Certificate:

Directors: Ron Clements & John Musker

Release Date: 10 October 1997

Tagline: A comedy of epic proportions.

Main Cast: (voice)

Tate Donovan … Hercules

Josh Keaton … Young Hercules

Danny DeVito … Philoctetes

James Woods … Hades

Surprisingly, I didn’t really enjoy this. It lacks the usual touch of disney magic and charm. The songs are not of the usual quality (I didn’t find any of them catchy or memorable) so perhaps that is the reason why. They’ve also made Hercules a bit of a whiney brat too.

Younger children will be fairly bored by it, so whilst it is a U certificate, I would think that the target age is around seven year olds. I also think that, unlike many other Disney films, there is no repeated viewing value.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Mark Waters

Release Date: 21 March 2008

Tagline: Their world is closer than you think.

Main Cast:

Freddie Highmore … Jared Grace / Simon Grace

Mary Louise Parker … Mary-Louise Parker

Nick Nolte … Mulgarath

I really enjoyed this. It’s very engaging from the start and Freddie Highmore does a good job playing both of the main characters. Whilst not suitable for very young children, older ones, both boys and girls, will enjoy it as it’s neither ‘girly’ or ‘boyish’.

All in all, a very good film which will be enjoyed by most people, especially fantasy fans.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Tim Burton

Release Date: 5 March 2010

Tagline: You’re invited to a very important date.

Main Cast:

Johnny Depp … Mad Hatter

Mia Wasikowska … Alice

Helena Bonham Carter … Red Queen

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are a marriage made in heaven. With Tim Burton you are sure to get a visual delight and a cinematic experience that is unique to him. It would also be rather remiss of me to neglect to mention Danny Elfman, whose talent makes up  a fantastic trio.

It’s magical, fantastical, and utterly delightful! I also really enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter’s performance, although it’s rather disconcerting to see her head on a small body!

I never really liked AIW as a child (I didn’t like the Chronicles of Narnia either), so, for me, this was not as enjoyable as Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I love Roald Dahl). In that respect, I can’t really do a total review as I do not know the books. Perhaps an AIW devotee may not like this.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Victor Fleming

Release Date: 25 August 1939

Main Cast:

Judy Garland … Dorothy Gale

Ray Bolger … Hunk / The Scarecrow

Bert Lahr … Zeke / The Cowardly Lion

Jack Haley … Hickory / The Tin Man

Margaret Hamilton … Almira Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West / The Wicked Witch of the East

Terry … Toto ¦¬D (every dog has his day!)

First of all, why are you reading a review? Surely you’ve seen this by now! And if not, then go and get a copy and sit back with a tasty box of chocolates and enjoy.

Here in the UK, this was always shown at Christmas – that’s where the chocolates come in (specifically Black Magic) – and watching it was a tradition in my house! It triggers all kinds of memories and senses for me, and I never grow tired of it. Even my old-film-and-musicals hating husband has a soft spot for it (he’s never watched The Sound of Music, so that should tell you that this is good!)

A genuine timeless classic. A masterpiece. An absolute joy! The flying monkeys still creep me out a bit though – they’re just plain scary looking

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Glenn Standring

Release Date: 16 August 2007

Tagline: Humans and vampires have lived in harmony… Until now.

Main Cast:

Dougray Scott … Brother Silas

Saffron Burrows … Lily

Leo Gregory … Brother Edgar

This should have been ‘right up my street’, but it wasn’t. It’s very visually stunning with clever use of colour, but the look of the film is its best quality. For some reason I found that it couldn’t hold my attention. It has a strange and completely bereft of emotion love story element and in some cases is just plain pretentious. I also found the mix of Dickensian times and the 1960s somewhat silly.

I really should have liked this, and it’s a shame that I didn’t.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: James Cameron

Release Date: 17 October 2009

Tagline: Enter the world.

Main Cast:

Sam Worthington … Jake Sully

Zoe Saldana … Neytiri

Sigourney Weaver … Dr. Grace Augustine

Stephen Lang … Colonel Miles Quaritch

3D cinema – fancy gimmick or pleasurable enhancement? Both, actually. In the fantasy sections of the film it works very well, but in the run-of-the-mill scenes it’s pointless and somewhat distracting. So, all in all, 3D is something that, with the right film, could be fantastic.

So, on to the film itself. Cheesy, clichéd and over long, Avatar would not have been the massive success that it was if it was merely a 2D film. The plot and the dialogue are dreadful, and it’s obvious that Cameron was not in the least bit concerned about making a good film, which is a shame as it is certainly visually stunning. I believe that special effects should help tell the story and not be the only attraction and, sadly, Avatar is a film without a soul. Take Titanic – love it or hate it, Cameron had the sets built to perfection. To see that wonderful ship come to life was an absolute joy, and you were completely immersed (no pun intended) in the experience. With Avatar, I found myself constantly aware of the 3D visuals and just couldn’t engage fully with the film.

