Direction [3:33]
4. La Migra [2:52]
5. Country Roads End Titles [5:33]
1. Main Titles/The Bad Times [3:24]
2. Useless [4:54]
3. Saving Mr. Pibb [6:39]
4. Help! [2:40]
5. Going Home/End Titles [4:15]
1. Main Titles/Peanut Butter [4:38]
2. Find the Monocle [4:01]
3. The Illuminuti [4:30]
4. Following the Clues [3:29]
5. If Only../End Titles [5:14]
1. Main Titles/What a Boob [3:20]
2. Nuclear War [3:40]
3. First Date [3:54]
4. Mutants! [4:35]
5. Happily Ever../End Titles [6:21]
1. Main Titles/Nose Job [5:59]
2. Honed Reflexes [4:30]
3. Footloose [4:11]
4. Closure [4:12]
5. Redemption/End Titles [3:08]
1. Main Titles/Meaningless [5:35]
2. Addicted [5:29]
3. On Ice [3:00]
4. Honeymoon [4:26]
5. Just Sex/End Titles [3:21]
1. Main Titles/Highly Illegal [3:22]
2. An Honest Buck [3:37]
3. War On Terror [6:43]
4. All Alone [3:47]
5. Everyone/End Titles [4:22]

Disc #2 -- American Dad, Vol. 3 - Episodes 9-16

1. Main Titles/Soft [3:18]
2. A Man Never Quits [3:09]
3. The Prettiest [5:59]
4. Mad Cow [4:35]
5. Scratchfest/End Titles [4:48]
1. Main Titles/The Bounty [4:54]
2. Hiding On the Farm [3:45]
3. Lost [3:54]
4. The Gift [3:23]
5. Father Figure/End Titles [5:55]
1. Main Titles/Just a Memory [4:12]
2. Show Business [4:30]
3. In the Goo - Not! [4:02]
4. Hunted [5:11]
5. Bonding/End Titles [3:54]
1. Main Titles/Posing Nude [6:38]
2. It's Called Respect [3:43]
3. Paint Job [3:09]
4. Turned On [3:13]
5. Regular Schnook/End Titles [5:04]
1. Main Titles/Friendless [4:41]
2. Answered Prayer [2:38]
3. Irrefutable Proof [4:46]
4. Spiritual Crisis [4:33]
5. Awesome!/End Titles [5:09]
1. Main Titles/Adopted [7:15]
2. Fireproof [2:48]
3. How It's Supposed to Be [3:02]
4. Skeleton in the Trunk [2:33]
5. Monsters/End Titles [6:02]
1. Main Titles/Project Daycare [4:15]
2. Activated [3:07]
3. A Totally Different Person [5:05]
4. Lovely Wedding [3:01]
5. Unstoppable/End Titles [6:23]
1. Main Titles/Never? [5:24]
2. Killer of Truth [3:58]
3. Looking for the One [3:32]
4. Blueberries for Peace [2:51]
5. Stan's First/End Titles [5:57]

Disc #3 -- American Dad, Vol. 3 - Episodes 17-18

1. Main Titles/Severe Mistake [4:39]
2. Withholding the News [3:06]
3. Rumble [4:04]
4. You Can Do This [2:19]
5. Like Normal/End Titles [7:40]
1. Chapter 1 [6:13]
2. Chapter 2 [4:13]
3. Chapter 3 [4:07]
4. Chapter 4 [3:15]
5. Chapter 5 [3:53]

Horton Hears a Who!: Movie Review (2008)

One for the little guy

Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, 88 minutes, rated G.

The latest movie based on one of Dr. Seuss’ illustrated children’s books is Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino’s “Horton Hears a Who!,” which really is two movies in one--but let’s not consider that a bargain just yet. Some elements in this computer-generated extravaganza are a shade too bargain basement to suit, especially when compared to the richness of its source material.

While none of those qualities extend to the beautifully detailed animation, which successfully captures the bizarre quirkiness of Seuss’ world, the same can’t be said for the awkward way screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio try to bridge the gap between Seuss’ work and their own. What we have here is a movie that shrewdly takes as much of Seuss’ words and story as possible--that’s the good news--before it fleshes out the slim story with less-creative elements.

