Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $

I am not sure whether or not the right time to offer The Invincible Iron Man was after the blockbuster smash, live-action hit Iron Man. The movie was amazing, but naturally this is going to bring some fans to compare the two in storyline if nothing else. Naturally, not too many comparisons can be generated as this film is animated and the screen release was live action, but you can compare the plot and the integrity of the characters.

Having the films released so close together (the release for Iron Man is also this month) may have spelled disaster when it comes to hardcore comic fans and The Invincible Iron Man. I like comics, but I am able to separate the similarities here. The main thing I was looking at, was to see if they did Stan Lee’s character justice.

This is a teen and older oriented animated feature. That being said, I am sure that teenagers will enjoy this for the most part. If you look at only surface value there isn’t too much to complain about. There are plenty of entertaining moments. The voice actors are competent and for an animated movie I have definitely seen worse. It’s not rock solid, but I find that many animated features lack solidity.

The The Invincible Iron Man Plot
The basic story deals with a desolate stretch of land in China. The area was once the home of the Mandarin Empire. According to legend, the city has been buried for three thousand years, but should it ever rise to the top, the Mandarin will once again attack the world with violent and premeditated force. At this point, all rocket scientists know what is going to happen, but I will try not to give it away.

The Jade Dragons are sent in to try and stop Stark Enterprises from excavating the city. When that doesn’t work, a whole new approach has to occur as the city is finally uncovered. When Tony Stark (Marc Worden) finally rolls into town, his convoy is ambushed. Stark is attacked and beaten within an inch of his life. It is now up to Stark to find a way back to the city, regardless of his current medical state.

Stark doesn’t listen and instead builds that infamous tin suit that fans know and love. Now it’s up to Stark to not only evade his captors, but also to get away from SHIELD, a group that is chasing him for arms violations. Oh and there’s also the issues with those Mandarin guys leaving their tombs. When they do wake up, if they manage to find five mystic gold bands they will be able to wake their Master. If that happens you can guarantee there will be some trouble!

Parents do not have to worry about things like violence overkill or sex. While the idea of sexuality is present, it’s not looked at full force. It’s a weak attempt that was added and left in, but it never seemed to go anywhere. In terms of violence, it should be understood that there are some pretty graphic kills going on, but kids would need to use their imaginations because the majority are not done on screen. These areas are definitely tame and while I wouldn’t give it a G rating or let a small child watch it, I am sure your average tween would get by just fine.

Storyline/Plot: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 3 out of 5 stars
Acting: 3 out of 5 stars
Directing: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
Looking solely at Blu-Ray quality, this animated feature is what the upgrade from DVD is all about. There is no way that quality like this could have been represented on a standard definition disc. The colors are dark and at times brooding, but the blues and other colors will just jump out and attack your senses with vibrancy. When placed in the 1080p environment this film just cannot be touched visually. I did not spot one visual error and while I am sure there might be one, it would take some serious looking to find it.

Again, the audio here is killer. Using as many as eight channels, The Invincible Iron Man offers audio in DTS HD 7.1. The audio is so dynamic here that some might say that it sounds better than a lot of traditional movies. Regardless of what you might think of The Invincible Iron Man as a movie, the sound and visual qualities really do stand out. There is also a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, but considering the circumstances I did not listen to that. Subtitles are offered in English and Spanish.

Visual: 5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
There are a few special features here that fans of the movie might enjoy. Rather than offering an alternative ending, the special features get rolling with an alternative beginning. The animation is rougher and choppier here and it becomes clear why this is the alternative opening scene and not the one they chose. While interesting to watch, they picked the right beginning to be in the film.

Next up is a 12 minute featurette that discusses “The Origin of Iron Man.” This combines interviews from the various people that worked together to make this film. It seemed that the goal was to really try and distance this animated feature from the movie. There is also a lot of back patting going on. They talk a lot about the additions of technology vs. mysticism. I guess if they are proud of these elements then it’s good, but they certainly were not the highlight of the feature for me.

The art department is represented in “The Hall of Iron Man Armor”, which details a lot of interesting facts about the various Iron Man suits that have been created over the years. There is also a clip of conceptual art that includes storyboards and character designs. Things come to an end with some previews and first looks for other Marvel comics. These include Hulk vs. Thor, Ultimate Avengers 2, Next Avengers, and Dr. Strange.

Bonus Features: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
The Invincible Iron Man might make a good story for the teen or tween looking to get into Iron Man that hasn’t seen the live action film. It also works if you’re stuck at home and have nothing better to do. It’s not a bad animated film in the worst sense of the way, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it like I do my favorite movies. If it’s on that’s fine and I would probably watch some of it, but I am not going to pop it in my Blu-Ray on a regular basis. I’d rent this one to see if it’s worth your time.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Tony Stark, Iron Man, Marvel, Comics, Animated Feature, Movie Review, Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray Review, DVD, The Invincible Iron Man, Lionsgate

In this, the seventh round of the Walt Disney Treasures DVDs, fans and Disney lovers are presented with three separate box sets that are delivered in collectable Disney tins. These limited sets are generally a hit with fans and a must have for collectors of Disney materials.

This set of Disney Treasures includes three main sets. Included this time around are The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic, and Chronological Donald, Volume 3.

Oswald gives fans a truly unique chance to see the beginning of Disney come to life. Oswald was the first successful character in the Disney stable. This interesting rabbit was also the precursor to the creation of Mickey Mouse. Due to some legal problems, Disney was removed from the Oswald project and they were later released as Universal cartoons. However, this is the first time that Disney-made Oswald cartoons have been available to the public since 1928. Oswald cartoons were assumed by ABC (a Disney company) in 2006 when they did some swapping with NBC.

When Oswald was created, Disney signed contracts with Universal to produce the shorts for Oswald. The problem was that in order to get Universal to handle the production, Walt Disney agreed to assume little control over the project. Despite creating Oswald, he would not own the rights. Disney and his team went ahead and created their cartoons with little thought to this and as the cartoons for Oswald came out, they were successful. The first cartoon that Oswald appeared in, ‘Trolley Troubles’ is also included on these discs.

As the series became more successful, Disney requested a larger production budget to speed up the production process. Universal was not too kind at the idea of offering more money and instead wanted to give them less. Disney was understandably upset, but as he did not own the rights, it made it all the more easy for Universal to cut Disney out of the project and go on their own way. As a result, Walt Disney never allowed another person to own his work ever again. Soon after Disney and Universal cut ties, Mickey Mouse would be born and the empire would grow to what it has become today.

With all of this in mind, it makes complete sense why the Disney Treasures would release a little bit of history, with The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit set. This set includes 13 shorts. Despite the fact that these shorts are fairly old, Disney has done everything they could to ensure that you receive the best quality shorts available. While certain exceptions need to be made (nothing is going to be perfect from this decade in film) I feel compelled to mention that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality for The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Release Information:
The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is one of three sets made available on a limited basis in the seventh round of the Disney Treasures collectors set. Along with the other two sets, The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit became available on December 11, 2007. You can purchase this two disc set that is in a collectable gold tin at most retailers for a limited time. When it comes to online retailers, you can pick up The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for $22.99.

The The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Plot
When you first begin watching The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the host and narrator of the Disney Treasures discs, Leonard Maltin, informs you that the cartoons you are going to watch are rather primitive. Prior to putting in this set of black and white cartoons, I figured that they would not be like something I would see today. In all fairness, I prefer some of the older cartoons. I don’t normally watch them this old, but even with the primitive nature I found these shorts to be quite enjoyable.

The shorts are silent shorts, so other than small noises and music, there is no dialogue. The goal of the creators, according to what is said in commentary and special features, was to make the viewers laugh for a few minutes. Things move quickly, but with lack of vocals, they need to in order to keep people’s attention. Oswald is a pretty uppity rabbit. He’s always moving around and working on leading you through his funny tales. The fact that the storytelling was as good as it was without any form of dialogue is impressive. The storylines are both amusing to watch and funnier than Maltin gives them credit by labeling them as primitive.

By primitive, I am assuming they are referring to the plain black and white drawings and Oswald’s form of expression. One of his favorite moves is to thumb his nose at someone or he likes to show his behind. Little boys will love the potty humor that is found in many of the shorts and they will likely miss how hard Oswald works to get kisses from his girlfriend, who consequently loses her pants quite a bit (not for sexual reasons, though).

My kids balked when I told them to sit down so that we could watch these. They complained that they didn’t want to watch any old people stuff. After informing them that this was “old people stuff” for me too, they begrudgingly agreed to humor me. At some point, I ended up laughing harder at them because they were so sure that they would not like them and then within moments of pressing play they were cracking up and having a good time with Oswald.

The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit comes in a two disc set. The first disc contains all 13 shorts and the second disc includes bonus features. Each of the shorts on the first disc is between five and six minutes long. The shorts include “Trolley Troubles”, “Oh Teacher”, “Great Guns”, “The Mechanical Cow”, “The Ocean Hop”, “All Wet”, “Rival Romeos”, “Bright Lights”, “Ozzie of the Mounted”, “Oh What a Knight”, “Sky Scrappers”, “The Fox Chase”, and “Tall Timber”.

Some personal favorites of the thirteen shorts include “Great Guns”, “The Mechanical Cow”, “All Wet”, “The Fox Chase”, and “Tall Timber”. These shorts offer such scenarios as Oswald joining the Army, being a dairy farmer, running a hotdog stand, and going duck hunting. There are some great laughs to be had here by both young and old individuals alike.

Storyline/Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 4 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The video quality for The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is much better than I originally anticipated. Naturally, something this old is not going to be as impressive as the quality you might find today. Despite that, these shorts offer much sharper images than I expected. The images are bright and they look good considering how long they have been locked away. The audio is available in Dolby Digital English 2.0 and it sounds excellent. The music tracks come through with strength and charm.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
There are bonus features that are available on both discs for your enjoyment. On the first disc many of the episodes have commentary from the likes of Leonard Maltin, Mark Kausler, and Jerry Beck. The sole featurette on this disc is “Oswald Comes Home”, which details the struggles of the Disney Studios to get Oswald back in their library. Finally, this disc offers some picture galleries and some sketches that were for “Sagebrush Sadie” an unfinished Oswald cartoon.

The second disc offers a documentary, “The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story”, which is narrated by Kelsey Grammer, and gives insight into the contributions made by Iwerks to animation and Disney. The documentary is incredibly interesting to watch, offering information on his career and the changes that he had made over the years. This documentary also includes much of his work, which is incredibly interesting to see. The rest of the features on this disc include the following Alice shorts, ‘Alice gets Stung’, ‘Alice’s Balloon Race’, and ‘Alice in the Wooly West’. Some cartoons made after Oswald are also included, such as, ‘Skelton Dance’, ‘Plane Crazy’, and ‘Steamboat Willie’.

Bonus Features: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit offers a true piece of Disney history that both adults and children will be able to appreciate. The quality is exceptional for cartoons from the 1920s. Collectors will want to pick up this limited edition set as well as parents who want to offer their children some cartoons that they will not find on Cartoon Network or Boomerang.

Overall Rating: Overall Rating: 4.43 out of 5 stars

Writers:

We’ve deliberately pushed back the review of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas until it was closer to Christmas. The characters Charlie and Lola are amongst the most charming and entertaining children in this day and age. This is a show the entire family can enjoy together, regardless of age. While our family has a 3 year old boy, a 13 year old boy, and two adults in it, it can sometimes be hard to find something the entire family will enjoy without those of us who are older sacrificing for the younger child’s enjoyment. Luckily, Charlie and Lola is a show adults, teenagers, and children can all enjoy together.

Every episode starts with ten year old Charlie explaining how his younger sister Lola is small and very funny. Charlie couldn’t be any more correct in that. Lola is a small girl of five who is such a trip. This little British girl is absolutely hilarious. While Charlie is a thoughtful and caring brother (who couldn’t like him?!), it is Lola who really makes the show. Clementine Cowell, the voice of Lola in Season Two, when Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas was filmed, is so great at portraying her innocence, hilarity, and natural childlike nature and wonderment through her voice. It comes across perfectly with the cute yet quaint drawings of the characters on this show.

Release Information:
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is actually more than just the 2006 Christmas special, which was simply known as Charlie and Lola: How Many More Minutes Until Christmas. The Volume 6 DVD includes six other episodes from the second season of Charlie and Lola. Episodes include “I am Really, Really, Really Concentrating”, “I Spy With My Little Eyes”, “I Am Extremely Magic”, “I Really Wonder What Plant I’m Growing”, “Charlie is Broken!”, and “I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs”. Each of these episodes is 15 minutes long with Charlie and Lola: How Many More Minutes Until Christmas at a special double episode length of 30 minutes. In total, there are two hours of Charlie and Lola episodes included on one disc.

Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas was released by BBC Warner on October 23, 2007. It can be purchased online at retailers such as Amazon, where it is available for $12.99. It is also available through the Charlie and Lola website. Charlie and Lola is based on the book series by British children’s author, Lauren Child. The show first aired on British television in 2005. It can be seen in the U.S. in its third season on Playhouse Disney.

The Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas Plot
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is made up of seven episodes, and two hours of adventure. The following plot synopsis’ are provided for each episode included in this one disc set. Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is the sixth in a set of DVDs that have been released. Each season, Charlie and Lola are the only characters to have new voices.

This season (season two), the two main characters are voiced by Daniel Mayers and Clementine Cowell. Cowell is the younger sister of Maisie Cowell, the original voice of Lola in Season One. Though I haven’t heard the children voicing Charlie and Lola in season three, Mayers and Cowell do exceptionally well in their roles. It is amazing how much Maisie and Clementine sound alike and Daniel Mayers sounds exactly like Charlie in the first season, voiced by Jethro Lunie Brown.

“How Many More Minutes Until Christmas”: This thirty minute Christmas special originally aired on television in 2006. In it, five year old Lola finds out about Christmas and its true meaning thanks to Charlie. Lola learns about the Advent Calendar, writes her first letter to Father Christmas, participates in the school Christmas card exchange with her best friend, Lotta, and even sings Christmas carols. This is one of the best cartoon Christmas specials we’ve seen in a long time. Sweet, innocent, and fun, the inquisitive nature of Lola and the caring nature of Charlie make this our favorite episode on this DVD.

“I am Really, Really, Really Concentrating”: It’s Sports Day at school and Lola and Lotta must chose the event they want to participate in since it is their first ever sports day. While Charlie and his best friend Marv are great at the three-legged race and Lotta is great at the obstacle course, Lola can’t find anything she’s good at though she’s certain she’ll be the one to win the hard-boiled egg on the spoon race; just as long as she really, really, really concentrates.

“I Spy With My Little Eyes”: Lola and her imaginary friend Soren Lorenson decide to spy on anything, everything and everyone. Their spying gets them in trouble when they spy on the new neighbors. During her spying, Lola becomes convinced a family of wolves has moved in next door to them.

“I Am Extremely Magic”: Charlie gets a magic set and impresses Lola, Lotta, and Marv with his neat magic tricks. Lola wants to be just like Charlie and she becomes obsessed with learning magic. Without Charlie’s secrets she can’t seem to do magic until he tells her she really has to want to be magic, which Lola really does.

“I Really Wonder What Plant I’m Growing”: Lola goes through the trials of trying to grow a plant from a seed. It takes a few seeds (too much sunlight, too much water, etc. kill them), but eventually Lola gets the hang of it with some encouragement from her big brother Charlie.

“Charlie is Broken!”: Charlie and Lola plan to put on a circus show, though Charlie ends up breaking his arm while playing soccer. Lola is sad that Charlie is broken so she not only tries to play nurse (though she’s more harm than help), she finds a way to include him in the circus show.

“I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs”: Lola’s class pet, Bert, who Lola is convinced is a girl, gets to come home with Charlie and Lola over the holiday vacation. Bert the Guinea Pig requires a lot of care, but Lola knows just what to do until Bert disappears from his obstacle course Charlie and Lola built for him. Unless they find Bert, Lola is convinced her whole class is going to hate her.

Storyline/Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The visual quality of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is typical for a cartoon. The video has been transferred at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. While the drawings are quaint and cartoony, it is a part of the show’s charm! The full frame picture is free of compression artifacts and other visible transfer errors. The sound is great and typical for a cartoon. Available in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, everything is clear and easy to hear. There are subtitles available in English for those with hearing impairments.

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
There are only a few bonus features on the Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas DVD. These are scenes that haven’t aired and there is a funny, behind the scenes look at Clementine Cowell as she speaks her lines and records one of the episodes of Charlie and Lola. During the bonuses, all of them are in cartoon form, so you never actually get to see the actors. A more “behind the scenes” where we’d actually get to see the voice actors would have been fun for the audience, though this disk stands well on its own!

Bonus Features: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is one of the cutest cartoons we’ve seen in a long time. The good message, ability to learn without being obvious and the entertaining characters will make this a hit with everyone in the family. If you’re looking for something non-traditional to watch this Christmas, you need to get a copy of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 – How Many More Minutes Until Christmas. This one comes highly recommended!

Overall Rating: 4.29 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6, How Many More Minutes Until Christmas, BBC Warner, Kids Show, Siblings, British

This gift giving guide is listed in no particular order. We hope you enjoy our list, and happy shopping during the wonderful holiday season.

Technorati Tags: Gift Giving Guide, Literary Illusions, LI Kids, Video Games, Nintendo, XBOX, Playstation, Mario, Zelda, Madden, Pokemon, Avatar, Sonic

This gift giving guide is listed in no particular order. We hope you enjoy our list, and happy shopping during the wonderful holiday season.

Technorati Tags: Gift Giving Guide, Holidays, DVDs, Meet the Robinsons, The Jungle Book, Charlie and Lola, Wonderpets, Peter Pan, Carebears, Avatar, Betsy Bubblegum, The Santa Clause, Ducktales

This gift giving guide is listed in no particular order. We hope you enjoy our list, and happy shopping during the wonderful holiday season.

Technorati Tags: Gift Giving Guide, Top Five, Board Games, Holidays, Game of Life: Twists & Turns, Stratego, Pirates of the Caribbean:At World’s End, Simpsons Clue, Mystery Date, High School Musical, Monopoly

This gift giving guide is listed in no particular order. We hope you enjoy our list, and happy shopping during the wonderful holiday season.

Technorati Tags: Gift Giving Guide, Literary Illusions, LI Kids, Dominick Evans, Ashtyn Evans, Disney Princess Enchanted Tales Deluxe Princess Castle, Fisher Price, V-Tech, Hasbro, Bumblebee, Transformers. Christmas, Toys

Writer:

I have met my fair share of Winnie the Pooh purists who are not fond of the My Friends Tigger & Pooh series. At first, I was not sure I would be a fan either. The show is made in CGI and I felt that would hold back my interest some. I am used to the old versions of Pooh and the gang and thought I would not like the CGI enhanced group.

Others are not fond of it because of the lack of comparison to the original Pooh books and series. The lack of Christopher Robin and the addition of Darby are off-putting to many. However, it is important to realize that this is not meant to be that original Pooh that so many of us know and love. This is meant to be something new and while different, it still proves to be as enjoyable as the original.

Release Information:
My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie was released on DVD on November 20, 2007. The series began in 2007 and airs on the Disney Channel. The show targets pre-school age children with a Dora the Explorer type of mystery show where kids follow the Super Sleuths to solve a mystery.

The My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie Plot:
My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie is an enjoyable movie for children and one that was much better than I expected. As I wasn’t sure if I would like it, there was some slight trepidation, but that soon ended when the movie began. My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie is incredibly adorable. The Super Sleuths include Pooh, Tigger, and Darby. The gang all dresses up in disguises (Pooh has a cape and eye gear and Tigger has goggles). They head off to save mysteries in order to save the day.

The plot for My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie revolves around Santa’s missing bag of presents. Roo and Lumpy find the missing bag of presents and soon after they find a baby reindeer named Holly that’s stuck on a tree branch in the snow. The Super Sleuths, along with friends Rabbit and Eeyore, head off to find the North Pole and Santa Claus in order to give back his bag of presents and save Christmas from being ruined!

Tigger’s Super Sleuth glasses break when the group is in a dangerous situation and he loses his Super identity when he feels he needs it the most. It’s not long before everyone is ready to go home because they think they are wasting their time. When all hope is lost, Darby refuses to give up and eventually things turn around for the gang.

My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie lasts for 44 minutes. This ensures that it’s long enough to tell the story properly and quick enough to hold the attention of most young children, even those that might have flighty attention spans. If you approach the film from a non-traditional Pooh movie standpoint you will like it so much more than if you’re focusing on the negative that you feel is there. This is Pooh for a new, CGI generation. The result is lovely, colorful, and fun to watch.

Storyline/Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The audio and video qualities of My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie are excellent. The video aspects come with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1. The colors are vibrant and the film is sharp the entire way through. You will not see any blur or grain while watching this. It comes through absolutely beautifully.

Sound options include languages in English, French, and Spanish. The English sound is available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds wonderful. The characters sound as if they are right in your living room. The dialogue is easy to hear and the music is absolutely adorable.

Visual: 5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
Most Disney features for younger children come with Fast Play. This allows kids to pop in the DVD and watch it from front to back without having to hit any buttons. There are numerous trailers on the disc, offering news about upcoming and recently released Disney movies. In addition to the trailers, there are two episodes of My Friends Tigger and Pooh. One is Christmas related (Pooh is on the hunt for two identical snowflakes) and the other is not (Rabbit has a spring symphony). These two shows last for about 30 minutes.

A game, The 100 Acre Wood Downhill Challenge, rounds out the list of special features. In this game you will pick a race course and then you will get to play a game where you match the present to the character with whom it belongs. The game is cute and it’s a nice addition compared to some of the other games that I have seen on children’s DVDs.

Bonus Features: 5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
My Friends Tigger & Pooh – Super Sleuth Christmas Movie is a great addition to a child’s Christmas movie library. The new Tigger and Pooh are as adorable and loveable as the old ones. The main difference is that they just look a little bit more realistic. This Christmas movie sneaks in some learning, offers plenty of laughs, and has the ability to be fun for the whole family, not just the little ones.

Overall Rating: 4.71 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, Eeyore, Darby, Rabbit, Santa, Holly the Reindeer, Disney, Kids Movie, DVD Review, Family Movie

Writer:

We like our family oriented Christmas movies to be light, fluffy, and filled with marshmallow-y goodness. That is, if they are not funny comedies like Christmas Vacation, which we expect to be sometimes crude, sometimes crass, and always hilarious. That being said, when we watched The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause, we expected a gooey family flick. This is exactly what we got. While some reviewers aren’t quite as fond as this movie, we believe they took the movie way too seriously. You can’t do that with Christmas movies. This wasn’t the best of The Santa Clause movies, but it wasn’t the worst Christmas movie ever either. It fits into the category of “final chapter” of a truly unique Christmas series that has become a Christmas classic for many families including our own.

We were teenagers when the original The Santa Clause came out. At the time, we both enjoyed the film. Now that we have our own family and child, we find The Santa Clause movies even more enjoyable. While The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause isn’t as witty as the first The Santa Clause it is still enjoyable enough to appease both kids and parents and ends the story for Scott Calvin on a note which feels both heartwarming and complete.

Release Information:
The Santa Clause series was first released in movie theaters on November 11, 1994. It took eight long years before the cast and crew to make The Santa Clause 2 – The Mrs. Clause. Once the second movie was made, it was pretty clear that the series was going to be a trilogy and it was only a matter of time before The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause would be released.

The movie came to the theaters on November 3, 2006. Like the other Santa Clause movies, The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause it was released to DVD a year later, in an attempt to appeal to those looking for Christmas movies. This is standard practice for Christmas DVDs merely because there really is no point for a Christmas movie to be released on DVD in the standard amount of time for DVD releases (which would have the movie released in late spring or early summer when nobody is really thinking about Christmas). The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause came out on November 20, 2007 and was released by Walt Disney Video.

The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause Plot
The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause starts off a few years after the end of the second movie. At the beginning, Mrs. Clause is telling a class of elves (apparently she is using her teaching degree to teach the elves at the North Pole) a story. A flashback goes back a few months to when Mrs. Claus was pregnant, almost about to give birth. It is also crunch time for Santa Claus as Christmas is fast approaching. After multiple “false alarms” Mrs. Clause (Elizabeth Mitchell) is worried that she will be giving birth when Santa is off delivering presents.

To ease her mind and help her feel better, Scott aka Santa Claus (Tim Allen) invites her parents, Bud (Alan Arkin) and Sylvia (Ann-Margaret) up to the North Pole. To protect the secret of Santa, they model the town after Canada and try to pass the elves off as short Canadians. This year, the head elf is Curtis (Spencer Breslin). It’s slightly disappointing that Bernard (David Krumholtz) is no longer the head elf. We can only assume David was off filming episodes of Numb3rs so the part of head elf was passed on to Curtis. Regardless, the fact that the in-laws don’t remember their trip to “Canada”, thanks to the help of The Sandman (a close personal friend of Santa) there is plenty of opportunity for laughs at their expense.

