Not the egregious foul it seemed to be in theaters, Hercules stands up as an entertaining spritzer of an animated feature. The continual peppering of in-jokes and cultural references becomes less irksome on video. That there's no majesty or awe invested in the beloved Greek legends also seems less of an error. Also on the plus side is the bounciest Alan Menken music since Little Shop of Horrors. With Zeus's blood in his veins, young Hercules's amazing strength makes him an outcast (sorry, that still doesn't fly), so he trains with a satyr named Phil to become a hero. Along the way Herc meets Meg, a common mortal who falls hard for him. They're both against the jocular Hades, who has to destroy Hercules to take over Olympus. The hydra is the computer-animated set piece for this little number, a no-chance attempt to beat that wildebeest herd from The Lion King. —Keith Simanton

Originally made as a two-part TV miniseries, this umpteenth adaptation of Johann Spyri's novel is exceptionally easy on the eyes. Jason Robards plays the grumpy grandfather who tends for the orphaned Swiss girl. Jane Seymour chews up the scenery as the governess to a spoiled, rich city girl whom Heidi is forced to visit. The adults think the invalid Klara (Lexi Randall) needs companionship, but wise old grandpa knows she needs good mountain air and independence. Noley Thornton is sweet enough in the title role and Robards's performance provides depth. This Disney production brings little to the story, but is worth watching for its stunning Alpine vistas. —Rochelle O'Gorman

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 his greatest desire. The unlikely trio of good guys become heroes, of course. The engaging story line is a perfect introduction to Doyle's work and mysteries in general. Look for a very cleverly executed voice-cameo by Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes, natch). Alan Young (Mr. Ed) also provides a voice. Ages 4 and up. —N.F. Mendoza

Even as Disney has reveled in the success of its high-end animated features, it occasionally sneaks a lesser effort into theaters, based on one of the many TV shows with which it dominates daytime TV. This one is based on perennial Disney favorite Goofy's adventures in domesticated bliss. Goofy is now a single dad; when son Max gets blamed for a prank gone wrong at school, Goofy blames himself and decides that, for his vacation, he's going to get away with Max alone. Of course, this is no treat for Max, who has just met the girl of his dreams and harbors no wish to spend the summer touring America with his square dad. The vacation is one disaster after another, though they aren't particularly funny disasters; the culmination involves Goofy's efforts to get Max backstage at a big rock concert. Strictly for young fans of the TV show. —Marshall Fine

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 5 and older) —Charles Solomon

Fun is probably worth the purchase for "Mickey and the Beanstalk," the second half of this combo-film. "Beanstalk" includes the last performance by Walt Disney of Mickey Mouse. It also has Donald Duck and Goofy as comrades who climb the beanstalk in their back yard to face Willy the Giant. This segment actually achieves the goals of the film's title. The first half, however, is "Bongo," the story of a addlepated circus bear. "Bongo" is more poky and interest-free. Dinah Shore warbles and narrates the segment, and it goes on much too long for its purpose. Don't trade your cow in for it. —Keith Simanton

Déjà responsable des excellents Toy Story, A Bug’s Life et Monsters, Inc. , les studios d’animation Pixar récidivent avec Trouver Nemo, fable aquatique animée avec talent par Andrew Stanton.

Après le décès de sa compagne, Marlin le poisson clown a bien du mal à laisser leur rejeton Nemo accéder à l’indépendance. Convaincu par les supplications du petit, il le laisse pourtant aller à l’école. Mais Nemo se fait bien vite capturer par un plongeur et atterrit dans l’aquarium d’un dentiste. Pendant qu’il fomente des plans d’évasion avec ses camarades sous verre, Marlin, lui, va parcourir les fonds marins pour retrouver son fils, en compagnie de Dory, une dame poisson bleue, souffrant d’amnésie instantanée.

Prouvant encore une fois leur maîtrise technique, les studios Pixar offrent avec Trouver Nemo un conte en forme de quête à la structure classique mais dont l’efficacité n’est plus à démontrer. Et même s’il lui manque la jolie ironie qui caractérisait Monsters, Inc., le film reste tout de même un divertissement d’assez haute qualité, aussi drôle (grâce à Dory ou aux avides mouettes, notamment) qu’émouvant. En outre, le double DVD contient toutes sortes de bonus, comme le court métrage animé Bibelot, des jeux de charade, un making-of et un documentaire de Jean-Michel Cousteau, qui suffiront à réussir complètement cette plongée dans l’océan. – Helen Faradji.

Along with Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, the anthology set contains a third disc that examines a segment of both movies in detail. Each segment has an introduction that has experts (including Leonard Maltin), producer Roy E. Disney, or the animators setting up the piece's history. Notes on the music and dozens of design photos are included on all the segments, although others offer more intriguing features. Abandoned animation is shown on many segments, as are a few behind-the-scenes shorts; the most intriguing are experts from Walt Disney's hosted documentaries on how his company made movies. As for the photos, they are awkwardly catalogued and only the most patient of viewers would want to look at all of them. In some segments, though, these images are entertainingly produced as a "story reel," presenting these images—rough animation, sketches, pastel paintings—with the musical accompaniment. For those looking for a more well-rounded view of the films, the two one-hour documentaries on each film's disc lay the groundwork, but none of the anthology looks at how the first film was seen through the years or gives time to anyone who wasn't gung-ho about every element of the films. There is hardly a mention of embarrassing stereotypes that were matted (and still are) out of the "Pastoral" segment, or the intriguing aspect of the film as a '60s icon for the ultimate head-trip. Disney does let their guard down to show sequences that were being readied in 1940 for future editions (including a recently restored short scored to "Clair de Lune"). Most tantalizing is a look at how the special effects were done in the original film. The guide is a scrapbook that one of the technicians kept and was discovered only in 1990. Fans can only hope a reproduction will be made available someday. —Doug Thomas

Tired but watchable adaptation of the popular '60s TV show of a friendly Martian who lives with an agreeable earthling. Like Disney's other live-action remakes 101 Dalmatians and Flubber, the emphasis is on quick-moving scenes and special effects—not character. Jeff Daniels is the bemused earthling who gets to know Christopher Lloyd's alien ways. Much of the film feels like a retread borrowing heavily from other sci-fi comedies (and "fish out of water" films), including Lloyd's own Back to the Future. Lloyd and his talking space suit (voiced by Wayne Knight who brings the same personality as his Newman role on Seinfeld) don't know simple Earth customs but inexplicably know every pop culture reference in the last 10 years. Daryl Hannah and Elizabeth Hurley are along for the ride as Daniels's good-girl and bad-girl flames. TV's Martian, Ray Waltson, shows up as a secret agent alien hunter—and pours more emotion into his scenes than the rest of the movie combined. Ages 6 and up. —Doug Thomas

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 tale, Kuzco uses a sarcastic tone to keep the story jumping with plenty of fun asides (he even "stops" the film at one point to make sure you know the story is about him). Even better is character actor Warburton (Elaine's stuck-up boyfriend on Seinfeld), who steals every scene as the dim-witted, but oh-so-likable Kronk. There's even a delicious Tom Jones number that starts the film off with a bang. —Doug Thomas

Goofy's second feature opens with the big dog wistfully sending his teenage son Max off to his freshman year of college. In short order, daydreaming Dad is fired and learns he's not employable without finishing his degree at—you guessed it—the same university his beloved "Maxie" attends. Soon the eager father is embarrassing the heck out of his son and curbing his independence. At the same time, Max and his skateboarding buddies form an extreme sports team, challenging the snooty fraternity team captained by Bradley Uppercrust III, who doesn't grasp the concept of fair play. When things get rough, Goofy saves the day—and finds true love with a librarian who shares his '70s-era nostalgia. Any excuse to put Goofy in an afro wig and "Knock on Wood" and "Shake Your Groove Thing" on the soundtrack! The 73-minute story is serviceable and the moral commendable (integrity wins in the end). Ages 3 and up will enjoy the antics, but a lot of the (harmless) college jokes are aimed at adults. —Kimberly Heinrichs

A Disney "classic" that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your video collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the "cold, cruel, heartless" world that can't accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracized from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He's jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo's ears, even though the youngster's ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC "Jim Crow" crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful "When I See an Elephant Fly," should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don't mist up during the "Baby Mine" scene, you may be legally pronounced dead. —Keith Simanton