Having said all that, I appreciate that Avatar is the first genuine 3D film (as opposed to the ones that have 3D versions with a few things that poke out of the screen at you) and, as such, I applaud it. Was it worth paying good money to see? Yes, it was. Do I think 3D is the future? No, I don’t.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (film only)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (overall experience)

Certificate:

Director: Henry Selick

Release Date: 8 May 2009

Tagline: Be careful what you wish for.

Main Cast: (voice)

Dakota Fanning … Coraline Jones

Teri Hatcher … Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam

Jennifer Saunders … Miss April Spink / Other Spink

Dawn French … Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible

I really liked this. A beautifully crafted stop-motion animated tale about a bored girl whose explorations give her more than she bargained for. This is the first 3D stop-motion film to be made, although I can’t comment on if was a success or not as I watched the 2D version.

Coraline is rather an unlikeable character. Her family have just moved in to a rather peculiar house that has been divided in to apartments, and the other residents are all oddballs. Neither of her parents have much time for her so she’s left to find her own entertainment. She’s sullen and rude, and I kind of liked it when she realised how much trouble she’d got herself in.

She comes across a small door which leads her to a parallel universe where her parents are attentive and her every whim is catered for. She is offered a chance to stay with these ‘other parents’, but she must first replace her eyes with black buttons (all of the characters in the other world beyond the door have buttons for eyes). This doesn’t appeal to Coraline, and the true nature of her predicament becomes evident.

Coraline is a dark fairytale like story with some really creepy moments and a sinister undertone and is definitely not for small children. In fact, I can see this giving more than one or two a few nightmares.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Tim Burton

Release Date: 29 July 2005

Tagline: Oompa-Loompas are crazy for cocoa beans.

Main Cast:

Johnny Depp … Willy Wonka

Freddie Highmore … Charlie Bucket

David Kelly … Grandpa Joe

Another visually wonderful treat from Tim Burton. He’s the perfect director for this quirky and slightly twisted work of art by Roald Dahl. All the usual Burton elements are there; great visuals, Johhny Depp and Danny Elfman (score) and as usual, they all work perfectly together.

The casting is fantastic. Charlie is humble and dignified and the other four kids are crass and ghastly and all play their roles perfectly. Not one of them is over the top and annoying.  And, of course, Depp is simply perfect.

Totally engaging from the start, CatCF is a superb journey that remains loyal to Dahl’s book. Mind you, it’s no surprise as you can’t improve on perfection!

A joy from start to finish.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Chris Weitz

Release Date: 5 December 2007

Tagline: “It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you’ll have to learn by yourself.”

Main Cast:

Nicole Kidman … Mrs Coulter

Daniel Craig … Lord Asriel

Dakota Blue Richards … Lyla

I generally like fantasy films and I was hoping for a slick film with adventure and a sturdy plot. Unfortunately, The Golden Compass is tedious, clichéd, confusing and poorly acted. I nearly switched it off on more than one occasion, but decided to stick with it.

There seems to be a worrying trend growing where some of our finest actors are becoming no more than bit parts in this genre (particularly Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen). As for the children, the obligatory ‘street urchins’ were too much for me to bear, and the children’s accents seemed to switch from slightly plummy to (embarrassingly bad) cockney with alarming regularity. Nicole Kidman’s talent is wasted in such rubbish and I wondered what she was doing in it. Her role was so undemanding that it could have been played by anyone with a modicum of talent.

Because it is flawed in almost every area it is very hard for me to come up with any redeeming features. However, I do like talking animals and it had a few of them in it Having said that though, they were neither engaging nor amusing and Iorek was too much like Aslan (of the Narnia Chronicles) for me.

Perhaps children in the age range of seven to twelve might enjoy this (mostly girls), but there are other films of this genre that are far superior (Stardust being one of them). I was glad when it ended and will not be watching any future sequels. Very disappointing.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Directors: Chris Miller & Raman Hui (co-director)

Release Date: 29 June 2007

Tagline: Who’s ready for Thirds?

Main Cast: (voice)

Mike Myers … Shrek

Eddie Murphy … Donkey

Cameron Diaz … Princess Fiona

Antonio Banders … Puss in Boots

After reading reviews of this I wasn’t expecting too much. However, I thought it was much better than reported. I would have liked to have seen more of Donkey though, as I think he’s by far the best character. I do like the fact that Puss has now joined as a second sidekick to Shrek. As usual, there are plenty of little jokes in the background to amuse us adults.

Shrek the Third is not in the same league as the original, but I’d put it on a par with the second one.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars