The Lion King

Rating: G

Movie Release Date: June 15, 1994

DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003

Plot 411: As a young lion, Simba is ousted from his homeland and returns as an adult to claim what is rightfully his.

Review: I can't believe this movie is over 15 years old. However, I still enjoy it now as I did then. There are great life lessons in this movie that children should learn from and the soundtrack is great. As a young lion, Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick) is tricked into believing he caused the death of his father Mufasa (James Earl Jones). He is chased out of Pride Rock by a pack of hyenas, who are under orders to kill him. Unknown to Simba or the rest of the pride, Scar (Jeremy Irons), Simba's uncle, has plotted against them in order to take control of the pride. As a grown lion, Simba meets his old friend Nala, who with the help of Mufasa's advisor Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), convinces Simba to return and take his rightful place. This movie is pretty powerful for a kid's show. There are many great themes, like honor, loyalty, greed, betrayal and friendship, that are front-and-center in this show. Despite being complex emotions, these concepts are presented in youth-friendly ways that teach while being able to entertain. The characters are memorable, especially Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), two of Simba's friends. Even though animation techniques have obviously progressed since the making of this movie, I still believe this film holds up. Compared with some of today's computer-generated animation, I prefer the simplicity of this old Disney style.

Watch It: For great family entertainment.

Skip It: Because like most Disney shows there's a lot of singing and dancing going on.

The Tale of Despereaux

Rating: G

Movie Release Date: December 19, 2008

DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009

Plot 411: This is the tale of a courageous mouse who isn't afraid to be different.

Review: This wasn't exactly what I expected but it was watchable (probably only the one time). What animated film isn't, right? Like most fairy tales, there's a narrator who does the whole, "Once upon a time" thing. I actually found her (Sigouney Weaver) to be quite boring and unnecessary. But for all I know, they're just copying an effect from the original book. I thought the main idea of a heroic mouse had so much potential but was left waiting for more. To me, the movie seemed pretty flat throughout. There was never really a moment where I felt like I was rooting for Despereaux. In fact, the movie didn't even really seem to be about Despereaux as much as I'd have liked it to be. I really enjoyed the animation techniques though. It really had that storybook feel to it with its warm tones and lighting. It's as if I was watching the pages of a book come to life. Definitely a great effect. The scenes had the ability to pull you into their world. Big time names helped out with the vocal talent - Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy and Stanley Tucci.

Watch It: With the kids because they'll get a kick out of Despereaux's huge ears.

Skip It: If you don't have to watch it. It's not one of those cool kid films made for adults.

Trailer:

Then She Found Me

Rated: R

Movie Release Date: May 2, 2008

DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008

Plot 411: A woman's life falls apart as she goes through a divorce, falls for a student's father and makes contact with her birth mother.

Review: I didn't really like this movie at all. It's not that I hated it, but it was just so underwhelming to me. While there were some funny spots, they were few and far between. The plot was really too thin to work with, even for season vets of the screen. (This movie stars Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick.) Things go from bad to worse and there just doesn't seem to be enough time between let downs to fix the previous problems.

Watch It: If you can't get enough of Colin Firth's hulking walk. He does a lot of it in this film.

Skip It: If you're anyone else.

Trailer: