Brian Cummings Movies
In this 3D animated adventure, the Davis family moves into a log cabin in the mountains above Seattle, only to find that a family of Bigfoot are living nearby in a cave. Unfortunately, that very cave is going to be flooded when a new dam is put in, and the family's new hairy friends need help. So now the Davises are teaming up with the Sasquatches as well as Ranger Steve in order to do what's right, help their new friends, and have an incredible adventure in the process. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blaire Restaneo, Jewel Restaneo, (more)
This Hanna-Barbera version of "The Arabian Nights" goes to great pains not to offend any pressure or minority group--so much so that one suspects its political correctness was actually a gag. At any rate, such familiar Hanna-Barbera stars as Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Magilla Gorilla, Scooby Doo and Shaggy are featured in a trilogy of familiar-looking stories. Episode one, "Alliyah-Din and His Magic Lamp", features Yogi and Boo Boo as genies and a female version of Alladin; episode two, "Sinbad", is a freewheeling spoof of both the original story and of Hanna-Barbera's rival Disney studios, built around the antics of Magilla Gorilla in the title role; and the closing segment, "Scheherezade", finds Scooby and (especially) Shaggy forsaking the solving of mysteries so that they'll have time to spin tales for a cranky caliph. The 90-minute Arabian Nights originally aired September 3, 1994, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Burson, Don Messick, (more)
- 1992
- G
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A man finds himself living among the animals and enchanted spirits of the rainforest, and learns of the true consequences of human destruction in this animated adventure. Crysta (voice of Samantha Mathis) is a young fairy who is being tutored in the powers of magic by the older and wiser Magi (voice of Grace Zabriskie) in an Amazon rain forest. While their home was once on the verge of destruction thanks to the evil spirit Hexxus (voice of Tim Curry), the demon has been trapped inside a tree, and Crysta is free to play with her friends Batty Koda (voice of Robin Williams), a bat who escaped from an animal testing facility, and Pips (voice of Christian Slater), who has obvious romantic intentions toward the attractive young sprite. However, a clear-cutting crew destroys the tranquil peace of the rainforest, and when Crysta sees a runaway logging machine about to run over lumberjack Zak (voice of Jonathan Ward), she saves his life by shrinking him to her own size. However, Crysta isn't able to bring Zak back to his normal size, so he's forced to live among the forest creatures and learn first-hand the devastation the humans have brought to this world -- especially when the loggers accidentally free Hexxus from captivity. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Curry, Robin Williams, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, (more)
- 1986
In the fourth chapter of a five-part adventure, Cobra has successfully captured several members of the new G.I. Joe team. Dr. Mindbender is now certain that he can continue his plans to create a powerful Cobra Emperor named Serpentor unimpeded. Altering his scheme a bit, Mindbender is now determined to use Sgt. Slaughter's DNA in the creation process. Written by Buzz Dixon, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!, Pt. 4" first aired in America on September 18, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In the concluding chapter of a five-part adventure, the worst has happened: Dr. Mindbender has successfully melded the DNA of several past conquerors into a single, super-powered Cobra Emperor named Serpentor. Fortunately, Sgt. Slaughter and the rest of the G.I. Joe team manage to escape their Cobra captors and to mount a counteroffensive. Without giving away the ending, it can be noted that enough Joe and Cobra members are left standing to populate the subsequent episodes of G.I. Joe's second TV season. Written by Buzz Dixon, "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!, Pt. 5" first aired in America on September 19, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Playwright Neil Simon turned to the hotel setting he used so successfully in his stage-play (later a movie) Plaza Suite to explore four more human dramas in his play California Suite, which was adapted into this quite successful movie. In the first episode, the divorced couple of Bill and Hannah Warren (Alan Alda and Jane Fonda) have rented a suite in a posh Beverly Hills hotel in order to have a discussion about who will get the custody of their child. In the next episode, Sidney Cochran and Diana Barrie (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) are a hilarious pair of Hollywood stars who have rented the suite to await their appearance at the Academy Awards: it is a "date of convenience" which enables the sexually adventurous duo to conduct their other, more unconventional alliances out of the public eye. Drs. Willis Panama and Chauncy Gump (Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor) have brought their families to Beverly Hills for a vacation which takes on nightmarish tone. Finally, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau) tries frantically and unsuccessfully to explain the situation to his wife (Elaine May) when she catches him in flagrante delicto with a hooker. Actress Maggie Smith won an Academy Award as "Best Supporting Actress" for her role in this film, in which she plays the actress waiting to win . . . an Academy Award. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Michael Caine, (more)
