Homeward Bound (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a Disney film based on Sheila Burford's book __The Incredible Journey__, about three household pets (specifically a bulldog named Chance, a Himalayan cat named Sassy, and a golden retriever named Shadow) who run away from a faraway ranch in order to find their way back to their home in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the owners (specifically 3 kids: a little brother named Jamie, a big brother named Peter, and a sister in the middle named Hope) call a search-and-rescue while at the same time trying to cope with a stepfather. As you may expect, this film eventually comes to a happy ending where everyone is reunited and all is well.
Now, I'm 15 years old and I have loved this film ever since I saw it in the theater at the age of 6. I had many reasons why I loved it at the time--I thought it was funny, I thought it was exciting, and the ending made me cry (hey, don't snicker, I was six years old back then). But now I have a reason why this film has stood the test of time against much flashier and less "cute" movies that I see nowadays, and that's simply because...well, because it's really a good movie!
Don't understand? Well, this film is so much more than just a movie with talking (sort of) animals that go on a journey in order to entertain little 6-year-olds. The pets aren't just animals; they exude the human personalities of their owners! Chance, owned by Jamie, is a mischievious pup who's always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Shadow, owned by Peter, is a wise old golden retriever who's always trying to keep Chance out of trouble. And Sassy, owned by Hope, is a fickle cat who always acts like she's sick of being stuck with her "brothers", if you know what I mean.
And then there's the fact that even though the pets start out acting like siblings who drive each other crazy, they wind up going through thick and thin and actually realizing that they really love each other. Also, this film also has a subplot that turns out happy too; Peter, Hope, and Jamie finally learn to love their stepfather and actually call him "Dad". When the pets are back home in the end (face it, you KNEW it was going to happen) and they see the happy faces of their ecstatic owners, and EVERYONE is actually LOVING each other like a REAL family, Chance thinks with pride, "For the first time in my life, I was HOME." Never before have I heard such a profound statement in a Disney movie.
Any idiot can entertain a 6-year-old by making him laugh, cry, and be excited. However, it takes the work of a genius to entertain a 6-year-old with a work that he will even love nine years later. See this film NOW!
P.S. Don't see the sequel--it's completely insipid, and the pets have totally lost their human personalities in it.

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Hook (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)The subtitle to the play "Peter Pan" is "The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up". Spielberg's sequel could well be called "The Man Who Grew Up Too Much". The story of Peter Pan is reversed, as are many roles.Robin Williams has the easy task of playing the thoughtless parent, the moderate task of playing the grownup Peter Pan, and the incredibly difficult task of making the transition between the two believable.
Dustin's Hoffman's Capt. Hook knows, as do all of us who remember his soliloquy, that no little children love him. His concern with how he will be remembered, and with Good Form, ring quite true to the original. The character is suave, urbane, vicious, captivating, and ultimately tragic.
At first I was annoyed at the modern elements in Never-Never-Land, but I soon realized that they had to be there, as Never-Never-Land was always a compilation of everything Lost Boys found exciting. In the twenties, that included Red Indians, but if they were lost in the 1980s, well then, baseball and skateboards should be included. The original play was Edwardian, but the movie makes no sense unless it's updated.
The role-reversal and eventual re-reversal is fascinating. In the play, the same actor always plays both Hook and the thoughtless and cruel father, Mr. Darling. But here, Peter is the uncaring father and a corporate pirate, while Hook takes the children to Never-Never-Land. The lost boys are, at first, quarrelsome and threatening, while the pirates are a happy adventuresome lot, even sentimental in the lullaby sequence. But while the Lost Boys help Peter recover himself (and to recover their own innocence), Hook's attempt to win over Peter's kids is, in the end, a failure, and we are brought full circle. The final scene of the helpless Hook surrounded by Peter and his boys parallels the earlier scene of the helpless Peter Banning surrounded by Hook and his pirates. ("Somebody lend me a hand." "I already have.")
The movie has one major flaw - most people don't know the Peter Pan legend well enough to really understand it. Seeing the play "Peter Pan" won't help much, either, because there's a lot in the storybook "Peter and Wendy", and in the play's stage directions, that enhances the understanding of the movie Hook. In a scene usually cut from the play, Peter sacrifices himself for Wendy, and thinks he is about to drown. His line is "To die will be an awfully big adventure." Later, when Wendy and the Lost Boys are leaving Never-Land, Peter is left alone, slumped in his chair. The stage directions state that at this point, if Peter only understood a little more, he would say, "To live would be an awfully big adventure." Hook is the story of how Peter finally learns that to live is, indeed, an awfully big adventure. Along the way, he must also discover what a Happy Thought for a grown-up is, and that a man with no childhood is as incomplete as a boy who would not grow up.
The pretend-food that was always Peter's favorite kind of meal is used to excellent effect. I found the first moment when Peter's adult façade started to break down surprisingly believable. He is in an insult contest, and losing badly, until he finds the intersection between his grownup life and the childish contest. He wins with the biggest, most impressive insult, ending with "... don't mess with me, man, I'm a lawyer."
Maggie Smith's Wendy fills in the roles of both Wendy and Mrs. Darling from the play. Her concern with the night-lights is especially fulfilling. We are also re-introduced to Tootles, who was the Lost Boy who always missed the adventure, and so he does again. Several times in the movie, the first time I saw it, I mouthed the dialogue along with the actors, because I knew that after Hook said, "Prepare to die", Peter had to reply, "Dark and sinister man, have at thee." There's a brief appearance of Michael's bear and John's top hat, which they took with them to Never-Never-Land so many years ago. Lisa and Nana return (Nana IX, really), and many other details make it a wonderful reunion. Bob Hoskins's Smee and Julia Roberts's Tinkerbell are true to the original, and yes, she says The Line She Had to Say.
Yes, Peter Pan grew up. But he didn't do it when he became a lawyer; he did it in Hook.

