Daniel Petronijevic Movies

From the busy Canadian headquarters of Nelvana came this half-hour animated adventure series, which made its American bow as part of Fox's weekend-morning cartoon lineup. The series' backstory concerned the faraway world of RaDos, which since the dawn of time had been protected by a powerful energy source. The humanoids of RaDo had managed to harness this energy by creating the Di-Gata Stones, four pure rocks which, scattered throughout the planet, had formed a strong barrier between the "good" people, headed by the Wizards of Yan, from the "bad" ones, headed by the Order of Infinis. Nazmul, the evil former Wizard of Yan who ruled the Infinis, was determined to grab the stones for his own nefarious purposes. Forming a united front against Nazmul and his stooges Brackus, Flinch and Malco were the Di-Gata Defenders, the children of the original Di-Gate warriors who'd been appointed to keep RaDos safe centuries earlier. Leading the "new" Defenders was a handsome youth named Seth; his cohorts included Adam, an enigmatic part-time thief who only showed up when needed; Erik, the "techie" strategist of the bunch; Melosa, a young Wizard of Yan whose fighting skills were offset by her terrible singing; and Kara, the youngest and most eager of the Defenders, and the one most capable of absorbing the energy and power of the Di-Gata Stones. In most American markets, Di-Ga Defenders first aired on July 28, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced for cable's ESPN network, Codebreakers dramatizes a real-life cheating scandal that rocked the foundations of West Point in 1951. Cadet Brian Nolan (Zachery Ty Bryan) is the roommate of varsity football players George Holbrook (Jeff Roop) and Bob Blaik (Corey Sevier), the latter being the son of West Point's colorful football coach Earl "Red" Blaik (Scott Glenn) -- the man who, according to legend, coined the phrase "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" (significantly, Blaik's assistant coach was Vince Lombardi). Through casual conversation, young Nolan discovers to his horror that several of Blaik's players have taken the coach's philosophy literally, to the extent of cheating on exams to keep up their required GPAs. Their assumption -- not borne out by fact, as it turns out -- is that the coach will never find out, and if he does, he won't care. The ensuing scandal plays right into the hands of West Point's hard-nosed Commandant Paul D Harkins (Jude Ciccolelle), who, long resentful of the prominence of football at the academy, has eagerly awaited the opportunity to topple Coach Blaik from his throne. Ultimately, 83 cadets, including Bob Blaik, are implicated in the scandal -- and the penalty for breaking the Point's sacred Honor Code is a terrible one indeed. The most intriguing aspect of the film is the portrayal of whistleblower Brian Nolan, who though he has technically done the Right Thing is not a particularly likable person; indeed, certain viewers may well be swayed to the side of the disgraced football players as they make Nolan's life Hell on earth for telling what he knows. Filmed in Toronto, Codebreakers was first telecast on December 9, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though originally completed during the 2003-2004 season, the third year's worth of episode of the animated series Braceface were not picked up by cable's Disney Channeluntil early in 2006. Also, as in previous years, the series' third season showed up in a single 26-episode package on American TV, but was broken up into two separate 13-episode bundles for Canadian play. This is the season that actress Stacey DePass replaces film star Alicia Silverstone as the voice of high schooler Sharon Spitz, also known as "Braceface" because of her ill-fitting (and magnetized!) dental braces. Typical of Sharon's adventures during Season 03 are her brief foray into acting, and her efforts to "dumb down" so as not to embarrass her less academically adept friend Connor. Elsewhere: Sharon's ex-boyfriend Alden suffers a head injury and fantasizes that he and Sharon are still a couple, a notion she adamantly resists--at least at first; resuming ballet classes after several years, Sharon discovers she's better suited to slapstick than "Swan Lake"; our heroine suffers unintended consequences when she purchases a pumped-up bra in order to look more mature; Sharon's doltish older brother Adam surprises one and all when he's revealed to a be a talented poet; the "unique and original "Dion continues to set his friends a-wondering whether he's gay or straight; an attempt by the kids to be more "spontaneous" and less predictable backfires; the notoriously fickle Nina lands a new boyfriend, whereupon Sharon tries to break up the couple "for their own good" (yeh, right); Sharon is dismayed to learn that her rock-musician date has been reduced to singing minstrel ballads in a medieval-themed restaurant; in a parody of All About Eve, aspiring singer Sharon is taken advantage of by a false friend; and when nasty Nina decides to stop battling with Sharon and become pals again, Sharon begins yearning for the days when they were still enemies! In honor of the series' staunch pro-animal stance, the third season of Braceface was honored with two more Genesis Awards--even before they'd been telecast in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Two of the animated "teen-com" Braceface begins as the title character, aka Sharon Spitz, turns fourteen years old and enters high school. Here she becomes good friends with her mentor, the "original and unique" Dion, whom she assumes is gay--mainly because he's got a remarkable talent for dressmaking (later on, Sharon will make one too many assumptions about Dion, and very nearly wreck their friendship). Our heroine also learns a whole new slew of responsibilities--and makes a whole bunch more blunders--when she gets her first regular job at "Life Cycles". In other episodes, Sharon and her best bud Maria succumb to peer pressure and pose as "bad girls"; Sharon and Alden break up their relationship, sort of; the kids become self-conscious about their weight; snooty Nina is nearly left friendless when her flunkey Alyson gets tired of being taken advantage of her, and later nearly patches up her once-strong friendship with Sharon when they search for a lost dog; Sharon and her brothers have a tough time getting adjusted to their divorced mom's new boyfriend; the dangers of irresponsible gossiping and the rigors of a high school "parenting" class are played for all they're worth; and a journey to Italy turns out to be a life-altering experience for Sharon and her buds. Because of the series' strong pro-ecological and pro-animal stance, the second season of Braceface was honored with both an Environmental Media Association Award and a Genesis Award. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi