Debi Derryberry Movies
Dr. Seuss' classic, environmentally themed children's book comes to the big screen in this tale of a young boy who encounters a cantankerous forest creature after venturing outside of his artificial city in search of a tree. Ted (voice of Zac Efron) lives in a town where nothing is quite as it appears; everything is plastic, including the plants. Hopelessly smitten by the beautiful Audrey (voice of Taylor Swift), who dreams of one day seeing a real tree, Ted boldly leaves the city determined to find the flora and grant her wish. Along the way, the young adventurer crosses paths with the Lorax (voice of Danny DeVIto), a diminutive, mustached defender of nature who doesn't take kindly to human intruders. The better Ted gets to know the Lorax, however, the more he learns that his newfound friend has good reason for being a bit surly. Also featuring the voices of Betty White, Ed Helms, and Rob Riggle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, (more)
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, (more)
A handful of zoo animals leave behind their well-protected environment for the streets of the big city in this computer-animated comedy. Sampson (voice of Kiefer Sutherland) is the king of a make-believe jungle far from the African plains -- he's a lion on display at a zoo in New York City's Central Park, and he lords it over the other animals, including Nigel (voice of Eddie Izzard), a testy koala bear; Larry, a dumb but well-meaning snake; ; Bridget (voice of Janeane Garofalo), a bright but cynical giraffe; and Benny (voice of Jim Belushi), a very New York-ish squirrel who is good friends with Sampson and is trying to romance Bridget without much success. The pride and joy of Sampson's life is his son, Ryan (voice of Greg Cipes), and he's devastated when one day Ryan is crated up and shipped back to Africa. Sampson is desperate to find his boy, and with the help of his pals he escapes the zoo and sets out on a daring mission to rescue Ryan, battling the unfamiliar terrain and Kazar, a wildebeest with a will to power and a passion for choreography (voice of William Shatner) along the way. The Wild was the first directorial credit for animator and special-effects artist Steve "Spaz" Williams. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, (more)
The cranky beast with a heart of gold returns to the big screen in this sequel to the computer-animated smash hit Shrek. After massive green ogre Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) and his new bride, Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz), return from their honeymoon, they receive an invitation to visit Fiona's parents, King Harold (voice of John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (voice of Julie Andrews), who are the monarchs of The Land Far, Far Away. However, the king and queen are more than a bit alarmed to discover their new son-in-law is a monster the color of algae, and that their daughter's little problem with a magical spell gone wrong has turned into a full-time skin condition. Certain this isn't the sort of "happily ever after" they dreamed of for their daughter, King Harold decides to take Shrek out of the picture and return Fiona to her former beauty with the help of Prince Charming (voice of Rupert Everett), the Fairy Godmother (voice of Jennifer Saunders), and ogre-slaying feline Puss in Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas). Shrek 2 also features the voice of Eddie Murphy returning as Donkey, as well as Larry King as an Ugly Stepsister. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, (more)
Originally titled Gash Bell, this half-hour Japanese anime series was based on the manga by Makato Raiku. The premise: Every millennium, 100 Mamodo from outer space were sent to earth to battle for supremacy. Although not children, the Mamodo looked and acted like kids, and thus needed youthful human partners (actually counterparts) to activate their powers, as dictated in their ancient spell books. The winner, of course, would become King of Mamodo--but should one of the spell books be destroyed, the owner of that book would instantly disintegrate. The hero of the piece was Zatch Bell, an amnesiac Mamodo who was discovered and rescued by the archeologist father of junior high student Kiyo. Although Zatch and Kiyo were unaware of the awesome powers at their fingertips, they soon learned--especially when threatened by the series' various villainous Mamodo-King wannabes. For its American debut, Zatch Bell was served up as part of Cartoon Network's "Toonami" manifest on March 1, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Debi Derryberry, Jason Spisak, (more)
- 2002
Originally filmed as a pilot for a Nickelodeon cable network TV series, the computer-animated feature Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius turned out so well that it was decided to release the film theatrically in 2001. One year later, things came full circle, and the weekly, half-hour TV version of Jimmy Neutron was unveiled by Nickelodeon. The title character was a ten-year-old inventor, living in the sitcomish town of Retroville with his mom, dad, and robot dog Goddard. Together with his colorful schoolmates -- many of them even geekier than he was -- Jimmy was regularly called upon to save his family, his town, or his world by concocting a whole slew of intricate gadgets, some of which actually worked properly. Created by John A. Davis and Steve Oedekerk, the weekly version of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius premiered on September 6, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Debi Derryberry, Frank Welker, (more)
- 2000
- G
Beverly Joubert and Derek Joubert, a husband-and-wife team who've won widespread acclaim (and a certain amount of controversy) for their beautiful but unflinchingly realistic wildlife documentaries (including Eternal Enemies and Wildlife Warriors), wrote and directed this feature-length drama that uses footage of animals in the wild to tell a story about elephants in their native environment. After the death of its mother, a baby elephant named Whispers (voice of Debi Derryberry) grabs the tail of Groove (voice of Angela Bassett), a pachyderm exiled from her tribe. Groove is hardly the nurturing type, but the child won't let go, and soon she bonds with the youngster as they make their way through the dangers of the jungle in search of the Great River, a fabled paradise for their kind. Anne Archer, Joanna Lumley, and Alice Ghostley are among the actors who provide the "voices" of the animals; the entire film was shot at the Chobe National Park in Botswana, South Africa, a nature preserve where the Jouberts live and work. Whispers: An Elephant's Tale was financed and released by Walt Disney Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Angela Bassett, Joanna Lumley, (more)
After the critical and commercial success of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, the Walt Disney Pictures animation studio embarked on their most serious and ambitious animated feature to date with this adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel Notre Dame de Paris. Quasimodo (voice of Tom Hulce) is a grotesquely deformed but kind-hearted young man who was abandoned by his parents as an infant and thrown down a well; he was rescued by the priests of Notre Dame, the massive cathedral in the heart of Paris, and he lives there, earning his keep as a bell ringer. Quasimodo has become the ward of Judge Frollo (voice of Tony Jay), an outwardly pious but deeply hateful man who treats Quasimodio with indifference and violently loathes the Gypsies who spend their days in the cathedral's courtyard. Frollo hopes to clear the Gypsies out of Paris with the help of Phoebus (voice of Kevin Kline), leader of the troops under Frollo's command. However, Phoebus does not share Frollo's racist views and harbors no ill will against the Gypsies. When Quasimodo is crowned King of the Fools after leaving Notre Dame during the annual festival of Topsy Turvy Day, the hunchback is ordered beaten by the guards as punishment, but Esmerelda (voice of Demi Moore), a hot-blooded but compassionate gypsy beauty, shows pity on him and helps free him from his chains. The lovely Esmerelda is the first woman to show kindness to the unfortunate Quasimodo, and the hunchback soon falls in love with her. However, the dashing Phoebus is also infatuated with her, and Esmerelda is attracted to Phoebus as well, though she feels a motherly affection for the hunchback. Judge Frollo finds that he also desires Esmerelda, which only inflames his hatred for the Gypsies when she refuses his proposals. Darker and less outwardly comic than most of Disney's features, The Hunchback of Notre Dame does feature comic relief in the form of Victor (voice of Charles Kimbrough) and Hugo (voice of Jason Alexander), a pair of gargoyles who befriend Quasimodo, as well as several songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, (more)
Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this buoyant children's adventure yarn about a young witch striking out on her own. At her mother's behest, 13-year-old Kiki sets out on a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky command of her broom, she ends up in a charming little coastal town that looks like a cross between the French provincial and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the local hotels have a strict "no witches" policy and the police have taken a dim view of her recent aerial mischief-making. She's saved from the street by a kindly baker's wife, who offers her room and board in exchange for her delivering by broom the baker's wares. Soon she befriends a college-aged artist, an old women who fusses over her, and a boy her same age who is nursing a massive crush. All is well until she wakes up one day and realizes that she can't make her broom levitate nor can she talk to her cat. What will Kiki do? ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, (more)
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