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Dunston Checks in (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)You might expect "Dunston Checks In" to be a kiddy or cutesy show, and in a way it is, but it can also be a good family movie for anybody who likes comedies. A manager of a 5-star hotel in New York, Mr. Grant (Jason Alexander), has a great job, but he has to watch every step he takes because if he makes one mistake in the eyes of the owner, Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunaway), he could lose his high paying job and go from living in a 5-star hotel to something not so nice. Mr. Grant has two kids to raise, but things just might go haywire when an orangutan starts hanging out at the hotel.
But not to fret, not only is the orangutan named Dunston real smart, he can also make simple things hilarious. "Dunston Checks In" isn't a groundbreaking comedy and it's not that original, but it is fun to watch, and it can be funny. I recommend anybody who likes comedies that feature an animal as the main star to at least rent "Dunston Checks In," if not buying it.

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A five star hotel turns into a 3-ring circus when an orangutan named Dunston checks in. Jason Alexander and Faye Dunaway star in this hilarious romp about an orangutan who gets loose in the elegant Majestic Hotel on the eve of the social event of the season. Dodging his jewel-thieving owner and the frantic hotel manager, Dunston is befriended by the manager's ten-year old son, Kyle, who is determined to help his new friend escape. Filled with laughter and comic high-jinks, "Dunston Checks In" is "a steady stream of giggles for those who get a kick out of monkey business." (Henry Sheehan, Orange County Register)

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Mighty Joe Young (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)Jill Young's mother is killed by a poacher while trying to protect a baby Gorilla named Joe who is rather big for his age. Jill grows up with the giant Gorilla and takes care of him in honor of her mother. Unfortunately poachers are always on the lookout for the giant gorilla, and so Jill and Joe have to relocate to a mini-preserve in California. Unfortunately the poacher that killed Jill's mother is out for revenge since Joe bit off his finger during the original encounter, and now it seems nowhere is safe for Joe.
What a beautiful movie! Charlize Theron brings real heart to her character and it is her love for Joe as part of her family that makes this a movie to believe in. Bill Paxton does a fine job as the male lead, and they are well supported by great characters and actors (Regina King among them). Also watch out for Naveen Andrews who currently appears in the television series "Lost". The movie is extremely well directed by Ron Underwood, and the beautiful score by James Horner adds the movie's soul to Charlize Theron's heart.
The picture quality on the DVD is good, thanks in part to the amazing cinematography, and the film is in a nicely balanced Dolby Digital 5.1. This movie is a rare gem. So yes it is a remake to the original Mighty Joe Young, and yes we have a new King Kong movie coming up, thus making this a bit of a middle child. Still, once you've seen it, you'll see how wonderful it is. Who needs King Kong? Who needs the original Mighty Joe Young? Hell, who needs Planet Of The Apes? This movie has real heart and soul, once more I credit Charlize Theron and James Horner for that. It won me over. I hope it does you too.

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A heroic Disney movie.

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Beauty And The Beast - Belle's Magical World (Special Edition) (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)I find it interesting that many of the reactions to this collection of shorts are extremely hostile. The shorts are not that bad, but neither are they that good. This DVD is much like three Saturday morning cartoons that are in one collection. My only complaint is that the price of the DVD is quite high for the value received, which may have been the reason some reviewers were upset.
The title of the first story is "The Perfect Word." In this story the Beast and Belle disagree and there is a copious amount of rudeness and insensitivity all around. The story heaps on the need for each of the characters to forgive each other, which I found distracting. The story made the point early and was relentless in setting up the need for people to apologize and forgive.
The second story is "Fifi's Folly." This time Fifi, Lumiere's girlfriend, is upset with Lumiere because she thinks that Belle is trying to steal Lumiere away. Fifi acts meanly and tries to sabotage the evening that she thinks Belle and Lumiere are going to have. Of course, the evening is for Fifi and Lumiere and the plan predictably backfires. Once again the story was heavy-handed because the point was made early in the short, but the point was continually ground in until the final moments of the short.
The final story is "Broken Wing," which I found charming in some ways. Belle rescues a small bird with a broken wing. The Beast first wants to throw the bird out and then he wants to cage the bird. I was annoyed that the Beast's behavior was so awful. I thought that some younger children might find the beast to be terrifying in some places, particularly as the Beast seemed prepared to hurt the bird. However, the bird was nicely animated and Belle tried her best to get the Beast to be kind. This story has a nice ending if you can reach it through the Beast's heavy-handed and over-the-top behavior.
In addition to the three shorts are a variety of other features on this DVD. While some of the features are interesting, the value of this DVD should be the "feature," which is not a feature because the three stories are independent stories. The voices of Robby Benson, Paige O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers and others are unable to make this DVD a must have. The stories are too forced and try too hard to capitalize on the success of the original "Beauty and the Beast" movie. I recommend this movie only to those who must have all the "Beauty and the Beast" movies, or all Disney movies. Everyone else should move on to better Disney movies.


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Enter the enchanting world of Belle, one of Disney's most beautiful Princesses, as her adventures continue in the Beast's unpredictable castle. This Special Edition full-length movie, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: BELLE'S MAGICAL WORLD, brims with delightful stories and songs, and all your favorite characters and voice cast from the acclaimed and beloved movie masterpiece. Share in the fun as Belle, Beast, Cogsworth, Lumiere, and charming new friends work side-by-side to bring new happiness to the castle and all its inhabitants. You'll discover how true friendship and cooperation can turn a gloomy castle into an enchanted palace fit for a Princess!

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