DVDpedia : Library : Genre : Kids & Family

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 100

Summary: This African tale follow the rhythms of director Carroll Ballard's earlier films "The Black Stallion" and "Fly Away Home", namely a child is drawn into the mysteries and magic of an animal. Xan (newcomer Alexander Michaletos) is a 12-year-old living in South Africa with his parents (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis, who appeared as a much different couple three years earlier in "The Secret Life of Dentists") when they find an abandoned baby cheetah. They bring it up as their own and name it the Swahili word for cheetah, Duma. After some time, the creature is too big to stay domesticated and Dad tells the boy they will have to journey back to Duma's home to set him free. A sickness makes the family pull up stakes and head to the city where Xan and Duma don't fare well. Xan must take Duma on his own to set him free. To tell more would be a crime. As with any Ballard film, the story is subtext, the visuals rule. First-time cinematographer Werner Maritz fills the screen with the desert landscape and is able to capture the magnificent speed of the cheetah. Ballard's films seem to build on their own inertia, creating scenes that seem to be simply happening instead of scripted, although this often suffers in the balance of wonderment versus all-too-lucky occurrences. Based on the children's picture book/memoir "How It Was with Dooms" by Xan and Carol Cawthra Hopcraft, this is a film worth seeking out, especially for families and kids above 5 years old. "--Doug Thomas"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 152

Summary: The beloved book about a young wizard named Harry became a huge hit as a big screen feature and now makes its debut as deluxe DVD. In the film Daniel Radcliffe portrays the young orphan who gets invited to attend the exclusive Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after years of living with his horrible aunt and uncle. At school he discovers his true heritage as the son of a witch and wizard, and faces a daunting force of evil. Get ready for fun, adventure, and action with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Special Features Include:
Never-before-seen-footage. A 360 degree tour of Hogwarts controlled by the viewer's remote. New interviews with the director and producer. Learn how to play Quidditch. Catch a Snitch with your remote. Have a wand choose you at Ollivander's Wands. Meet the ghosts who live at Hogwarts. Cast a spell over a scene in eight languages. Create potions. Face challenges to reveal the secret in the Mirror of Erised. Transfigure objects.

DVD ROM Includes:
Get sorted by the Sorting hat. Collect wizard trading card. Receive owl emails. Lots of game demos...and more!

System Requirements:
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris, and John Cleese.
Directed By: Chris Columbus.
Running Time: 152 Min., Color.
This film is presented in "Standard" format.
Copyright 2002 Warner Home Video.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 161

Summary: First sequels are the true test of an enduring movie franchise, and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" passes with flying colors. Expanding upon the lavish sets, special effects, and grand adventure of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry involves a darker, more malevolent tale (parents with younger children beware), beginning with the petrified bodies of several Hogwarts students and magical clues leading Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) to a 50-year-old mystery in the monster-laden Chamber of Secrets. House elves, squealing mandrakes, giant spiders, and venomous serpents populate this loyal adaptation (by "Sorcerer's Stone" director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves), and Kenneth Branagh delightfully tops the supreme supporting cast as the vainglorious charlatan Gilderoy Lockhart (be sure to view past the credits for a visual punchline at Lockhart's expense). At 161 minutes, the film suffers from lack of depth and uneven pacing, and John Williams' score mostly reprises established themes. The young, fast-growing cast offers ample compensation, however, as does the late Richard Harris in his final screen appearance as Professor Albus Dumbledore. Brimming with cleverness, wonderment, and big-budget splendor, "Chamber" honors the legacy of J.K. Rowling's novels. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 142

Summary: Some movie-loving wizards must have cast a magic spell on "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", because it's another grand slam for the Harry Potter franchise. Demonstrating remarkable versatility after the arthouse success of "Y Tu Mamá También", director Alfonso Cuarón proves a perfect choice to guide Harry, Hermione, and Ron into treacherous puberty as the now 13-year-old students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry face a new and daunting challenge: Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison, and for reasons yet unknown (unless, of course, you've read J.K. Rowling's book, considered by many to be the best in the series), he's after Harry in a bid for revenge. This dark and dangerous mystery drives the action while Harry (the fast-growing Daniel Radcliffe) and his third-year Hogwarts classmates discover the flying hippogriff Buckbeak (a marvelous CGI creature), the benevolent but enigmatic Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), horrifying black-robed Dementors, sneaky Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), and the wonderful advantage of having a Time-Turner just when you need one. The familiar Hogwarts staff returns in fine form (including the delightful Michael Gambon, replacing the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and Emma Thompson as the goggle-eyed Sybil Trelawney), and even Julie Christie joins this prestigious production for a brief but welcome cameo. Technically dazzling, fast-paced, and chock-full of Rowling's boundless imagination (loyally adapted by ace screenwriter Steve Kloves), "The Prisoner of Azkaban" is a Potter-movie classic. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 157

Summary: The latest entry in the "Harry Potter" saga could be retitled "Fast Times at Hogwarts", where finding a date to the winter ball is nearly as terrifying as worrying about Lord Voldemort's return. Thus, the young wizards' entry into puberty (and discovery of the opposite sex) opens up a rich mining field to balance out the dark content in the fourth movie (and the stories are only going to get darker). Mike Newell ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") handily takes the directing reins and eases his young cast through awkward growth spurts into true young actors. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, more sure of himself) has his first girl crush on fellow student Cho Chang (Katie Leung), and has his first big fight with best bud Ron (Rupert Grint). Meanwhile, Ron's underlying romantic tension with Hermione (Emma Watson) comes to a head over the winter ball, and when she makes one of those girl-into-woman Cinderella entrances, the boys' reactions indicate they've all crossed a threshold.
But don't worry, there's plenty of wizardry and action in "Goblet of Fire". When the deadly Triwizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts, Harry finds his name mysteriously submitted (and chosen) to compete against wizards from two neighboring academies, as well as another Hogwarts student. The competition scenes are magnificently shot, with much-improved CGI effects (particularly the underwater challenge). And the climactic confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in a brilliant bit of casting) is the most thrilling yet. "Goblet", the first installment to get a PG-13 rating, contains some violence as well as disturbing images for kids and some barely shrouded references at sexual awakening (Harry's bath scene in particular). The 2 1/2-hour film, lean considering it came from a 734-page book, trims out subplots about house-elves (they're not missed) and gives little screen time to the standard crew of the other "Potter" films, but adds in more of Britain's finest actors to the cast, such as Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody and Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter. Michael Gambon, in his second round as Professor Dumbledore, still hasn't brought audiences around to his interpretation of the role he took over after Richard Harris died, but it's a small smudge in an otherwise spotless adaptation. "--Ellen A. Kim"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Dreamworks Animated

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 90

Summary: When a shark accidentally clobbers himself, a small fish named Oscar (voiced by Will Smith, "I, Robot") just happens to be around, prompting everyone to believe that he killed the shark himself. This lie soon makes Oscar a celebrity, worshipped by the general mass of fish, wooed by a glittering golddigger (Angelina Jolie, "Girl, Interrupted"), missed by his best friend (Renee Zellweger, "Cold Mountain")--and hunted by the godfather of great whites (Robert De Niro, "Goodfellas"). Can a vegetarian shark named Lenny (Jack Black, "School of Rock") get Oscar out of this mess? The formulaic story of "Shark Tale" never reaches the giddy heights of Pixar's output ("Finding Nemo", "Monsters Inc.", "Toy Story") or the freewheeling comedy of "Shrek", but it's capably told and impeccably animated--the sheer technical skill is stunning. Kids won't get the mobster jokes or the other pop-culture references, but they'll enjoy it nonetheless. "--Bret Fetzer"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Velocity / Thinkfilm

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 80

Summary: We go out and buy the latest, coolest video monitors, plasma TV's, HD and widescreens, then what do we watch? Terrible sitcom TV programming, sports (ok, how many grassy helmets can we see in vivid XCU HDTV?), cartoons, and movies with enough car chases and explosions to bore Tarentino. NO LONGER!



