Linda Miller Movies
A group of Martian invaders discovers that mankind may not need to be wiped out after all when they touch down on planet Earth just in time for Christmas. Far in the deepest reaches of the cosmos, a device made by earthlings scours the solar system for new forms of life. When a race of highly advanced aliens discovers the device and assumes that an invasion is imminent, they decide to launch a pre-emptive counter attack. But there's a stowaway on their Earthbound ship, and he's a curious eight year old Martian named Kip. The son of the ship's commander, Kip only wanted to spend a little more time with his dad and never meant to jeopardize the mission. When Kip accidentally activates an escape pod than sends him plummeting down to Earth, his dad quickly follows for fear that his son will be stuck on the surface when the planet is vaporized. But Kip and his father are in for a big surprise, because once they experience the joy of the holiday season, they realize that their assumptions about the human race were totally unfounded, and that the invasion should be called off immediately. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
One of the most expensive of Don Bluth's animated cartoon features, All Dogs Go to Heaven was also among the most successful. Set in late-'30s New Orleans, the story centers upon a roguish German shepherd named Charlie B. Barkin (voice of Burt Reynolds), who is killed early in the proceedings by his business partner, Carface (voice of Vic Tayback). Charlie travels to Heaven, and is promptly warned that if he heads back to Earth, he can never return; he does decide to go back to Earth, however, to exact revenge on Carface, who has kidnapped Anne-Marie, a little orphan girl who can talk to Animals.
The film also includes the vocal skills of Dom DeLuise, Charles Nelson Reilly, Vic Tayback, Melba Moore, Loni Anderson, and a host of others. All Dogs Go to Heaven was the first production of the Dublin-based Sullivan Bluth Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The film also includes the vocal skills of Dom DeLuise, Charles Nelson Reilly, Vic Tayback, Melba Moore, Loni Anderson, and a host of others. All Dogs Go to Heaven was the first production of the Dublin-based Sullivan Bluth Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Judith Barsi, (more)
Animation producer Don Bluth's fondness for overly cutesy characters and muddy color compositions work to the benefit of his feature-length cartoon The Land Before Time. Littlefoot, a brontosaurus child, must fend for himself when his mother is killed (shades of Bambi). With several other orphaned dinosaurs, Littlefoot seeks out the fabled Great Valley, where food and shelter is plentiful. Along the way, the kiddie dinos learn several vital (and politically correct) life lessons, all the while keeping themselves scarce whenever the fierce tyrannosauri gallumph into view. The cuteness of the characters (emphasized by the voice work) takes some of the harsh edges off the story, which makes the film eminently suitable for younger children; and the smeary color design is ideal for the time-frame of the film, which is set in the turbulent, nature-run-rampant period just before the dinosaurs died out. Apparently they didn't all die, inasmuch as a Land Before Time sequel was released on video in 1994. The earlier film inspired a 1988 Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Ruby-Spears, Dink: The Little Dinosaur. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gabriel Damon, Candy Hutson, (more)
An American Tail is a beautifully rendered animated flim that tells an overly familiar story in terms children can easily understand. Fievel Mousekewitz and his family of Russian-Jewish mice escape from their homeland in the late 1800s, boarding a boat headed toward America to evade the Czarist rule of the Russian cats. Fievel, however, is separated from his family upon his arrival in New York City, and he discovers to his horror that there are cats in America too (his father said there weren't). Fievel meets his share of friendly and hostile mice, and he eventually befriends a cat as well. Former Disney animator Don Bluth co-produced and directed this often heartwarming yarn, the first animated feature presented by Steven Spielberg, and it has its charms despite a number of cliché situations. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cathianne Blore, Dom DeLuise, (more)
Frustrated with the Walt Disney studio's reluctance to produce full-length animated films, Don Bluth and a number of animators left the studio in the early '80s with the intent of creating movies in the style of Disney's classics. The Secret of NIMH is the first film Bluth produced after leaving the studio. Adapted from Robert C. O'Brien's acclaimed children's book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H., the film is about a widowed mouse whose home is threatened; also, one of her children is gravely ill. On her way to find help, she discovers NIMH, a secret society of highly-intelligent rats who have escaped from a nearby science lab. The rats help the widow to protect her family and home. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Hartman, Dom DeLuise, (more)
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