Joining them is Scott’s ex-wife, Laura (Wendy Crewson), her neurotic, psychologist husband, Neil (Judge Reinhold), Scott and Laura’s son Charlie (Eric Lloyd – who either wasn’t hip on making this third sequel or was busy with school because he was barely in it), and Laura and Neil’s daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy), who gives the warmest hugs in the world and absolutely adores her Uncle Scott aka Santa. Previously, only Charlie had been to the North Pole so this is a great adventure for the family and they provide great comfort to Carol (Mrs. Claus), who is going a little stir crazy.

The other storyline that intersects with this revolves around Jack Frost (Martin Short). Jack is tired of being second best to Santa. In his own words, [paraphrasing] ‘Santa gets movies and TV specials and all Jack gets is a few runny noses and some citrus’. With the council of holiday and special figures meeting to discuss Jack’s apparent upstaging of Santa Claus (he’s charged with 273 counts), he wants Santa to give him another chance, take him under his tutelage and teach him a lesson.

Of course, to the audience member it is clear that Jack has more nefarious plans in mind. His goal is to sabotage Christmas, ruin Santa Claus, and eventually take over for him. While you will get a taste for what life is like without Scott as Santa (and trust us, it isn’t pretty), it is up to Scott, with the help of his family to make it right for not only himself, but the future of Christmas.

Martin Short was the highlight of The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause. His acting was superb and he really sold the role. Had a weaker actor taken on the part of Jack Frost, the movie wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining or successful. The central characters are familiar. We’ve visited with them twice before, in two other movies. It’s good to see their upward progression through life and visit with them one last time. It’s also good to see how they’ve evolved as actors.

The addition of a Baby Claus is a nice touch as it provides the catalyst for quite a few events in the movie (did anyone else laugh when Alan Arkin when at it in the delivery room with a saw?) and helps to cement the story together. Additionally, it wouldn’t be a movie with Ann-Margaret in it if we didn’t get to hear her lovely singing voice, though the dirty joke between Jack and her character, Sylvia (which goes way over any child’s head), was almost more than we wanted to know.

Note: This was one of Peter Boyle’s last films. In it he plays Father Time.

Storyline/Plot: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 4 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The visual quality of The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause is superior to most DVDs we’ve reviewed. The movie was transferred at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is presented in an anamorphic widescreen format. There are very few, if any visible errors or compression artifacts. We didn’t catch any though that doesn’t many there are none. It just means the errors are so few that it not only will not affect your viewing pleasure. The colors are brilliant throughout the entire movie. We were impressed with this DVD.

The audio quality was amazing as well with Dolby Digital 5.1 quality. The sound was clear, crisp, and the music melded well with the verbal text. There are no complaints whatsoever when it comes to The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause’s audio.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause has some bonus features, which is nice since Disney isn’t always as generous as they could be in the extra department. The best feature was the featurette “The New Comedians: on the Set with Tim and Marty”, which explores the relationship Tim Allen and Martin Short had while working on this movie together.

Other great bonus features include a blooper reel, a featurette on the “Creating Movie Magic” which is on the visual effects created for the movie, “Jack Frost and Mrs. Claus: A Very Different Look”, a featurette about the original protypes for both the Jack Frost character and the character of Mrs. Claus and how they differ from what is seen in the movie, an alternative opening for the movie, a music video audio commentary for the film, by Michael Lembeck, the director of The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause, and a Karaoke feature for Christmas Carols.

Bonus Features: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause isn’t a movie you can take seriously. For one, it is about Santa Claus. It is supposed to be a fantastical movie. Does it succeed as a family movie? We believe it does. The entire family enjoyed The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause and we hope your family will as well. While this one is recommended due to the fact that this movie doesn’t seem to be for everyone, you might want to rent it before purchasing it. Otherwise, if you have seen The Santa Clause 3 – The Escape Clause in the movie theater or love most sugary sweet Christmas movies then you shouldn’t have a problem purchasing this DVD.

