Juan Chioran 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, All Movie Guide

A hit Broadway musical in 1957 and an equally successful Hollywood film in 1962, Meredith Willson's The Music Man was again brought before the cameras in this lavish made-for-TV adaptation. Standing in for the original's Robert Preston is Matthew Broderick as "Professor" Harold Hill, a glib traveling salesman who descends upon the town of River City, IA, in the weeks just prior to the Fourth of July celebration of 1912. Persuading the populace that the youth of River City is in great danger of being corrupted by the presence of a new pool table, Hill convinces them that their only hope for salvation is the organization of a boy's band, with himself as a leader. Naturally, this will require the parents to shell out good money for band instruments and uniforms, and in exchange, Hill promises to teach the kids how to make music by utilizing his revolutionary "Think System." There's only one problem: Harold Hill is an out-and-out con artist, who doesn't know one note from another. Even so, he manages to win over everybody in town except local librarian/music teacher Marian Paroo (Kristin Chenoweth) and thick-eared Mayor Shinn (Victor Garber). Ultimately, however, Marian joins Hill's camp -- mainly because he has brought her sullen brother, Winthrop (Cameron Monaghan), out of his shell -- but as July Fourth approaches, Hill faces exposure and arrest thanks to a vengeful anvil salesman named Charlie Cowell (Patrick McKenna). A meticulously faithful rendition of the Broadway original, The Music Man happily includes all of the show's wonderful songs, among them "Ya Got Trouble," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl," "Lida Rose," "Marian the Librarian," "Pickalittle," "Til There Was You," and "My White Knight" (which was not used in the 1962 movie adaptation). Though some critics found Matthew Broderick a bit too lightweight and Jeff Bleckner's direction a tad gimmicky, no one could fault the full-bodied vocal renditions, nor the consistently inventive choreography of Kathleen Marshall. Produced by the same team responsible for the 2003 movie smash Chicago, The Music Man debuted February 16, 2003, as an "expanded" episode of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide