The creators of <em>Merlin</em> position their hero as the original Harry Potter: a headstrong young wizard with mixed feelings about--and sometimes outright hostility toward--the destiny that's been thrust upon him. <em>Merlin</em> is a reboot of Arthurian legend, starting when all the heroes and sorcerous folk were teenagers, bursting with hormones and wrestling with the powers-that-be, particularly Arthur's heavy-handed father, Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head, best known as Giles from <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em>), a benevolent tyrant who's banished magic from Camelot. Merlin (Colin Morgan, an impish lad with prominent ears) comes to the kingdom with high hopes and innate magical powers. He's taken under the wing of the court physician, Gaius (Richard Wilson, <em>One Foot in the Grave</em>), but additionally becomes the servant of young Arthur (Bradley James), a handsome and talented fighter who's also a bully and a snob. Rounding out the main cast are Morgana (Katie McGrath), who will one day be Merlin's foe but is now Uther's ward, and Gwen (Angel Coulby), a.k.a. Guinevere, the woman who will one day be the center of a legendary love triangle--but who is now Morgana's maid. Clearly, <em>Merlin</em> wants to shake up any preconception about these stuffy old stories, presenting a multi-ethnic Camelot with contemporary language and attitudes.

Despite all this, <em>Merlin</em> quickly becomes addictive. The dialogue and special effects can be cheesy (particularly when the CGI monsters have to interact with actors), but the cast is charming and the stories, while a tad formulaic, keep things moving. Morgan is appropriately dweeby (but also has killer cheekbones), James combines football-quarterback good looks with a hint of sensitivity, McGrath is luscious and impetuous, and Coulby has earthy spunk. The heavy lifting, acting-wise, is ably handled by Head and Wilson. The first season deftly explores the origins of the pillars of Arthurian mythos, from the sword Excalibur to a very dashing (but born of peasant stock) Lancelot to the mysterious birth of Arthur himself. Add to it all an imprisoned dragon, voiced by John Hurt (<em>Alien</em>, <em>The Elephant Man</em>) and prone to cryptic but sometimes helpful advice, and you have an engaging fantasy series.<em>--Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com</em>

If you're looking for signs that the modern-day Disney has lost neither its touch nor its savvy nature, then there's evidence in abundance in the smart modern-day fairy tale Enchanted . Bookended by the kind of old-style animation the studio is rightly famed for, the main, live action segment of the film finds Amy Adams' Giselle--an archetypal Disney princess in pretty much every sense--dropped slap bang into the middle of modern day New York.

What follows is ingenious fun, as Giselle walks round very much as a fish out of water, followed quickly by James Marsden's prince who attempts to come to the rescue. Thing is, modern day New York and old style princesses don't really mix, and Enchanted studiously mines the comedy of the scenario, thanks to a smart and witty script.

What also lifts Enchanted though are the delightful tips of the hat to classics of Disney old. And we're not just talking the show-stopping numbers: there are references to the likes of Beauty and the Beast , Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to be found here, and a star-making performance from Adams powering the whole film forward.

One of the very best family movies of 2007, Enchanted does occasionally stumble through the odd twee moment (and it could really use a villain with more screen time than Susan Sarandon's wicked stepmother gets), but that can't hide the fact that it's terrific fun, lavishly made and, at its best, quite brilliant. A modern day family classic, and great to see Disney once again delivering the kind of entertainment it excels at. -- Simon Brew

<em>Despicable Me</em> is a compelling animated comedy about an aging supervillain's falling popularity at the hands of a younger supervillain and three young orphan girls. Gru is a true, bad-to-the-core evildoer who's earned the title of the world's No. 1 supervillain. But when young upstart Vector steals the Pyramid of Giza, Gru's status suddenly sinks to No. 2. Gru counters his fall by speeding up his plan to shrink and steal the moon, enlisting the help of his army of minions and the elderly Dr. Nefario, but a lack of funding and the difficulties involved in stealing the needed shrink-ray gun threaten to derail everything. Adopting three young orphan girls is an unlikely, but seemingly effective means to further Gru's evil mission, but Gru quickly discovers that caring for three young girls is more work, and distraction, than he could ever have anticipated. What unfolds is an unexpected shift in attitude that will forever change the lives of Gru, Vector, and all three young girls. A visually appealing film produced by Chris Meledandri (<em>Ice Age</em>, <em>Ice Age 2: The Meltdown</em>, and <em>Horton Hears a Who</em>), <em>Despicable Me</em> is full of weirdly shaped characters and settings that are somehow a perfect fit for Sergio Pablos's story. What's especially refreshing is that in this film, 3-D effects are used skillfully and effectively: even when the effects are exploited for comic reasons, they don't become a distraction, as is all too common in many recent movies. The film is full of corny banter and silly antics that inspire plenty of spontaneous laughter, and the minions, while not the best-developed characters, sure are comical. Ultimately, there's also a wholesome message about following one's heart. Steve Carell is the perfect villain-gone-soft in his role as Gru, Jason Segal is quite funny as Vector, and Julie Andrews makes a surprising appearance as Gru's very un-motherly mom. The story isn't new, the humour is relatively juvenile and somewhat forgettable, and it's no <em>Toy Story 3</em>, but <em>Despicable Me</em> celebrates silliness in a way that's satisfying and highly entertaining. (Ages 6 and older) <em>--Tami Horiuchi</em>

