Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Directed By: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers

When it was released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn't start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz's TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home ...

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley
Directed By: King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, Victor Fleming

Despite an irritating, tacked-on voice-over narration that somebody must have thought was necessary to make sense of the story (it wasn't), Last of the Dogmen is actually a very moving and magical film. Tom Berenger plays a Montana bounty hunter who helps an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) search for the descendants of a Cheyenne tribe who disappeared in the 1870s. What the two find in a ...

Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Starring: Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith, Steve Reevis, Andrew Miller
Directed By: Tab Murphy

Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
Starring: Butch Patrick, Hans Conried, Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Candy Candido
Directed By: Abe Levitow, Chuck Jones, Dave Monahan

Disney's 1992 animated feature 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 ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker
Directed By: John Musker, Ron Clements

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 ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson

Full of boundless adventure and boisterous fun, Disney's 17th animated masterpiece is the original film classic starring 101 of the world's most lovable, huggable Dalmatians and their hilariously evil captor, Cruella De Vil! A charming London neighborhood is home to Roger and Anita, whose beloved Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita, have become the proud parents of 15 puppies. But when Cruella and her ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley, Martha Wentworth, Ben Wright
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman

Andrei Konchalovsky's expansive television mini-series production of Homer's epic poem gets off to clumsy start as he tries to squeeze the Trojan War into a mere half hour, but once the arrogant but honorable Odysseus (strikingly played by Armand Assante) and his loyal crew begin their doomed voyage home, this film turns into a fantastical adventure. Integrating often-stunning special effects with ...

Manufacturer: Hallmark Entertainment
Starring: Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts
Directed By: Andrei Konchalovsky

A tale about a fatherless boy finding dramatically different father figures throughout a remarkable adventure, Treasure Island is an entertaining coming-of-age story, with themes of family, loyalty, friendship, trust, and honesty at its core. While Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure tale is popular film fare, it's never been done this well. Charlton Heston stars as Long John ...

Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
Starring: Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, Oliver Reed, Christopher Lee, Richard Johnson
Directed By: Fraser Clarke Heston

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Willie Nelson, Morgan Fairchild, R.G. Armstrong, Royal Dano, Katharine Ross
Directed By: William D. Wittliff