Good message but a bit slow maybe for todays 'must have everything right now kids'.

This film has all the right moral fibre stuff like.... if we don't stop being greedy, abusing the the planet and start thinking of others then we are are all going to be screwed sooner rather than later. Also if we sit in front of computers on social networking sites vainly obsessing about ourselves and telling the world how we are feeling and what we are doing every five minites of the day, we will turn into self obsessed, vacuous idiots who no longer have the wherewithall to understand, interact and enjoy the real world for what it really is. It's also a love story, which too is all healthy stuff. That said, it's a bit slow for the younger viewer and some of it maybe won't be understood, so if your a hands off parent who is going to plonk your 8 year old down in front of the screen, then they probably won't get it....as like many of these sorts of films, they're great fun for adults too.

Plucky panda saves the day

Po the Panda spends his days working in his dad's noodle bar and his nights dreaming of being a Kung Fu hero. His dreams start to come improbably true when he is revealed to be none other than the Dragon Warrior - the ultimate Kung Fu hero destined to save the valley from the destructive rage of evil snow leopard Tai Lung; much to the disgust of genuine Kung Fu experts Monkey, Tiger, Snake, Mantis and Crane.

The plot is comfortingly familiar. Po stands firmly in the tradition of Jack the Giant Killer. Many of the supporting characters, too, are familiar and a special mention must go to the rhinos (last seen in Robin Hood) who give a first rate performance as the guards charged with keeping Tai Lung in his mountain prison.

This film takes a while to get started, but once it does, it's a visual feast, drawing strongly on its Chinese setting. Tai Lung's escape from his Mordor-like prison is animation at its best. As with a number of recent animations, though, less care has been taken with some of the crowd scenes, but these don't detract from the overall enjoyment.

When it first hit the big screen, some reviewers criticized this film for encouraging children to think that you don't have to work at success: being true to yourself is enough. This is unfair to the overweight and distinctly un-athletic Po who submits to a rigorous training programme under the guidance of Kung Fu master Shi Fu.

"Kung Fu Panda" is a essentially a children's film that many adults will also enjoy. Youngsters will be delighted by Po and his chums, but parents would do well to note the PG rating as some scenes may distress very young children.

A must for animation aficionados and overweight Kung Fu enthusiasts everywhere.

The worst film ever made

Now you all have seen Narnia 2 and that was abismal this film has sunk to a whole new level of pants. The Novel was or would have been 20x better then the film i grantee. I was so bord in the cinema that started chucking food (Popcorn) around the room and this old man who was around 70 by his looks and he gave me evils. Now this film is worse then enchanted and Jaws 4 and even the grudge. I would raver bye the film Doggy Poo! Its that bad I give this poor film 1/5 atchualy i must this is so bad its like watching High school mucisal! So Bad I would rather die then watch it again. I din't buy this poor exsuse for a film i was forced to see it and i really hated it and the reason i looked it up was to tell you it was abismal, so here i go! IT WAS ABISMAL

Thoroughly entertaining!

Although there have been a lot of nay-sayers, and this film was not a huge box-office success, it is a good entry to the Clone Wars TV series, and I thought the action sequences were easily as thrilling as anything in the prequel trilogy, especially the assault on the monastery.
I also loved the camp Truman Capote-style Hutt-had me in stitches-just proves Star Wars CAN be funny!

3 1/2 star for this one

I give this movie a 3 1/2 star for this one, the first 10-15 minutes of animation are hardwork to watch but when characters become"real" the story picks up and was pleasant to watch.

a lovely, sparkling gem

This was a very understated and beautiful little film about Tinkerbell's life before Peter Pan and how her life evolves with all the other fairies. Tink is on contact a clumsy but kindhearted little fairy who has no idea what her talent is, she can't work with animals, nor with water, so what on earth can she do? Well you soon find out her talent and much more in this lovely, short and delightful effort from Disney.

For The Tweens With HSM Withdrawl Symptoms, Here's A New Franchise To Obsess Over

'Camp Rock' is what I would describe as a good substitute for the finished series of the 'High School Musical' films.
It ticks all the typical Disney movie boxes; shy, unpopular leading lady, hot crush (Joe Jonas), nasty blonde rich girl & a good ol' moral at the end.
'Camp Rock' is better than 'High School Musical 2' but not better than 1 & 3. I don't think there's a mere chance of any Disney musical having a hit bigger than 'Breaking Free' but 'Camp Rock' does have a few catchy tunes, the best being 'This Is Me' sung by Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas.
Ah, the Jonas Brothers. Three pop-rock virgins with a loyal tween fan base, teamed with Disney, a match made in heaven. The middle Jonas (Joe)has the most air time, the other two aren't really in the film for longer than three & a half minutes.
The stoy is about Mitchie, a 'normal' girl, who constantly smiles & she has a talent for songwriting & singing & is soon thrust into the all-singing all dancing world of 'Camp Rock'. Then there's Shane part of a band named Connect Three (real life band Jonas Brothers).
Everything is happy & merry until Mitchie becomes part of the 'popular clique'.
'Camp Rock' is good for its target audience, it IS a Disney movie afterall, so there are going to be the inevitable conveniences & morals that heve been touched upon many a film before. But the film is sweet & innocent, the underlying message is be yourself. On a more sour note, the other two unintentional messages are to get famous- be a singer, whatever. It seems the kids watching films like this & the 'HSM' moives are all being lead to believe that in order to truly be someone they have to dance, or sing (mainly both). The other message is avoid skinny blonde girls like the bubonic plague, Disney has been waging war on Blondes since Walt Disney was alive (Sharpay, Tess Tyler).
In conclusion it succeeds in creaing a film adequate for the target audience, so for all those tweens out there with 'HSM' withdrawl symptoms, this is the perfect substitute, a new leading man to drool over (Joe Jonas) & a new burgeoning pop-sensation to aspire to (Demi Lovato).

Poor Story Line

I was really disappointed with this movie. It had a very feeble story line and was quite boring towards the end. There is only so much you can take of this robot crushing a pile of scrap. I bet it must excite the environmentalists though. The only reason I gave it three stars is that the bonus movie is really brilliant (unless it was the boredom of Wall-E kicking in!). Excellent graphics, great sound, non-existant plot.

5 stars for the film, only one for the DVD

I'm afraid I have to agree with the earlier reviewer who said there is a fault with the DVD.

I have a 4:3 television and set my DVD player to letterbox. The film does not play in the correct aspect ratio, losing some of the picture at either side. Considering that one of the selling points of the 50th anniversary edition is that you get the entire original picture this is really disappointing. In addition, the picture appears to be somewhat squashed together so that the characters in the film appear far thinner then they should.

Initially I thought it was my DVD player causing the problems but I have no trouble with any of my other disks. After doing some research online at several other DVD review sites it appears that this is a problem experienced by quite a few other people.

I enjoyed the film, it's absolutely fantastic but please do not buy the standard (non Blu-ray) version of the disc until Disney get off their backsides and release a properly authored version. How Disney can make such a huge mistake with a release like this is beyond me, do they even have a quality control department?

I am VERY disappointed.

Bagpuss hasn't aged. Visit him in Canterbury!

I bought this with an Amazon token on my 30th birthday! Only 13 episodes were ever made so you get everything on this DVD. Currently it's selling for 3 GBP - what a bargain!
Good, clean, timeless classic.
Visit Bagpuss in the Museum of Canterbury - what a joy to see the shopfront! It's a shame about the recent death of the creator. Long live Bagpuss!
Parents, grandparents - buy this DVD for your kids!

Look for the bear necessities

In one of Walt Disney's classics, Bagheera the panther offers to take Mowgli, a young boy, to the man village before the evil tiger Shere Khan gets to him.

This family adventure is a classic, made so by a beautiful sentimental plot about human emotions, including loyalty, sensitivity and most importantly love. And these human emotions are decoded through the animals of the jungle.

With the enchanting and fun loving actions of Baloo the bear and the honest and hard actions of Bagheera, do audiences get that true feel of the human spirit, and the facts of life, to have fun, but to face the truth as well, which is also reflected in some of the most catchy and enjoyable songs ever created for a Disney picture.

"The Bear Necessities","Trust in me" and"That's what friends are for" are the brightest gems to have ever been written and are beautifully directed and told through humorous and delightful techniques by the team.

Though the plot can be a little slow at times, the characters are all joys to watch, particularly the bad guys Khan and Kaa, who light up the film in their own dark way. Khan's dialogue is perhaps the best ever written for an animated villain and even in my adult years I find him chilling to watch.

The film explores the depths of the jungle with a keen interest in different animals, which are explored in a comic fashion from the forgettable elephant to the bored vultures, the Jungle Book simply has everything.

From an excellent plot, to the wonderful sing-along songs, it is a true landmark in the animation genre.

9/10

Memories and future excitement!

I was seven when Star Wars first came out in the cinema, and ever since, a full 31 years, I have been hooked on the films. Now I introduce my son to them, and yaaay! Here we go again! All the memories flood back, and there is his newfound excitement adding to my enjoyment of what had to be one of the best ever trilogies put up on the big screen.

It isn't just the movies, but having the option to watch either the digitally remastered version, or the older version that I remember better, is a great thing. From the special effects, to the fantastic cast, the scene setting opening credits, with that amazing musical sound track, the weird and wonderful aliens, right through to the pithy relationship of Leia and Han, these were truly fantastic movies, and should be in everyone's collection. Not just for the now, and those of us who remember them originally, but for the future, when we can delight in introducing others to the eternal fight of good against evil, and the story of determination, love, and hope that these movies represent.

Now, where did I leave my popcorn...

Brilliant, Awesome, Super, Great, fantastic.

Brilliant, Awesome, Super, Great, fantastic. What more can you say? I just watched them and forgot how good they are. You really need to get thses and watch the whole set again.

A Poorly produced film with a cheap feel to it.

This modern attempt at adapting this classic book into film is not a good one. When compared to other classic book-to-film adaptations of classic fanatasy (ie. Lord of the Rings and Stardust) this falls well short of standard set by previous fantasy movies. In contrast, Narnia appears cheap with inferior acting, poor casting, bad direction, cheap looking sets and generally poorly produced.

Narnia is not a terrible movie and you'll find your children enjoying it ..... but unlike other fantasy films like stardust and LOTR ,this isnt really enjoyable for adults.

This film seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the success of 'the Lord of the Rings' trilogy, but sadly falls well short of the high standard set by Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkiens work. Thus this attempt at adapting CS Lewis classic tale feels like it has been rushed and made on the cheap. At best this an average film ... at the worst; its a big disapointment.

If anyone is in the mood for escapism fantasy ... i would not recommend this film at all.

yet another Disney masterpiece

joint with Lion King as being the best Disney film ever and another one of my favourite films of all time.
the animation is breathtaking and shows us the greatest set of characters ever.
Arial is the definitive Disney princess...who actually fights for what she believes in and remains a truely beautiful Disney creation.
Sabastean = the most hilarious Disney character after Robin Williams Genie in Aladdin.
Ursula is neck in neck with Sleeping Beauty's Melefacent as the ultimate Disney villain.
a remarkable film and Disney at its most epic and beautiful best that in turn marked a new golden age of Disney animation.
the astonishing Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, and (my fave)The Lion King followed this masterpiece.
simply amazing

Best telling of a Christmas Carol!

We watch this film every Christams! It's the best version of this book- it remains faithful to Dickens in the sense that the novel is very playfully narrated but also poignant and moving- I think Dickens would approve of this version. It's also the Muppets finest moment too- it's a great vehicle for all the Muppet characters who are very well 'cast' in their roles. The film has excellent production values- nicely created sets, special effects and well choreographed songs which must have been a challenge to do with puppets! Caine is excellent of course.

Like many others, we stick to the VHS version as the DVD has Belles Song cut - what a travesty!

Tasty Treat

Remy, an ambitious rat has always dreamed of making it as a top chef in France and after an accident, he winds up in the French Capital and helps nervous chef Linguini to create a name for himself.

Pixar have become the biggest animated company in the world, joining forces with Disney just after the millennium and though the companies have had their differences, there can be no question that they can still make fine cinematic viewing, which is evident with this 2007 Oscar winning animation.

The Incredibles director Brad Bird returns to Pixar and creates a wonderful sentimental story which takes a while to get into but leaves a smile on your face come the end.

The beginning is intriguing with the camera freezing right on a rat that has just dived out of the window away from a human and simply narrates"I should rethink my life a little" this little sentence along with a few other well scripted words helps paint the picture of what being a rat is like, and soon the audience is engulfed into a life of hardship, about looking like pests and living in a world of survival.

The plot is consistent but does take a while to get fully into as the characters are introduced slowly. Once the main ideology is set down about cooking and Linguini is introduced, does the plot pick up and we see a strong man and animal relationship develop which is highly likable and funny at times. Like other Pixar films the comedy is equally measured alongside a good plot and a heavy use of human emotions, for animals and humans.

A side issue of animal cruelty is evident towards the end and has a great twist to the evil side of the world, creating hope for the characters.

The comedy comes thick and fast during the middle of the film when Remy and Linguini meet and the sheer ideology of a rat cooking will provide plenty of giggles, if not as strong as Toy Story or Monsters Inc.

Pixar's animation is the at it's very best here with the graphics mouth watering and just keeps getting better throughout the 111 running time.

Ratatouille does rely on a few clichés but creates a wonderful atmosphere in doing so with good comedy and a feel good narrative which is healthy for the entire family

8/10

For once Jim Carrey is not too annoying!

Well I took my 2 boys to see this (aged 7 and 9) and they loved it. As a parent having to sit through this film with them, I too was entranced and thoroughly enjoyed a moment of pure Dr Seuss imagination gone wild! OK so Mr W.A.Ford did not like it, but with respect Mr Ford, the book and latterly film adaptation is meant for children and their vivid imaginations, so clearly it will not suit all adults.

My kids both want a copy of the DVD for Christmas, so Amazon to the rescue!

A total waste of space!!

I purchased this because it was cheap and was not expecting to be blown away. The morphing of cars and lorries into the Transformers is pretty stunning as are the Transformerns themselves. But storyline? What a pile of the brown stuff, I mean really what a load of rubbish!

I know it is taken from the kids toys back in the 80's or whenever but if this is the result then the producers ought to be retired with a restraining order to never have any dealings with movie making ever again.

I think it would have made more sense if the Transformers had declared war on earth instead of protecting a pair of specs found in a region of the Arctic. I know imagination is a major factor but even with a good imagination I find this very hard to watch even when I am incredibly bored!

Don't buy this unless there is nothing else that you can buy and you have money burning its way out of your pocket.