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During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
Films & Dvds
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For ages 3-6 Little Polar Bear: Lars and the Little Tiger Warner Home Video; G; 77 minutes $20 Now Available The adventures continue for polar bear cub Lars in this sequel to the excellent 2001 animated feature “The Little Polar Bear,” based on a series of Dutch children’s books by Hans der Beer. The friends he makes this time are Theo the little tiger and Nemo the seafaring cat. They set off for a bustling harbor city, the Tiger Forest and an enchanting island. Think “Madagascar” for smaller fry. The DVD includes a profile of the animators and a featurette on how the film’s sound effects were created. Nice bonuses all around. Grade: A- For ages 5-10 The Happy Elf Anchor Bay Entertainment; G; 45 minutes $20 Available Dec. 6 Harry Connick Jr.’s ditty from a 2003 Christmas album and promotional TV special becomes a direct-to-DVD animated adventure. The story follows Eubie, one of Santa’s helpers whose cockeyed optimism is put to the test when he decides to bring holiday joy to a sad town called Bluesville. Yes, you’ll be reminded by Will Farrell’s hilarious turn in “Elf,” which is a good thing. Tons of Christmas fun is here thanks to new original holiday songs written and composed by Connick, and the addition of Mickey Rooney to the voice cast. I’m sure we all remember Rooney as the voice of Kris Kringle in the classic Rankin/Bass special “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” That 1970 claymation movie had a story similar to “The Happy Elf.” Children get double-fun with the DVD as it comes in a push-button activated package that lights up with blinking lights and plays a snippet of the “Happy Elf” song. Grade: A- For ages 6-11 The Adventures of Spin & Marty Walt Disney; G; 300 minutes $33 Available Dec. 6 As a child, some of my favorite hours in front of the television were spent watching reruns of the original “Mickey Mouse Club.” The shows with an episode of the serial “The Adventures of Spin & Marty” got me to yell a big “yipp-i, yipp-a, yippi-o!” The serial was set at The Triple R, a summer ranch where boys learn to ride horses and other western stuff. Spin Evans (Tim Considine) is the most popular boy there. Marty Markham (David Stollery) is a spoiled rich kid who doesn’t make friends easily. Of course, the two boys eventually become best pals. The DVD contains all 25 episodes originally aired during the 1955-56 debut season of the show starring the Mouseketeers. Bonuses include the complete episode of “The Mickey Mouse Club” that introduces the series, along with a reunion of the two stars and tour of the filming site. Grade: A Valiant Walt Disney; G; 109 minutes $30 Available Dec. 13 Disney only distributed this bird-brained computer-animated feature about a pint-sized pigeon named Valiant who dreams of joining the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service in World War II England. He gets his wish, of course, and becomes a hero, of course. Vanguard Animation made the thing, and the August release date showed how little Disney thought of it. “Valiant,” feather-weight in its cleverness and lackluster animation, should have gone the straight-to-DVD route. Still, “Valiant” is child-friendly, and the message is a positive one. A voice cast led by Ewan McGregor in the title role and Tim Curry, John Cleese, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent brings a touch of class to the DVD, but a dull trivia game and unfunny bloopers make for ho-hum bonuses. Grade: C For ages 12-17 The Bad News Bears Paramount; PG-13; 111 minutes $30 Available Dec. 13 As if there’s not already a saturation of zero to hero sports movies, the 1976 baseball comedy that starred Walter Matthau as a bum ex-ballplayer-turned-coach of a losing Little League team gets an extreme makeover. And the remake is extremely bad. Billy Bob Thornton strikes out swinging by going from “Bad Santa” to bad coach, taking over the managerial job in the role of Morris Buttermaker. Thornton is flanked by co-stars Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden and a roster of pre-teens who traverse all the stereotypes of a family sports movie. The original is clever, though the language harsh. For this remake: Grade: D+ Fantastic Four 20th Century Fox; PG-13; 123 minutes $30 Available Dec. 6 Despite the title, this comic book superhero flick is anything but fantastic. Story and special effects are as weak as the quartet of actors mailing it in as scientists who gain superhuman powers when their spacecraft encounters cosmic rays. Michael Chiklis (hulkish The Thing), Jessica Alba (invisible Sue Storm), Ioan Gruffudd (elastic Mr. Fantastic) and Chris Evans (fiery Human Torch) have exciting-sounding characters, but off the comic book pages they are as dull as the obligatory villain, Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), who, big surprise, wants to take over the world. At least the movie doesn’t take itself seriously, so deferential teens and parents should enjoy the intended campiness. Grade: C- |
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