Toon Talk: The Top of 2003
Page 3 of 5
(c) Disney
#5 - The Love Bug
Special Edition DVD
Special Edition DVD
How fun is it to rediscover a beloved film from your childhood and realize
that, hey, this is just as good as I remember it! Lovingly enshrined in this
Special Edition DVD, everyone’s favorite Volkswagen Beetle is celebrated by
his loyal co-stars (Dean Jones, Michelle Lee and the late Buddy Hackett) and
his devoted fans (including Hugh Chitwood, just like the biggest Herbie fan
ever) in a series of bonus features as nostalgically delightful as they
are historically revealing.
(c) Disney
#6 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Vista Series DVD
Vista Series DVD
The movie that popularized the term ‘toon’ (thus, among other things, giving
me a title for this column) and that forever changed the way animation and
live action were combined on film finally received the deluxe DVD
treatment it required with this two-disc Vista Series edition. In addition to
a eye-popping widescreen transfer of the Oscar-winning film, the set piles on
the supplementary material, heavy on the visual effects, as well as all three
of the insanely wacky Roger Rabbit shorts for your viewing pleasure.
(c) Disney
#7 - Tuck Everlasting
Disney DVD
Disney DVD
Every once in awhile a film may slip past you in theaters, only to be
magically discovered on DVD. Thus was the case with me for Tuck Everlasting,
one of the best Disney live action films to come along in some time. Artfully
combining a simple yet fantastic story with subtle performances (including the
luminous Sissy Spacek and the crafty Ben Kingsley), a rich visual look and a
moving score, director Jay Russell delivered that rarest of commodities: a
tear-jerker that earns every drop.
(c) Disney
#8 - Meredith Wilson's The Music Man
Disney DVD
Disney DVD
How does a film saddled with a sorely miscast leading man turn out to be so
irresistibly entertaining? Well, if its this television adaptation of this
musical comedy perennial, you surround the poor, lost Matthew Broderick as
Harold Hill with the likes of the enchanting Kristin Chenoweth as Marion the
Librarian and a host of Broadway’s best as the denizens of River City, Iowa.
Add a dash of Kathleen Marshall’s snappy choreography and a Main Street-full
of period-perfect sets and costumes, and you too can have a winner.