Baby loves this DVD!

My 8 month old baby has just started to take an interest in the t.v. and is mesmerised by Bear in the Big Blue House, although she gets bored after the first 3 minutes. With Baby Einstein she is completely amazed for at least 15minutes! Her responses to the animals are hilarious and keeps us all entertained. She now knows to look to the t.v for the 'dog'. I have this on rent from Amazon but I will definately be buying it.

A novel idea

It must have seemed like a good idea on paper. Take a much loved childrens classic like"Treasure Island" and update it with a good splash of"Star Wars." Get the same guys that produced previous hits like"Aladdin" and"The Little Mermaid" and surely the result will be a winner.
Well in a word, no.
I went into the latest Walt Disney animated movie"Treasure Planet" really wanting to love it. I grew up just an hour away from Edinburgh and many times passed the island in the center of that city which, the tourist brochures tell us, served as an inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's"Treasure Island".
The mesh of classic literature and science fiction does occasionally create a magical moment when you are left saying to yourself"wow, now that was cool," but during too many instances in that movie theater I found myself wondering what I should pick up for dinner or, more telling, what this movie could have been, should have been.
It's novel to have the space ships in this production based on the design of the galleons that cruised the seas during Stevenson's time, complete with sails to capture the suns energy rather than the wind. It was interesting to see the character of Long John Silver turned into a cyborg with a shape shifter on his shoulder instead of a parrot.
The rogues galley of aliens and a robot that owes more than a casual nod to C-3PO also add color to this production, but it really is a mixed bag.
The story is so well known that it seems almost unnecessary to produce here. Young, adventurous and impetuous Jim Hawkins dreams of escaping the dreary life he leads and sailing the open sea, errr, I mean space. Then one night he rescues a dying traveler who has on his person a treasure map. Following his dreams he embarks on an adventure across the universe in search of untold wealth.
This movie may be fun for the kids - which I guess was the target audience for this production, but adults would be better served throwing the newly remastered DVD of"Bambi" into the DVD player.

Lovely film

Perhaps not that well-known, but a really nice film- really heartwarming. Typical Disney in many ways, White Fang sets its own pace and gently eases you into what is a lovely story about a young man's adventure into the unknown. A great story, well acted, superbly shot- all in all a nice film. I'd definitely recommend it. Just be aware of some hairy dog-fights though!

Cheesy 80s America at its best.

I must have seen this film ten times or more, each Boxing day, but i never tire of it. For me, the best thing about this film, is it captures every clique of 80s America; the cheerleader style girl in pink legwarmers dancing around with a mop to great classics of the 80s, the geeky younger brother in stereyotypical scientist clothes, the blond 'mom', the next door neighbour etc. It has everything a kid wants in a film, humour, special effects(although they do leave a lot to be desired)and most of all, it brings to life what everyone wanted to do when they were younger, have an adventure. The makers also try to provide the slightly older kids with the old romamce story between the goodlooking girl and the weedy but attractive nextdoor neighbour. That was my faveourite part because if i could go back in time it would be to 80s America to live those legwarmers, cheerleading and football quarterbacks so it brought my wish to life. Also their hunk of the film wasnt a Josh Brolin lookalike (although i wouldnt argue if he was) so that was quite refreashing. If you liked the Goonies ,Saved by the bell and other 80s American classics then i would definetly recommend this film.

Ash is Back

Ash and Misty take part in a race where Pokemon trainers who have water types has the Pokemon pull them around the course.
This movie is OK but I think they could now change the team to the team in the new series of Pokemon which are Ash, Brock, May and Max.
Team Rocket don’t really feature in this movie it’s more like freelance who are working for there own intrests.
I would rather see the normal Team Rocket foul up again.

Not up to the standard of Toy Story 1 or 2

After an outstanding Toy Story, and then the even better Toy Story 2, this was a real disappointment. A classic 'shoot em up' cartoon of the type you see on TV every Saturday morning. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I should have been warned by the idea of a 'released direct to video / DVD'. The children may take this down from the shelf again, but not as often as the Toy Story DVDs .. and I won't want to sit alongside them when its on.

I shouldn't have paid good money for this, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else to buy.

Bargain!

What a bargain! Why pay the same amount for the supposed two disc special edition for one DVD when this comes little bundle has the main features on one DVD and extras on the 2nd discs that come with what would normally be on the special editions sold on their own?
Great 90's Disney films. Sigh. I miss classically drawn animated stuff like this, it's so beautiful. Not that the new pixar films are bad or anything.

Fascinating and spooky if you are a kid.

I grew up with this film and it was not until much later that I realized that Sean Connery ...Michael McBride was the 007 guy. Everything is so fascinating when you are young. And the special effects are superb for the time. However I did have to take time to get over the banshee.

BETTER THAN 101!

I found the sequel to be much better and fun than the 101 and loved the parrot who thought to be a dog and the puppy who fought to get her spots.It was great and i am ready to buy the dvd to check out the extra stuff in it.Enjoy...

Was it worth?

IMHO, to extend a movie one needs to add some REAL additions into the story with the respect given to the"short" version. The brilliant examples are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and Kingdom of Heaven.

The screening version of this wonderful movie which was released on DVD before supports the book in the best way it could! The spirit is there, the story is well-delivered, and the special effects plus the battle scene are super additions to the overall result! However, this"extended" version made us think only of those unfair moneymakers who didn't put these 9 or 10 minutes into the original version to keep them for doubling their revenue by the end of year.... I could say that those several frames added to this release added nothing to the story, to the movie, and to the idea. The battle scene has the most significant air-battle sequence which is not worth buying, but.... this is exactly their goal - to tease us.

The bonus materials are probably interesting. Haven't watched them all, only the beginning of Disc 2 (of 4) - too angry with Disc 1 to go on... Still I love the book and value the original work very much, so I can't rate it lower than 4 stars.

Brilliant!

This undoubtedly is one of the best Disney films ever made. Great songs, hilarious characters, and a magical story that the whole family can enjoy. This film shows Aladdin, a street rat as he is referred to by the Palace guards, scrapping for every thing he can get, along with his pet monkey Abu.
Menawhile, Princess Jasmine is having suitor after suitor trying to marry her, all of which she hates. Her father, the Sultan, does not know what to do, so calls upon his royal visier, the evil Jafar, and his boystrous parrot Iago. Jafar plans to get a magic lamp from the cave of wonders, but he cannot enter, so he discovers that Aladdin can enter, and he plans for Aladdin to get the lamp, then Jafar will have three wishes from a Genie and become Sultan, marrying Princess Jasmine. Confused? Anyway, Princess Jasmine runs away and is saved by Aladdin on the streets of Agrabah. Jafar has Aladdin put in prison. Jafar then forces Aladdin to get the lamp, which he does, Jafar tries to kill Aladdin, but Abu foils him, and Aladdin and Abu fall into the cave of wonders... with the lamp. The Genie will grant Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin wants to go back to the Palace to try and win over Jasmine, Jasmine not knowing that Aladdin is the boy who saved her on the streets. Aladdin, Abu and a magic Carpet help Jasmine leave the Palace and fly around to a musical number. When Jasmine returns Jafar has already tricked the Sultan into making Jasmine marry Jafar. Aladdin eventually saves Jasmine and tells the Sultan how Jafar tried to have him killed. Jafar escpaes and plans for Iago to steal the lamp. Iago brings the lamp to Jafar, who corrputs Genie, and becomes a Genie himself. Aladdin saves everyone and traps Jafar in the lamp. Aladdin with his final wish sets Genie free, and the film ends.
A wonderful film, 5 stars, no question, some great songs! I would recommend.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

I have always been a fan of the Winnie the Pooh stories and films, and as soon as I saw how cute Lumpy the heffalump was, I HAD to buy this DVD. I wasn’t dissapointed. The film was great, and very touching. Lumpy’s voice was great, as another reviewer said, his giggle was great. I am 18, and I loved this, as did my mother, and my little siter. Great film for all the family, with a lovely message at the end.

Highly recommend Bear!

Another great DvD from Bear in the big blue house. My 3 year old loves Shapes, Sounds & Colours. Bear and his friends offer really imaginative ways of learning the various shapes and colours though play and fun. The songs are great - very catchy as well as educational. As a parent, I feel that Bear in the big blue house is wonderful. Bears' adventures are always full of fun and learning and always have a subtle moral undertone. Highly recommend!*****

Don't bother

What happened? Have all the Disney storywriters snuffed it over the course of the last three years? Have the animators gone blind? In short, what happened to Mulan?

