A lot has changed since the original 70s-era gang of Scooby-Doo fans gave way to today's followers of the hipster mystery cartoon series. Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders contains all the familiar elements; even the groovy green Mystery Machine makes a comeback, but it isn't as reliable as it used to be. At the outset of Alien Invaders, it breaks down, leaving the crime-solving crew stranded in a creepy desert town overrun by aliens. From there, the plot unwinds faster than Scooby can down a box of his namesake snacks. A band of swollen-headed purple and green space guys-Zoinks-send the terrified teens scrambling for cover, but it's not long before the quick-witted gang figures out that there's a team of bad guys behind the bug-eyed masks. That's not to say, though, that real-life aliens aren't also roaming the streets, as Shag and Scoob (who hook up in an unprecedented Scooby-Doo romance with a peace sign-wearing babe and her equally hip dog) discover in the course of clearing out of the phoney aliens' hair-raising path. To longtime viewers, the love angle seems unsettling; it steals from the tightness of the mystery team. Still, with so much creepy fun to get caught up in, it's a minor complaint. Scott Innes, the modern-day voice of both Shaggy and Scooby, nails both parts, and Jennifer Love Hewitt fans also will want to tune in-she sings the Scooby theme song. -Tammy La Gorce, Amazon. [+]

Ten years and six films (most released straight-to-video) have made these plucky dinosaurs favourites among the younger set. This new adventure is, well, pretty much like all the others. Littlefoot hears the story of a legendary dinosaur that defended the land years before. When a strange brontosaurus named Doc wanders through town, Littlefoot is convinced he is the legend. Same old fare: earthshakes, mean old "sharptooths" (T-Rexes), lots of screaming, and a lesson learned. Only three songs. The biggest surprise is Kris Kristofferson as the voice of Doc. -Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

The Disney touch is all over this grand, colourful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family setting off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multi-level tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck it's pure fantasy, but as entertainment it's energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There's little real danger anywhere in the film: even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair, with coconut bombs and non-lethal booby traps, until the final desperate, deadly moments. Hardly a faithful adaptation of the novel, but a lush, beautifully shot film and an entertaining adventure safe for all ages. Dorothy McGuire co-stars as the proper, worry-prone mother. [+]

This zany, eye-popping, knee-slapping landmark in combining animation with live-action ingeniously makes that uneasy combination itself (and the history of Hollywood) its subject. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is based on classic Los Angeles private-eye movies (and, specifically, Chinatown), with detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) investigating a case involving adultery, blackmail, murder, and a fiendish plot to replace LA's once-famous Red Car public transportation system with the automobiles and freeways that would later make it the nation's smog capital. Of course, his sleuthing takes him back to the place he dreads: Toontown, the ghetto for cartoons that abuts Hollywood and that was the site of a tragic incident in Eddie's past. In addition to intermingling cartoon characters with live actors and locations, Roger Rabbit also brings together the greatest array of cartoon stars in the history of motion pictures, from a variety of studios (Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, Fleischer, Universal, and elsewhere): Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy Dog, and more! And, of course, there's Maroon Cartoon's greatest star, Roger Rabbit (voice by Charles Fleischer), who suspects his ultra-curvaceous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voice by Kathleen Turner: "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way"), of infidelity. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Contact), not since the early Looney Tunes' "You Oughtta Be in Pictures" has there been anything like Roger Rabbit. -Jim Emerson The words unique and groundbreaking are often bandied around in cinema, but on its original release in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a genuine landmark in filmmaking. It remains a movie that has lost none of its impact. While many special effects in the cinema have a tendency to date, what is most noticeable here is how vibrant and fresh the combination of real actors and animation still appears. Created long before the days of CGI and other computer-enhanced aids, the hand-drawn characters have a real frisson and life to them that stems from their cartoon heritage (Jessica Rabbit must still rank as one of the all time great screen sex symbols). The human performances are also superb, from Hoskins' downtrodden PI to Christopher Lloyd's insane villain. [+]

The fifth instalment in the series finds "leaf gobblers" eating all the vegetation in Great Valley, driving Littlefoot, the young brontosaurus, and the other dinosaur inhabitants out. Arguments break out among the adults during migration, and Littlefoot and his friends decide to take matters in their own hands by crossing the "big water" to an unknown island. There they meet an old friend from The Land Before Time II-Chomper, the T-rex, who has to protect the gang from his own carnivorous parents. Plenty of drama in this one, and as the series has been wont to do from the beginning, it shows adults as sometimes being less than perfect. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.

Horse lovers young and old will celebrate Spirit, an utterly enjoyable and marvellous-looking animated film. The titular stallion runs free in the Cimarron (New Mexico) wilderness until a series of men try to master the proud horse, leading to adventures through a US Cavalry fort, Native American settlements, and a railroad camp. Despite a heavy dose of political correctness and realism (the animals don't talk; we only hear Spirit's internal monologue, voiced by Matt Damon), directors Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook give their hero many only-in-a-movie moments, including an action sequence rivalling any of James Bond's escapes. The stirring mix of 2-D and 3-D animation is absolutely stunning and aptly fuelled by composer Hans Zimmer's synthesised score. The film earns one demerit for 80s rocker Bryan Adams's abundant songs-a different singer could have brought more to the film. -Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

Monkey Trouble is a movie only a kid could love, which was the whole point. Harvey Keitel plays a small-time thief who performs as an organ grinder on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. His scam involves his monkey, which has been trained to pick pockets. Now a mob boss wants to borrow the monkey to pull off some big scores-but the monkey runs away and is adopted by a lonely little girl (Thora Birch). She finds herself in increasingly hot water when her new pet starts bringing her the valuables of everyone in the neighbourhood. Birch is a natural young actress, while Keitel hams it up shamelessly (he reportedly made the film to amuse his young daughter). -Marshall Fine A movie only a kid could love, which was the whole point. Harvey Keitel plays a small-time thief who performs as an organ grinder on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. His scam involves his monkey, which has been trained to pick pockets. Now a mob boss wants to borrow the monkey to pull off some big scores-but the monkey runs away and is adopted by a lonely little girl (Thora Birch). [+]

This direct-to-video sequel (the second) to The Land Before Time suffers from less ambitious animation, but the story is superior to the last film. This time, a meteorite has cut off the water supply to the Great Valley, causing inhabitants to bicker and bully among themselves. By contrast, Littlefoot and his friends are getting along just fine, and they leave the valley to go in search of a new water source. Directed by Roy Allen Smith, who made the The Land Before Time II. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.