Overall Rating: 4.21 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: The Santa Clause 3, The Escape Clause, Disney, Christmas, DVD review, Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Martin Short, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold, Family, Ann-Margaret, Jack Frost

For fans of the Captain N series who have not seen season three, this may come as a shock to you. I don’t know if they lost their production staff and moved into a basement, but season three consists of numerous changes in drawing, show format, and just about everything else you can imagine. Sure, fans may want to own the complete series, but if you are able to live without each part you might want to stick with the best portion of the series and leave Captain N and the New Super Mario World behind.

Release Information:
Captain N and the New Super Mario World originally aired on network television on September 14, 1991. Shout! Factory released the two disc set on November 13, 2007. You can find this title at online and offline retailers. At Amazon, you can purchase Captain N and the New Super Mario World for $26.99. Included with the disc are some sketches and other special features.

The Captain N and the New Super Mario World Plot:
The entire Captain N series was meant to make Mario and the other Nintendo enterprises just a little more popular. The idea was interesting in theory and it created some amusing storylines. The problem is that at some point, things changed and it did not seem to be for the better. The biggest problem I have with the Captain N series was the change of the drawings in comparison to the first two seasons. I don’t expect excellent quality for a series that is as old as this one is, but the actual character drawings are significantly different then they were previously. While this is bothersome to see, there are some amusing moments. If nothing else, it’s so bad that if you’re a Nintendo lover it will amuse you with or without the quality bling that might have made it better.

The New Super Mario World was introduced to bring attention to the newly released Super Nintendo. There are many oddities that occur in this series, but considering the fact that it’s directed at children, in a cartoon setting, it’s all in good fun. One of the things adults might notice (kids seem to overlook this) is that while the setting is Yoshi’s Dinosaur Island, the people that are not directly affiliated with the Nintendo series are shown as cavemen.

Captain N and the New Super Mario World feature all of the staple characters that you would expect to see and quite a few that make interesting choices for characters, whether they come from a Nintendo game or not. The staples include Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool. Mother Brain is here, as well as Tetris blocks that are grumpy and out to hurt somebody!

There are a total of 13 episodes available for Super Mario World. Also included seven Captain N episodes, hence the name Captain N and the New Super Mario World. The Captain N episodes are severely lacking in quality. While the original series was interesting to watch, these episodes just feel thrown together in an attempt to end the series. None of the episodes in the Captain N series standout as quality episodes, but they do complete the series in a way that the Captain N box set did not.

Super Mario World, on the other hand, was only around for the first episode which contained the 13 episodes that you find on these two discs. The quality and entertainment value is a step up from the Captain N series, but again this isn’t anything that is going to win any awards.

At least half of the New Super Mario World episodes are enjoyable and offer plenty of nostalgic value. Kids seem to love them all. Mario is a likable character, as are many of the other Nintendo characters, so kids tend to get excited about seeing their favorite video game characters come to life. Some of the best episodes include “Rock TV” and “King Scoopa Koopa.”

Captain N and the New Super Mario World are not shows that are something you can’t live without, but for fans of the series they will make an interesting addition to your collection.

Storyline/Plot: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The video for Captain N and the New Super Mario World is presented in full frame video with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The video was created in the 90’s and while there have been significant advances in quality since that time, the video holds up well overall. There are some grainy moments and a little bit of fading, but for the most part, the video works well enough to watch the cartoon without much trouble. The audio comes in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. It’s not the highest quality audio available, but again, it gets the job done.

Visual: 3 out of 5 stars
Audio: 3 out of 5 stars

Special Features:
One of the coolest special features isn’t really a special feature. The DVDs have the capability to let you watch all of the Captain N episodes, all of the New Super Mario World episodes, or all of both. If you find one series or the other to be useless you can completely avoid it and see all of the episodes for the series that you want to watch. Other special features include storyboard sequences for both shows opening titles and some sketches of Yoshi, along with random animation clips.

Bonus Features: 3 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Captain N and the New Super Mario World is entertaining for parents that were fans of the old Nintendo consoles and the games that came with them. Kids tend to love this series because of the characters that are included. If you are going on kid appeal this one hits the spot and needs to be added to your home collection. Adults tend to be choosier though, so if you are picking this up for you it may be worth renting to make sure it’s up to par first.

Overall Rating: 3.29 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Captain N, The New Super Mario World, Cartoon, Nintendo, Luigi, Mario, Tetris, Mother Brain, Princess Toadstool, Children’s Television, DVD Review