A Grand Day Out Nominated for an Academy Award in 1990, the first short-film adventure of Wallace and Gromit was this 24-minute comedy, created by clay animator Nick Park over a six-year period at the National Film & Television School in London, and at the Aardman Animation studios that Park boosted to international acclaim. In their debut adventure, Wallace and his furry pal Gromit find themselves desperate for "a nice bit of Gorgonzola", but their refrigerator's empty and the local cheese shop is closed for a holiday! Undeterred, Wallace comes up with an extreme solution to the cheese shortage: since the moon is made of cheese (we all know that's true, right?), he decides to build a rocket ship and blast off for a cheesy lunar picnic! Gromit's only too happy to help, and before long the inventive duo is on the moon, where they encounter a clever appliance that's part oven, part robot, part lunar skiing enthusiast. well, you just have to see the movie to understand how any of this whimsical lunar-cy can make any sense! It's a grand tale of wonderful discoveries, fantastic inventions-and really great cheese! The Wrong Trousers Clay-animation master Nick Park deservedly won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Animated Short for this 30-minute masterpiece, in which the good-natured inventor Wallace and his trusty dog, Gromit, return for another grand adventure. It all begins on the morning of Gromit's birthday, when Wallace gives his beloved pooch the gift of his latest invention-a pair of mechanical "techno-trousers" that can be programmed to take Gromit out for "walkies" while Wallace sits comfortably at home. Gromit's not exactly thrilled with the new gadget, and things go from bad to worse when Wallace rents a room to a new boarder-a rather suspicious-looking penguin-to offset his rising expenses. As it turns out, the penguin's a notorious thief, and the amazing techno-trousers provide a foolproof method of pulling off a diamond heist! It's Gromit's big opportunity for canine heroics, and The Wrong Trousers turns into one of the funniest, most inventive caper-comedies ever made, with an action-packed climax on a speeding miniature train. Will the notorious "Feathers" wind up in jail where he belongs? Will Gromit finally get his due recognition? Watch this amazing marvel of clay animation to see why Wallace and Gromit have become global celebrities-this is comedic ingenuity at its finest. A Close Shave Hot from the international triumph of The Wrong Trousers, clay animator Nick Park knew that his third Wallace and Gromit film was going to have to be the biggest and best adventure yet for the mild-mannered inventor Wallace and his perceptive pooch Gromit. [+]

The surprise hit of 1995, this splendidly entertaining family film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, director, and screenplay, and deservedly won the Oscar for its subtly ingenious visual effects. Babe is all about the title character, a heroic little pig who's been taken in by the friendly farmer Hoggett (Oscar nominee James Cromwell), who senses that he and the pig share "a common destiny. " Babe, a popular mischief-maker the Australian farm, is adopted by the resident border collie and raised as a puppy, befriended by Ferdinand the duck (who thinks he's a cockerel), and saves the day as a champion "sheep-pig. " Filled with a supporting cast of talking barnyard animals and a chorus of singing mice (courtesy of computer enhancements and clever animatronics), this frequently hilarious, visually imaginative movie has already taken its place as a family classic with timeless appeal. -Jeff Shannon.

Filmed at the London Arena, Tweenies Live captures all the energy and fun of the sell-out stage show. Jake, Milo, Bella and Fizz sing catchy songs, dance and play games-to the obvious and noisy delight of their young fans in the audience. The camera cuts from the action on stage to the excited "Tweenieboppers" in the crowd who clap, shout, sing, dance and even "moo" on cue. Doodles, Max and Judy also put in appearances, providing the quieter moments. The big screen over the stage brings a fresh element to the show and is used to great effect, as when Max sings his song and a film clip of four children appears on screen to demonstrate the accompanying actions to the audience. After more games and songs, including a rousing all-singing, all-dancing finale, the Tweenies board their spaceship, waving and cheering and leave the arena in a cloud of smoke. Tweenies Live is a high-energy, feel-good video that children over the age of two will want to watch again and again. The combination of music and dance with interaction and games is irresistible, while the enraptured expressions on the faces of the younger members of the audience are priceless. -Helen Baker Running time: 81 minutes approximately.

Based on Jill Murphy's book, The Worst Witch is set in a boarding school for witches-complete with orange and black school uniforms, broom-flying exercises and potion assignments. The incompetent student of the title, Mildred, is played by a fetching young Fairuza Balk. Diana Rigg is the nasty head teacher, Tim Curry the (oddly) idolised Grand Wizard, and Charlotte Rae does double duty as the school's kindly dean and her evil witch twin, who's bent on taking over the school. Directed by Robert Young, this charming film features less than state-of-the-art effects and several songs that stop the action-most bizarrely an outdoor assembly performance by Curry that turns into a weird music video. Still, pre-teen girls will identify with the beleaguered heroine who overcomes her wickedly snooty rival, a teacher who doesn't believe in her and a band of dastardly witches, and, of course, saves the day. Ages six and up. -Kimberly Heinrichs, Amazon. com.

There are some filmmaking teams that invariably bring out the best in each other, and that's definitely the case with director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. They previously collaborated on The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, and Fly Away Home is their third family film that deserves to be called a classic. Inspired by Bill Lishman's autobiography, the movie tells the story of a 13-year-old girl (Anna Paquin) who goes to live with her estranged, eccentric father (Jeff Daniels) following the death of her mother. At first she's withdrawn and reclusive, but finds renewed happiness when she adopts an orphaned flock of baby geese and, later, teaches them to migrate using an ultralight. Sensitively directed and stunningly photographed, the movie has flying sequences that are nothing short of astonishing, and Daniels and Paquin (Oscar winner for The Piano) make a delightful father-daughter duo. -Jeff Shannon.

Channel 4's The 1940s House capitalised on the success of the channel's The 1900 House by using the same format-combining documentary with reality TV-to explore a different era. Three generations of the Hymer family (Lyn, Michael, their daughter Kirstie and her two sons Ben and Thomas) from Ottley in Yorkshire donned Brylcreem, home knits and red lippy to play house in a West Wycombe semi-detached for 9 weeks, 1940s style. The five episodes, which concentrate largely on the early half of the decade and the war years, are bookended by analysis. The first sets the scene by following the meticulous reconstruction of the house itself and a "Dig For Victory" garden, the transformation of the local shop and the establishment of a wartime cabinet (consisting of scientists and historians) who dictate the family's living conditions in accordance with the progression of the war. The fun really starts in episode two when the Hymers get to grips with blackouts, air raids, food shortages and building an Anderson shelter in the back garden. Life without mod cons doesn't suit them and initially, although there are light-hearted moments, Lyn and Kirstie are prone to a moan. In episode three life gets increasingly difficult when Michael returns to work in Yorkshire, leaving the women to cope with the hardest war years by themselves. The nature of this social experiment achieves a level of involvement that traditional documentaries can't get near. Not only is there enormous detail-the vegetable-root hair dye, the disposal of sanitary towels, the five-inch lukewarm baths-but also the family act as our entry point into a different world. Their experience cannot fail to engage our imaginations and our emotions. [+]