Kids Movies

In choosing to watch a movie the whole family will enjoy together, the story of an extra-ordinary pig named Babe must always be on top of the list. Based on a book by Dick King Smith, it’s a charming live action flick with humans only playing supporting cast to a host of real barnyard animals portrayed like regular people with quirks and feelings. And in the center of the story is this adorable piglet that learns to realize what his destiny is and achieves this with success.

Babe (as voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is this piglet who was separated from his own family and was sent to a different farm for breeding. He grew to recognize a sheepdog as his surrogate mother and learned to herd a flock of sheep just like her. Recognizing the pig’s abilities, his owner and master (the farmer, played by James Cromwell) enters Babe in the annual county sheep herding competition which becomes a real turning point, not just for Babe but for his masters and their tiny little town, as well.

The film is intelligent and capricious. It is definitely something that will appeal to adults watching what is perceived as a child’s movie. Yet its storybook tone and visuals, including its zany characters, will certainly offer a delightful entertainment for both the young and old.  It does help that the voice actors did an amazing job of giving their characters substance and depth. Additionally, the state-of-the-art special effects incorporated in this movie appear to be seamless, that during the time this was released in the 90’s, it was seen as technically superior.

This movie is simply a classic.

Babe is available in a Special Edition Widescreen DVD release that carries a DTS Soundtrack, as well as the traditional Full Screen DVD version.

When it comes to direct-to-DVD animated features, DC Comics is starting to carve out their niche.  First came Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and now they bring us Batman: Gotham Knight.

A unique approach for this feature is the story-telling style.  Gotham Knight as a whole is meant as a bridge between 2005’s Batman Begins and the recent theatrical release of The Dark Knight.  Instead of an hour and 20 minutes of straight animation though, the producers put together six animated shorts, each designed to show the different ways that people in Gotham City are beginning to deal with the existence of Batman-even the criminals.  Comic book fans will recognize some of the scribes for the shorts; they are names familiar to the Batman universe like Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello.  Then animation style is also a change for DC, as they delve into the world of Japanese anime.  The use of different animation studios for each of the six shorts can sometimes be jarring to the viewer, but overall the characters and views of Gotham City are visually stimulating.

As with the other direct-to-DVD released by DC, Gotham Knight earns a PG-13 rating for some violence and occasional questionable language.  Batman’s strongest nemesis is the gun, so there are naturally plenty of them present.  But fans of Batman will enjoy this bridge between theatrical releases, as it builds on the mystique and dedication of the character.

The Two-Disc Collector’s Edition of the DVD is full of extras, sure to have something for even the casual fan.  Long-time fans of Batman will enjoy the commentary, with voices like Dennis O’Neil (former Batman editor) and Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman in this feature, as well as in Batman: The Animated Series).    A sneak peek of DC’s next animated feature, Wonder Woman, is also on the disc.  Hardcore Batman fans will also enjoy the look into the life of Batman creator Bob Kane, a documentary detailing Batman’s relationship with his enemies, and producer Bruce Timm’s selection of some of his favorite episodes from Batman: The Animated Series.

Batman: Gotham Knight is sure to have something for everyone.  Casual fans are sure to learn more about the many facets of the Caped Crusader, while life-long fans will love this new and unique look into the development of Bruce Wayne as Batman.

A far-future tale of two robots, Wall-E is both a good movie for children and a treat for parents.

Earth in the future is a dismal place; humanity has vacated it, leaving only piles and piles of trash and a small army of robots to clean it up.  But most of these robots have long since malfunctioned, leaving only Wall-E, a trash compactor with a taste for relics and a love of old musicals, and his pet cockroach.  That is, until the newer robot Eve shows up.  Wall-E’s excited to find a new friend, but when Eve finds the signs of life she’s looking for, Wall-E follows her back to the colony ship holding what was once Earth’s population.

Wall-E, particularly for the first half, is as much about seeing as about hearing.  Of the first three characters to appear (Wall-E, his pet cockroach, and Eve), only the robots speak, and they have a vocabulary of about six words between them.  Regardless, their expressions and body language manage to get everything across that they need to.  In the first fifteen minutes, between a series of beautiful panoramic shots and two random commercials, the movie manages to convey most of its backstory.  Some of the really young audience might need explanations, but most viewers will pick up on what’s going on quickly.  As with Pixar standard, the animation is top-quality and highly detailed.

Though the beginning is a little slow, there’s plenty of action once Wall-E reaches the ship, both inside and outside the ship itself.  Half of the movie is one long sequence of chase scenes, with a colorful cast of robots contrasting heavily with the mostly-alike hoverchair-bound humans.  The humans aren’t completely useless, though; the ship’s captain shows both brains and initiative, and the rebellious passengers John and Mary add a little color and a helping hand on a few occasions.

Additional clever touches include the use of Wall-E’s obsession with Hello, Dolly!, the running jokes involving the cleaning robot, and a number of nods and winks to various earlier science fiction movies.

The movie only has two potential issues–a couple of world-based inconsistencies and the sheer sugar content of the romance between the two robots–but neither of these should particularly bother a younger audience.

In short, Wall-E is exciting enough for the kids, packed with in-jokes for the parents, and a treat for just about everyone.

Space Chimps offers an out of this world experience! Take two astronaut trained chimpanzees and one circus chimpanzee with a family history of space exploration and place them in a rocket and you instantly have a recipe for fun.

You’ll enjoy watching as this motley crew set out to find a missing space probe. While on their highly colorful and animated journey, the chimps find themselves tossed through a worm hole and onto an inhabited planet with an evil ruler. The story unfolds with a delightful alien that light-up and make lots of noise.

With plenty of imitable dance scenes and fun music, children will enjoy reliving Space Chimps long after the movie has finished. Together the chimps and alien creature must devise a way to overthrow the ruler prior to returning to earth. This creates the need for the chimps and the aliens to work together while they build a rocket ship to allow the chimps to return to earth. While lacking in the excitement that other animated films deliver, it is humorous and creative and makes for a good afternoon adventure.

Space Chimps main messages of having faith in yourself and overcoming fear are clear, making it a movie that teaches values. Audiences of all ages will be amused by the antics of the chimpanzees. Light-hearted and fun, the film keeps the attention of it’s target audience, children. It is rated “G”, after all. With little profanity, minimal displays of rudeness, and mild suspense, it is a show meant for the whole family.

Jodie Foster was the child actress back in the 70s, even earning an Oscar nomination for her role in Taxi Driver. She was one of the few to not only leave her acting area behind to attend college, but also made a comeback, successfully resurrecting her career as a young adult. The present young It Girl, Abigail Breslin, seems poised to follow the same path, with a string of hit movies behind her at just 12 years old. It seems only fitting for them to now star in family film, Nim’s Island, together.

Breslin plays the title character, a young girl living with her widowed marine biologist father (Gerard Butler) on a deserted island.He makes the difficult decision to leave her for a few days while he goes on a mission at sea, yet trouble arises with a huge storm. Nim’s father becomes lost at sea, and she’s forced to depend on her own survival skills.

Living the sheltered life that she does, Nim has no other friends or family other than her father and the animals that live on the island with her. She has created a world for herself outside of the island by disappearing into her favorite adventure novels by Alex Rover. When her father doesn’t return and she becomes worried, she has nowhere else to turn, so looks up Alex. What Nim doesn’t realize, is that Alex is is a pen name for Alexandra Rover, an agoraphobic author who doesn’t leave her home (Foster). Alexandra gathers up her maternal instincts and heads out to help Nim.

While Foster has had comedic roles before, she’s mostly known in her adult acting career for her dramatic talents. Yet in Nim’s Island she pulled off the comedy quite well. It’s not that I didn’t think she could; I was just forgetting she could. In addition, she brings the role to a really warm maternal place. With Breslin we never think of her as a cute little girl, just extremely confident. It’s not that she isn’t cute, that’s just not what her roles are set up for, unlike most other young girl roles. Looking back, it’s similar to Foster’s early career, a real good sign that there are just as many good things on the horizon for Breslin.