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Academy Award winner Burl Ives narrates in a fanciful, tuneful and color-splashed animated tale of The First Easter Rabit. That Rabit is Stuffy, a cuddly toy who magically comes to life. Stuffy goes to Easter Valley, and enchanted real where it's... See more

Academy Award winner Burl Ives narrates in a fanciful, tuneful and color-splashed animated tale of The First Easter Rabit. That Rabit is Stuffy, a cuddly toy who magically comes to life. Stuffy goes to Easter Valley, and enchanted real where it's always springtime, where the Bunny hopes to bring the first-ever basked of Easter goodies to children. But a cold-hearted ice creature named Zero refuses to permit such happiness. If he has his way, he'll freeze out Easter celebrations forever! See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 01/21/08

It's no secret that sequels to classic TV specials rarely stack up--they're usually guilty of getting too fancy with characters and story lines, causing irritating fissures to form in our perceptions of the originals. Lucky for a new generation of... See more

It's no secret that sequels to classic TV specials rarely stack up--they're usually guilty of getting too fancy with characters and story lines, causing irritating fissures to form in our perceptions of the originals. Lucky for a new generation of holiday viewers, that's not the case with Frosty's Winter Wonderland. In fact, lining up a Frosty double feature at home in which the original is directly followed by the new title is a fully cringe-free proposition, thanks mostly to the down-homey, pleasant narration of Andy Griffith and the near-perfect portrayal of the Frosty we all know and love by Jackie Vernon. The Wonderland dialogue doesn't trouble itself with tiresome throwbacks, and even the plot isn't overly ambitious: Frosty, lonely at the North Pole, is bent on keeping his famous promise to the kids that he'll be back again someday, so when the news of a snowstorm in their town reaches him, he waddles off. But once the belly-whopping's run its course, he's lonely again. The... See less

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He's back and he's drumming better than ever! The further adventures of the Little Drummer Boy begin just after the Christ child is born, just after he plays his drum for him (pa-rup-pup-pup-pum). At the manger, wise king and percussion fan Melchior... See more

He's back and he's drumming better than ever! The further adventures of the Little Drummer Boy begin just after the Christ child is born, just after he plays his drum for him (pa-rup-pup-pup-pum). At the manger, wise king and percussion fan Melchior invites the Little Drummer Boy to visit a friend of his, Simeon, who has been making pure silver bells to help announce the prophesized birth of the son of God. Unfortunately, Simeon had put all of his money into the bells and can't pay his taxes, so the singing and dancing head tax collector (Zero Mostel) confiscates the big bells. It's up to the boy and the king to help Simeon get them back. This 23-minute Christmas story from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass utilizes the filmmaking duo's absolutely charming puppet animation (or "animagic," as they like to call it) that was made famous in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Though the soundtrack plays the Little Drummer Boy's signature song (pa-rup-pup-pup-pum) a couple too many times (and... See less

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Kids love this Muppet take on Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate classic, about the pirate Long John Silver (Tim Curry) and his takeover of a ship in order to track down buried treasure. His friend and then nemesis is earnest cabin boy Jim Hawkins... See more

Kids love this Muppet take on Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate classic, about the pirate Long John Silver (Tim Curry) and his takeover of a ship in order to track down buried treasure. His friend and then nemesis is earnest cabin boy Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop), who teams with the captain of the ship (Kermit the Frog) and several shipmates (including Gonzo, Ratso, and Fozzie) to foil Long John's nefarious plot. An odd subplot finds Captain Kermit stopping at a desert island to find his long-lost love (Miss Piggy--who else?). The Muppets have not lost their wild sense of humor, which works on enough levels to amply entertain children and their parents in imaginative fashion. --Marshall Fine See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 01/21/08

Kids love this Muppet take on Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate classic, about the pirate Long John Silver (Tim Curry) and his takeover of a ship in order to track down buried treasure. His friend and then nemesis is earnest cabin boy Jim Hawkins... See more