Genesis is just amazing, as a date movie, for the kids (careful of the sex scenes though mom), and ESPECIALLY to take that new HD or widescreen technology for an awesome spin. The cinematography is just stunning, from close ups of the anglerfish eating a shrimp, to sky high views of Africa. Sure, it's been on cable on and off, but the DVD, although not the equivalent of movie quality due to compression, is still one of the most striking you'll ever add to your library. I've read that death counsellors are even showing this to terminal patients because it is such an "upper" about life in general, with hints at the continuity of consciousness.



The little bits of philosophy ("my atoms were a cloud in me and will become the wing of a butterfly" etc.) are non-denominational and not controversial. We've had friends over ranging in age from 14 to 60 and each one has raved about the "experience."



Grab this one for a real treat, or give it as a gift that will be appreciated for years. Why do we buy a dvd anyway? After a few viewings we can recite the script by heart. Just to give us another jewel case to dust? Not so here, the images keep adding new dimensions after multiple viewings. This is the kind of DVD that the media and monitors were made for!

Theatrical:

Studio: Image Entertainment

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 328

Summary: Imagine a world far, far into the future. A world very different than our own where people have been wiped out by massive climatic and geological changes, nearly destroying the Earth. What would the world be like, and what kinds of creatures could survive? An international team of eminent scientists was formed to predict the future and its new life forms in five million, 100 million and 200 million years. The scientists predicted that the Earth would go through several phases, including Ice World after five million years, Hothouse World at 100 million years and New World at 200 million years. To portray the scenery as accurately as possible, a camera crew traveled to remote locations around the world. State-of-the-art animation helped bring to life such freakish beings as Flishes combining the characteristics of birds and fish, the giant slimemold known as the Slithersucker, the Toraton tortoise bigger than any dinosaur, tree-dwelling squids called Squibbons, the spewing Spitfire Bird and many more!

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: New Line Home Video

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 97

Summary: Comparisons with "E.T." are inevitable, but the more modest "The Last Mimzy" is based on the classic short story "Mimzy Were the Borogoves," by Lewis Padgett (a pseudonym for husband-and-wife writing team Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore), that anticipated Steven Spielberg's extraterrestrial fantasy by nearly four decades. Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn give winning, naturalistic performances as siblings Noah and Emma, whose lives are transformed by a box of mysterious objects they find on the beach outside the family's Seattle vacation home. Among its contents is a stuffed rabbit that Emma names Mimzy and becomes quite attached. Noah and Emma are your typical outsiders. He is not good at sports, and she is interested in astronomy and plays the violin. But the objects work wonders on them. Their brainpower increases exponentially, Noah is able to drive a golf ball hundreds of yards, and Emma begins to communicate telepathically with Mimzy, who reveals his true identity and purpose. Rainn Wilson of "The Office" displays an off-center charm as Mr. White, Noah's New Age-y science teacher, who discovers similarities between Noah's intricate notebook doodlings and ancient renderings of the universe ("This is so out of my league," he marvels at one point), and becomes involved in Mimzy's back-to-the-future quest. Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson are solid as the understandably confounded and increasingly concerned parents. Michael Clarke Duncan is a menacing FBI agent who, invoking the Patriot Act, arrests the family after Noah inadvertently causes a citywide blackout with one of the futuristic objects. "The Last Mimzy" may not reach "E.T."'s spectacular heights, but as thoughtfully adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost") and Toby Emmerich ("Frequency"), it is a transporting, idea-rich family film that is free of gratuitous coarse language (save for Mr. White's offhand classroom use of the word "screw") or bathroom humor. "--Donald Liebenson"