"Actor: Douglas Seale"

• The Rescuers Down Under (Disney) | DVD | (28/01/2002) from £6.46   |  Saving you £-1.47 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The Rescuers Down Under isn't a quickie, direct-to-video sequel, cashing in on the success of the original 1977 animated hit about adventurous mice, but a full-blown theatrical effort. This time around, Bernard (voice of Bob Newhart) is trying to pop the question to Bianca (Eva Gabor) when they're summoned to Australia, where a young boy has been kidnapped by a pallid, grey-faced poacher (who looks like and is voiced by George C. Scott). Wilbur, a chatterbox of an albatross (John Candy, replacing the late Jim Jordan's character Orville), and Jake (Tristan Rogers), a kangaroo mouse--Bernard is jealous of the dashing rodent--assist the Rescuers in saving the day and imparting a mild environmental message. The film opens with an absolutely breathtaking aerial sequence--this was made near the beginning of Disney's animation renaissance--so impressive it would seem the story, literally, has nowhere else to go but down. However, some smart gags, excellent animation and rollicking adventures ensue. So why isn't it better known? It had the bad luck to open, in 1990, opposite another kids' film--Home Alone. --David Kronke

• Aladdin (Special Edition) | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £5.88   |  Saving you £-4.89 (N/A%)   |  RRP £0.99

  Disney's 1992 animated feature Aladdin is a triumph of wit and skill. The high-tech artwork and graphics look great, the characters are strong, the familiar story is nicely augmented with an interesting villain (Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman), and there's an incredible hook atop the whole thing: Robin Williams's frantically hilarious vocal performance as Aladdin's genie. Even if one isn't particularly moved by the love story between the title character (Scott Weinger) and his girlfriend Jasmine (Linda Larkin), you can easily get lost in Williams's improvisational energy and the equally entertaining performances of Freeman and Gilbert Gottfried (as Jafar's parrot). --Tom Keogh

• Amazing Stories: The Complete Series | DVD | (15/01/2021) from £39.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A