I think Mulan was the last Disney movie deserving the title of a"classic". And epic, funny, dramatic, engaging and colourful movie. This sequel is not much of a movie, but when you compare it to the"proper" film, there is not many positive things to say about it.

To begin with the story, I have to say that I find it incredibly lacking. The structure is boring and the characters have changed from versatile and loveable to static, boring and overdone.

The colourful and not to mention beautiful visuals are gone, and we are left with something so boring and at times even crude, that it is hardly worthy of the title"movie".

Sequels are hardly ever great (with the exception of the lion king 2). but this is such a crude movie, bereft of all the diversity we have come to expect from Disney, that all in all, I would reccommend you to not bother watching this, it would be a complete waste of time.

The best Disney movie of all time

This is the movie that established Walt Disney's reputation as the master of children's cartoons. Even by today's exacting standards, the animation is top notch.

Perhaps the best test of Snow White's enduring charm and beauty is to sit a variety of children between the ages of 5 and 10 in front of it and watch how they become spellbound by it. Visually there is so much to see and enjoy. The detail is stunning. A collection of hugely talented and imaginiative people have vividly brought a stunning array of characters to life in a magical way - magical is truly the perfect word to describe this work of genius.

Of course, adults can enjoy Snow White again and again too. One of the joys of this movie is seeing your sons and daughters enjoy it as much as you did, when you first saw it. And, when you see it again after a gap of 25 years, its power still amazes you.

You could describe this movie as a rite of passage, something that every child should see, and why not - we all love a well-told story, which this unquestionably is. This is film that connects one generation to the next. Perhaps the only other movie that does this is"The Sound of Music".

My only gripe is that Disney releases it so rarely to preserve its value. So next time it comes out, I recommend you buy two copies because younger children will quickly damage the DVD in their eagerness to watch the film umpteen times.

What else can I say but thank you, Walt. It is a masterpiece.

High adventure on and under the high seas

This film version of Jules Verne's novel,"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" has few, if any flaws. It won Oscars for art direction and special effects (deservedly) and the performances (especially James Mason and Kirk Douglas) were overlooked at Oscar time, probably because science fiction is often not taken seriously.

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was a favorite book of mine as a child, and the movie is true to the novel. James Mason is perfect as Captain Nemo, a rogue scientist/inventor/businessman who rejects the barbarity of the"civilized" world and mounts an undersea war against those who make war and ravage the sea. Paul Lukas plays a scientist who is rescued by Nemo, along with Lukas' aide (a perpetually frightened and bewildered Peter Lorre) and their harpoonist, all-American boy Ned Land (Kirk Douglas). The three are unsure of what to make of Nemo, who is obviously a genius and who is protesting barbarity, but who is also ruthless and secretive. And, they are somewhere between guests and prisoners after Nemo rescues them (after sinking their ship). Lukas's ship had been in search of a sea monster that sinks ships; that turns out to be Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus. While the special effects are slightly dated at times, the Nautilus in the film was a marvel, and still is. And, watch out for the giant squid!

Another wonderful aspect of the film (and the novel) was how imaginative Jules Verne was. The story takes place right after the Civil War (1870?), but the submarine is nuclear-powered and Captain Nemo is engaged in underwater farming! This is a flawless translation of a wonderful science/adventure novel to film, and it's a perfect family movie, good for all but very young children. Enjoy!

infantile inappropriate rubbish

I bought this for my 3year old twins as I thought it would be a good way to introduce them to the world of Mickey etc. We have watched it once and they were indifferent and I hated it with a passion. As we are used to Winnie the Pooh and Cbeebies we all found this completely dumb and pointless in comparison. There was hardly any plot to the stories, just lots of slapstick, fighting and dancing, which even the children thought was silly.

Apart from the fact that it was infantile and boring, it introduced far too many images and concepts which I think are not really appropriate for litle ones eg capturing and killing a giant, smoking, striking matches, chasing ghosts, guns, fighting with swords.......... Are these really images that you want your toddler to watch? I certainly don't.

I also thought the sound quality was very poor so we had to watch it turned up very high to hear the dialogue, despite awful loud music throughout.

This will not be viewed again in this house and we will steer clear from Mickey for as long as possible.

The Best Christmas Movie EVER

Ok I take on board the cut which is a great shame, but this still has to be the Best Christmas Movie, the best version of"A Christmas Carol" and has our entire family smiling every year as we have played it every Christmas since it came out (in video!!)