Kids love this Muppet take on Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate classic, about the pirate Long John Silver (Tim Curry) and his takeover of a ship in order to track down buried treasure. His friend and then nemesis is earnest cabin boy Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop), who teams with the captain of the ship (Kermit the Frog) and several shipmates (including Gonzo, Ratso, and Fozzie) to foil Long John's nefarious plot. An odd subplot finds Captain Kermit stopping at a desert island to find his long-lost love (Miss Piggy--who else?). The Muppets have not lost their wild sense of humor, which works on enough levels to amply entertain children and their parents in imaginative fashion. --Marshall Fine See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 01/21/08

The wondrous story of Christ's birth is told by an unlikely source: Nestor, a gentle donkey with incredibly long ears and a first-hand knowledge of life in a stable. This simple tale, which takes place in the days of the Roman Empire, is about a... See more

The wondrous story of Christ's birth is told by an unlikely source: Nestor, a gentle donkey with incredibly long ears and a first-hand knowledge of life in a stable. This simple tale, which takes place in the days of the Roman Empire, is about a humble couple about to take a long journey to Bethlehem and a small, insignificant donkey who is destined to help them along. By all outward appearances, Nestor is undeserving of such a privilege. Stable animals tease him incessantly for his long appendages until, finally, he is cast out of the barn into the winter cold. Snow and ice bring about even greater calamity for Nestor until he receives a dose of divine goodness. Nestor meets Tilly, a heavenly cherub (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro) who imparts guidance to the despairing burro and tells him that soon he would be chosen to participate in a miracle involving a star and a baby, a lowly stable and some travelers named Mary and Joseph. Short and sweet, this stop-motion Christmas gem from Arthur... See less

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Disney does Dickens in this animated version of Oliver Twist, in which a homeless New York City cat falls in with a bunch of mischievous dogs under the leadership of the appealing scoundrel Fagin. The roots of Disney's success with animation in the... See more

Disney does Dickens in this animated version of Oliver Twist, in which a homeless New York City cat falls in with a bunch of mischievous dogs under the leadership of the appealing scoundrel Fagin. The roots of Disney's success with animation in the '90s begins with this clever, energetic, atmospheric movie, which succeeds in capturing the grim world Dickens conjured. Lyricist Howard Ashman (The Little Mermaid) worked on the songs, the best of which is sung by Billy Joel, who provides the voice of (the Artful) Dodger. --Tom Keogh See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 01/21/08

Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colorfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's... See more

Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colorfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's wondrous focus on child's play is the key to its longevity: kids who don't grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and the magic ability to fly. In short, you can't help wishing the adventure would happen to you. Fueled by a few memorable songs (the stunner being "You Can Fly") and the strong impression of the pixie fairy Tinkerbell and the goofy Captain Hook, Disney's version of this story neither supplants nor lessens the Broadway version with Mary Martin that was produced for television the same decade. Unlike some classics, Peter Pan never ages along the way. --Doug Thomas See less

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Disney once again plunders the delightful Winnie-the-Pooh books for an animated movie, this one centered around the wee and insecure Piglet. Feeling unappreciated by his friends, Piglet wanders off into the Hundred Acre Wood; in his absence, Pooh,... See more

Disney once again plunders the delightful Winnie-the-Pooh books for an animated movie, this one centered around the wee and insecure Piglet. Feeling unappreciated by his friends, Piglet wanders off into the Hundred Acre Wood; in his absence, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Rabbit reminisce about various adventures (including when Kanga and her baby Roo first arrived in their midst, and building a house for Eeyore) and begin to recognize Piglet's crucial contribution to their lives. Unfortunately for moviegoers, the gentle but sly whimsy of A.A. Milne's books has been turned into pure saccharine, which isn't helped by mediocre animation and appallingly bland songs (by Carly Simon, of all people). Even the most Pooh-worshipping kids are likely to find Piglet's Big Movie to be pretty small potatoes. --Bret Fetzer See less

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This Disney masterpiece from 1940 will hold up forever precisely because it doesn't restrain or temper the most elemental emotions and themes germane to its story. Based on the Collodi tale about a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy,... See more

