Mary Matilyn Mouser Movies

A little girl helps two would-be heroes save the world from a rampaging beast in this GCI-animated feature from France. Lord Arnold was once a brave warrior who frequently did battle with the World Gobbler, a fearsome dragon who would return every five years to bring destruction to everything (and everyone) in its path. However, Arnold is growing old, his vision is failing him and he's no longer up to the challenge of battling dragons. Arnold's niece Zoe is a spunky young girl who has learned to best the tiny dragons that play in the woods and wants to move on to more ambitious game, but Arnold is wary of letting her face the beasts he's chased most of his life. Fate steps in when Zoe gets lost in the forest and a pair of opportunistic wanderers, brave Lian Chu and conniving Gwizdo, find her and attempt to return her to her uncle in hopes of a reward. As they make their way back to Lord Arnold's castle, Lian Chu and Gwizdo find they've been misidentified as a pair of knights who've come to vanquish the World Gobbler, and with Zoe's help they square off against one of the world's most powerful dragons. The voice cast for the original French release of Chasseurs de Dragons included Marie Drion, Vincent Lindon, Patrick Timsit and Philippe Nahon; for its release in English-langue territories as Dragon Hunters, Forest Whitaker, Mary Mouser, Rob Paulsen and Dave Wittenberg headlined the vocal cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Another Americanization of a popular British TV series, Life is Wild was inspired by the BBC comedy-drama Wild at Heart. D.W. Moffett headed the cast as New York-based veterinarian Danny Clarke, who on little more than a whim relocated himself, his second wife Jo (Stephanie Niznik) and their four children (two from his first marriage, two from hers) to a new home in South Africa. The Clarke family reconnoitered at the Blue Antelope, a game preserve and safari lodge run by Danny's crusty father-in-law Art (David Butler) (his daughter was Danny's late first wife). Though the kids thought that Danny was crazy, wife Jo did her best to be supportive, using her skills as a lawyer to help rebuild the Blue Antelope into a thriving concern, despite stiff competition from a newer, more tourist-friendly lodge owned by Art's rival Colin Banks (Jeremy Sheffield). The rest of the characters included Danny's level-headed daughter Katie (Leah Pipes) and his frisky son Chase (K'sun Ray; Jo's rebellious son Jesse (Andrew St. John) and sports-nut daughter Mia (Mary Matilyn); Colin Banks' twin children, handsome-hunk son Oliver (Jeremy Sheffield) and drop-dead-gorgeous daughter Emily (Tiffany Mulheron); Tumelo (Atandwa Kani), a local teenager who aspired to become a veterinarian himself; and singer-bartender Mbali (Precious Kofi), for whose attentions Jesse and Tumelo carried on a friendly competition. Filmed on location in South Africa, Life is Wild debuted October 7, 2007 on CW, in the Sunday-night timeslot formerly occupied by Seventh Heaven. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lynn Redgrave, Alan Cummings, Cynthia Nixon, and Tim Curry all lend their voices to this wide-eyed tale of adventure and awe in the exciting world of Tinseltown. Adapted from the popular series of children's books by Kay Thompson, Eloise in Hollywood finds everyone's favorite six-year old Plaza Hotel resident setting out on a mischievous adventure through the star-studded streets of Hollywood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It's Halloween, and The Plaza's most notorious poltergeist is coming out to play. But when Eloise is accused of trying to scare the guests and the staff at the stately hotel, she realizes that the only hope of clearing her name lies in solving the mystery of a frightening phantom. Everyone in The Plaza knows the name Diamond Jim Johnson, but few believe that he has really returned from the dead to haunt them as the legends claim. While Eloise does her best to convince everyone that Diamond Jim's ghost is currently drifting through the hallways of The Plaza, no one believes her. Later, in order to reverse Diamond Jim's curse and save the hotel from some very real monsters, Eloise draws on her own supernatural powers of investigation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Christmas Eve is drawing near, and when the Plaza's most famous six-year-old vows to put on the best holiday show ever a last minute cancellation threatens to sink the elaborate holiday celebration in an animated tale that offers holiday fun for the whole family. A variety of traditions from various cultures promise to make this year's show the biggest holiday event in Plaza history, but in the ensuing chaos Mr. Salamone is prompted to cancel the show just plans begin falling into place. Now it's up to Eloise to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, and as the kids scramble to save the show and Eloise ponders whether her surprise guest will truly show up, everyone is about to learn the most important holiday lesson of all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A suburban home has become physically animated by a vengeful human soul looking to stir up trouble from beyond the grave, and it's up to three adventurous kids from the neighborhood to do battle with the structural golem in this comically frightful tale, directed by Gil Kenan and featuring the voices of Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kevin James. DJ Harvard (voice of Mitchel Musso) lives directly across the street from a most unusual house. A malevolent entity that longs to feed on the energy of the living, the once peaceful house that looms ominously outside of DJ's bedroom window would like nothing more than the chance to feast on the children of the neighborhood. As Halloween begins to draw near and the children of the neighborhood prepare for another long night of trick-or-treating, it appears as if it may be the house that is in for the biggest treat of all. Now, with the adults turning a deaf ear to DJ's strange findings, it's up to the brave young boy and his faithful friends Chowder (voice of Sam Lerner) and Jenny (Spencer Locke) to break through the barrier of the supernatural and defeat the powers of darkness before the house grows too powerful to fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide