With the success of Shrek, more irreverent animated fairy tales (like Hoodwinked) were inevitable. Unfortunately, the original blockbuster set the bar so high—for characterization, humor, and heart—that other such 'toons are sure to seem redundant. Neither as clever nor as intricately rendered as the tale of the great green ogre, Happily N'Ever Afteris no exception. That said, small children may find it easier to follow, i.e. no Matrixreferences. As with the live-action Ella Enchanted, the CGI-animated story revolves around a downtrodden lass named Ella (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Her full name, naturally, is Cinderella. The man of her dreams is pea-brained Prince Humperdink (Patrick Warburton). Little does she know that royal dishwasher Rick (Freddie Prinze Jr., Gellar's real-life husband) has his eye on her. When the Wizard (George Carlin) goes off on a golfing vacation, he leaves bumbling assistants Munk (Wallace Shawn) and Mambo (Andy Dick) in charge. In no time at all, they get into a scuffle, and Ella's evil stepmother, Frieda (Sigourney Weaver), swoops in to take control of Fairy Tale Land. Her first order of business: Let the bad guys win. Consequently, Sleeping Beauty continues to doze, the Seven Dwarves wind up in jail, etc. Ella joins forces with Rick to set things right. Along the way, she realizes that the lowly lad has more princely qualities than the actual prince, and Frieda's reign turns out to be shorter than intended. It's not a bad idea, but the movie drags and the tunes are unmemorable. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

The couple's first anniversary of wedded jungle bliss is approaching and Jane ponders what gift would be appropriate—necessitating three flashbacks from the Disney television series explaining why various celebrations are out of the question. First Jane remembers when her old British school chums came to rescue her from the bush and whisk her back to civilization. Then Terk and Tantor help her recall the time diamond miners hired Tarzan only to double-cross him. The final remembrance features Jane's old neighbor Robert who flies to Africa to recover a music box he gave her—and to betray England. Michael T. Weiss and Olivia D'Abo do the honors as the voices of Tarzan and Jane, and Mandy Moore and Phil Collins provide the vocals for two new songs. Like many of Disney's straight-to-video "sequels," the animation and story aren't up to on par with the original,; but the kids won't care. Ages 3 and up. —Kimberly Heinrichs

Son of the Maskis a frantic sequel tailor-made for short attention spans. For 86 manic minutes, this belated follow-up to 1994's Jim Carrey hit The Maskcompensates for Carrey's absence by casting Jamie Kennedy as a cut-rate animator who becomes heavily animated himself (courtesy of non-stop computer-animated effects) when he dons the ancient mask that belongs to Loki (Alan Cumming, nicely cast), the Norse god of mischief. As in the Carrey film, the mask turns its wearers into cartoonish whirlwinds of confident bluster, and that includes a little dog named Otis, and especially Kennedy's mask-induced offspring, a frenetic shape-shifting baby that's more creepy than comedic, like Ally McBeal's dancing infant on steroids and speed. This woebegone sequel quickly vanished from theaters, but it's a harmless babysitter that kids will enjoy, from the director of the similarly effects-driven Cats & Dogs. —Jeff Shannon

The hilarity continues with Season Nine of the smash-hit comedy series as Phoebe is confronted with some tough romantic choices, Rachel takes on motherhood and Monica and Chandler become inspired to start their own family. Guest appearances include Hank Azaria, Freddie Prinze Jr., Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, Jon Lovitz, Jeff Goldblum, John Stamos, Elliot Gould and Dermot Mulroney.

Running Time: 620 min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Meet Joe Blackseemed almost fated to fail when it was released in 1998, but this romantic fantasy—a remake of 1934's Death Takes a Holiday—deserves a chance at life after box-office death. Although many moviegoers were turned off by director Martin Brest's overindulgent three-hour running time, those who gear into its deliberate pace will find that Meet Joe Blackoffers ample reward for your attention.

Brad Pitt plays Death with a capital D, enjoying some time on Earth by inhabiting the body of a young man who'd been killed in a shockingly sudden pedestrian-auto impact. Before long, Death has ingratiated himself with a wealthy industrialist (Anthony Hopkins) and pursues romance with the man's beautiful daughter (newcomer Claire Forlani), whom he'd briefly encountered while still an earthbound human. Under the assumed identity of "Joe Black," he samples all the pleasures that corporeal life has to offer—power, romance, sex, and such enticing pleasures as peanut butter by the spoonful.

But Death has a job to do, and Meet Joe Blackaddresses the heart-wrenching dilemma that arises when either father or daughter (the plot keeps us guessing) must confront his or her inevitable demise. The film takes its own sweet time to establish this emotional crisis and the love that binds Hopkins's semidysfunctional family so closely together. But if you've stuck with the story this far, you may find yourself surprisingly affected. And if Meet Joe Blackhas really won you over, you'll more than appreciate the care and affection that gives the film a depth and richness that so many critics chose to ignore. —Jeff Shannon

My Neighbor Totorois that rare delight, a family film that appeals to children and adults alike. While their mother is in the hospital, 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei move into an old-fashioned house in the country with their professor father. At the foot of an enormous camphor tree, Mei discovers the nest of King Totoro, a giant forest spirit who resembles an enormous bunny rabbit. Mei and Satsuki learn that Totoro makes the trees grow, and when he flies over the countryside or roars in his thunderous voice, the winds blow. Totoro becomes the protector of the two sisters, watching over them when they wait for their father, and carrying them over the forests on an enchanted journey. When the children worry about their mother, Totoro sends them to visit her via a Catbus, a magical, multilegged creature with a grin the Cheshire Cat might envy.

Unlike many cartoon children, Satsuki and Mei are neither smart-alecky nor cloyingly saccharine. They are credible kids: bright, energetic, silly, helpful, and occasionally impatient. Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki makes the viewer believe the two sisters love each other in a way no American feature has ever achieved. My Neighbor Totorois enormously popular in Japan, and some of the character merchandise has begun to appear in America. The film has also inspired a Japanese environmental group to buy a Totoro Forest preserve in the Saitama Prefecture, where Miyazaki's film is set. —Charles Solomon

Although it's not as bold as Oscar darling Chicago, The Phantom of the Operacontinues the resuscitation of the movie musical with a faithful adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster stage musical. Emmy Rossum glows in a breakout role as opera ingénue Christine Daae, and if phantom Gerard Butler isn't Rossum's match vocally, he does convey menace and sensuality in such numbers as "The Music of the Night." The most experienced musical theater veteran in the cast, romantic lead Patrick Wilson, sings sweetly but seems wooden. The biggest name in the cast, Minnie Driver, hams it up as diva Carlotta, and she's the only principal whose voice was dubbed (though she does sing the closing-credit number, "Learn to Be Lonely," which is also the only new song). 

Director Joel Schumacher, no stranger to visual spectacle, seems to have found a good match in Lloyd Webber's larger-than-life vision of Gaston LeRoux's Gothic horror-romance. His weakness is cuing too many audience-reaction shots and showing too much of the lurking Phantom, but when he calms down and lets Rossum sings "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" alone in a silent graveyard, it's exquisite.

Those who consider the stage musical shallow and overblown probably won't have their minds changed by the movie, and devotees will forever rue that the movie took the better part of two decades to develop, which prevented the casting of original principals Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Still, The Phantom of the Operais a welcome exception to the long line of ill-conceived Broadway-to-movie travesties. —David Horiuchi

Piracy on the high seas and the mysterious Bermuda Triangle loom on the horizon in Pirates Ahoy!, but solving mysteries is the last thing on the Scooby-Doo Gang's minds when Fred's parents invite the group on a luxury cruise to celebrate Fred's birthday. It turns out that the cruise is actually a mystery cruise, but the gang solves all the Program Director's mysteries so fast that it looks like their trip to the Bermuda Triangle will be an uneventful one full of rest, relaxation, and all-you-can-eat buffets. Enter the creepy Mr. Mysterio, astral photographer Rupert Garcia who swears his ship was attacked by ghost pirates, eccentric millionaire Biff Wellington, and an eerie green-glowing fog that envelopes everything in its path, and the gang is suddenly immersed in a mystery in which their own lives and the lives of Fred's parents are at stake. There's updated music and a shift of focus from Scooby's and Shaggy's obsession with food and Daphne's simpleminded behavior to Velma's deductive reasoning. The group's collaborative efforts combine with an abundance of chase scenes to create a 70-minute Scooby-Doo movie with broad appeal to children ages 5 and older. Voice talents include Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Tim Conway, Arsenio Hall, and Ron Perlman —Tami Horiuchi

A blend of live-action and animation, this film centers on a fearful young boy (Macaulay Culkin) afraid to experience life because he's calculated the odds of an accident for every known activity. Chased by bullies, he winds up at the local library, where a bump on the head sends him into an animated universe, where his best friends are walking, talking books voiced by, among others, Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg. The Pagemaster (Christopher Lloyd) points the way to the exit, but the boy must first traverse the adventures of literary history, encountering everyone from Dr. Jekyll to Captain Ahab to Long John Silver. The animation is middling, but a worthy message makes this better children's entertainment than you'd expect. How can you fault a movie that encourages kids to pick up a book? —Marshall Fine

In Ghosts On The Go, the gang crosses the Atlantic Ocean and takes on Europe! In Large Dragon at Large, the gang attends a Renaissance Faire, where a dragon interrupts their fun. While traveling in Greece, an ancient myth apparently comes to life because of a medallion Shaggy wears in It's All Greek to Scooby. In Pompeii and Circumstance, the gang's Italian vacation is interrupted by misdeeds in teh ancient city of Pompeii, leading to an ominous visit into the mouth of th no so dormant Vesuvius. And finally, the gang goes to Paris to see Daphne's cousin become a model, but only to discover she's been abducted by a giant gargoyle in Ready To Scare.

DVD Features:
Challenges:European Travel Adventure Challenge A Scooby-Doo Vacation featurette — the Mystery Gang brings you on a European tour, complete with Scooby snacks!
Featurette

The lovably ugly green ogre returns with his green bride and furry, hooved friend in Shrek 2. The newlywed Shrek and Princess Fiona are invited to Fiona's former kingdom, Far Far Away, to have the marriage blessed by Fiona's parents—which Shrek thinks is a bad, bad idea, and he's proved right: The parents are horrified by their daughter's transformation into an ogress, a fairy godmother wants her son Prince Charming to win Fiona, and a feline assassin is hired to get Shrek out of the way. The computer animation is more detailed than ever, but it's the acting that make the comedy work—in addition to the return of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, Shrek 2features the flexible voices of Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), John Cleese (Monty Python's Flying Circus), Antonio Banderas (Desperado), and Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) as the gleefully wicked fairy godmother. —Bret Fetzer

Danny Greene is just like every sixteen-year-old kid...except that a secret splinter group of the CIA wants him dead. Danny is running for his life. Enter Danny's father, an ex-Green Beret, equipped with a rag-tag bunch of urban guerillas and an entire arsenal of weaponry. But can five former commandos defeat the largest, most thorough network of government-sanctioned assassins in the world? In this high-stakes world, before the case even gets to trial, someone's already called the HANGMEN.

High-flying reindeer! Mischievous elves! Warp-speed sleigh rides! Get set for a magical dose of holiday cheer, zany season's greetings, and spell-binding special effects in this fast-paced, heartwarming comedy hit! When Santa Claus decides to retire and pass on his magic bag of Christmas surprises to a new St. Nick, he enlists the aid of a hilarious assortment of characters, including that lovable know-it-all Ernest P. Worrell (Emmy Award-winning comedian Jim Varney)! Along the way, Santa and Ernest help a cynical teen experience the season's spirit like never before. And that's where the fun — and magic — begin! ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS ... one delightful, surprising tale you'll never forget!

The dark, bushy eyebrows of Frankie Muniz star in Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, ably supported by the natty facial hair of Anthony Anderson (Kangaroo Jack) and the freckled chipmunk cheeks of British pop starlet Hannah Spearritt. Teenage secret agent Cody Banks (Muniz, Malcolm in the Middle) must track down a former instructor who's gone rogue with a mind-control microchip. Banks masquerades as a musical prodigy to get close to a snobby, egocentric scientist in London who's the only person who can make the microchip work. Along the way Banks hooks up with a demoted agent (Anderson) and a cute-as-a-bug Scotland Yard operative (Spearritt). Flimsy, disposable, but only occasionally insulting, Cody Banks 2will most likely entertain fans of the first movie. Also featuring supporting stalwarts Cynthia Stevenson (The Player, Happiness), Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral), and Keith David (There's Something About Mary). —Bret Fetzer