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Review Walt Disney Home Video / A Bug's Life [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Kevin Spacey
  • Phyllis Diller
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
  • Dave Foley
  • John Lasseter
  • Andrew Stanton
  • Hayden Panettiere
Release date: 1999-08-23
Run time: 96 min.
Creator: Jason Katz
RRP: £14.99
Price: £1.98

Review A Bug's Life [1999] / Walt Disney Home Video:

There was a rare magic on the big screen in 1995, when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story, and their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty that it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible. Brighter and more colourful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help-a hearty bunch of bug warriors-and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just travelling performers, afraid of conflict. As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybird, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick insect and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible woodlice. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big soft spot for Flik. [+]
More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise in store for the villain. However, the film-a worldwide hit-will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan. -Doug Thomas.

Review Carlton Visual Entertainment Ltd / Jane Hissey's Old Bear And Friends - Little Bear Lost And Other Stories [1993]
Actors & Directors
  • Kevin Griffiths
Release date: 1995-09-18
Run time: 40 min.
Creator: Jane Hissey
RRP: £6.99
Price: £9.99

Review Jane Hissey's Old Bear And Friends - Little Bear Lost And Other Stories [1993] / Carlton Visual Entertainment Ltd:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / Homeward Bound 2 - Lost In San Francisco [1995]
Actors & Directors
  • David R. Ellis
  • Kim Greist
  • Ralph Waite
  • Sally Field
  • Robert Hays
  • Michael J. Fox
Release date: 2000-09-01
Run time: 85 min.
Creator: Sheila Burnford
RRP: £10.99
Price: £4.30

Review Homeward Bound 2 - Lost In San Francisco [1995] / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review Jolly Learning Ltd / Jolly Phonics - Video 1 - Teaches Reading And Writing [1995]
Release date: 1995-04-03
Run time: 60 min.
RRP: £7.99
Price: £9.74

Review Jolly Phonics - Video 1 - Teaches Reading And Writing [1995] / Jolly Learning Ltd:


Run time: 27 min.
Price: £9.99

Review Sing Along Songs - Heigh Ho / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review First International / The Famous Five - Five Get Into Trouble / Five Go Adventuring Again [1996] [1978]
Actors & Directors
  • Andrew Morgan
  • Michael Kerrigan
  • Tony Kysh
  • Jemma Rooper
Release date: 2003-07-21
Run time: 51 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £13.98

Review The Famous Five - Five Get Into Trouble / Five Go Adventuring Again [1996] [1978] / First International:


Review Disney Fables / Walt Disney's Fables - Volume 1 (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / The Prince and the Pauper)
Release date: 2003-04-07
Run time: 65 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.00

Review Walt Disney's Fables - Volume 1 (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / The Prince and the Pauper) / Disney Fables:


Review 2 Entertain Video / The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 2 - From Copse To Quarry [1993]
Release date: 1993-10-04
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £9.29

Review The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 2 - From Copse To Quarry [1993] / 2 Entertain Video:


Release date: 1999-10-01
RRP: £10.99
Price: £9.90

Review Very Best of the Muppet Show Vol 2 / Muppets the:


Review Uca Catalogue SLL 4003 / The Famous Five - Five Go To Smuggler's Top - Parts 1 and 2
Release date: 2003-07-21
Run time: 64 min.
Price: £5.99

Review The Famous Five - Five Go To Smuggler's Top - Parts 1 and 2 / Uca Catalogue SLL 4003:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / Homeward Bound (1993) (Disney)
Actors & Directors
  • Don Alder
  • Michael J. Fox
  • Kevin Chevalia
  • Ed Bernard
  • Duwayne Dunham
  • Sally Field
Release date: 2000-09-01
Run time: 81 min.
Creator: Sheila Burnford
RRP: £10.99
Price: £8.95

Review Homeward Bound (1993) (Disney) / Walt Disney Home Video:

Walt Disney studios had previously adapted Sheila Burnford's classic animal-adventure novel The Incredible Journey in 1963, and the story proves just as durable in this popular 1993 version, Homeward Bound, in which the heroic trio of animals are given voices provided by Don Ameche, Michael J Fox, and Sally Field. They don't actually speak (like the clever critters in Babe), but we hear their "voices" as the lost household pets-Shadow the golden retriever, Chance the bulldog, and Sassy the cat-survive a harrowing series of adventures as they struggle to find their way home. Perfect entertainment for kids, this frequently clever movie offers an abundance of wildlife and beautiful location scenery, and the vocal performances by Ameche, Fox and Field are surprisingly effective. A hit with parents and children alike, the film was followed by a sequel in 1996. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Warner Home Video / Scooby Doo And The Boo Brothers
Actors & Directors
  • Scooby Doo
Release date: 2001-05-07
RRP: £13.99
Price: £2.26

Review Scooby Doo And The Boo Brothers / Warner Home Video:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / The Return Of Jafar (Disney) [1994]
Actors & Directors
  • Jason Alexander
  • Jonathan Freeman
  • Scott Weinger
  • Tad Stones
  • Alan Zaslove
  • Dan Castellaneta
  • Gilbert Gottfried
  • Toby Shelton
Release date: 1995-01-31
Run time: 66 min.
Creator: Douglas Langdale
RRP: £15.99
Price: £0.90

Review The Return Of Jafar (Disney) [1994] / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Teletubbies: Bedtime [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Teletubbies
Release date: 2003-06-02
Run time: 76 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £17.25

Review Teletubbies: Bedtime [2000] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / Peter Pan - Return to Neverland [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Robin Budd
  • Harriet Owen|Kath Soucie|Corey Burton|Jeff Bennett
Release date: 2002-08-19
Run time: 70 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £0.10

Review Peter Pan - Return to Neverland [2002] / Walt Disney Home Video:

Peter Pan soars back onto the screen in Disney's all-new animated feature, Return to Never Land. This sequel to the 1953 classic Peter Pan has a reassuringly old-fashioned feel, with computer-generated images and more-traditional artwork cleverly blended to recall the original. Wendy, now married with children, is living in a London ravaged by the blitz. Every night she enchants her small son with tales of pirates and Pan to distract him from the bombings but her serious young daughter Jane finds the stories of magic and fairies unconvincing in the face of a war-torn reality. After a fairly slow beginning establishing the bleak backdrop and the various characters-Jane's smug conscientiousness grates at times-the scene is set for the adventure to begin; and once the nefarious Hook and crew loom into sight, things really take off-literally. In Never Land nothing much has changed: the dastardly Captain Hook, now tormented by a clicking octopus rather than a ticking crocodile, just wants to be hated; his crew remain bloodthirsty but bumbling; and feisty fairy Tinker Bell shimmers around in a jealous strop when another female appears on the scene. Unfortunately, the story line hasn't changed much either, being a thin re-working of the original, although there is an interesting mirroring between mother and daughter-one who was afraid to grow-up and the other distrustful of childhood, with its emphasis on fun and lack of responsibility. It was never going to be easy to follow the original Peter Pan but Return to Never Land is an engaging sequel and the uplifting "So To Be One of Us" is Disney music at its best. (Ages 3 to 9)-Helen Baker.

Review MGM Entertainment / Thunderbirds Are Go - The Movie [1966]
Actors & Directors
  • Shane Rimmer
  • Peter Dyneley
  • Jeremy Wilkin
  • David Lane
  • Sylvia Anderson
  • Matt Zimmerman
Release date: 2001-04-09
Run time: 89 min.
Creator: John Read
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.24

Review Thunderbirds Are Go - The Movie [1966] / MGM Entertainment:

Thunderbirds Are Go followed the remarkable success of the Thunderbirds television series, bringing the three-dimensional puppet animation adventures of International Rescue to the big screen. Set in the 21st century, there is no attempt to explain the background story: as in the TV show International Rescue is a private family organisation who use hi-tech craft to rescue anyone in peril. Here it is the first manned flight to Mars which is in danger, as International Rescue foils a sabotage attempt at the launch, then race to avert disaster when the spaceship returns to earth. What could have made a 50-minute TV episode is expanded to feature length with Martian "rock monsters" and a surreal dream-sequence involving Alan Tracy, Lady Penelope and "Cliff Richard Jnr" & the Shadows, with a new song performed by the real Cliff and the Shadows. In the cinemas this was competing against another British children's TV SF spin-off, the equally colourful Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD, and would be followed by Thunderbird 6 (1968). Yet apart from more complex model work, a bigger orchestra and even bigger explosions, on TV this plays like a widescreen double-length episode. On the DVD: The mono sound is powerful, with Barry Gray's stirring music suffering intermittent distortion. Presented in anamorphic widescreen the picture is very good, with strong colours and only minimal grain, though the print does show occasional damage. Unfortunately the original extremely wide 2. 74:1 Techniscope image is cropped to more conventional 2. [+]
35:1, to the extent that the careful compositions are noticeably damaged, which director David Lane refers to in his joint commentary with producer Sylvia Anderson (who also played Lady Penelope). 35 years after the event their commentary is packed with details of the filming process and full of information about the many problems of and solutions to making an animated feature. Both Anderson fans and budding animators will find this a real education. The original, rather battered, trailer is included, as are galleries of behind the scenes photos, promotional artwork and posters. Altogether it's rather FABulous. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / The Simpsons - Treehouse Of Horror
Actors & Directors
  • The Simpsons
Release date: 2002-10-28
Run time: 88 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £37.99

Review The Simpsons - Treehouse Of Horror / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Noddy 2-On-1 - Noddy And The Naughty Tail / Noddy And The Kite [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Noddy
Release date: 1998-02-02
Run time: 80 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £9.89

Review Noddy 2-On-1 - Noddy And The Naughty Tail / Noddy And The Kite [1992] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / Basil The Great Mouse Detective (Disney) [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • David Michener
  • Burny Mattinson
  • Susanne Pollatschek
  • Candy Candido
  • John Musker
  • Barrie Ingham
  • Val Bettin
  • Vincent Price
  • Ron Clements
Release date: 1995-05-23
Run time: 71 min.
Creator: Eve Titus
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.49

Review Basil The Great Mouse Detective (Disney) [1986] / Walt Disney Home Video:


Review Fremantle Home Entertainment / Wind In The Willows [1983]
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Pearson
  • Peter Sallis
  • Ian Carmichael
  • Mark Hall
  • Chris Taylor
  • David Jason
  • Michael Hordern
Release date: 2000-05-01
Run time: 78 min.
Creator: Kenneth Grahame
RRP: £7.99
Price: £11.75

Review Wind In The Willows [1983] / Fremantle Home Entertainment:


Browse Ages 5-8:

Models & Brands:
A Bug's Life [1999], Jane Hissey's Old Bear And Friends - Little Bear Lost And Other Stories [1993], Homeward Bound 2 - Lost In San Francisco [1995], Jolly Phonics - Video 1 - Teaches Reading And Writing [1995], Sing Along Songs - Heigh Ho, The Famous Five - Five Get Into Trouble / Five Go Adventuring Again [1996] [1978], Walt Disney's Fables - Volume 1 (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / The Prince and the Pauper), The Animals Of Farthing Wood - Part 2 - From Copse To Quarry [1993], Very Best of the Muppet Show Vol 2, The Famous Five - Five Go To Smuggler's Top - Parts 1 and 2, Homeward Bound (1993) (Disney), Scooby Doo And The Boo Brothers, The Return Of Jafar (Disney) [1994], Teletubbies: Bedtime [2000], Peter Pan - Return to Neverland [2002], Thunderbirds Are Go - The Movie [1966], The Simpsons - Treehouse Of Horror, Noddy 2-On-1 - Noddy And The Naughty Tail / Noddy And The Kite [1992], Basil The Great Mouse Detective (Disney) [1986], Wind In The Willows [1983]

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