Neal Israel

Following up his critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, director Marc Forster took on this biography of playwright James Matthew Barrie, the scribe who penned the children's classic Peter Pan. Johnny Depp stars as the turn-of-the-century writer as the film follows Barrie as he struggles to write and have his play produced while he cares for his down-on-their-luck neighbors who inspired the story in the first place. J.M. Barrie's Neverland also stars Dustin Hoffman, Kate Winslet, and Julie Christie. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Gary Cole and Shelley Long are back as Mike and Carol Brady, America's favorite squares, with a whole new crop of youngsters cast as the six Brady kids. As a reward for returning a $67,000,000 lottery ticket to its rightful owner, Mike is invited to meet the President at the White House. Through a series of dizzying and absolutely nonsensical plot twists, the proper-and-permed Mr. Brady ends up sworn in as Chief Executive of the United States. In this capacity, Mike and the Brady kids manage to save the government from a devastating scandal, while perky Carol Brady caters State dinners and imposes "time outs" on obstreperous members of the Press. The Brady Bunch in the White House first aired on the FOX Network on November 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by Neal Israel, Hounded is a made-for-television family film about a 13-year-old boy named Jay Martin who has both a school paper and his chances for a scholarship stolen by his rival, Ronny Van Dusen, who just so happens to be the headmaster's son. Jay concocts a plan to right the situation, but when he breaks into the headmaster's house, he can't stop the Van Dusen's dog from following him home. As if that weren't enough, without the proper medication, the dog gets completely out of control. The film originally aired in 2001 and stars Tahj Mowry as Jay, Shia LaBeouf as Ronny, and Ed Begley Jr. as Mr. Van Dusen. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Lots of kids have to put up with their younger siblings, but two children have to help out their younger parents in this sci-fi comedy produced for The Disney Channel. Eddie and Marie are two seemingly ordinary kids whose parents are extremely gifted inventors. However, not every one of their inventions works just as they hoped, and while working on a machine that would allow them to travel through time, they hit a snag and instead end up with a device that simply makes them younger. What's more, they can't seem to stop the age reversal process, and unless the machine can somehow be stopped, they'll soon hit "the poof point" and simply disappear. Eddie and Marie aren't eager to be on their own just yet (and having folks younger than they are is a bit embarrassing), and they start brainstorming to bring their parents back to their proper age before it's too late. Based on the children's book by Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, The Poof Point stars Mark Curry, Tahj Mowry, and Dawnn Lewis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hilary Duff became an overnight star and teen idol in one fell swoop when the freewheeling sitcom Lizzie McGuire made its Disney Channel debut in January of 2001. Not dissimilar to the old Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All, Lizzie McGuire dealt in a slyly satirical (and slightly surrealistic) fashion with the trials and tribulations of 13- and 14-year-old junior-high kids. Lizzie attended Hillridge Middle School with her best friends, the sardonic Miranda Sanchez (Lalaine) and the doggedly nonconformist David "Gordo" Gordon (Adam Lamberg). At home, Lizzie had a fairly good relationship with her loving and tolerant parents, Sam and Jo (Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd), even though they persisted in regarding her as their little "sweet potato" instead of a girl on the verge of womanhood. Less copacetic was the relationship between Lizzie and her bratty kid brother, Matt (Jake Thomas), who never tired of hatching schemes to annoy his sister, confound his parents, fatten his allowance, or increase his creature comforts. Other regular and semi-regular characters included Lizzie's snooty classroom rival, Kate Sanders (Ashlie Brillault), who had once been our heroine's closest pal until such matters as boyfriends, peer pressure, and the school cheerleading squad separated them; Lizzie's heartthrob Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder), whose dazzling handsomeness was offset by his less-than-dazzling intellect; requisite school nerd Larry Tudgeman (Kyle J. Downes), who for a variety of reasons (mostly academic) drove Gordo crazy; and Matt's buddy and partner-in-crime, Lanny (Christian Copelin). Among the most memorable aspects of Lizzie McGuire were the series' fleeting but hilarious pop-cultural references (usually appearing in Lizzie's vivid imagination), its adroit usage of contemporary music to complement the action or mood of the moment, and especially the cartoon sequences, wherein Lizzie would confide in or solicit advice from her animated alter ego, "Toon Lizzie" (this was, after all, a Disney production). Clearly anticipating a major hit, Disney Channel commissioned 31 episodes for Lizzie McGuire's first season instead of the usual 22 or 24. This surplus of material came in handy when Disney's sister over-the-air network ABC began rerunning Lizzie McGuire as part of its Saturday-morning lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thirty-three years after the demise of The Patty Duke Show, you'll be glad to know that Patty Lane is still seeing the sights a girl can see from Brooklyn Heights, and that her identical cousin Cathy still prefers the minuet and crepe suzette, judging from the evidence presented in this made-for-TV movie. Patty Duke once again plays both Patty and Cathy; these days, Patty is a drama teacher at her old high school, and while she's still sees her old boyfriend Richard (Eddie Applegate), they got married after high school and have since divorced; they have a grown son and a granddaughter. Cathy, on the other hand, is a widow with a teenage son, currently living in Scotland. When the two cousins meet again at a family reunion, they join forces to do battle with Patty's arch-enemy Sue Ellen (Cindy Williams), who plans to buy Brooklyn Heights High School, tear it down and put in a strip mall. Also reprising their roles from the original TV series are William Schallert and Jean Byron as Patty's parents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When a wise teacher takes eight troubled, aimless kids on a re-creation of a wagon train journey along the Oregon trail, the youths learn important lessons from the past while enduring the struggles and strife suffered by the pioneers who settled the West. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also known as Surf Warriors, this film is a low-budget, offbeat comedy aimed at the teen audience. Two young surfer dudes from southern California, Johnny (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) and Adam (Nicolas Cowen), have their lives changed when they discover that they are heirs to the crown of Patu San, an obscure South Pacific island nation. The country's throne has been taken over by an incompetent, evil warlord, Colonel Chi (Leslie Nielsen). As the two surfer heroes travel to Patu San to regain the throne, Colonel Chi sends mercenaries to stop them. Johnny and Adam find that they have been given magical powers to help them in their quest -- one of them becomes instantly skilled at kung fu, and the other has psychic powers. Rap music artist Tone Loc plays one of Colonel Chi's henchmen, Lieutenant Spence. Martial arts sequences dominate the fighting scenes, which evoke the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze of the era. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Following up the goofy big-screen comedies Dragnet and Delirious, director Tom Mankiewicz delivered this made-for-cable thriller starring Tony Goldwyn and Lynn Whitfield. After witnessing a murder, Goldwyn finds himself pursued by a group of thugs led by mafia boss Alan Arkin. Whitfield stars as the detective assigned to ensure that Goldwyn not only doesn't flee out of fear for his life, but stays alive long enough to testify at the murder trial. Along the way, as the two spend more time together, a romance ensues. Peter Boyle, George Segal and Will Patton round out the cast, and the film was scripted by Dan Gordon who would later gain noteriety as a scribe on 1999's The Hurricane. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The leading lady of the Christmas tale knows just what she wants for Christmas and she lets Macy's Santa know, too. She wants nothing more than the reuniting of her recently divorced parents. Bordering on being a Miracle on 34th Street re-make, this film follows much the same theme, but the kids here get more involved as they thwart any likelihood of romantic success between their mom and her new boyfriend and try ever-so-hard to make Mommy and Daddy love each other again. A reunion does result, but it's a lackluster one and so's this film, which was generally seen as a little too contrived and way too bland. ~ All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a suburban housewife begins playing detective after she overhears a neighborhood conspiracy to kill someone on her baby's intercom. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Julia Duffy is the cover girl and Dinah Manoff the cop in this made-for-TV contrivance. When dim-witted model Duffy witnesses a murder, short-fused officer Manhoff is assigned to protect her. Would you be shocked if we informed you that the ladies drive each other crazy? But never fear: they forget their differences long enough to jointly nab the killer at the end. Filmed on location in Washington DC, Cover Girl and the Cop trounced in the ratings by the vastly superior The Ryan White Story when it first aired on January 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide