Lorne Cameron
A group of feisty forest critters awaken following the winter freeze to discover that not only has a new neighborhood cropped up during the cold months, but living in close proximity to humans may have its benefits in this computer-animated comedy-adventure for all ages featuring the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, Avril Lavigne, Eugene Levy, and William Shatner. Despite Verne the Turtle's (Garry Shandling) initial hesitance to breach the formidable foliage that has appeared on his doorstep since last fall, the arrival of fearless raccoon RJ (Willis) and revelation that their new human neighbors throw out enough food in one day to feed a whole forest lead the gang to consider taking the plunge and exploring the snack-filled suburbs. As Verne and RJ learn to work together in taking on their strange new surroundings, Stella the Skunk (Sykes), Hammy the Squirrel (Carrel), Heather the Opossum (Lavigne), and Heather's father, Ozzie (Shatner), join in on the fun by scavenging for Girl Scout cookies and attempting to scuttle past the pesky new suburbanites undetected. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, (more)
In the Disney-animated adventure Brother Bear, Joaquin Phoenix provides the voice of Kenai, a young Native American boy whose brother, Sitka (voice of D.B. Sweeney), is killed by a mother bear protecting her cubs. With revenge in mind, Kenai sets out into the woods only to find himself magically transformed into a bear himself. Seeing the world through the eyes of his prey, Kenai is forced to learn a lesson about nature and life. On a comic footnote: Brother Bear also features the voices of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Rutt and Tuke, moose characters reminiscent of their beer-guzzling McKenzie brothers from SCTV and Strange Brew; because this is a family-oriented cartoon - and it would be inappropriate for the moose to quaff beer -- the two moose express a fondness for eating wheat hops instead. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, (more)
A boy who's looking for trouble finds a lot more than he counted on in this action-comedy. Nathan (Ryan DeBoer) is a 12-year-old kid with a smart mouth and a bit too much attitude for his own good. Not happy at home, Nathan runs away and his parents report him missing to the police; when Nathan finds out, he finds himself dodging the cops at every turn. Low on money, Nathan happens upon a large amount of cash and figures his lucky day has arrived. However, it turns out the money he found belongs to gangsters who are bound and determined to get it back, and Nathan is forced to turn himself in to Norm (Tim Matheson), a police detective, in order to stay alive. But Nathan doesn't much care for cops, and Norm is not exactly charmed by Nathan, which makes working together rough sledding. Catch Me If You Can (also released as Deadly Game and Hide and Seek) also features William Katt and Carol Alt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan De Boer, Tim Matheson, (more)
The tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is always ripe for retelling. In this rendition, the sexy Richard Gere is Sir Lancelot, threatening to supersede the aging King Arthur (Sean Connery) by winning the love of his young wife Guinivere (Julia Ormond). This update of the age-old legend succeeds on the strength of Gere's happy-go-lucky sex appeal, Ormond's gorgeous period costuming, and Connery's unbeatable wry nobility. The script focuses on the triangle of the three principals: the older man's reluctance to relinquish his love and power to the younger man destined to supplant him; the young woman torn between her loyalty to her aged husband and her love for his rival; the young man balancing the demands of loyalty to his sovereign with the rewards of true love. This beautiful production forgoes the legend's usual elements of magic and fantasy, leaving Merlin the Magician completely out of the picture. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Richard Gere, (more)
Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley Moore) is a noted heart surgeon whose personality is switched with his teenage son Chris (Kirk Cameron) in this uninspired comedy. The ingestion of a brain transference serum is the catalyst for the comic catastrophe and the confusion that follows. Sean Astin and Patrick O'Neal co-star with Margaret Colin and Catherine Hicks. A decent idea for a comedy that has since been done better in Brian Gilbert's 1988 comedy Vice Versa starring Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, (more)
