New DVDs: 6/10/08
by Katrina Hayday Wester
Haunted mansions, robot missions, and cultural lessons round out our DVD picks this week.
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Two-Disc Special Edition) , Paramount, Rated PG, $ 23.99 (Pre-order Now: Available June 24th )
Even those unfamiliar with the popular book series will enjoy this cinematic adaptation. The Spiderwick Chronicles is the story of the three displaced New York City Grace siblings. The children move with their mother into a creepy old mansion in a small town after their parents’ divorce. Dramatic wunderkind Freddie Highmore (August Rush, Finding Neverland) plays two of the siblings, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace. When weird and spooky things start to happen in the house, Jared realizes the place is overrun with faeries. He discovers a notebook written by an ancestor who mysteriously disappeared. To retrieve the handwritten tome, Jared has to fight Mulgarath, a sinister ogre. It’s a family adventure, drama, and whimsical thriller sure to please Harry Potter devotees, Spiderwick readers, and new fans alike.
(Some scenes may be frightening for younger viewers, so we recommend pre-screening for wary grandparents.)
Transformers Animated: Transform and Roll Out , Hasbro/Paramount, NR, $14.99
Grandchildren who enjoyed last summer’s Transformers movie will certainly appreciate the extra action in this animated DVD. Based on the original Transformers TV show from the 80s, this new Cartoon Network series has all the favorite characters, including Optimus Prime, Starscream, Megatron, BumbleBee, and more. The story opens on the Autobots’ home planet Cybertron; there while clearing space bridges, they stumble upon the Allspark, something the rival Decepticons desperately covet, of course. The Autobots eventually hide on planet Earth. After a Rip Van Winkle-esque nap in Lake Erie, there is a showdown between the enemy robots in Detroit as the Autobots fight to save the “organic life forms” that inhabit this green planet. All the action is sure to inspire a toy store trip to pick up the relevant action figures.
Cranford , BBC Warner, NR, $25.99
Tween grandchildren will appreciate the historical, cultural, and dramatic value of this BBC mini-series, which is based on a series of Mary Gaskell’s novels of the same name. The story, set in 1842 in the small town of the title, focuses on three female characters. In Cranford, social decorum ruled daily life, if it were breached, it became the subject of much gossip. The artful cinematography paired with dramatic heavy-hitters as Dame Judy Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins, will also enlighten grandchildren on the birth of modernity, British class conflicts, and all sorts of romance.
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