And that’s the problem. The world Seuss created in 1954 for “Horton Hears a Who!” is timeless. It is, in fact, without a time. It might have been created by Seuss as a reaction to McCarthyism, but its strengths nevertheless exist in imagination. So, the idea that the filmmakers have updated the story with a host of pop-culture references--from global warming to the addition of the Who phone--is unnecessary and distracting, and it steals away at least some of the book’s charm.

But not all of it--the bones of Seuss’ tale do remain in place. The better news is that this is the best big-screen adaption yet of Seuss’ work, easily trumping the live-action wrecks, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat in the Hat.”

The film follows Horton (voice of Jim Carrey), a gentle elephant busy bathing one day when he comes upon a speck knocked loose from a flower.

When the speck floats past him, Horton hears tiny screams emanating from it that ignite in him a rush to protect it. Trouble is, now that he has it in his possession, he must convince others in his rough-and-tumble jungle community that what he hears within that puff of dust is another world, one that might be far smaller and different than theirs, but which nevertheless is worth saving.

Good luck to Horton. Indeed, for him the problem is that only he has heard and communicated with the speck’s inhabitants--the Whos of Who-ville--a curious race governed by Who-ville’s bumbling mayor (Steve Carell), who is trying to make his Whos understand that their lives are in danger.

Making matters worse for them all is the character who doubts Horton most, the self-righteous, crazed fanatic Kangaroo, who is voiced with such sneering menace by Carol Burnett, the only person who could best her small-minded evil is Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern. But maybe they'll use her in the sequel.

Anywho, what ensues is a movie that finds the Whos joining together to be heard while Horton literally is imprisoned and mistreated for trying to help. The ending is especially powerful and intense, with Horton literally going through Hell to help the little guy. And here is where the movie presses into the uneasy realm of politics. Since Horton is played by an elephant and not a donkey, one has to wonder at what point some bright star in Washington might view him as a viable running mate for the republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

In that circus, anything can happen.

Grade: B-

View the video review below:

Bee Movie: DVD, HD DVD Review (2008)

"Bee Movie" DVD, HD DVD

The work of drones.

Jerry Seinfeld's pet project is so polished, its edges have been rubbed smooth. Set in New Hive City, the movie follows Barry B. Benson (voice of Seinfeld), a bee fresh out of college who is inspired to get humans out of the honey business, and allow some down time for the over-worked bumbles.

Helping him in that task is Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), a florist with boyfriend troubles who agrees to help Barry in his quest to sue the human race for enslavement and thievery.

Eventually, they wind up in court and it’s here, in the film’s second half, that it finally leaps to life. This is due in great part to the human race's hefty lawyer Layton T. Montgomery (John Goodman, excellent), who is given to marvelous bouts of histrionics, and also to the fallout that springs from the trial, which is dire. After all, what is the world to do if Barry actually wins his case? Has anyone considered the ramifications? Bees already are in dangerously short supply. If they stop pollinating flowers and plants, wouldn’t a worldwide collapse ensue?

That’s a serious subject to explore, but in a cartoon that would rather squeeze the life out of every bee pun it can get its hands on, the big monster in this movie isn't the human race, but those humans who failed to make a compelling film in the first place.

Rated PG. Grade: C

View the hi-def video review by clicking here.

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Beowulf: DVD, HD DVD Review (2008)

"Beowulf" DVD, HD DVD

Robert Zemeckis' "Beowulf" has a great ending--powerful, fiery and exciting. It’s a nice feat of showmanship, the best part of the film.

You should know this because what comes before it, with few exceptions, can be long and tedious.

Set in Denmark and based on the 6th century Anglo-Saxon poem, the movie updates it all for the present with hot bods, nudity and sex--just what we need.

It follows the great warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone) as he accepts the challenge of a king (Anthony Hopkins) to kill the giant Grendel (Crispin Glover), who is busy wreaking havoc upon the king’s land.

It’s a situation that escalates into Beowulf also battling Grendel’s slinky minx of a mother (Angelina Jolie, of course) and finally their offspring, who has the ability to morph into a fire-breathing dragon.

Along the way, Beowulf drinks his share of mead, becomes king, garners the love of a queen (Robin Wright Penn), enjoys a lover on the side, grows a conscience and keeps his rock-solid abs throughout.

So, at the very least, plenty of the film’s target audience of young males will want to be him, but here’s the thing: The film follows Zemeckis’ 2004 movie, "The Polar Express," in that it uses performance-capture technology to turn its large cast of human actors into something that wavers between human and humanoid.

What we have here is a movie that renders beautiful interiors and landscapes but which fails to faithfully capture the human form. The characters’ eyes, for instance, are unnervingly without soul. As such, there are problems with the technology that make for a distracting experience, one the movie struggles to overcome--but doesn't.

Rated PG-13. Grade: C-

Read the unedited review here.

View the trailer below:

Justice League: The New Frontier: DVD, Blu-ray review (2008)

"Justice League: The New Frontier" DVD, Blu-ray

Quite a league.

Based on Darwyn Cooke's award-winning graphic novel, this two-disc, direct-to-DVD set from Warner features Superman paired with Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman, Green Lantern, Manhunter, J'onn Jonzz and a host of others, all of whom join forces to fight a bevy of assorted creeps threatening to bring down the world.

Fans get their money's worth, with Neil Patrick Harris, Jeremy Sisto, Miguel Ferrer and Lucy Lawless among those doing the fine voice work.

More importantly, the animation intentionally captures the look and feel of a comic book, and it succeeds, seamlessly evoking the printed page.

Grade: B+

View the trailer below:

Persepolis: Movie Review (2008)

No Country for Young Women

Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, 95 minutes, not rated. In French with English subtitles.

Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Persepolis" ushers audiences into two colliding worlds.

The first is an arresting, black-and-white world animated with the grimness of abstract noir (color is used only fleetingly in this movie). The second is Satrapi's real-life story of growing up in Iran and Europe during the late 1970s and early 1990s, which gives life to the film's 2-D animation in ways that make for a strange yet fascinating brand of pop art.

The story and the vehicle for telling it complement each other so beautifully, they work to make this one of 2007's most unique, satisfying movies. What Satrapi and Paronnaud have achieved is animation lifted to its highest, most cerebral form, with the medium used as a tool to generate the sort of off-beat, dreamlike mood live-action would find difficult to match.

Based on Satrapi's graphic novels, the film is a coming-of-age story for adults that follows headstrong Marjane (voice of Chiara Mastroianni) through an extended period of civil and personal unrest. Her disillusionment, rebellion and disappointment all come to a head because of the chaos created by the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war.

To a certain degree, Marjane's cynical worldview and her dark sense of humor help her to assemble what can't rationally be assembled. Still, even that ability can take her only so far. Born to a cosmopolitan family, she is a feminist growing up in a country that came to shun Western ideals after the fall of the Shah and which repressed its people, especially women, as a result. Every breath within her lives to move forward and be an individual, but how can she do so when the country she loves is now determined to hold her back?

Helping her through her challenging early years are her supportive mother (Catherine Deneuve) and father (Simon Abkarian), as well as her savvy grandmother (Danielle Darrieux) and an imprisoned uncle (Francois Jerosme). In spite of their guidance, Marjane remains a loose cannon, falling into the prickly folds of punk rock and removing her veil when the wrong people are watching. This worries her parents to the point that they exile her to Austria, where she attends school and becomes as much a stranger in that land as her own land has become to her.

As the years pass, "Persepolis" reveals an undercurrent of sadness that's bracing. The questions the movie poses are humbling, none more so than the idea that sometimes your country no longer can be your home if you radically oppose its views. The direction Iran took essentially exiled Marjane from life, which is the cold truth she must face, though in ways that won't be revealed here.

In the end, what we have here isn't just one of the finest animated movies of 2007, but also one of its best foreign language films. Look for the deserving "Persepolis" to be nominated in the latter category for an Academy Award.

Grade: A-

The Simpsons Movie: DVD Review, Blu-ray Review (2007)

“The Simpsons Movie” DVD, Blu-ray

In "The Simpsons Movie," Earth is at stake--nevermind just Springfield--and who better than Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to come to its rescue?

Okay, so it's best not to answer that question, particularly since it's Homer and his new pet pig, Spider-Pig, who ignite the crisis in the first place.

Wearing its environmental heart on its sleeve, the film has a timely message in hand--the world is choking on our fumes, trash and pig poop, folks, and the future looks grim.

Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) is on a campaign to raise awareness about how the careless actions of many are ruining Lake Springfield and, by extension, the planet itself. As she sees it, we're all faced with "An Irritating Truth" and it's time to do something about it.

Trouble is, her father, Homer (Dan Castellaneta), whose relationship with his new pet pig borders on the questionable, if not the obscene, has unwittingly unleashed the sort of ecological blunder that changes fish into mutants, and which also catches the attention of the EPA.

What unfolds is all just enough--just enough for most fans, who likely will dig seeing Bart nude, and just enough for the casually curious, who now might be tempted to do what Fox really wants them to do--buy all those boxed sets of the television series awaiting them on DVD.

Rated PG-13. Grade: B+

Read the full review here.

Shrek the Third: DVD, HD DVD Review (2007)

"Shrek the Third: DVD, HD DVD"

Features impressive animation and a few bright spots of humor, but mostly, "Shrek the Third" is dull, unimaginative moviemaking served cold to the masses.

After the death of King Harold (John Cleese), it's revealed to Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Shrek (Mike Myers) that Shrek is next in line to the throne.

It's a job Shrek doesn't want--he is an ogre, after all--and so off he goes with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas, a highlight) to find the next in line to the throne, Prince Artie (Justin Timberlake), and also to take his mind off the fact that Fiona is pregnant.

For a villain, the film offers up the weakest imaginable--Prince Charming (Rupert Everett)--whose shaggy blond blowout is the most threatening thing in the movie. It's he who wants to be the king of Far Far Away, and he's enlisted a formidable posse to help him to that end. Trouble is, by the film's midpoint, few will care.

Filled with the easiest sort of laughs--fart and poop jokes--"Shrek the Third" is so disappointingly base, it underscores just how far we've come since Disney’s groundbreaking “Toy Story” hit theaters in 1995.

In this movie, the focus is on creating believable expressions and hair that moves, not laughs that sustain and suspense that builds.

Rated PG. Grade: C

Read the full review here.

Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Vol. 5 DVD Review (2007)

“Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Five”

Here is the reason some of us champion Chuck Jones as one of the kings of animation.

He may never have had a theme park, but Jones had something arguably just as formidable--an edge, an irreverent wit, an anything-goes imagination, and especially his enduring, endearing cast of characters--Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck chief among them.

Influential director Bob Clampett, so key to the success of the “Looney Tunes,” is featured in depth on disc three. Commentaries, documentaries and featurettes abound.

Warner pulls out all the stops here, including in this four-disc set 60 Looney Tunes shorts.

Grade: A

Bee Movie: Movie Review (2007)

Of worker bees and drones

Directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner, written by Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder and Andy Robin, 100 minutes, rated PG.

(Originally published 2007)

If the new computer-animated movie, “Bee Movie,” had been directed by a queen bee rather than by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner, it likely would have been tighter, more productive and had a sense of purpose. The film's worker bees--in this case, the animators and writers--also might have been more focused on creating a great movie, rather than the average one they've given us here.

Unfortunately, too much of “Bee Movie” seems as if it was driven by drones. After an aggressive marketing campaign that naturally highlighted the movie’s high points, the film initially seemed a shoo-in for Academy Awards consideration. And yet “Bee Movie” is a film that likely played out better on the page than it does onscreen.

At least that’s true for its first half. The movie is the pet project of Jerry Seinfeld, who worked for years on the film, apparently polishing it to the point that he rubbed its edges smooth. Some of the dialogue does snap and there are a few good laughs, but they come after a labored first half, from which the film struggles to recover.

Set in New Hive City, the movie follows one Barry B. Benson (voice of Seinfeld), a bee fresh out of college who is inspired to change the world by ending human consumption of honey. For Barry, the idea that humans are robbing hives blind and working bees to death is a good reason to rebel. His idea is to get the humans out of the honey business, and allow some down time for the bumbles.

Helping him in that task is Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), a florist with boyfriend troubles who agrees to help Barry in his quest to sue the human race for enslavement and thievery. Eventually, they wind up in court and it’s here, in the film’s second half, that it finally leaps to life.

This is due in great part to the human race's hefty lawyer Layton T. Montgomery (John Goodman, excellent), who is given to marvelous bouts of histrionics, and also to the fallout that springs from the trial, which is dire. After all, what is the world to do if Barry actually wins his case? Has anyone considered the ramifications? Bees already are in dangerously short supply. If they stop pollinating flowers and plants, wouldn’t a worldwide collapse ensue, with all vegetation dying?

That’s a serious subject to explore, but in a cartoon that would rather squeeze the life out of every bee pun it can get its hands on, the big monster in this movie isn't the human race, but those humans who failed to make a compelling film.

Grade: CView the hi-def video review by clicking here.

View a low-res version of the video review by clicking below:

Ratatouille: Blu-ray disc DVD Review (2007)

"Ratatouille: DVD, Blu-ray"

What this magnificent movie captures isn't just the culinary heart of Paris--itself a feat--but also the hearts of audiences.

It does so through one determined, lovable little rat named Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt), who may have been raised to eat trash, poor thing, but who nevertheless dreams big of becoming a master chef and full-on gourmand.

Still, how to do so when a rat in the kitchen isn't exactly as welcome as, say, the beets in a borscht?

For Remy, it helps if you have the support of a five-star chef like Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett), regardless of whether he's dead, which he is, as well as a likable, no-talent lug like Linguini (Lou Romano) to stand in as your puppet, which he does--at least for a while.

From writer-director Brad Bird, “Ratatouille” is as much a love letter to the City of Lights as it is a valentine to those who enjoy the pleasures of le table. What’s essential to its success is that it understands that for some, good food isn't just an artistic expression and creation--it's passion itself.

After all, if a mere noodle can bring together Lady and Tramp, imagine what a perfectly prepared Provencal soup, with its halo of herbs, can do for someone who truly appreciates such a subtle sleight of hand.

With Janeane Garofalo as the saucy Colette and Ian Holm as the evil Skinner, the movie is at its best with Peter O'Toole's Anton Ego, a grim food critic steeped in bitters whose character is so nicely defined, he helps to lift this movie straight into contention for the Academy Award.

Rated G. Grade: A

Cars: Blu-ray disc DVD Review (2007)

"Cars: Blu-ray"

Flat tire.

Pixar's beautiful-looking yet boring computer-animated movie, now out on Blu-ray disc, is the weakest in its collaboration with Disney. You can't win them all, and this time, the studios haven't even come close.

Sandbagged by a joyless mid-section that goes nowhere, this dull movie fails to offer much in the way of wit, energy, heart and entertainment.

The film tries to capture the brisk innovation of, say, "The Incredibles" and the spirit of the "Toy Story" movies, but since it's so focused on achieving the best in cutting-edge animation (which it does), it fails to remember what matters--the story and characters.

As such, it creates the odd movie you forget while watching it.

Rated G. Grade: C

Meet the Robinsons: Movie Review, DVD Review, Blu-ray Disc Review (2007)

“Meet the Robinsons: DVD, Blu-ray”

Where would Disney be without its orphans, those who long for a family they either lost or never had? Up the creek, likely.

Still, while it might seem cliched at this point that the studio still is manufacturing films with those very storylines, their latest animated tale, "Meet the Robinsons," once again proves they know how to do formula right.

In "Robinsons," a 12-year-old boy named Lewis (voice of Daniel Hansen) is saved from an uncertain future at the hands of one sinister-looking villain when into his life comes Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), a boy with time machine who snatches Lewis into the future, where he meets Wilbur's eccentric family.

Though Lewis would prefer to travel back into the past to face the mother who abandoned him, he is at the mercy of the plot, which has a point to underscore--keep moving forward, kids, don't look back--and where it takes him is to a new level of understanding.

The pacing is problematic--it's an uneven, scattershot rush--but the film rarely is dull and the retro-looking animation favorably recalls "The Incredibles."

Rated G. Grade: B

The Polar Express: Blu-ray DVD Movie Review (2007)

“The Polar Express”

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and William Broyles Jr., based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, 97 minutes, rated G.

So chilly and devoid of life, it makes sense that this new Blu-ray version of the film was released in time for Halloween.

Using performance capture technology, "The Polr Express" uses real actors--Tom Hanks chief among them--to achieve photo-realism through computer animation. That’s an inevitable progression of the CGI movement, but is photo-realism really what audiences want from an animated movie? If not, “Express” begs to differ.

What we have here is a movie whose computer chip renders beautiful interiors and landscapes but which fails to faithfully capture the human form. The children in this movie, in particular, don’t look like real tots struggling to believe in Santa. They look like waxen, undead extras from "Night of the Living Dead," their lifeless eyes so unnerving, they make the movie difficult to enjoy.

