Mona Marshall Movies

When a kindly elephant hears a faint cry of help from a floating speck of dust, his attempts to protect the tiny particle cause his neighbors to question his sanity in this animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic 1954 children's book of the same name. Produced by Ice Age makers Blue Sky, scripted by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, and directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, Horton Hears a Who reunites Bruce Almighty co-stars Jim Carrey and Steve Carell as the eponymous elephant and the mayor of Whoville respectively. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A music-loving cricket whose daily serenades delight the peace-loving forest dwellers finds his world suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of a tyrannical lizard who kidnaps the insect's muse and outlaws all music in an animated tale produced to promote the power of peace to all the children of the world. Christopher is a carefree cricket who draws inspiration from Linda the Night Star to pen uplifting songs that bring joy and good cheer to all the creatures of the forest. Their idyllic existence is soon threatened, however, when dictatorial reptile Wartlord arrives with his thuggish henchmen and orders the destruction of the woodlands in order to clear the way for a terrible monument that will serve as a tribute to his own power and authority. When, in a desperate attempt to reach her musical-minded friend, Linda falls from the sky and lands too close to Wartlord's foreboding castle, Christopher enlists the aid of a collection of critters (including the Magical Toucan, kindly butterfly Honeydew, and natural-born leader Isabelle the Ladybug) in rescuing the frightened Linda before her luminance fades and putting a proper end to the rule of the nefarious lizard fascist whose hunger for power threatens their very existence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created by Keiko Nobumoto (Cowboy Bebop), the half-hour Wolf's Rain was, like many another Japanese anime series, set in a post-apocalyptic future. This time around, the human characters lived in domed cities, surrounded by a devastated world. Meanwhile, the Earth's surviving wolves, presumed extinct for two centuries, had managed to disguise themselves as humans to survive. The plotline focused on four young humanized wolves, each named for a part of the wolf "makeup": Kiba (Fang), Tsume (Claw), Hige (Whisker) and Toboe (Howl). Inspired by the vision of Flower Maiden Cheza and spurred on by the scent of the Lunar Flowers, the quartet set out to find the legendary "wolf paradise" of Rakunan. There was only one hitch -- if and when the wolves finally located Rakunan, the world would come to an end! First telecast in Japan on January 6, 2003, Wolf's Rain consisted of 26 episodes, plus four OAV episodes -- produced exclusively for home video -- which wrapped up the story. The entire series made its American debut courtesy of Cartoon Network on April 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kenny may (finally) be dead, but there's still four obnoxious South Park kids on hand as the series enters its sixth season of outrageous hilarity. Join Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Butters in 17 raunchy episodes, including "Freak Strike" (Butters meets Maury Povich); "Jared Has Aides" (or: how to needle a famous sub-sandwich chain without getting sued); "Asspen" (pizzas, french fries, and the dreaded K-13); "Fun With Veal" (save the baby cows and become a terrorist in your spare time); "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer" (detailing the consequences of giving Russell Crowe his own TV show); "Professor Chaos" (Butters doesn't want to be Kenny, he wants to be a super-villain -- resulting in a really, really lame cliffhanger); "The Simpsons Already Did It" (there's no such thing as a new iconoclastic joke); "Red Hot Catholic Love" (is it recreational, or is it holy law?); "Free Hat" (they've changed Star Wars, and Ted Koppel doesn't get it)"; Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" (puberty is power!); "Child Abduction Is Not Funny" (except on this show, which also features a guest appearance by the Trojan Mongolian Horse); "A Ladder to Heaven" (with "Kenny" flashbacks and Saddam Hussein's chocolate chips of mass destruction); "The Return of the Lord of the Rings to the Two Towers" (or to put it more simply, "Back Door Sluts 9"); "The Death Camp of Tolerance" (featuring Mr. Slave's intestines); "The Biggest Douche in the Universe" (all this, and John Edward and Rob Schneider too); "My Future Self n' Me" (with 32-year-old Stan and a trip to "The Parental Revenge Center of Western America"); and "Red Sleigh Down" (a "magical Christmas adventure" in bombed-out Baghdad). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the manga works of Hiro Mashima, the half-hour anime series Rave Master took place 50 years after a phenomenon called the "Overdrive" resulted in the near-destruction of the world. Before this catastrophe, the Rave, or power of light, had managed to vanquish the Dark Bring, or power of darkness. But after the Overdrive, the Dark Bring was reactivated, and intended to gain control of the world by sending its Power Guard minions to retrieve the five precious Rave Stones. It was up to 16-year-old Haru Glory, son of legendary warrior Gale Glory, to lead the resistance against the Power Guard, and to fulfill his destiny as the new Rave Master. Leaving the safety of his home on Garage Island at the behest of the shaman Shiba, Haru assembled a team of like-minded warriors, including amnesiac gambler Ellie, former thief Musica (whose family had been wiped out by the Shadow Guard), "morphing" fighter Griff, and rave bearer Plute, who looked like a dog and thus obligingly "sniffed out" the missing Rave Stones. Another valuable member of Haru's team was his transforming sword, the Ten Powers. Among the villains were Shadow Guard leader King Gale, his son Blonde Demon (who possessed the powerful Shadow Stone Sinclair), and the King's six flunkeys Shuda, Reina, Jegan, Berial, Iulius, and Haja. Rave Master made its American debut over the Cartoon Network on June 1, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