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs opens with the stitched-together prehistoric family about to become a biological one: Manny (voiced by Ray Romano) and his mate Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting a baby mammoth. Unfortunately, this makes Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) feel left out. Diego, who worries he’s losing his edge, decides to head out on his own, while Sid adopts three suspiciously large eggs that he’s found through a crack in the ice. Up to this point, the movie is perilously sappy--does anyone, particularly a kid, want to watch a kid’s movie about parenthood and impending middle age? Fortunately, the eggs turn out to be dinosaur eggs from a pre-mammalian underworld, and when the mama T-Rex comes to rescue her rambunctious little ones, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs transforms into a delightful comic adventure. The emotional side of the Ice Age movies has always been a tad mawkish, so it’s smart that Dawn of the Dinosaurs emphasises physical comedy. Clearly, the animators have been inspired by a wild fusion of Road Runner cartoons and Buster Keaton. The character of Scratte, with his non-verbal, monomaniacal efforts to get that last acorn (doubled in this movie with the addition of a female counterpart), is only the most obvious reflection of this sensibility. The animators have great fun with the differences in scale between the mammals and the dinosaurs, and the introduction of a deranged Australian weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead ) pushes everything into Loony-Tune territory. Let Pixar tug at our heartstrings; Ice Age aims to tickle the funny bone and does a fine job of it. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

<strong>Madagascar</strong><br /><br /> The penguins steal the show. In the sprightly <em>Madagascar</em>, a mid-life crisis inspires Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) to escape from his lifelong home, a New York zoo. His equally pampered friends--Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer)--then escape to bring him back. Unfortunately, their attempt at damage control persuades zoo officials that the animals are unhappy, so all four get shipped to an animal preserve in Kenya...only a squad of maniacal penguins change the destination to Antarctica. The quartet end up on an island where, in addition to meeting some hedonistic lemurs, they learn about the food chain--and that Alex is a different link on the chain from the other three. <em>Madagascar</em> doesn't achieve the snappy perfection of a Pixar movie, but it tops most other computer-animated efforts; the collision of friendship and predator instincts makes for an unusually gripping conflict. The vocal performances of the central characters is serviceable, but Sacha Baron Cohen (<em>Da Ali G Show</em>) provides topnotch lunacy as the lemur king, and the penguins--voiced mostly by the animators themselves--are the best thing in the movie. <em>--Bret Fetzer</em><br /><br /><strong>Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa</strong><br /><br /> The sequel to the animated movie <em>Madagascar</em> gives more of everything audiences loved in the first movie: More of the penguins; more of Julian, king of the lemurs; more musical bits of classic rock; and many, many more lions, zebras, hippos, and giraffes. In the first film, a quartet of coddled zoo animals found themselves shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar in a misguided effort to return them to the wild. In<em>Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa</em>, a failed attempt to fly back to New York maroons Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) in an animal preserve on the African continent, accompanied by the four deranged penguins and the lunatic lemur king (deliriously voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen, <em>Borat</em>). By wild coincidence, this is where Alex was born--and where his father is still the alpha lion, and where his malevolent uncle seeks to take over (let's call this an homage to <em>The Lion King</em>). The other beasts have their own story arcs, but really it's all an excuse for daffy comic bits. Though the result is disposable, it's also entirely entertaining. The action sequences pop with dizzying spectacle; though some jokes are mainstream fodder, more often they're surprisingly quirky and engagingly oddball. This is the best kind of cotton candy filmmaking--it dissolves into nothing, but it's oh-so-sweet to the taste. <em>--Bret Fetzer</em>

The third film based on C.S. Lewis's fantasy books, <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em> opens three years after the Pevensie children return from battling to restore peace to Narnia in <em>The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian</em>. Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are still staying with Eustace (Will Poulter), while Peter and Susan have gotten older and moved on to school and America, respectively. Still as surly and unbelieving as ever, Eustace continues to mock his cousins for their Narnian fantasies. But when water begins spilling into their room from a painting hanging on the wall, all three young people are swept onto the decks of the sailing ship known as the Dawn Treader, which is afloat in the waters of Narnia. <br /><br />This time, there are no wars to be fought in Narnia. But it soon becomes evident that the trio is destined to help King Caspian (Ben Barnes) solve the mystery of the disappearance of the seven lords of Telmar, and prevent the ongoing sacrifices of large groups of Narnian people to the evil green mist. So begins a quest through uncharted waters that will require each of the children to resist temptations like beauty and power, and to conquer the darkness within themselves in order to defeat the threat to Narnia's people. The battle promises to yield unexpected heroes, and through their journey, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and even King Caspian and Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg) each grow and mature. Eventually, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) will ask each adventurer to make an important choice that will forever influence his or her future. <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em> features plenty of high adventure, sword-fighting action, and personal peril, and while it fails to fully capitalise on the characters' motivations or to earn viewers' full emotional investment, it is still a solid addition to the <em>Narnia</em> film series. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

<em>Shrek Forever After</em> delivers laughs, life lessons, and a striking picture of the realities of parenthood in this surprisingly good, fourth <em>Shrek</em> film. Like the original film, this fractured fairytale works because of the humour--it pokes fun at the whole fairytale genre on a multitude of intellectual levels while simultaneously offering visual humour that's appealing to all ages. After a frantic flip through a tongue-in-cheek fairytale book of the first three <em>Shrek</em> films, the scene opens on a beaming Shrek and Fiona as they awaken to a chorus of their noisy children standing at the foot of the bed, and it follows them through a typically hectic day of feeding, diapering, and caring for their children until they collapse into a satisfied heap at the end of the day. One of the funniest bits in the film, at least for adults, is how this scene repeats, faster and faster and in smaller and smaller excerpts, until Shrek's look of bliss slowly turns into a pained, midlife-crisis expression that screams"Help me, I'm trapped in this domestic purgatory and there's no escape in sight." As in any good fairytale, the protagonist's chance for escape comes in the form of a deal with the devil, in this case Rumpelstiltskin. Following in the footsteps of the classic film <em>It's a Wonderful Life</em>, Shrek is granted the opportunity to spend a day in an alternate reality in which he is the independent, terrifying ogre he once was. Of course, the deal carries some very serious, unintended consequences, and Shrek's day of freedom may just cost him Fiona, the children, and even his very existence. Mike Meyers and Cameron Diaz are once again stellar as the voices of Shrek and Fiona; Antonio Banderas is still all swagger despite Puss-in-Boots' now-portly figure and thoroughly domesticated ways; Eddie Murphy remains just as hilarious as in the first film as Donkey, who in this story doesn't recognize Shrek and can't fathom the possibility of a donkey and an ogre becoming friends; and Walt Dohrn is an extremely effective newcomer as the voice of Rumpelstiltskin. Other key players are the Pied Piper, with his new, tricked-out flute; a mob of broom-riding, jack-o'-lantern-throwing witches; an overgrown white goose; and a whole resistance movement of ogres under the command of a most unexpected leader. The battles are fierce and the lesson powerful: learn to appreciate what you've got. While 3-D digital is always nice, most viewers will completely forget that the film is in 3-D after the initial scene, and it will view just as well in the traditional format. <em>--Tami Horiuchi</em>

The marriage of director Tim Burton with the darker edges of the Alice In Wonderland story seems, on paper, to be an impressive match. And to a point, it is: Burton’s film explodes with colour and style, bringing a real sense of imagination to the classic Lewis Carroll stories. Alice In Wonderland isn’t perfect, though. It’s, at heart, far more conventional than you may be expecting, and the beefing up of the Mad Hatter’s role to accommodate the casting of Johnny Depp is problematic. That said, Depp’s performance is fine, even if it’s Helena Bonham-Carter who steals every scene she’s in. And Burton also wisely casts a strong supporting cast of British thespians, who don’t get enough screen time, but make the most of what they get. The end result, however, is a fun telling of an engaging story. And while Tim Burton’s take on Alice In Wonderland is far from the best filmed take on the source material, it’s nonetheless a solid family movie. It also looks stunning on Blu-ray. The colourful production design comes across wonderfully well, in vibrant 1080p, and the enveloping sound mix matches it too. And given how often the film is likely to be re-spun over the years, it’s easily the best way to own the film. -- Jon Foster