DVD Review: An Elephant's Journey (2017)

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Alternate Title: Phoenix Wilder and The Great Elephant Adventure

Working as a writer, editor, producer, and director (oh my), when it comes to crafting tales of adventure that are suitable for the entire family, Richard Boddington is a veritable jack-of-all-trades.

Returning to the same Gary Paulsen-like premise of an unprepared child lost in nature that made his 2013 picture Against the Wild such a refreshing surprise, although An Elephant's Journey isn't as good as Wild, (which spawned a sequel), it's still sure to thrill young viewers graduating from animated adventures to live action stories with heroes their own age.

Grander in scope both in terms of its African setting as well as Boddington's decision to one-up the horse in Flicka or dog in Disney classics by giving his young lead, Phoenix (Sam Ashe Arnold) an elephant friend, as Journey begins, the recently orphaned Phoenix moves from Texas to Africa to live with his sweet-natured Aunt Sarah (Elizabeth Hurley).

Eager to explore his new surroundings by accompanying his Uncle Jack (Tertius Meintjes) on safari the very next day, after he gets distracted by a small animal during a short break, Phoenix is panicked to find that the parade of vehicles has left him behind.

Lost in the wilderness just twenty-four hours after setting foot on a new continent, while it requires a pretty big suspension-of-belief to imagine that Jack would've let him out of his sight long enough to get lost, Boddington makes the confusion more believable as the frightened Phoenix wanders further into the bush rather than simply staying by the side of the road until his uncle returns.

And as his guardians work alongside local military search and rescue to retrace their steps, Phoenix settles in for his first long night in a new land, only to find an unexpected ally a day later after he frees a bull elephant from a trap.

Both guarding Phoenix and giving him someone to talk to, the boy’s bond with the elephant he dubs Indlovu (which means "The Unstoppable") strengthens even more when they come across a group of ruthless poachers and vow to rescue the animals held captive in their camp.

While his ability to train Indlovu with an orange well enough to ride him to the level of a circus act is probably only going to work on the youngest audience members, the majestic blend of beautiful scenery and large animals freely roaming the land make it an agreeable enough fantasy, at least initially.

Unsure just how far to take the villainous threat, especially when a predictable but inefficiently explained twist is revealed that makes the situation all the more personal for Phoenix, as Journey continues, it spirals off into four distinctly different strands of plot that never quite weave back together into one.

Rather than pull us in for the rest of the movie, Elephant moves uneasily back-and-forth between the lost in the wild adventure, Flicka like coming-of-age tale, drama about a family trying to come together as one, and a thriller that doubles as a message movie about the evils of poaching and guns. And although together, the first three or last three storylines could've easily evolved into something stronger, in the end An Elephant's Journey suffers from the lack of a cohesive plot.

However, the film's dedication to sharing the truth about the vanishing African elephant population to young viewers who will be in a position to help save these amazing animals someday proves once again that, despite Journey's problems overall, much like Phoenix, Boddington's heart is in the right place.

Text ©2018, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information in order to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

DVD Review – Looney Tunes: Musical Masterpieces (2015)

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Although Merrie Melodies most likely began as Warner Brothers Animation's own Looney Tunes styled response to Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony cartoon shorts that dominated the Academy Awards during their triumphant ten year run from 1929 to 1939, WB’s Melodies struck a popular chord with audiences so much so that the series (which began in 1931) lasted until 1969.

Acclaimed one-reel shorts that thusly never ran longer than ten minutes, Warner’s Merrie Melodies define the golden age of animation for the studio.

Daring in their musicality yet familiar in their packaging, the shorts – which starred some of the Looney Tunes most beloved characters (from Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd to Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales) –grew even more celebrated with each passing year.

Frequently serving as their youngest viewer's earliest introduction to the world of classical music, the Merrie Melodies, which also took their cues from (and likewise inspired) the feature length Hollywood musicals they played alongside theatrically, additionally helped pave the way for the rock docs and music videos that would follow.

Breaking cultural barriers, the eighteen animated shorts included in this one disc collection feature everything from jazz and opera to piano concertos and the blues, illustrating the diverse range of the series.

Framing the action as part of a chase in some of their most popular hits (not unlike the way their biggest 1940’s rival, Metro Goldwyn Mayer did with their historic Tom and Jerry releases), the ingeniously crafted Merrie Melodies made each and every genre accessible to viewers of all ages and levels of musical education.

Boldly removing dialogue here and there, such as in a bulk of the revered classic Rabbit of Seville, the master craftsmen working behind the scenes strove to bring the emotion of the music front and center with each successive release.

Yet as entertaining as the diverse titles were, one of Merrie Melodies' greatest achievements was in the way it would routinely drive home the fundamentals of rhythm and tempo right alongside the story's tongue-in-cheek plotlines and occasional lessons about empathy, hard work, respect, and love rolled into the laughs.

Of course, not every offering had a larger moral behind it as we quickly discover in the often heavily censored, violent Ozarks set square dance Hillbilly Hare.

Wisely lessening the shock value of the short, (which like a few others hasn't often seen the light of day as part of the overly crowded archive collection), Hare plays right after the 1957 Chuck Jones helmed masterpiece, What's Opera, Doc? that was selected as the "greatest cartoon ever made" in a 1994 research study voted on by a thousand professionals working in the field of animation.

No stranger to the art form or devising great chases, having directed some of the best Tom and Jerry shorts in MGM history, it's always a thrill to see the Jones classic in all its glory.

One of three Merrie Melodies shorts included in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry along with the Jones directed One Froggy Evening (which happens to be featured on this DVD as well) and Duck Amuck, Elmer Fudd's familiar strains of "Kill the Wabbit" in What's Opera, Doc? are instantly recognizable for generations of viewers.

Although it's missing Duck Amuck as well as the trio of Merrie Melodies that garnered Warner Brothers Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Short, the inclusion of the still heartbreakingly beautiful Nelly's Folly, among other rarities, is a bonus.

Nonetheless, the order of the shorts is a bit awkward in places throughout the lengthy presentation. For, following the intelligent back-to-back listing of two send-ups of Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs made fifteen years apart that involve a shared character, WB’s enjoyable Oscar nominated Rhapsody in Rivets, which plays best as a prequel to Rhapsody Rabbit is positioned eleven tracks after what should technically be its follow-up title.

Boasting optional commentary tracks for the shorts including a few multiple offerings and special features for some of the disc's most iconic works, Musical Masterpieces is a thorough release that will appeal to a wide array of viewers from children to casual fans and cinephiles alike.

And given that this is a phenomenal 133 minute plus introduction to the dying art of animated theatrical shorts, I only hope that this is just the first in a series of Looney Tunes: Musical Masterpieces releases that will make their way to DVD (or better yet, Blu-ray).

Created in the era of the talkie (as silent films merged with the music that was often performed live in movie-houses across the country), the Merrie Melodies collected here serve as an entertaining and informative reminder of just how innovative the field of animation, medium of short film, and particularly the genre of musical movie-making can be.

Text ©2015, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: Against the Wild (2014)

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Above average family adventure film blends Gary Paulsen’s beloved young adult novel Hatchet with Disney’s The Parent Trap for this impressively made, if at times admittedly contrived feature.

An intelligently structured work, Against the Wild chronicles two siblings who must put their thinking caps on and petty squabbles aside if they’re going to survive when the small plane carrying them to their dad’s place crash lands in the middle of the forest.

With their pilot Charlie knocked out and in need of medical care following sudden midair engine trouble, the two formerly feuding children start thinking on their feet. Unloading their heavy suitcases, Hannah (Erin Pitt) and Zach Wade (CJ Adams) reconfigure and repack their gear with the bare necessities – taking a majority of what’s available in the emergency kit and leaving the rest along with a note for the brave flier whose grace under pressure saved their lives.

Taking their Alaskan malamute dog Chinook with them for protection, the two head in the direction they landed, determined to reach the shoreline in order to get Charlie the help he needs. But without any adult supervision and only their own limited knowledge gleaned from cable nature TV shows and Cub Scouts along with common sense to guide them, the Wades are put to the test.

And soon they realize they have to survive not only the drop in temperatures at nightfall and harsh elements but the various animals of the wild that might be following their every move including grizzly bears during mating season.

Yet while the children act with incredible maturity – so much so in fact that some of their wise-beyond-their-years dialogue as Hannah sizes up Charlie as a reasonably attractive man and wonders why he’s still single is dubious and awkward to say the least, the Wade parents are a different story altogether.

Saddled with wooden dialogue and far too much emotional posturing as a stereotypical separated couple wherein he’s the predictable workaholic and she and the children have been ignored for years, the usually talented adult leads (Natasha Henstridge and Ted Whittall) come off unnatural and amateurish by default.

Reuniting to worry, argue and speak in expository paragraphs while helicopters and search parties go out looking for the kids with zero optimism, Henstridge and Whittall are basically there as adult placeholders embodying the destination of “home” that the kids are trying to reach.

