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

Disney's adaptation of the beloved fairy tale became a classic in its own right, thanks to some memorable tunes (including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the title song) and some endearingly cute comic relief. We all know the story--the wicked stepmother and stepsisters simply won't have it, this uppity Cinderella thinking she's going to a ball designed to find ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Ilene Woods, James MacDonald, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Claire Du Brey
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson

Groundbreaking on several counts, not the least of which was an innovative use of animation and stereophonic sound, this ambitious Disney feature has lost nothing to time since its release in 1940. Classical music was interpreted by Disney animators, resulting in surreal fantasy and playful escapism. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra provided the music for eight segments by the ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, Julietta Novis, Corey Burton, Walt Disney
Directed By: Ben Sharpsteen, Bill Roberts, Ford Beebe, Hamilton Luske, James Algar

This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewers the rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its ...

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Starring: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, The Beatles
Directed By: George Dunning

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: Warner Home Video
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley
Directed By: King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, Victor Fleming

This semi-remake of Holiday Inn (the first movie in which Irving Berlin's perennial, Oscar-winning holiday anthem was featured) doesn't have much of a story, but what it does have is choice: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, an all-Irving Berlin song score, classy direction by Hollywood vet Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), VistaVision (the ...

Manufacturer: Paramount
Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger
Directed By: Michael Curtiz

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, Lynn Bari
Directed By: H. Bruce Humberstone

For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is! The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video/Touchstone Home Video
Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix
Directed By: Henry Selick

Some people may sneer at this 1965 musical, but the truth is the film has earned its status as a perennially watchable romantic-drama, largely on the strength of a fun story and chemistry between stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Veteran filmmaker Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still) mostly stays out of the way of the film's appealing elements, which include a ...

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood
Directed By: Robert Wise

Disney's 1967 animated feature seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it ...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video
Starring: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway
Directed By: Wolfgang Reitherman