The film follows an 8-year-old boy (voiced by Hanks) whose belief in Santa is on the wane. On Christmas Eve, he falls into a deep, vivid dream that transports him to the North Pole by way of the Polar Express, a gleaming train that magically pulls in front of the boy’s house.

The Express is filled with other children needing their own beliefs recharged and it’s manned by a conductor also played by Hanks. Their journey to the North Pole proves harrowing, ghostly and fraught with danger--it’s literally a roller-coaster ride into situations that nearly cost all their lives.

When they finally do meet Santa and his ugly gaggle of elves, what they find is an industrial underworld as bleak and as deadly efficient as the one in Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.” Watching it, you have to wonder what the hell Zemeckis was smoking.

Individual scenes in “Express” are impressive and the movie does mirror the look of the book. But for the warm cup of holiday cheer most audience members rightfully expect from this G-rated movie, they should know that the film is akin to attending a wake as directed by Federico Fellini.

Grade: C-

Christmas Television Favorites; Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale; A Flintstone's Christmas Carol: DVD Review (2007)

Warner Holiday Collections:

"Christmas Television Favorites"
"Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale"
"A Flintstones Christmas Carol"

From Warner, proof that it's never too soon to start marketing the hell out of holidays.

I'm joking--they aren't.

Still, there is a gem to be had in "Christmas Television Favorites," the nostalgic new collection that features several popular holiday classics.

Included are "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," as well as these from Rankin-Bass: "Rudolph's Shiny New Year,” "Frosty's Winter Wonderland,” 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the feature-length "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July." Also in the set--and available for sale separately--is "The Year Without a Santa Clause.”

Seeking more pre-holiday fare? Warner also has released "Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale," which is an original, feature-length movie, as well as "A Flintstone's Christmas Carol," which finds Fred agreeing to be Scrooge in a Bedrock production of “A Christmas Carol.”

While "Christmas Television Favorites" tends to be for every member of your household, regardless of age (admit it!), the other two are better suited for the youngest of tots.

Grades: "Christmas Favorites": A-; "Tom and Jerry": B; "Flintstone's": B-

Toy Story 2: Movie Review, DVD Review (1999)

Toys are us

Directed by John Lasseter, written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsaio, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb, 92 minutes, rated G.

(Originally published 1999)

Pixar-Disney’s “Toy Story 2” not only holds up to the original, it sometimes surpasses it in ingenuity and wit, setting a new precedent for the medium while lifting a bar already raised to dizzying heights in the studios’ 1998 film “A Bug’s Life.”

Besting themselves, the Pixar-Disney team has created in “Toy Story 2” a film so seamless in design and so rich in detail, even the most jaded of audiences will be struck by its high level of invention.

This is no shameless sequel, but a fully realized film that stands on its own. Once again, Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) is the story’s focus. A bit older now, a bit tattered, his shoulder torn and his stuffing coming loose, Woody is left at home when his owner, Andy, goes away to summer camp.

Hurt and depressed and feeling as if he’s thisclose to the trash bin, he sulks along with Andy’s other toys, a hodgepodge of characters who seem to exist with the sad knowledge that Andy will one day tire of them and move on to bigger and better toys.

If this gives the film emotional depth, it also gives it its spectacular spark since these toys won’t leave Andy’s bedroom -- or his heart -- without a fight.

When Woody is kidnapped by an evil toy collector (Wayne Knight), Woody’s pals -- Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Rex the dinosaur (Wallace Shawn) and Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger)-- all conspire to get him home safe before Andy returns.

No one has to say what these toys are thinking: Without Woody in the bedroom as an anchor, who’s to say what would become of them?

Filled with action, superb new characters, a terrific parody of “Star Wars” and a clear understanding of human nature, “Toy Story 2” proves, without a doubt, that toys are not only for kids, but that toys are us.

Grade: A

Surf's Up: DVD Review, Blu-ray disc Review

Ride this wave

In the wake of “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” Hollywood serves up another helping of penguins in the computer-animated “Surf’s Up."

This time out, the tuxedoed critters are featured in a movie in which the blistering cold of the Antarctic is replaced by the blistering heat of a tropical island. There, they ride towering waves--and run up against some towering egos--in heated competitions.

The movie is the slightest of the recent penguin lot--it only wants to entertain, but turns out to be enough.

The film follows the teenage penguin Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) through the difficulty of his father’s death and his dream of becoming a champion surfer. Helping him to that end are his friends (Jon Heder, Zooey Deschanel) and especially Big Z (Jeff Bridges), a surfing legend who reluctantly agrees to train Cody to win against the reigning surfing champ, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader).

Bridges' laid-back performance is a highlight, but so was the decision to shoot the film like a mock documentary. It's an approach that allows for spontaneity, such as when the characters suddenly bark out their feelings and frustrations at the cameras, or when three baby penguins neatly steal the show with their clever asides.

Rated PG. Grade: B+

Read a more in-depth review of the film here.

Tekkonkinkreet: Movie Review, DVD Review, Blu-ray disc Review

Flight--and fight--of the orphans

Leading the charge of this week's new releases is the DVD and Blu-ray release of Michael Arias' "Tekkonkinkreet," a richly conceived anime fantasy pic based on Taiyo Matsumoto's popular Japanese manga.

Driven by its superb techno soundtrack, which thrums with energy, here is a film liberated by its imagination. Somehow, it escaped being tweaked to serve the masses, likely because nobody in Hollywood could get a handle on it--and that’s a good thing.

The film uses traditional 2-D animation layered over more technically advanced 3-D animation, and the results, typical for anime, are stunning.

The story follows the orphans Black and White, two flying street urchins from Treasure Town who take on the Yakuza in ways that lead to triumph and tragedy.

What ensues is emotional and intense, a story that sometimes is dizzying to discern, but which nevertheless is a feast to watch.

Rated R. Grade: B+

Over the Hedge: Movie Review, DVD Review (2006)

Stealing the show

(Originally published 2006)

Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, written by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and Kirkpatrick, 87 minutes, rated PG.

For the most part, the scrappy new computer-animated movie from DreamWorks, “Over the Hedge,” gets it right.

Unlike too many recent computer-animated movies, from the studio's own mediocre "Madagascar" to Disney’s more recent disappointment, “The Wild,” it isn't so distracted by the intricacies of its animation that it forgoes what matters--an entertaining story filled with cute, memorable characters.

Here is a movie aided enormously by the excellence of its voice talent, which gives “Hedge” the infectious personality it might have lacked without them in it. The cast is loose, funny and recognizable, selling their punchy lines in ways that help the film live up to its title. This is particularly true when the movie hits its stride at its midpoint, when anarchy and lunacy send it over the moon--never mind the hedge--and not tripping over its own roots.

As directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick from Michael Fry and T Lewis’ comic strip, “Hedge” follows the wily raccoon RJ (Bruce Willis), who begins the movie on what for him is a bum note. Just as he's trying to steal a hibernating bear’s stash of junk food, the bear (Nick Nolte) awakens, calamity ensues, and the food is destroyed when it smashes down a hill. For RJ, his destiny comes down to this--either find a way to return the bear's food within a week or the bear will turn him into road kill.

Returning to the woods, RJ is confronted by an enormous hedge that now separates the forest from a new subdivision. Looking at it, he comes up with a scheme that is far from honest, but which might just save his life if he can pull it off.

Rallying the other critters in the forest--Verne the turtle (Garry Shandling), Penny and Lou Porcupine (Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy), Stella the skunk (Wanda Sykes), Hammy the squirrel (Steve Carell), and Ozzie the opossum (William Shatner)--RJ uses their concerns about suburban sprawl to his benefit. He convinces them that beyond this new, giant hedge rests a bounty beyond reason, more snack food than any of them could fathom. If they band together, they can rob the humans who are robbing them of their land and eat like kings in the process.

Naturally, it won't be that easy, particularly with RJ’s story collapsing, and the crazed Verminator (Thomas Haden Church) and cruel homeowner Gladys (Allison Janney) on their case.

As the movie unfolds, so does the broad comedy. And yet as the themes reveal themselves--it isn't right to cheat your friends, as RJ is doing, and there are dire consequences if you do so--the messages don't feel as if they were delivered via the business end of a hammer. “Over the Hedge” shrewdly keeps the schmaltz out of the story, which is just one reason among many that this likable film comes recommended.

Grade: B

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