Articles about the Children's

This is actually a really great film! My dad took me to see it in the cinema, 'cos he thought it looked good. Even though I think Jack Black is fully amazing, and Jackie Chan is awesome, I didn't think I would enjoy it, since I'm not one for cartoons, even though I'm not that old. I could hardly stop laughing though! It's a great film, for kids and adults, and even the odd teenager, like me! I highly recomend it, if, like me, you love comedies! :)

The first thing that I have to say is that this isn't a great movie,not by a long way.It's too long,boring in parts and I had the same problem that I had with the first film in the series.Namely,three of the four children are a charmless bunch bereft of any personality.Apart from Georgie Henley that is who plays Lucy.She gave the best performance in the first film and is also the best thing about 'Prince Caspian'.As the Prince,Ben Barnes certainly looks the part but his accent varies between Spanish,French and Scottish.I also felt that this film was aimed directly at the children's market.

So why have I given it a reasonable three stars?I was toying with giving it two but in fairness it does look great and some of the CGI is very well done.I especially liked the water giant near the end.If I could give this two and a half stars I would but because of Miss Henley,the water giant and the mice(cute) I will give it a maybe too generous three.This is not a movie that I would watch again but children will probably love it.

What a lovely film!! I got this for my 3 year old daughter since she is going through a 'fairy phase'. I have to admit I actually sat and watched the film the whole way through myself.
Magical and cute, with added humour... some facial expressions perhaps lost on a small child, but not on me!
Recommended must-have DVD for anyones Disney collection!

This has always been my favourite Disney film, and I am so glad it's been given the loving restoration it deserves.

The fantastic detail and 1950s graphic take of gothic and medieval styles is positively breathtaking. For Walt Disney it was ground breaking (and almost bankrupting) to create something so meticulously detailed and stylistically consistent right down to the backgrounds, and the result is beautiful and atmospheric. The extras are all interesting, detailing the conceptual side of things, and added a whole new perspective on what was always my favourite childhood film (even though I was terrified of Maleficent and convinced she was under my bed).

Amazing as the new computer technology is, it just doesn't for me have the artistic soul and wonder of this kind of traditional animation (no offence to those talented folk who work long and hard creating it, it's just not my bag). Now we strive for 3D realism, in movies like this it was for a blending of styles/genres and a stylistic vision that I feel lost in the computer age. I doubt we'll see animation like this again, and for me that's a crying shame.

And on the character side of things... Flora, Fauna and Merriweather still crack me up, twenty years later.

I appreciate a movie studio who can give the audience a knowing wink while poking copious amounts of fun at itself. Disney delivers!

The movie is both a parody of and a loving tribute to Disney movies. There's not a single dramatic convention or stereotype that doesn't get lampooned, yet the story has a lot of heart and you root for the characters. The songs are as fun as ever - kids will enjoy it as a basic fairytale, adults will laugh and smile as they recognise the clever jokes and references. Disney manage to bring an animated movie to the real world, as absurd as that is, but instead of falling flat on its face it shows us precisely why we have cartoons and the mirror they hold up for us - with a wink and a nudge!

The extras are also very enlightening; it's extremely impressive just how many Disney movies are slyly referenced as well as the more obvious overtones. The name of the restuarant comes from Lady and the Tramp, tap dancing grandads in the park also tap danced on the roof for Mary Poppins, the voices of some Disney princesses make cameos... you can go on, but at heart this is really just a classic Disney story. It's fun, frothy, it sparkles but it's also got heart and intelligence to it. It's a brilliant piece from people who clearly love and respect Disney movies while understanding what makes them tick.

Amy Adams and James Marsden are to be particularly commended for making cartoon characters human while never letting go of the fact that they are cartoon characters with all the conventions and silliness that goes along with it!

I tried to open minded about this film when I first went to the cinema, determining that "I'm a star wars fan, and no matter how bad it is, it's still Star Wars."

That feeling lasted about um... a second and a half from the start of the film. It started off fine with the, "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away." I smiled, prepared myself for the classic theme and it... never came. I had been told it was 'remixed' beforehand, but I was expecting something not too different, the new composer didn't even keep the first 4 notes.

Then we move onto the 'Opening Crawl' - which didn't exist. Another staple of Star Wars, even found in the games, gone, poofed completely. It was replaced with a narrator speaking over a kind of WW2 'news reel'. A few minutes into it and already the film has lost all its feel of being Star Wars, by no doubt intentional design decisions. In my book, if the writers/directors/producers etctera intentionally changed something, and it turned out badly, it's still bad.

It got worse, the opening battle could have potentially been something good and enjoyable to watch, instead it was as if it had been played in fast forward, I could almost imagine the 'Benny Hill' theme being played in the background.

Admittedly, I was a bit biased towards the 'art style' before hand so I thought, if I'm going to write a review on it, I'll avoid mentioning it as it would be rather unfair and not truly neutral. So I will avoid commenting on it except to say, that it gets worse. When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine walked into a scene, his style was seemed to be entirely based on a... bobblehead toy. There is 'stylised' drawing (which I would define by the early 1990's Batman cartoons) and then there's 'caricature' - Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I felt was the latter. Additionally, the animation was jerky, possibly as a reference to the 'Thunderbirds' puppets. In my opinion, it didn't work, it just made it look even worse.

The film is a childrens oriented film, and I'm perfectly happy to accept that. In honesty, this was the strongest part of the film. The new Padawan was someone that children could enjoy watching and identify with. There was even some humour involving her and "Stinky the Hutt" that could be enjoyed by the little 'uns. However, I think in trying to appeal to children, they actually managed to make the dialogue even worse than Attack of The Clones and going on to insult the intelligence of the kids in the audience to boot. A typical conversation, which was repeated several times in the films follows.

Character A: "Jabba the Hutts son has been kidnapped."
Character B: "The Jedi Order must go and rescue Jabba the Hutts son."
Character A: "If the Seperatists rescue Jabba the Hutts son first we'll lose the war."
Character A: "Then it's agreed, we must rescue Jabba the Hutts son from being kidnapped."

While this conversation was on-going (and going, and going), the characters tones would randomly change from low to high to low again. I believe, when Obi-wan was speaking, this was an attempt to copy his voice from episode III, it didn't work. The only character that avoided this was the Padawan, Ashkoja, which, truth be told, made her scenes are more watchable than any others.

Finally, a good word about it, scenes that didn't have any characters in them, for example space and 'landscape' scenes did look particularly good and demonstrate the potential for how enjoyable the film COULD have been. However, due to several strange, strange design decisions that seemed only to have been changed for the sake of being changed, I would recommend against even renting this film. If you must see it, wait for it to come on television.

In one of Walt Disney's classics, Bagheera the panther offers to take Mowgli, a young boy, to the man village before the evil tiger Shere Khan gets to him.

This family adventure is a classic, made so by a beautiful sentimental plot about human emotions, including loyalty, sensitivity and most importantly love. And these human emotions are decoded through the animals of the jungle.

With the enchanting and fun loving actions of Baloo the bear and the honest and hard actions of Bagheera, do audiences get that true feel of the human spirit, and the facts of life, to have fun, but to face the truth as well, which is also reflected in some of the most catchy and enjoyable songs ever created for a Disney picture.

"The Bear Necessities", "Trust in me" and "That's what friends are for" are the brightest gems to have ever been written and are beautifully directed and told through humorous and delightful techniques by the team.

Though the plot can be a little slow at times, the characters are all joys to watch, particularly the bad guys Khan and Kaa, who light up the film in their own dark way. Khan's dialogue is perhaps the best ever written for an animated villain and even in my adult years I find him chilling to watch.

The film explores the depths of the jungle with a keen interest in different animals, which are explored in a comic fashion from the forgettable elephant to the bored vultures, the Jungle Book simply has everything.

From an excellent plot, to the wonderful sing-along songs, it is a true landmark in the animation genre.

9/10

I remember seeing this on BBC1 last Christmas and to my surprise it was an entertaining and pleasant way to spend half an hour. Although it doesn't reach the quality of the first two Shrek films, this Christmas special reuniting all the great characters is still funny, and as a whole I actually liked it more than the decent but still disappointing third film. Yes, it is only half an hour long, but is still good entertainment for the Christmas season. A perfect stocking filler for all Shrek fans and you can pick it up for a good price.

Bearing mind this is a kids movie it was well made and the songs and storyline were good for the target audiernce. As I parent I even enjoyed and the songs are catchy and fun.

High School Musical (Encore Edition)
The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical is a combination of backstage action and Grease without the unwholesome habits. It's a smash hit with tween audiences (ages 6 to 10), but appealing for all ages. At a New Year's Eve party, Troy (Zac Efron) has a chance meeting with Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) when they share a karaoke song. Lo and behold, when school resumes, they discover that Gabriella has just transferred to Troy's East High School, a campus divided into tight cliques of jocks, cheerleaders, brainiacs, and skater dudes. Eager to recapture the magic they'd discovered during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella consider auditioning for the school's upcoming musical, much to the dismay of the school's frost queen/theatre goddess, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale). Problem is, Troy is also the star of the basketball team and Gabrielle is being recruited to compete in the Scholastic Decathlon. Will they give up their cliques to start something new, or will they do as the show's first big anthem urges and "Stick to the Status Quo"? Well, this is a Disney movie, so maybe the sacrifices won't be that hard, and even the hints of romance are mild.

The bestselling soundtrack is catchy in that Disney-pop kind of way, mixing in a dash of hip-hop ("Getcha Head in the Game," punctuated by squeaky basketball shoes and other sound effects), salsa ("Bop to the Top"), and the endearingly hammy ("What I've Been Looking For" performed by Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, played by Lucas Grabeel). It's not hard to imagine High School Musical becoming a semi-staple for high school groups to perform themselves. --David Horiuchi

High School Musical 2
What time is it? Time for High School Musical 2, the sequel to the Disney Channel smash. School is out, and Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are looking forward to a summer to remember, but Troy also needs to earn money so he can go to college. As it turns out, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), the self-proclaimed primo girl of East High, has her eye set on primo-boy Troy, and gets him a job at the country club her parents own. It looks great for Troy when Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats are hired also, but when he gets preferential treatment from the club manager (Mark Taylor) and others, it puts all of his relationships in hot water.

Everyone's back from the original movie, including Zac's buddy Chad (Corbin Bleu), Sharpay's brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), and Gabriella's friend Taylor (Monique Coleman). And the songs on the hit soundtrack often parallel the originals and are just as catchy: the Troy-Gabriella duet ("You Are the Music in Me," which is later Sharpay-ized into a rock version), the sports-flavored hip-hop number ("I Don't Dance," but this time on the baseball diamond instead of the basketball court), the Gabriella lament ("Gotta Go My Own Way"), the climactic stage duet ("Everyday"), and the mass-ensemble closer ("All for One"). But the sequel doesn't just stick to the status quo. Other songs include a flashy opener ("What Time Is It"), Sharpay's poolside feature ("Fabulous"), a percussive ensemble number ("Work This Out"), and Zac's solo ("Bet On It"), and the dances are even bigger this time around, relentlessly high-energy and often spectacular. In addition, the "let's put on a show" angle is only a subplot and the romance is now front and center--which means High School Musical has lost a bit of its innocence. But it's still wholesome viewing for tweens of all ages. --David Horiuchi