And while the contrived, blink-and-you-missed-it fast family reunion that arises just in the nick of time hits a major false note in what had otherwise up until then been a stellar adventure film about children realizing they’re stronger working together than apart, it’s easily forgiven due to the quality of the overall work and its vital message.

Newly released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment, this Dove Family Approved feature makes a nice change of pace from traditional family fare. Moreover, it’s to the filmmaker’s credit that you can tell right from the start how much respect that he has for the intelligence and dignity of his young characters.

In the end, its flaws are forgotten as going against the grain of current Hollywood family fare that far too often treats children as a focus group or market they need to "sell" rather than young human beings to be empowered makes writer/editor/director Richard Boddington’s Against the Wild an even stronger survivor overall.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

TV on DVD: Alvin and the Chipmunks -- The Very First Alvin Show

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I've always had a fondness for the Chipmunks, whether they were touching our heartstrings with their famous rendition of their "Christmas Song," taking part in memorable holiday specials, or entertaining fellow 1980s babies like yours truly who grew up watching Alvin and the Chipmunks in the various evolutions of their Saturday morning cartoon series including their reenactments of popular movies such as in Paramount's recent Star Wreck release.

Having reviewed numerous Chipmunks titles in the past, I was especially thrilled to go back further in history of the Ross Bagdasarian created characters to explore The Very First Alvin Show which was broadcast back in 1961 especially considering that the television premiere had never been previously released in any format including VHS.

Remastering the 35mm film print that aired almost fifty years ago in high definition before transferring it to DVD, Paramount devoted great attention to the soundtrack as well by redistributing the original mono track to a crisp and beautiful stereo balance to accentuate the music we'd come to know and love. Although format-wise, it's very 1960s and the plot is all over the place, two musical highlights include songs I'd never heard before as the Chipmunks put their own spin on "O Sole Mio" in Italy and Alvin tries to use musical "ooh la la" to seduce gorgeous French women.

While the musical creativity is at an all time high, most of the humor comes from the Rocky and Bullwinkle-esque yet pre Pinky and the Brain version of pompous television personality Clyde Crashcup and his long-suffering miniature assistant Leonardo as they "invent" baseball. Moreover, the characters are so unique that the DVD comes with an insert featuring those two alone which made me wonder if there was ever a spinoff or if they'll be used in anything down the road.

Production wise, the DVD release opted to stick with the same mono sound that was utilized for the broadcast in the two bonus episodes of the roughly 74 minute work. And although it's a nice trip back to era of Fresh Prince as Will Smith hosts a celeb-filled, dated look at five decades of music with the Chipmunks in 1991's "The Chipmunks Present Rockin' Through The Decades" that shows Alvin, Simon and Theodore's take on everyone from Elvis to Springsteen, it's a rather weak mixture of music videos and celebrity footage.

However, much like the original Alvin Show, it's worth a peek just to glimpse the far too brief footage of the Chipmunks in puppet form on The Ed Sullivan Show in a nice set-up gag to perform their signature tune. Going right back into the familiar warmth of the '80s style animation with a sweet middle 1985 episode titled "A Chipmunk Reunion," the three assert their independence and disappear in the middle of the night to track down their birth mother to find out when exactly their birthday is and why she came to leave them on Dave's doorstep.

Horrified that something will happen to them, despite the fact that Alvin and the boys asked their female counterparts to look after Dave while they're gone, Dave ventures out into the forest to track down his family in a nice episode that could also serve as an allegory about adoption and a child's desire to know their true origins.

Admittedly the selection of episodes make an unlikely trio as thematically they don't have much holding them together aside from a very loose thread about the history of the series and characters. And although I would've preferred a longer and more in-depth look at the vintage Alvin Show to hear more songs with which I am unfamiliar and view more wacky shenanigans of Clyde Crashcup and the adorable Leonardo, overall I was grateful that so much care, dedication, and love was taken in ensuring the very best presentation of the world's first introduction to the Chipmunks as TV stars.

As Paramount keeps unveiling more quality releases of the Chipmunks line that are sure to appeal to Generation X and now the Baby Boomers as well, I remain hopeful that along with other Paramount titles debuting in tandem with Nickelodeon such as SpongeBob SquarePants, the next generation will latch onto the red, blue, and turquoise singers for many years to come.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
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DVD Review: The Wiggles Go Bananas!

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So okay, on the one hand, I'm always worried that someday-- like one of those computer hard drives that's about to read "full"-- my brain will finally snap shut from too much useless information. Yet, on the other, I find myself strangely filled with pop culture envy whenever I'm faced with something with which I am completely unfamiliar.

And of course, this was precisely what happened when I met the four human Australian coloring crayons a.k.a. the singing, dancing Wiggles from Down Under who beamed like they'd just gotten their teeth whitened at the dentist and were told that the effects would only last for the duration of the running time of a children's television program.

My then toddler aged nephew (who's now all about skateboarding and video games) inexplicably loved The Wiggles-- dancing with glee as the grown male stars went through more costume changes than a Cher show, moving from country to pop to songs involving mini-teaching lessons involving colors and shapes-- and not just their brightly colored long sleeved shirts which helped me tell them apart beyond the level of superficial attractiveness or singing talent.

And thus I realized instinctively that part of the appeal of this eye candy-centric show was that it possessed just about the same attention span as its target audience. Whether it was employing video game like graphics that seemed to cry "green screen" with colors that pop and segments that went anywhere from ten seconds to a minute and a half if it was particularly catchy-- any given Wiggles episode is almost dizzingly fast-paced to the point that if you were an adult or even a child over the age of five looking for a narrative, you are going to grow seasick or disinterested fairly quickly since even Barney had more of a cohesive glue holding it all together.

Yet, for highly energetic ADD prone or just excitable toddlers, it was just the ticket. Now with a series of spinoff DVDs filled with more music, color, endlessly packaged with songs and even guest stars as this disc in particular boasts Kylie Minogue (and jokingly a special appearance by Kylie's sparkly pink shoes) as well as "Australia's" John Waters to make the much needed distinction between their child friendly crooner and our helmer of films like Pink Flamingos-- the group of four are back on a new disc from Warner Brothers with the promise that this time around they're giving us a "fun way to learn about animals."

While animals are definitely used throughout-- I can't say that I learned anything in particular about that specific subject matter. Although I what I did learn was that I never want to see Minogue ever sing (or most likely lip-sync) "Monkey Man" a.k.a. "huggin' up the big monkey man" again nor witness The Wiggles use Elvis to do a send-up on his King status for their version of a lion as The King of the jungle. And while admittedly I'm the furthest thing from their target audience as the nonlinear and just plain nonsensical theatrics made me miss the children's shows of my youth--however-- as I'd seen years earlier with my nephew, I know those from 1-3 and or possibly even 5 depending on boredom and maturity level will find at least some enjoyment out of the forty-seven minute disc.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
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DVD Review: Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection

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Read Our Review of Tom & Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 2



Celebrate the Efforts of Veteran WB Artist Chuck Jones

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Recently when Warner Brothers was kind enough to send me Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Volume 2 for review-- sort of as a primer, I think for this 2-disc remastered set boasting 34 classic shorts-- I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the popular Oscar winning Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of theatrical shorts and Warner Brothers' own Looney Tunes.

And this makes perfect sense since the creation of Hanna-Barbera began as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's answer to the enormous success enjoyed by both Walt Disney and Warner Brothers with their Silly Symphonies and Merry Melodies shorts respectively.

However, as fate would have it-- the tonally and structurally similar styles of MGM and WB with their popular characters Tom and Jerry and Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner would merge two decades after the cat and mouse first took up the chase.

As studios scrambled to find a way to bring viewers hooked on television back to the multiplex led to a decline in the employment of animators and existence of animation departments at various studios (save for Disney who pinched pennies but kept things running), MGM simply shut its doors and handed out pink slips to the creative geniuses behind Tom and Jerry.

While Hanna and Barbera would bounce back with their development of what's commonly referred to as "limited animation" which is faster, more cost-efficient and sitcom like than the old full-orchestra cinematic scope of their work with MGM that they developed in projects such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons, Warner Brothers soldiered on until inevitably its legendary animator Chuck Jones found himself out of work in 1964 when the studio he'd worked at for thirty years suddenly shut down that division as well.

However, Hanna-Barbera's old studio was ready and eager to snap up Jones-- offering him an unprecedented opportunity of complete creative control in taking over the long-running but then-fledgling (based on outsourced animation and under-funded efforts) Tom and Jerry series.

Bringing in veteran versatile voice talent like Mel Blanc and some of the extraordinary artists he'd worked with back at WB, Jones used the creative freedom to great effect, going against the grain of popular limited animation for the classical style of "full-animation" that was lighter on dialogue and heavier on action and art to tell the story and this can be evidenced right from the get-go on disc one of this beautifully packaged double-disc set (with a box alone that looks like a collector's item).

Although he's been widely and accurately criticized for an over-reliance on recycling the old plots of the Hanna-Barbera era of Tom and Jerry (in their brilliant '40s era you can see in Greatest Chases) as well as re-tooling some of the exact same gags he and his merry band of animation collaborators at Warner Brothers had sprinkled throughout Looney Tunes which won't go unnoticed to avid viewers of either series-- the Jones era of Tom and Jerry is far more cinematic than ever before.

And in fact, the influences of both vintage Hanna-Barbera shorts and WB cartoons are cited directly in one of two fascinating extra features-- Tom, Jerry... and Chuck which actually shows before and after comparisons of the works. When you couple some of the overly noticeable instances of "cribbing" from earlier material and trying a bit too hard to tie in with some popular culture of the '60s along with Jones' downright snobbish and slightly condescending view of the artists who'd worked on the series before him including Hanna-Barbera whose Flintstones and beyond "limited animation" technique he scoffs at, the shorts lose a bit of their luster.

Yet, taken purely on face value as a set for its content and as simply a fan of entertaining animation, it's a solid investment as Warner Brothers has painstakingly remastered the original shorts and similarly has offered them in their vintage theatrical widescreen format for the first time in numerous decades.

Changing the look of the characters themselves by making Jerry far sweeter and touching up the facial expressions of both in order to emphasize the moments just before each one loses it or their reaction to the other throughout their endless, highly violent back-and-forth battles (foreshadowing Jones' admiration for eyes. ears and mouths he'd use brilliantly with the Grinch's wicked grin in How the Grinch Stole Christmas)-- the shorts also tapped right into MGM's brilliant credit sequences of their popular 007 and Pink Panther franchises. They did so by opening with a teaser, going into some wildly inventive credit sequence and then moving directly into the cartoon. A terrific example of this can be found in Bad Day at Cat Rock which follows Tom down a manhole as he lights a match to illuminate the credits.

While the '40s shorts placed their emphasis on the foreground-- these '60s widescreen enabled picturesque shorts provide an endless supply of eye candy with incredibly intricate and detailed background images that moves from the "sets" to all of the individual little touches of "props" that is used to wondrous effect in the Charlie Chaplin Modern Times like I'm Just Wild About Jerry.

Using camera pans for a sweeping effect in The Brothers Carry Mouse Off which flows directly into what appears to be Jerry relaxing poolside only to realize that he's imagining that while stretched out on green carpeting or employing animated trickery for the magically tinged Haunted Mouse-- these are a feast for the senses. And likewise they manage to bust out of the antagonism momentarily for a touching and Disney like Snowbody Loves Me and the Hanna-Barbera directed Matinee Mouse wherein the two temporarily bury the hatchet.

With 216 minutes of content it's tough to pick a favorite but the one that I'd find myself probably replaying the most would have to be-- despite its direct tie to a classic Bugs Bunny short-- The Cat Above, The Mouse Below as Tom performs the Italian opera favorite "Figaro" to a packed house. Of course, while he's using his voice to reach those in the cheap seats, Jerry is busily trying to sleep below stage (a classic Hanna-Barbera era running gag) and war is declared between Jerry and his "noisy neighbor" in this classic favorite.

Retaining the mono sound (yet in Dolby Digital) to keep things authentic-- overall and despite some of the complaints about overlapping ideas and repetitions, visually, you're dealing with Tom and Jerry of the highest caliber with the full force of Warner Brothers' best and brightest behind them, picking up where Hanna-Barbera had left off in their Oscar winning collaborations that makes this set quiet a fun treat for classic cartoon enthusiasts.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
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TV on DVD: Care Bears: Tell-Tale Tummies -- Lessons from the Heart: Telling the Truth (2009)

Now Available on DVD from Lionsgate

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Drawing inspiration from all classic moral tales (both tall and true) including Pinocchio, the legend of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree and more-- Lionsgate releases a dynamite collection of eight episodes from the new CBS Saturday morning update of the '80s classic animated series Care Bears never before offered on DVD.

Of stellar quality-- much like the studio’s previous release Care Bears: Cheer, There & Everywhere-- this disc titled Care Bears: Tell-Tale Tummies places its emphasis on truthfulness.

And although according to the Lionsgate press release the target demographic is young girls ages 2-5, Tell-Tale actually exceeds that audience level. It does so superior storytelling, a better focus than the previous highly entertaining disc as all stories involve a good lesson that can than be discussed between kids and parents as the never-judgmental bears act in various ways that are identifiable from toddlers up through grade school.

Much like its cheerful predecessor-- the upbeat, bubbly animation style makes the colors nearly pop off the screen all the while retaining the full screen (or television shaped) aspect ratio of the series with 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio sound. Likewise, it utilizes the similar concept of Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s "Fast-Play" by giving you the option of viewing the eighty-eight minute disc in a "Kid-Friendly Direct-Play" mode where the episodes move from one to the next without the annoyance of returning you back to a complicated menu.

Whether the episodes center on Cheer Bear's realization that she "cannot tell a lie" after keeping Grumpy's secret involving moving a bumbleberry tree to selfishly feast on the delicious and coveted fruits of Care-a-Lot, or Share's need to confess to breaking one of Grumpy's inventions, or Oopsy's admission that his mistaken act of heroism was really just accidental, or the dangers of exaggeration or even the responsibility of the press when Share and Trueheart become the Care Bear version of gossip columnists-- the animated stories are far more worthwhile than a majority of popular cartoons.

Celebrating the idea of listening to your conscience or having a positive attitude and the realization that if friends are really friends then they'll accept you flaws and all; the disc is highly recommended to parents and those who care for young children.

So therefore, once again with this magenta colored DVD box complete with a hologram cardboard outer cover-- the Care Bears prove why they've been around for so long that the generation who grew up on them in the '80s is now relishing in the opportunity to continue sharing the lessons and heartfelt stories of the bears with their own children in the twenty-first century.

DVD Review: Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Volume 2

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What Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote were to Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry were to Hanna-Barbera. As the animated duo who were so frequently caught up in chases-- not only is it fitting that the characters consisted of a veritable cat and mouse but also that Warner Brothers has released 14 more of the classic (originally MGM produced) shorts from 1944 through 1951 in the aptly named Greatest Chases series featuring the beloved cartoon icons.

While unfortunately the animation included on the 102 minute disc hasn't been touched up in the slightest and even looked lackluster and grainy on an upconvert player-- the content is what keeps the series of theatrical shorts from aging. Ingeniously animated with a frantic pacing-- the Tom and Jerry works contained on this disc helped foreshadow what the editing industry would do in action movies down the road by synchronizing everything perfectly in tune with the music. And although some Road Runner cartoons felt a tad repetitive, Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry chases never got old as those responsible for the series made sure that both characters have the upper hand at some point and creativity was always at the forefront as the relentlessly pursuant cat Tom tries to ensnare the clever mouse Jerry in a variety of schemes.

Featuring some of the most renowned shorts that begin just three years after Tom and Jerry made their debut in 1940 in a wonderful and promising series which would go onto garner the animators seven Best Animated Short Subject Oscar statues-- Warner Brothers' recent Greatest Chases Volume 2 disc is notable for its inclusion of two of these award-winnings works with the 1944 released Mouse Trouble and 1945 released Quiet Please!

With the convenient option to play the disc in its entirety and let each short move into the next (along with various subtitle and language options such as English, Portuguese, French and Thai) we find Tom engaged in a literal cat-fight over Jerry, a bratty little girl forcing Tom to become a cat in the cradle by dressing him as a baby which Jerry enjoys immensely, and their endless back-and-forth dynamic that's tested when Tom learns he will inherit a million dollars provided he doesn't hurt Jerry and later as both try not to get on the bad side of the bulldog Spike.

Spike is the central character in one of the strongest shorts-- the Oscar winning Quiet Please!-- as Tom realizes he must act quickly to try and nab Jerry once and for all before the sleeping bulldog will awaken and put an end to it. And likewise Mouse Trouble is especially entertaining as well as Tom enlists the aid of a '40s version of a self-help manual to catch a mouse (from "Random Mouse" books).

However, in addition to the award-winners, there's a lot of great discoveries to be found on the disc including Cue Ball Cat which finds Jerry hiding in a corner pocked of a pool table as Tom tries to crush him, making terrific use of the animation of the billiard balls as well as when Jerry tries to become a bodyguard to a goldfish that Tom decides on a whim he wants to cook in a French recipe he hears on a radio show. Fun and fast-paced-- despite the grain, dust and sometimes less than sharp color in the animation-- Greatest Chases Volume 2 makes a solid addition for Tom and Jerry collectors.

*Note: This month, Warner Brothers is also releasing the following collectible set:

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.