This Disney masterpiece from 1940 will hold up forever precisely because it doesn't restrain or temper the most elemental emotions and themes germane to its story. Based on the Collodi tale about a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy, Pinocchio is among the most magical, mythical, and frightening films to come from the studio in its long history. A number of scenes make permanent impressions on young minds (just ask Steven Spielberg, who quoted the film more than once in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the songs ("When You Wish upon a Star") can't be beat. --Tom Keogh See less

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As ing, A and Geppetto prepare for Christmas, Pinocchio joins a puppet show to earn money for a present. There he meets and elopes with the beautiful girl puppet Julietta, leaving Geppetto alone and worried. Featuring the voices of Alan King and... See more

As ing, A and Geppetto prepare for Christmas, Pinocchio joins a puppet show to earn money for a present. There he meets and elopes with the beautiful girl puppet Julietta, leaving Geppetto alone and worried. Featuring the voices of Alan King and George S. Irving. Year: 1980 Directors: Arthur Rankin, Jr., and Jules Bass See less

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Disney's take on this historical confrontation between European settlers and Native Americans follows the paths of two future lovers. One is British adventurer John Smith, who travels the Atlantic with the Virginia Company to establish Jamestown. On... See more

Disney's take on this historical confrontation between European settlers and Native Americans follows the paths of two future lovers. One is British adventurer John Smith, who travels the Atlantic with the Virginia Company to establish Jamestown. On the shore is Pocahontas, a typical Disney heroine: bright, beautiful, mischievous, and motherless. The two meet in the untamed wilds of America (the first meeting is quite divine), fall in love, and try to ward off the warring factions. It's Disney's version of a Native American West Side Story. Two Disney trademarks do not quite muster up: the villain isn't hissable and the score's only high point is the Oscar-winning "Colors of the Wind." Calling it "historical" is a stretch, but Disney created a very natural look at the two cultures. The Native American characters are handled especially well, and kids should be intrigued by their world; the movie is a far different lesson from the one their parents and grandparents learned. Disney has... See less

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Following their animated/live action hit Space Jam, Warner Bros. jumped into the fully animated feature competition by playing it safe, giving the Arthurian legend a conspicuously Disneyesque facelift. Ingredients from Beauty and the Beast, The... See more

Following their animated/live action hit Space Jam, Warner Bros. jumped into the fully animated feature competition by playing it safe, giving the Arthurian legend a conspicuously Disneyesque facelift. Ingredients from Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Pocahontas are evident in the tale of a girl named Kayley (Jessalyn Gilsig) whose father, a Knight of the Round Table, is killed by Sir Ruber (Gary Oldman), a maniacal brute who steals Excalibur and threatens to seize King Arthur's Camelot. Kayley enlists the blind, reclusive knight-aspirant Garrett (Cary Elwes) to brave the Enchanted Forest and retrieve the magic sword, and their adventure is (of course) fraught with danger. Adding extra punch to the movie's commercial appeal, the soundtrack songs are performed by big names like LeeAnn Rimes and Celine Dion. And if that's not enough to hold a kid's attention, there's a two-headed dragon ("we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry") voiced by Eric Idle and Don Rickles. With so... See less

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A minor classic from Disney, this 1973 all-animal, all-animated musical version of the familiar story is more charming than one might expect. Perhaps it's the warm, chummy take on key relationships within the legend--the way Robin Hood (Brian... See more

A minor classic from Disney, this 1973 all-animal, all-animated musical version of the familiar story is more charming than one might expect. Perhaps it's the warm, chummy take on key relationships within the legend--the way Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) gets twitterpated whenever the subject of Maid Marian (Monica Evans) comes up or the way best pal Little John (Phil Harris voicing a variation on his own Baloo from The Jungle Book) admonishes the Sherwood Forest hero, "Aw, Rob, why dontcha just marry the girl?" (Then, of course, there's the canny "casting" of the romantic leads as foxes: Robin the sly one and Marian the, well, foxy one.) The rest of the vocal cast is lively and eclectic: Peter Ustinov, Andy Devine, Terry-Thomas, George Lindsey. Roger Miller provides the songs and voice for the minstrel character Allan-A-Dale. The film is ably directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, whose decades of work in Disney's animation division helped create the studio's rich legacy. --Tom... See less

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Rudolph is legendary for saving Christmas, but did you know he saved the New Year as well? While Santa Claus is recuperating from his December sleigh ride, he receives a letter from an old friend, Father Time. Seems that Baby New Year is missing, and... See more

Rudolph is legendary for saving Christmas, but did you know he saved the New Year as well? While Santa Claus is recuperating from his December sleigh ride, he receives a letter from an old friend, Father Time. Seems that Baby New Year is missing, and if the little tyke isn't found, Old Year will continue on forever--a catastrophe for Father Time, whose job it is to keep things moving forward. A search party is essential, yet with such thick fog, there's only one reindeer fit for the job. "Rudolph with your nose so bright, you've six days left to set things right," says Santa. Trouble hits immediately when Rudolph discovers that Aeon the Terrible, a big-beaked monster bird, is also searching for the missing baby. Rudolph gets help from a giant whale and a good-natured caveman, who dish up plenty of song and dance in between narrow escapes in their race against the end-of-the-year calendar. Sound far-fetched? Perhaps, but it contains as much magic as its predecessors, Rudolph the... See less

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The first of two features Walt Disney made at the behest of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, Saludos Amigos consists of four cartoons linked by live-action travel footage. The very funny "Lake Titicaca" finds Donald Duck high in the Bolivian... See more

The first of two features Walt Disney made at the behest of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, Saludos Amigos consists of four cartoons linked by live-action travel footage. The very funny "Lake Titicaca" finds Donald Duck high in the Bolivian Andes, struggling with a recalcitrant llama. "Pedro," the story of a little airplane replacing his father on a mail run across the Andes, is a variation on "The Little Engine That Could." "El Gaucho Goofy" continues the popular "How To" cartoon series that juxtaposes a deadpan narration with increasing physical mayhem. Here, Goofy demonstrates Pampas-style riding and the use of the bola. The jaunty parrot Jose Carioca makes his debut in "Aquarela do Brasil." Although largely eclipsed by the wilder The Three Caballeros (1944), Saludos Amigos retains its charm. Included in the supplemental material is South of the Border with Disney, which chronicles the Good Will Tour Walt and a group of his artists made in 1941. The 16mm footage... See less

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Everyone's favorite larger-than-life hero returns in Shrek 2 the #1 comedy of all time hailed by critics and audiences alike as even better than its Oscar-winning predecessor! USA Today proclaims "there are so many jokes and jests not even a... See more

Everyone's favorite larger-than-life hero returns in Shrek 2 the #1 comedy of all time hailed by critics and audiences alike as even better than its Oscar-winning predecessor! USA Today proclaims "there are so many jokes and jests not even a jelly-bellied ogre could consume them all in one sitting." Happily ever after never seemed so far far away when a trip to meet the in-laws turns into an See less

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Horse lovers young and old will celebrate this utterly enjoyable and marvelous-looking animated film. The titular stallion runs free in the Cimarron (New Mexico) wilderness until a series of men try to master the proud horse, leading to adventures... See more

Horse lovers young and old will celebrate this utterly enjoyable and marvelous-looking animated film. The titular stallion runs free in the Cimarron (New Mexico) wilderness until a series of men try to master the proud horse, leading to adventures through a U.S. Cavalry fort, Native American settlements, and a railroad camp. Despite a heavy dose of political correctness and realism (the animals don't talk; we only hear Spirit's internal monologue, voiced by Matt Damon), directors Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook give their hero many only-in-a-movie moments, including an action sequence rivaling any of Rambo's escapes. The stirring mix of 2-D and 3-D animation is absolutely stunning and aptly fueled by composer Hans Zimmer's synthesized score. The film earns one demerit for '80s rocker Bryan Adams's abundant songs--a different singer could have brought more to the film. Rated G but there is some rough treatment of horses shown, so nix the sensitive preschoolers. --Doug Thomas See less

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This is a solid collection of vintage Mickey Mouse cartoons, presented virtually complete, for once, and not just as a cut-and-paste clips assortment. (Introductory material is cobbled together from old Mickey Mouse Club and Wonderful World of... See more

This is a solid collection of vintage Mickey Mouse cartoons, presented virtually complete, for once, and not just as a cut-and-paste clips assortment. (Introductory material is cobbled together from old Mickey Mouse Club and Wonderful World of Disney broadcasts.) The program is fun to watch, but it's also a revealing historical pageant. In classic action-comedy items like "Mickey's Trailer" and "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip," it is clear that the Disney Studio's faultless technique, even when dealing with elaborate props and frantic activity, is a tradition that was established early on. And in tales of interspecies conflict like "Lend a Paw" and "Mickey's Seal" (both involving pitched battles between Mickey's dog Pluto and cuddly interlopers in the Mouse household), we can see how that institutional polish blunts the edge of the comedy--in sharp contrast, for instance, to the rough and raucous Warner Brothers style. Purists will fume over some of the choices that were made here: no... See less

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The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in... See more

The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a... See less

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This 1949 Disney feature has never been available on video in its original form until now. The 68-minute film contains two shorts: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The former is a lively version of Kenneth Grahame's book of... See more

This 1949 Disney feature has never been available on video in its original form until now. The 68-minute film contains two shorts: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The former is a lively version of Kenneth Grahame's book of animal adventures, including Mr. Toad, a rambunctious sort with a passion for motorcars. Basil Rathbone narrates the story. Sleepy Hollow is the Washington Irving story of a stuffy schoolmaster and his ability to win the love of the fair Katrina from the brutish Brom Van Brunt. Many fans will see a resemblance to Disney's masterpiece created some 40 years later, Beauty and the Beast, in style and story. The end is still scary enough to send youngsters under the table. Bing Crosby supplies the narration, character voices, and songs. The opening number in a library including two stories has been included in this good-looking restoration. The shorts were made in Disney's prime, a year before Cinderella, and the look is wondrous. The... See less

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Duchess and her three kittens are enjoying the high life with their devoted human mistress until the wicked butler Edgar, with his eyes on a big inheritance, decides to dope them and get them out of the picture. How can these fragile creatures cope... See more

Duchess and her three kittens are enjoying the high life with their devoted human mistress until the wicked butler Edgar, with his eyes on a big inheritance, decides to dope them and get them out of the picture. How can these fragile creatures cope in the unfamiliar countryside and the meaner streets of Paris? Only by meeting the irrepressible alley cat O'Malley, a rough diamond with romance in his heart. After they get a taste of the wide dangerous world, he guides them home, and Edgar gets his just desserts at the wrong end of a horse. As always, it's really the voices rather than the animation that are the heart of the Disney magic: Phil Harris is brilliant as O'Malley, Eva Gabor as Duchess is... well... Eva Gabor; but perhaps the most memorable turns are by Pat Buttram and George Lindsay, who turn the old hounds Napoleon and Lafayette into a couple of bumbling Southern-fried rednecks. Their scenes with Edgar, and the musical numbers with Scat Cat and his cool-dude band, are... See less

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Brought to you by the same crew that wrote and directed the classic Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, this Easter staple will look and feel familiar to any eyes that watched the 1970s around holiday time. Writer Romeo Muller's done a wonderful job... See more

Brought to you by the same crew that wrote and directed the classic Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, this Easter staple will look and feel familiar to any eyes that watched the 1970s around holiday time. Writer Romeo Muller's done a wonderful job capturing simple lo-fi dialogue and action around the lovable early-spring bunny, weaving enough drama into the script to make the show comprehensible for kids and enjoyable for (most) adults. The production team makes their animation-verité visuals jerky enough that it feels still like their Santa juggernaut (created seven years earlier than this 1977 production). And narrator Fred Astaire returns to give the shell of the story its pleasant feel, not at all too threatening but neither too mushy or idiotic. Of course the production dynamics and sound are subpar in comparison with current techniques, but this isn't a film to watch with an eye for how with-the-times it could or should be. --Andrew Bartlett See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 01/21/08

Originally developed as an epic called Kingdom of the Sun, The Emperor's New Groove lost scale and most of Sting's song score (some of which can be heard on the soundtrack) on its way to the screen. The end result is the lightest Disney film in many... See more

Originally developed as an epic called Kingdom of the Sun, The Emperor's New Groove lost scale and most of Sting's song score (some of which can be heard on the soundtrack) on its way to the screen. The end result is the lightest Disney film in many a moon, a joyous romp akin to Aladdin in its quotient of laughs for kids and adults. The original story centers on the spoiled teenage emperor Kuzco (David Spade), who enjoys getting the best of his Aztecan subjects. When he fires Yzma (Eartha Kitt), his evil sorceress, she seeks revenge and turns Kuzco into a llama with the help of her hunk of the month, a lunk named Kronk (Patrick Warburton). Alone in the jungle, the talking llama is befriended by Pacha (John Goodman), who has just been told to vacate his pastoral home by the human Kuzco. What's an ego to do? That's pretty much the story and the characters--simple, direct, fun--a Disney film on a diet. For any fan of the acidic humor of Spade, this is essential viewing. As narrator of his... See less

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The Fox and the Hound marked the last collaboration between Disney's older artists, including three of the "Nine Old Men" (Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Woolie Reitherman), and the young animators who would make the record-breaking films of... See more

The Fox and the Hound marked the last collaboration between Disney's older artists, including three of the "Nine Old Men" (Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Woolie Reitherman), and the young animators who would make the record-breaking films of the '90s. Based on a book by Daniel P. Mannix, the film tells the story of a bloodhound puppy and a fox kit who begin as friends but are forced to become enemies. Tod and Copper barely establish their friendship before Copper begins his training as hunting dog. Unfortunately, neither character develops much of a personality, which makes it difficult to care about them. The screen comes alive near end of the film, when Tod and Copper have to join forces to fight off an enormous bear. It had been years since Disney produced a sequence with this kind of feral power--and years would pass before they surpassed it. The Fox and the Hound ranks as one of the studio's lesser efforts, but it suggests that better films were soon to follow. (Ages... See less

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Just because Walt Disney created contemporary and traditional classics of animation doesn't mean the studio is out of ideas--not by a long shot. The Great Mouse Detective is richly animated and offers a clever tale. It may not be as easily... See more

Just because Walt Disney created contemporary and traditional classics of animation doesn't mean the studio is out of ideas--not by a long shot. The Great Mouse Detective is richly animated and offers a clever tale. It may not be as easily recognized a title as Aladdin or The Little Mermaid, but all three share the same director, Ron Clements. Originally released theatrically in 1986, the mystery borrows easily from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and is based on Eve Titus's book Basil of Baker Street. When a brilliant toymaker is kidnapped by a creepy peg-legged bat, his daughter, Olivia, enlists the aid of the legendary Basil. Basil, Olivia, and Basil's assistant, Dr. Dawson, are part of an intricate city system of Victorian-era London mice. Basil quickly realizes his archenemy, Professor Ratigan (a rat who wants to be a mouse), is behind the abduction. Ratigan (voiced by Vincent Price) fiendishly aspires to take over London rodents--and will stop at nothing to achieve... See less

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This second motion-picture outing for the adventurous Muppets finds them in London hunting down jewel thieves while staying at the city's most cheerfully derelict dive, the Happiness Hotel. Filled with song and dance (and swimming!) numbers, this... See more

This second motion-picture outing for the adventurous Muppets finds them in London hunting down jewel thieves while staying at the city's most cheerfully derelict dive, the Happiness Hotel. Filled with song and dance (and swimming!) numbers, this Jim Henson-directed feature is worth seeing, if for nothing else than to see the cantankerous Charles Grodin (Beethoven) swoon over Miss Piggy. But The Great Muppet Caper has a lot more going for it: cameos by John Cleese, Peter Falk, and Oscar the Grouch, among others; Miss Piggy parading down a catwalk; and Kermit the Frog on a bicycle. The Muppets are fond of breaking down that pesky fourth wall, which gives the movie some of its cleverest moments and will elicit the biggest laughs from the kids. (Kermit to Miss Piggy: "You're overacting. You're hamming it up.") By the time a framed Miss Piggy is freed and the real jewel thieves are caught, you'll forget the occasional slow spots and remember the musical numbers and the banter.... See less