Animation Movies

This collection for children stresses the value of family, friendship, and faith. The three episodes include are "Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler", in which Sheerluck Holmes exercises his deductive reasoning skills; The Grapes of Wrath, which follows an asparagus whose feelings take a beating thanks to a bunch of grumpy grapes; and Esther, The Girl Who Became Queen, in which Esther must find the courage to do what's right as the world watches expectantly. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

This full-length movie from the popular animated kids' show Bob the Builder follows the titular construction hero as he and his Top Team head off for Fixham Harbor - embarking on a sea-faring adventure, searching for the legendary Pirate Brickbeard and his long lost Golden Hammer. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

A domesticated Shrek hatches a plan to recapture his mojo and discovers what life in Far Far Away land would have been like had he never existed in this final chapter of the popular animated film series. There used to be a time when the villagers would run in terror at the mere mention of the name Shrek, but these days the big green ogre is married to Princess Fiona and raising triplets. Maintaining your fierce public persona is no simple task when you're juggling infants and changing diapers, so when Shrek realizes that nobody is afraid of him anymore he recruits mischief-maker Rumpelstiltskin to restore his once-mighty roar. Unfortunately for Shrek, that plan hits an unexpected hitch. As a result, the morose monster takes a trip into an alternate-universe Far Far Away land where there is no Shrek, and Rumpelstiltskin reigns. There, Donkey spends his days hauling carts, and a portly Puss in Boots prefers lounging to swashbuckling. Perhaps with a little extra effort, Shrek will be able to regain his status as top ogre in town and still have his happily ever after, too. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This animated adventure from Thomas and Friends, starring every preschooler's favorite little locomotive, Thomas, follows the impetuous train through four episodes, as he is tasked with delivering the famed Lion of Sodor, which Thomas mistakenly believes is a real, live lion. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Fantasia, Walt Disney's animated masterpiece of the 1940s, grew from a short-subject cartoon picturization of the Paul Dukas musical piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Mickey Mouse was starred in this eight-minute effort, while the orchestra was under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. Disney and Stokowski eventually decided that the notion of marrying classical music with animation was too good to confine to a mere short subject; thus the notion was expanded into a two-hour feature, incorporating seven musical selections and a bridging narration by music critic Deems Taylor. The first piece, Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor", was used to underscore a series of abstract images. The next selection, Tschiakovsky's "Nutcracker Suite", is performed by dancing wood-sprites, mushrooms, flowers, goldfish, thistles, milkweeds and frost fairies. The Mickey Mouse version of "Sorcerer's Apprentice" is next, followed by Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", which serves as leitmotif for the story of the creation of the world, replete with dinosaurs and volcanoes. After a brief jam session involving the live-action musicians comes Beethoven's "Pastorale Symphony", enacted against a Greek-mythology tapestry by centaurs, unicorns, cupids and a besotted Bacchus. Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" is performed by a Corps de Ballet consisting of hippos, ostriches and alligators. The program comes to a conclusion with a fearsome visualization of Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", dominated by the black god Tchernobog (referred to in the pencil tests as "Yensid", which is guess-what spelled backwards); this study of the "sacred and profane" segues into a reverent rendition of Schubert's "Ave Maria". Originally, Debussy's "Clair de Lune" was part of the film, but was cut from the final release print; also cut, due to budgetary considerations, was Disney's intention of issuing an annual "update" of Fantasia with new musical highlights and animated sequences. A box-office disappointment upon its first release (due partly to Disney's notion of releasing the film in an early stereophonic-sound process which few theatres could accommodate), Fantasia eventually recouped its cost in its many reissues. For one of the return engagements, the film was retitled Fantasia Will Amaze-ya, while the 1963 reissue saw the film "squashed" to conform with the Cinemascope aspect ratio. Other re-releases pruned the picture from 120 to 88 minutes, and in 1983, Disney redistributed the film with newly orchestrated music and Tim Matheson replacing Deems Taylor as narrator. Once and for all, a restored Fantasia was made available to filmgoers in 1990. A sequel, Fantasia 2000, was released in theaters in 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A diabolical super-villain named Extremis is plotting to take over the world using advanced technology, and now the only person capable of thwarting his sinister plan is Iron Man. Writer Warren Ellis and artist Adi Granov bring the legend of Iron Man from the comic to the screen with this action-packed entry in the "Marvel Knights" series. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This animated release from the popular kids' show Handy Manny follows the titular construction worker as he and his tools it the road for a job in Concrete Falls, leaving Mr. Lopart to fill in for him back in Sheet Rock Hills - with hilarious results. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

When the Festival of Giving is threatened by a mysterious, powerful wind gusting through Care-A-Lot, the Care Bears become determined to find the source and assure the safe arrival of Princess Starglo, the guest of honor. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Angelina Ballerina questions whether she will be able to perform the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the holiday showcase after eating too many sweets, and comes to a realization about the value of sharing. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

When a local Junctionville newspaper prints an insulting letter about Santa Claus, Joshua Trundle and Father Mouse set out on a mission to let Old St. Nick know that he's truly appreciated, and convince him not to skip over their town this coming Christmas Eve. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Beauty and the Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants -- a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) -- see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty and the Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, ""Human Again."" ~ Don Kaye, Rovi