South Park strikes again for a fourth season, as Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and (temporarily) Kenny assault the ears and eyes with 17 new, even more outrageous episodes. This year's harvest includes "The Tooth Fairy TATS 2000" (Hello, Timmy!); "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" (Cartman finally gets thrown in the slammer, while his cellmate is going to Disneyworld); "Timmy 2000" (we all see only what we want to see -- even Phil Collins); "Quintuplets 2000" (Grandpa Marsh has a circus in his bedroom -- and his pants); "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" (keep your back to the wall, boy); "Cherokee Hair Tampons" (the herbal remedy racket exposed!); "Chef Goes Nanners" (the KKK won't save the day); "Something You Can Do With Your Finger" (it's called Fingerbang); "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?" (Cartman sees the light; Satan can't live without Saddam) and its "sequel" "Probably" (Is This Hell? No, It's Mexico); "Fourth Grade" (Timmy enters a strange new dimension); "Trapper Keeper" (the Terminator meets "Bill Cosby"); "Helen Keller! The Musical" (Have you seen it? Neither has she!); "Pip" (Miss Havisham builds the Genesis device -- and don't forget her robotic monkeys); "Fat Camp" (Cartman and Cartman -- twice the fun); "The Wacky Molestation Adventure" (a chilling stopover at Smiley Town and Treasure Cove); and "A Very Crappy Christmas" (Hey gang, let's put on our own cartoon special!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originating as (of all things!) a video Christmas card in which Jesus Christ duked it out with Santa Claus, the Comedy Central cartoon series South Park was one of the most outrageous and irreverent adult cable series of the 1990s and beyond -- not to mention one of the funniest. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the series took place in the tiny, somewhat inbred village of South Park, CO, where there dwelt a quartet of potty-mouthed fourth graders: sensible but nervous Stan Marsh; neurotic and self-flagellating Kyle Broflovski; fat, obnoxious, and thoroughly me-oriented Eric Cartman; and parka-wearing Kenny McCormick, who never spoke above a mumble -- and who (during the series' first five seasons) was invariably killed off in a grisly manner in each episode ("Oh my God! They killed Kenny! You bastards!"). During season six, Kenny was assumed to be permanently dead, and his place in the foursome was taken by prissy Butters, who openly resented being the obligatory "TV series replacement regular." When Kenny returned in season seven, his "deaths" were far less frequent; reportedly, the producers were sick of figuring out new and unique ways of knocking him off. Though the kids were repulsive, they were none too good for the adults of South Park, who included the whiny, sexually ambivalent schoolteacher Mr. Garrison; Cartman's pushy, hermaphrodite mother, Liane; Kyle's loudmouthed, activist mom, Sheila; and the very stupid police chief Barbrady; and "Mrs. Mayor." The only grownup worth his salt (and pepper) was ex-soul singer "Chef" McElroy (voiced by Isaac Hayes), though his position in South Park as moral authority and the voice of reason was compromised a bit by his overactive libido.

Animated in a deliberately crude, jerky fashion (though brilliantly timed and paced), and featuring characters who resembled kindergarten cutouts, South Park took pride in butchering every sacred cow and toppling every icon known to conservative and liberal alike. The individual episodes managed to find laughs in such otherwise risky topics as homosexuality, mental and physical handicaps, child molestation, AIDs, anti-Semitism, Alzheimer's, global warming, and the war in Iraq. By being an "equal opportunity offender," the series managed to take both sides and no sides in every issue. Also adding to the hilarity were the occasional "guest" appearances by badly drawn (and voiced) celebrities, with Sally Struthers, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Mel Gibson, Saddam Hussein, and especially Barbra Streisand among those mercilessly skewered. In addition, the series poked big holes in its "competition," the equally raunchy Beavis and Butthead, by introducing a pair of flatulent cartoon Canadians named Terrance and Phillip. Debuting August 13, 1997, and churning out between 13 and 18 episodes per year, South Park was the archetypal "You Either Love It or You Hate It" cartoon show -- but the majority of viewers loved it! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adventure Machine was the sixth of nine seasonal specials about the lovable residents of Chucklewood Park. The focus herein is on Buttons the Cub Bear and Rusty the Fox, who while searching for excitement end up hopelessly lost in the woods. Fear not, however; their ordeal nets Buttons and Rusty a whole new crop of animal and human friends, and teaches them all sorts of vital lessons about life and the environment. Produced by the UCLA Department of Education and first syndicated in 1990, Adventure Machine was given coast-to-coast exposure when it aired April 11, 1993, on the USA cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this animated film, the Littles--a family of half-man, half-mouse creatures living in the walls of human houses--aid a young boy whose parents have vanished. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide