Excellent, but not excellence...so how come 5 stars?

[Firstly, sorry, again I couldn't stop typing.]

So much has been said and written about this movie I wasn't going to even bother writing a review... but then I couldn't help myself.

I could describe the plot to you, but that has been done. I'm mainly I'm going to explain why I selected 5 stars, when in comparison to truly great movies it...well it would hardly share the same category. I'm a believer in judging a movie or TV show by its intentions and the success of carrying them through to the end result, not neccessarily by its place in the Cannon of film. HSM2, as with HSM intended to entertain with great acting, great dancing, a good plot and of course, the Disney morals. With this in mind, it succeeded.

Clearly, the brains behind the franchise realised that the target audience of the tweenies were not the only demographic drawn [almost unwillingly] to the first movie. The sequel certainly shows this realisation and also the growth of the actors and the gentle change in styles.

Loving musicals, but only expecting to get a little fix, I bought the first and was hooked, (though it kind of stands out next to Rent, Moulin Rouge, Chorus Line, Cabaret, etc.). When the sequel arrived, I bought it without a second thought. Surprise, surprise, I loved it. It certainly has a slightly more mature and complex style in the characters' behaviour/interactions with each other, (even their tone of voice) and dialogue. It has a much more complex structure within the music and even more so in the dance, without moving to far away from the established style.

The talents of the actors are shown more clearly with greater respect. Lucas Grabeel, (Ryan) is allowed to shine through his voice and amazing dancing abilties, stepping out from Ashley Tisdale's, (Sharpay) shadow. Particularly in 'I Don't Dance' with Corbin Bleu (Chad) who also gets the same chance. This movie isn't purely the 'Troy and Gabrielle Show', which being amazed by Lucas's talents especially, was refreshing.

It's a musical, [obviously] and that genre can provide a realistic look at life. Although I don't honestly think HSM2 does this, I again go back to intent. This movie gives an impression of realism of American teenagers, close enough for the target audience to relate, but far enough away to escape and dream. As for anyone older watching this movie, I'm not so sure realism actually matters and perhaps its lack of total authenticity is what appeals to us; perhaps we only want the sunny, rosy escapism.

This movie is cheesy, yes. It doesn't stretch the imagination in it's plot or film making, (cinematography, set design, costuming, etc.) though Kenny Ortega's choreography is renowned outside his involvement in this movie and he never lets you down. It is not a work of excellence, in cinematic terms, but there is just something about this movie that has the world in a craze. Perhaps it is simply because the talent is so blatently thrown in front of you on screen. That is something I don't know how anyone can doubt. Dislike the film, fine. Hate the film, ok. But why doubt the talent or the intentions; or the successful executions of them?

This is one of those movies that 'is what it is'. Once you get that, the reason for its seemingly surprising broad appeal is not so hard to understand. It does what it does and it does it with flare.

(Though I'm still kinda embarrassed that I like it so much...or at all.)

blooming marvellous

wonderful. my 18 year old absolutely loves this programme. it keeps him quiet and contented and it just THE most perfect viewing after he's played with his superskunk. it sets him up nicely for some really intense hallucinations and out-there political opinion-forming. marvellous.

Quite simply a classic

This is one of the all time best films. I can't wait for my babies to be big enough to watch this as I am sure they will get as much fun out of it as I did when I was little.

Why write this comment? To remind people that just because it is an old film does not mean that it is not suitable for children of today. Buy it for them and you and you will remember why you loved it so much!

Simply amazing.

A Great Film!....

Watched this with my husband and two sons - ages 4 & 8.

It got pretty much straight into the 'action', so my youngest (4) didn't have time to bored like he usually does.... which makes a change!

Great film, enjoyed by all.

Carry on regardless

All of the movies released so far are excellent. I see that other reviewers have covered the story line very well, so I will not. Just let me say that all are very well done, with minor imperfections. The main problems are only two. The first problem is that the books are so massive that pieces have to be left out, this is a shame but I do think that to make a 4 hour movie of these books would make them very tiring to sit through. I had thought of maybe making a part 1 and then 2 but this would not help. This boxed set is the single dvd version of each story, I would prefer the 2 disk versions personally. I have the separately released versions of each movie and am very satisfied with all. The second problem is the acting of the three principals. In my opinion Rupert Grint is the only actor who plays his part very well indeed, (his facial expressions are wonderful) and can hold his own against the adult actors. The"bit" parts are so well portrayed that they show up the principles. Emma Thompson overplays badly, and Daniel Radcliffe is awful. Reading through the books to get an idea of Harry Potter's character does not help. It seems that Radcliffe just cannot manage to get into the part. His earlier performance in the first movie was his best, from there on, downhill. I think he should go to acting school asap. Nevertheless I am looking forward to the next installments.

Emily, we love Bagpuss too

I do because I'm the member of our family who watched this perfect production when I was a kid. But the magic is that my American wife and kids love Bagpuss too. There's something so wonderfully captivating about the gentleness of the characters and storytelling that even my 3-year-old twins sit perfectly still, episode after episode, to watch this saggy old cloth cat. Just two days after we bought this DVD my son was quoting most of the introduction. This purchase is one you don't need to think twice about.

Truly moving........

This film is beautiful. It is emotional. It is touching. John Thaw is just so amazing, from his beautifully crafted rural accent, to his scowl that would have struck the fear of God into a small boy like William. Quite possibly Thaw's performance is his best ever, a world away from his other roles. In every respect this film rips the heartstrings through every nuance of emotion from sadness and fear, to joy and love. The simple life depicted is a wonderful backdrop to a story that is perhaps the stuff of life itself. I recently watched this with a man who was an evacuee, and he said it was just so true to life. Londoners were not well thought of in rural England at that time, and not held in much respect until the country knew what happened in the blitz. The period touches are again so right, and not overplayed at all. Notice for instance the dog's lead is a bit of rope, totally right and of period.Buy this DVD and enjoy this brilliant movie time and again, but dont forget the tissues!

Wacky, crazy vintage musical!

This must be the craziest, zaniest, and crankiest musical ever to hit the silver screen! It's a movie that 'flits' in and out of fantasy like drifting in and out of sleep! It's full of innocent charm - much which I suspect is lost on children of today; modern society and change having ruined so much...

Sally Ann Howes shows her marvellous talent, both as a singer and also as an extremely talented actress (though we already knew it from when she was a child star) when she plays her part as the mechanical figurine on a music box - no easy feat! Robert Helpmenn is simply magnificent as the 'Child Catcher' - what a performance!

One of the funniest scenes is when two big names in TV; Barbara Windsor and Arthur Mullard are at a fairground, and Arthur's character steps into an automatic hair-cutting machine, only to come out of it again with a mohican haircut! This results in his chasing Dick Van Dyke all around the fairground - seeming never to give up!

The only slight problem, was Dick Van Dykes difficulty in mastering the English accent - he had the same problem in 'Mary Poppins'. One ought to note, that it is far easier for an English person to pick up an American accent, than it ever is the other way around... Very few Americans can master this, but those that do are particularly adept.

This is a fabulous movie, with all the charm and innocence that is ideal for the whole family!

Magical, waterbased adventure and love story combined, that immersed me utterly.

The Little Mermaid is a real gem of a movie, revived as a 2 disc special edition, this classic is one of the best Walt Disney movies I've ever seen. There is more than enough here to engage both adults and children alike. As an adult this is welcome as I've found some of the other Disney animations to be a bit too geared towards younger audiences.

The movie benefits from a riveting script and really powerful characters. The main premise of the story is that Ariel a mermaid and youngest daughter of King Triton has become disenchanted with life under the sea and yearns to explore the surface world and to have contact with humans. Her father forbids this and an explosion of anger on his part pushes his daughter into the the grasping tentacles of Ursula the Sea Witch. She foolishly enters into a pact with Ursula involving the loss of her voice in exchange for being human for 3 days. In that time she must make Prince Eric fall in love with her or Ursula will seal her fate. I particularly enjoyed the way in which Ariel smitten by blind love rescues Prince Eric from the shipwreck and the last thing he remembers before fully coming to is a vision of lovliness and is almost instantly captivated by her voice.

Ariel is accompanied by several of her friends that help to enhance the story: Scuttle a completely tone deaf seagull, Flounder a clumsy but loyal clown fish and one of the stars of the show Sebastian - an initially grouchy crab that doubles as a master composer complete with authentic Jamaican acccent! All of these characters have scenes which brought a smile to my face and often left me very amused. For example, Sebastian's encounter with a deranged French chef with an obsession for cooking fish that extended to crabs. In terms of evil, Ursula the Sea Witch is a great lead evil character who cuts an imposing figure, her 2 sidekicks Flotsam and Jetsam function finely aswell.

To Summarise, the storyline has a lot of twists and turns and is engaging throughout, the voice acting is of a high calibre bringing to life vivid characters. The musical score is excellent especially 'Part of this World'and 'Under the Sea'and as is usual for Walt Disney the animation is practically flawless. I found the Little Mermaid to be moving and filled with humour and this edition comes complete with a whole plethora of extras including an extensive featurette on the making of the movie. Ignore, the one negative review that has been posted this is a definite 5 star movie without a shadow of a doubt.

I loved it

You know what, I watched this with my wife and older kids this weekend.

I loved it, and we laughed and laughed. This is not intended to be some worthy arthouse movie, it's a cartoon (kind of). There is a sublty to many scenes that the more cynical reviewers seem to have missed.

Sure I can see flaws in it, but they don't detract. I thought Merlin was terrific and the 'ladies in waiting', Cindarella, Snow White et al were well observed.

Try it, what do you have to lose???

Dinosaur, Disney DVD.

Absolutely brilliant............
My three and a half year old loved it as much as my six and a half year old. Hours of fun trying to learn how to pronounce the various dino names. We watched it about seven times, and each time we found something new in the story and animation.
The animation is so good it hurts your eyes....it is very lifelike, and has a quality that you would expect from Disney.
The story is great for children, and has plenty of definite characters to follow and love or dislike. We loved the lemurs and Aladar, and were thoroughly afraid of the meat eating dinosaurs......
We thoroughly recommend this as a"snuggle down on the sofa with the family" type film.

fab dvd

my 2yr old daughter loves peppa pig,she has afew of her dvds
this one has 10 tales and 2 extras/game
one tale is"treasure hunt" which we have the same book of

Romnan Mysteries Series 1 Review

I have seen this TV series on the TV and also read the books. The Series is of a high standard compared to the books and always leavs you wanting to watch more!

Need a laugh?

I bought this while on holiday.
Me and my husband watched it one evening and we had tears rolling down our faces.
'Stick together' was the funniest.
This is not only for children but also adults, due to the fact there is hidden humour in it.
The other Shaun the sheep dvd's are also funny.

Just awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This movie is just brilliant, its such a classic! its enjoyable for kids and adults, and having recently bought it, there are parts of the movie i found funny now that i totally missed as a child! NO dvd collection should be without this absolute movie classic! 10/10 love it!

Not so seccret and not so enchanting

My garden at home is a little bit like how I imagine the Secret Garden should be. It is overgrown with winding paths and hanging willows. In the spring, the dawn chorus of blackbirds brings the promise of a new day. And each time I venture down the stepping stones into the dense foliage I become spellbound in my very own secret garden. If the occasion calls for it I allow myself to become Mary, the little girl who falls in love with the garden and I will tip toe through the tulips without a care in the world. My brother, Anders would sometimes fashion a makeshift pair of brown dungarees from an old potato sack and join in as Dickon.
Imagine my disappointment when I saw this film. The Secret Garden is a real let down. The garden is unimaginative and was clearly designed in about an hour or so with some make shift shrubs.
The acting is cynical and amteurish and the fact the garden is discovered and shown is a terrible decision. The whole point of it being a secret garden is that nobody knows about or ever finds it. I was left very demure after this picture.

Tiggers really are wonderful things!!!

I bought this for my 2 year old as I’ve just started to read to him Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day which he loves. All I can do is just add to the positive comments already made. This is just wonderful and beautiful to watch and it is so nice to see something of such QUALITY which you can all watch together as a family. It just knocked our socks off.

Sorry just have to add TI gg ERRRR!!

The movie every kid on earth should wacth

Mary Poppins is undoubtedly among the most terrific stories ever told on celluloid for children. It has it all: comedy, music, values, colours, dreams all packed in 2 hours together with the beautiful Julie Andrews. If you wacthed it when you were young the memory will stay with you for the rest of your life, if you didn't you still have the chanche to come back in time and enjoy it for the first time. GO AND GET A COPY.

Someone wrote that they found it boring, lacking in plot and full of cheesy music. My opinion is that you would have liked it as a kid, but growing up you simply lost your capability of astonishment.

To date, my biggest ever disappointment.....

Star Wars episodes IV, V and VI make up the finest cinematic saga of all time. Originally written as the middle three episodes of nine stories spanning centuries in the Star Wars mythology, they captivated audiences of all generations and still continue to do so today. When George Lucas announced he was going to begin filming the three prequels to his original trilogy I almost passed out in excitement. We waited and waited and waited. And then, in a typhoon of worldwide media frenzy, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace opened in cinemas. I was there of course, my only concern being whether or not I had enough time to run to Toys 'R' us and buy a lightsabre before the film started. I never even considered the film might stink. After all, this is Star Wars! How wrong I was.

Star Wars: Episode I is a boring, noxious dog's egg of a film. Industrial Light & Magic's gruesome creatures are replaced with irritating, glossy CGI animations giving the film a tacky, shiny gloss not at all in keeping with the spirit of the originals. Even Jabba the Hutt looks like a slimmer, more sanitized version of his Return of the Jedi self. The story concentrates on Anakin Skywalker (Luke's father), following him as a child growing up on Tattooine and then as he embarks upon a journey towards his inevitable destiny as a powerful warrior. Jedi knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) meet Anakin and sense the force in him and realising he could become a powerful Jedi, take him with them. Standing in their way is evil Darth Maul, a pretty rubbish looking Sith warrior with a cheap looking painted face. His only saving grace is a cool double edged lightsabre. Tagging along all the time is an incredibly annoying and totally unnecessary CGI characater called Jar Jar Binks who is in no way as important to this story as C3PO and R2D2 were to the originals. Add all these factors to a very dull plot about an intergalactic trade dispute or something and drag the film out to over two hours and you have what could quite possibly be the most massive turd of all time. I still went to see episodes II & III but don't consider any of them as members of the Star Wars franchise.

Like this? Try: Episodes II & III