Greg Proops Movies

In this colorful extended episode of the Bob the Builder animated series, viewers learn about Bob's history and how he began his job as a construction worker. It covers such events as Bob's first building assignment with his dad Robert, the beginning of his work partnership with Wendy, and his initial encounters with such characters as Lofty, Muck, Scoop, Dizzy, and Roley; it then shows Bob building his own yard. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Billed as the first European 3-D CGI feature-length film, Kaena: The Prophecy revolves around a mammoth tree that rises 100 miles from the planet's surface and provides shelter and sustenance for a variety of different races and species. Referred to as Axis, the tree has been losing its sap at a rate alarming enough to threaten the well-being of some of its inhabitants. Determined to get to the root of the disappearing sap is Kaena (Kirsten Dunst), a rambunctious teenager who leaves her village against the wishes of its elders. She encounters the mysterious Selenites along the way; led by an insidious queen (Anjelica Huston), the Selenites have resorted to enslaving another race in order to prevent the tree's decline into death. Directed by Pascal Pinon and Chris Delaporte, Kaena: The Prophecy began filming in 1999 on a budget of 26 million dollars, and has been described as having merged elements from Shrek and Final Fantasy. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

There has to be some explanation as to why a hung-over Drew (Drew Carey) has awakened in a Tennessee dog pound handcuffed to guest star John Ratzenberger). Laboriously putting the pieces together, Drew learns that he'd tried to commit suicide the night before, guilt-ridden for having done a "horrible thing"--namely, sleeping with Mimi (Kathy Kinney). Without giving anything else away, it can be noted that the whole sorry affair begins when the gang heads to Nashville for business and pleasure, and ends with an unholy alliance between John Ratzenberger and Blue Man Group. This is the third of the series' episodes to be originally broadcast live on ABC, with three different versions beamed to the three main time zones, replete with improvisations courtesy of Whose Line Is it Anyway regulars Gerry Cohen, Charles Esten, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood and Jeff Bryan Davis. (Trivia note: a bit of dialogue initially censored by ABC is preserved intact in the syndicated version. See if you can spot it). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

First seen November 8, 2000 on ABC, this episode represents the second time that The Drew Carey Show was originally telecast live, with three different versions seen in the three main time zones (the syndicated version is the Pacific Zone broadcast--with all bloopers and ad-libs intact). The plot gets under way as Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) fires an employee who objects to the shoddy treatment afforded Drew (Drew Carey). Feeling responsible for the man's plight, Drew gets him a new job--and before long, our hero has established a successful employement agency in his own home. Unfortunately, he is less successful finding new jobs for his old friends Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Styles), especially when both of them compete for a single opening at a ritzy restaurant. As in the previous "live" episode, several regulars from the Drew Carey-hosted series Whose Line Is It Anyway? show up to perform some truly weird improvisational sketches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This stop-motion animated fable was a big hit when it was released -- not only at the box office, but critically. It was praised for its stunning originality and for the excellence of its execution. In addition, it was praised for being a completely absorbing fable that both grownups and children can enjoy, so long as the children are able to its handle scary bits (beginning perhaps at age seven or eight). In the story, Jack Skellington (voice of Chris Sarandon) is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, a realm of reality where the inhabitants make it their life's work to scare humans on Halloween. He's good at his work, and is very popular around town, but it all bores him. In a funk one day, he wanders into a wood where every tree is the doorway to realms serving one or another human holiday, and falls through the doorway into Christmas. There, he sees scenes of such glee and good will that he is overwhelmed. He returns to Halloweentown with the inspiration to persuade his fellow citizens to kidnap Santa and do Christmas in their own Halloweentown way -- complete with snakes and shrunken heads. Despite strong arguments against this project by Jack's otherwise loyal girlfriend, Sally (voice of Catherine O'Hara), Santa (voice of Edward Ivory) is duly captured, and the townspeople prepare a very special Christmas for everyone. Jack is excited about the new plan, and at first doesn't notice that Sally isn't around much anymore. Meanwhile, Oogie Boogie (voice of Ken Page), a sinister opponent of Jack's, has re-kidnapped Santa and has captured Sally as well. Since Sally is the true love of Jack's life and (he eventually realizes) the only one who can be relied upon to tell him the truth in every circumstance, a confrontation with Oogie Boogie becomes inevitable. In addition to being a monumental work of animation (it took over 120 animators and many more technicians more than two years to film it), this show features ten very appropriate musical numbers by composer Danny Elfman, who also supplies Jack's singing voice. In October 2006, fans of the innovative animated classic got to experience The Nightmare Before Christmas in a whole new dimension when the film was re-released into theaters in Disney Digital 3-D -- a process developed to add remarkable new depth to films that were originally released in standard 2-D. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi