Charlie Adler Movies
- 2009
- PG13
- Add Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to QueueAdd Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to top of Queue
Michael Bay returns to helm the sequel to the highly successful big-screen adaptation of the Transformers toy line for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. Much of the original cast returns for the second installment, including Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro, with Rainn Wilson joining in the fun as a college professor. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, (more)
The interstellar battle between the Autobots and Decepticons rains destruction down on planet Earth as director Michael Bay adapts Hasbro and Takara's popular Transformers franchise into a big-budget, live-action summer tentpole extravaganza in this ambitious sci-fi action feature starring Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Bernie Mac, John Turturro, Jon Voight, and, of course, Optimus Prime and Megatron. Long ago, on the planet of Cybertron, a massive, powerful alien race divided into two factions, the noble Autobots, and the devious Decepticons. They fought for the sole access to a talisman known as the Allspark, a cube with the capacity to grant infinite power, and eventually the Autobots smuggled it off the planet's surface, hiding it in an unknown location on Earth. Now, hundreds of years later, the Deceptacons have come looking for it, and if the Autobots don't find it first, the Earth will be enslaved or destroyed by the evil aliens' use of its massive power. The Autobots don't know where the cube was hidden, but the information may be stored in the most unlikely of sources, as a gangly young Earthling named Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) who's just picked up his first car, has a strange connection to the Allspark's history, making him the unlikely ally of these enormous creatures, as they fight for humankind's survival and the chance to return home. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, (more)
- 2005
All of the "pets" in this half hour cartoon series (two short segments per episode) were space aliens who had escaped the "boredom" of their own world in favor of new adventures on earth. The animalistic extraterrestrials all landed in the backyard of taffy-eatin 12 year old Tommy Cadle, who lived in DeSpray Bay. Headquartering themselves in an old lighthouse tower, Tommy's new friends dedicated themselves to solving all of the boy's problems, but generally ended up making a mess of things. The alien aggreagation included Dinko, the leader; Gumpers, a slobbering, lazy, lovable monstrosity; wacky, hyper-active Flip, who evidently spoke in tongues; the obnoxious, spoiled Swanky; and the loyal, doglike Scruffy. Pet Aliens was first seen January 23, 2005 over the Cartoon Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Schlatter, Candi Milo, (more)
One of Santa's little helpers learns that even spreading Christmas cheer can be quite a chore in this animated holiday adventure featuring the voice and music of Harry Connick, Jr. Few elves display half the Christmas cheer of Eubie, and when the grumpy town of Bluesville refuses to celebrate the holidays, Santa's chipper little toymaker takes it upon himself to brighten the spirits of the Grinch-like citizens. Bringing cheer to this crabby bunch will be a real challenge, but if anyone's up for the job it's certainly Eubie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Connick, Jr.
- 2003
This 3D-animation children's series was staged in flashback form, as an elderly pig regaled his grandchildren with stories of his youth on the Raloo Farm in Ireland. Among the many friends of young Piggley Winks were Wiley the Sheep (his voice provided by the legendary Mel Brooks), Dannan the Duck, and Ferny the Bull. The object of the series was to teach the kids at home how to find creative solutions to problems, and to respect the wisdom of their elders. These were driven home on each episode with a live epilogue featuring soccer star Cobi Jones. Its title derived from the leading character's favorite slang expression, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks was first seen over the PBS network on September 7, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two of the most popular animated series on the children's cable network Nickelodeon get wrapped up in one big-screen package in this comedy-adventure, featuring the characters from Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Drew and Didi Pickles (voices of Michael Bell and Melanie Chartoff) decide to take a special vacation with their children, Tommy (voice of Elizabeth Daily) and Angelica (voice of Cheryl Chase), with their friends (both grown-ups and toddlers) coming along for the ride. However, the ship Drew has chartered isn't especially seaworthy, and their party ends up stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific. The kids figure the day is saved when they discover that famous explorer and television personality Sir Nigel Tornberry (voice of Tim Curry) is also on the island with his family, but after he gets a world-class knock on the head from a coconut, Nigel's upper intellectual register gets knocked out of commission. The Rugrats are then forced to turn to Nigel's daughter, Eliza (voice of Lacey Chabert), who not only knows the wilds, but can talk to animals, which comes as quite a surprise to Spike (voice of Bruce Willis), the Pickles' family pooch. Rugrats Go Wild also features the voice talents of LL Cool J, Cree Summer, Nancy Cartwright, Jack Riley, and Flea. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Chrissie Hynde, (more)
The Nickelodeon cartoon series The Wild Thornberrys gets its first feature-length animated film, directed by show creator Cathy Malkasian with a screenplay by Kate Boutilier (writer of Nickelodeon's Rugrats in Paris). The main character is 12-year-old Eliza Thornberry (voice of Lacey Chabert), a braces-and-glasses-wearing eccentric girl in an adventurous family of travelers. Due to an interaction with a shaman, she has been granted the special power of communication with animals, as long as she promises not to tell anyone about it. Her powers are challenged when her parents, Nigel (voice of Tim Curry) and Marianne (voice of Jodi Carlisle), decide to take the family on an African safari to make a nature documentary. Also along for the trip is snobby sister Debbie (voice of Danielle Harris), feral youngster Donnie (voice of Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and pet chimpanzee Darwin (voice of Tom Kane). After her new Cheetah cub friend is stolen by poachers, Eliza is determined to get involved. However, the stuffy Thornberry grandparents get in the way by sending her to boarding school. It's up to Eliza and Darwin to defeat the poachers and save the cub. Also featuring the voice talents of Brenda Blethyn and Lynn Redgrave. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lacey Chabert, Tom Kane, (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)
- 1991
Tiny Toons Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation is a direct-to-video feature film based on the Steven Spielberg-produced animated television series. How I Spent My Vacation chronicles the adventures of the series' regular characters--Plucky Duck, Uncle Stinky, Dizzy Devil, and Buster and Babs Bunny, among many others--during their summer vacation. The film is arranged as a series of comic episodes instead of a coherent story, but that's a benefit, since each sequence gives a few cartoon characters a chance to shine. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
In this entertaining feature for the 3- to10-year-old set, the wicked witch Hydia (voice of Cloris Leachman) and her two nasty daughters, Reeka and Draggle (voices of Rhea Pearlman and Madeline Kahn) are scheming to flood Ponyland with a strange liquid called Smooze. The ponies find allies in the Grundles, who have already been made homeless by the Smooze. The challenge is to stop the witch and her daughters, send them back into their volcano, and retrieve the lost land of the Grundles from under its cover of Smooze -- not to mention protecting Ponyland from the worst. Not an easy agenda, even after several adventures gear everyone up for the grand finale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Madeline Kahn, (more)
- 1986
This animated feature from the people who created the He Man and the Masters of the Universe series combines a futuristic, sci-fi setting with the style of the old west. The story focuses on a cowboy named Bravestarr, whose home planet of New Texas is under the threat of tyrannical rule by the evil cattle farmer Stampede, who, with his ruthless sidekick Tex Hex, are vying for control of the universe, one planet at a time. Bravestarr has a trusted posse of companions, however, including a mystical shaman and a robot horse, and with their help, he might save the galaxy for cowboys everywhere. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Adler, Susan Blu, (more)
