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The Snowman
		Review: It is Christmastime, and a young boy excitedly runs out to the new fallen snow to build a snowman. And a wonderful creation it is – even standing at attention out on the lawn, the snowman has real personality. That night, the boy is unable to sleep for thinking about his snowman, and he rushes outside to find the snowman has come to life. Like any new friends, the two begin to get to know one another. The boy shows the snowman around his house – always careful to keep him far away from the stove and the fireplace! Then the snowman returns the favor and takes the boy for a magical tour through the air over land and sea to the North Pole. Children will delight in the young boy’s secret nocturnal adventure with his friend, but the realistic ending may upset some - the boy comes out the next morning to find the snowman has become a melted
pile of snow punctuated by three pieces of coal and a hat and scarf. Was it all a dream, or was it real? The award-winning book by Raymond Briggs on which this film is based is completely wordless and the illustrations are in storyboard format – giving it great potential for transposition to animated film. But with the superb animation and the hauntingly beautiful music by Howard Blake, this film not only reaches that potential, it surpasses it. Nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar, this is destined to become a holiday family favorite.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other stories
		Review: Children love Eric Carle’s gentle fables, and they will enjoy seeing these five stories brought to life with animation, music and sound effects. Read alternately by two gentle-voiced male and female readers, not a word has been changed from Carle’s popular books The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, and I See a Song. Though images are added which are not found in the books, they are all in Carle’s signature colorful collage style.

The Land Before Time
		Review: In this exciting animated adventure set in prehistoric times, Littlefoot, a young bracheosaurus, sets out on a harrowing journey to find the lush feeding grounds of the legendary Great Valley. Devastated by the death of his mother and separated from his grandparents during an earthquake, Littlefoot must find the strength to continue on his way alone. Before long, he comes across several other young dinosaurs of different species that have also lost their families. Together, the five companions travel across a barren landscape racked by treacherous volcanoes and "earthshakes," and patrolled by dangerous predators. They soon discover that despite their differences, they can survive if they learn how to work together. Numerous encounters with a frightening "sharp tooth" and other
edge-of-your-seat adventures are balanced with bits of humor and quieter moments that emphasize the importance of friendship, teamwork, and developing self-confidence. Viewers will be drawn to this group of very child-like dinosaur pals, who don't always agree but who remain fiercely loyal to each other. Imaginative animation, strong performances from the cast, and a memorable score round out this appealing tale. Look for Littlefoot and his cohorts in several "The Land Before Time" sequels.

A Bug's Life
		Review: Flik, the ant that does not quite fit in with the rest of the ant colony, leaves the island to summon help in the ants plight against the grasshoppers. The bugs he finds are not what he expected but prove their mettle. Hilarious dialogue and acting along with superb computer animation from the Pixar studios make this fun and entertaining for the entire family.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
		Review: This musical film version of the popular song about a little reindeer who doesn’t fit in has been a holiday favorite for almost 40 years. And the tale of an outcast misfit, who comes back to save the day resonates with everyone, no matter their age. Who can forget Burl Ives as the dapper snowman narrator, the elf who wants to be a dentist, the island of misfit toys, Rudolph’s budding romance with Clarice who likes him just the way he is, the bombastic prospector Yukon Cornelius, the initially scary but later cuddly Abominable Snow Monster, and all the sing-alongable songs?! When it was created, this film was undoubtedly on the cutting edge of animation technology. But thirty-odd years later, the stop-action animation nevertheless retains all its magic and the old-fashioned look only adds to the film’s nostalgic charm. Remember
way back when, when the Christmas season didn’t begin immediately after Halloween like it does now, but rather the minute after Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was broadcast on national television? Now, of course, you can relive your warm childhood memories of watching Rudolph save the day, or introduce this classic to a whole new generation any time you want.

The Lion King
		Review: Sparkling animation, memorable music, and a plot worthy of Shakespeare make this Disney film a first-rate choice. When his power-hungry Uncle Scar convinces him that he is responsible for his father's death, a heartbroken lion cub flees his homeland and gives up his rightful place as heir to the throne. Alone in unfamiliar territory, Simba soon meets up with Pumbaa, a warthog, and Timon, a fun-loving meerkat, and the three companions lead a lighthearted and carefree life. When Simba, who has grown into a strong young lion, is finally reminded of his true responsibilities by a childhood playmate, he must decide whether or not to return home to reclaim his place as king and fulfill his destiny. Filled with timeless themes, endearing characters, and even a few laughs, this
coming-of-age story will appeal to children of many different ages. The talented cast makes the most of the riveting script, and the award-winning score and original songs will have children singing along. While younger viewers may have questions about the twists and turns of the plot and the more subtle motivations of some of the characters, the exotic setting, exciting action, and all-out spectacle of the musical numbers will captivate them. A great pick for family viewing.

The Red Balloon
		Review: This whimsical fantasy of a young boy’s adventures with a big, red shiny balloon in, around, and over the streets of Paris is a classic of children’s filmmaking. How many of us remember seeing this on Children’s Film Festival with Kukla, Fran and Ollie? Filmed almost entirely without dialogue, but with affecting music and the street sounds of Paris in the background, this simple tale has a magical quality – adding a splash of color to the gray, rain-soaked streets of Paris, the red balloon also adds a splash of joy to the boy’s life. Walking through the fog-enshrouded streets of Paris on his solitary way to school, a young boy finds a big, red shiny balloon caught on a light pole. He rescues it, and the balloon, which is almost as big as he is, soon becomes his friend
and playmate. With an unquestioned magic, the balloon is alive – it follows the boy to school, waits for him, understands him when he speaks to it, and even plays hide and seek. In one of the most enchanting scenes, the boy convinces adult passersby on the rainy streets to allow the balloon under their umbrellas. But soon other boys become jealous and try to steal the balloon. The scenes with the mob of boys chasing the boy and the balloon, and then capturing it and destroying it are truly horrifying in their realistic portrayal of mob mentality. The “death scene” in which the balloon slowly loses air, shrinks, sinks to the ground and “dies” is heartbreaking. But, the magic is not gone – at that moment all the balloons of Paris take to the air (slipping out of children’s hands, floating out windows….) and fly together to where the little boy is sitting despondently. As he gathers the balloons together, they lift him up in a triumphant, majestic flight over the rooftops of Paris. Anyone who has seen this short masterpiece has never forgotten it – the images (the beauty of Paris, the perfection of the big shiny balloon) are imprinted in the minds of everyone I know who is over 30. In addition to being beloved by children, this short film has won many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Babe
		Review: Farmer Hoggett (in an Academy Award nominated performance by James Cromwell), is a gentle soul and a man of few words but big ideas, and he recognizes something of a kindred spirit in the young pig he’s just won at the fair. Once home on the farm, others beside the farmer begin to notice Babe’s special qualities. Babe’s kindness, respect and caring nature endear him to the other animals in the barnyard, including Maa the sheep, Ferdinand, the duck who wants to be a rooster, and Fly the sheepdog, his adoptive mother. Things get really interesting when Farmer Hoggett begins to notice Babe’s particular talent for herding sheep (Babe simply asks the sheep politely to move), and he is struck by an unshakeable but crazy idea: to enter Babe in the National
Sheepdog Trials. Filmed in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, the rolling green hills and dramatically colored-skies are the perfect backdrop for the storybook-like set of house and farmyard. The whole movie has a storybook quality – from the charming sets, to the talking animals (achieved through a seamless combination of animatronics, computer animation, and live animals) to the gentle-voiced narrator and the “chapter headings” introduced by a trio of singing mice. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this enchanting tale proves that, with faith, anything is possible.

Jonah, A VeggieTales Movie
		For thousands of years people have heard the story of a man who was eaten by a whale and lived to tell about it! But never in all that time has it been told by vegetables ... until now! Get ready as Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and the rest of the veggie gang set sail on a whale of an adventure in Jonah, Big Idea's first full-length, 3-D animated feature film. Filled with music, laughs and some of the silliest adventurers ever to be swallowed whole, this is the story of Jonah and the whale as you've never seen it before -- a story where everyone learns that one of the best gifts you can give -- or get -- is a second chance.

Monsters, Inc.
		Review: Every child knows that when the lights go off and the parents have said goodnight and closed the door, that monsters are just waiting to come out of the closet to scare them. Well, guess what, it’s true! Welcome to Monstropolis (which in sections looks a lot like NYC), where a current energy crisis (newspaper headlines scream “Rolling Blackouts Expected”) has the owner and employees of a power company, Monsters, Inc. worried about meeting their quotas. Energy in Monstropolis is derived from children’s screams, and is bottled when expert monster “kid scarers” enter children’s bedrooms through their closet doors. Sulley (John Goodman as a gigantic blue and purple furry beast with a heart of gold), with hisbest friend and assistant, Mike (BillyCrystal
looking like a large, puffy green Cyclops M&M) are the reigning champs of scream gathering. But as it turns out, these big scary monsters are even more afraid of children than vice versa – they believe that children are toxic (I did hear a few “here-here’s in the audience at this line!). When one of the little tykes not-so-accidentally gets through her closet door and into Monstropolis, pandemonium ensues. So begins the hilarious hiding/chasing/intrigue within (and without) the Monsters, Inc. headquarters. Along the way, Sulley discovers that the little toddler girl he has named “Boo” is not toxic, but rather lovable – and he becomes deeply attached to her. Steve Buscemi as the creepy crawly Randall oozes oily malevolence, and there are great supporting roles by James Coburn as the owner of Monsters, Inc., Waternoose, Jennifer Tilly as Mike’s breathless paramour, and Bob Peterson as Roz, a cranky empress of the company filing room. The wonderful opening credits with their retro jazzy closet door ballet, and the Randy Newman song sung by Goodman and Crystal over the closing credits alone are worth price of admission. Then, there’s all the good stuff in between. Full of sly jokes (Sully and Mike pass by the “Grossery”, and cross the streets to a “Stalk/Don’t Stalk” flashing sign, and the team of kid scarers enters the staging area in slow motion, in a formation and accompanied by music reminiscent of a similar scene in The Right Stuff), this is guaranteed to have both children and adults laughing. This movie gets it all right. The animation by Pixar is amazing – you can see individual hairs on Sully’s broad blue and purple back wave in the wind. And the voice acting is superb – the duo of John Goodman and Billy Crystal make a great team. They have great comic timing, and not bad singing voices either! At the showing of the film I attended, there was the added bonus of a Pixar short before the film, called for the birds. That’s how Pixar got its start, making now-classic short animated films. Before Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, there were the short classics Luxo Jr., and Red’s Dream. (Check out Pixar’s website, www.pixar.com, for hilarious outtakes and other fun stuff – did you know that the actors record their characters several times first, and then the animators pick the best reading to animate?) This is going to give Shrek! a real run for its money at Oscar time, vying for the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

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