However, I have problems with its lead character, Greg. To quote my daughter, “he’s a jerk.”  There you have it, the hero is a jerk and honestly, he really doesn’t learn any lesson by the end of the movie.  Moreover, he’s not even a lovable jerk. That bothered me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to heroes in films being jerks. I’ve sat through many feature films where the main character never changes while everyone around the, evolves. Yet, all of those films have been about adults (mostly indie films). For some reason, because this is a film about children, and it’s for children, the effect isn’t the same. Is it because children are impressionable and maybe they’ll watch the movie and think that the lead character’s behavior is okay? That’s part of it. Is it because he shows little to no remorse for his actions? Yep. Making matters worse, Zachary Gordon, the young actor playing Greg, does such an exceptional job in the role that I started to hate him before the movie was over (the character, not the actor).

Who is the favorite character in the movie? It’s not the snarky older girl, Angie (Chloe Moretz) who walks around in a beret, expounds of the dullness of trying to be popular and carries a camera, like some kind of bohemian 7^th grader? No, it’s Rowley Jefferson (an adorable Robert Capron), the nerdy, awkward boy who isn’t afraid to express his feelings and proceeds through life as his own person. While watching the film with my kids, I asked them who their favorite character in the movie was. Without hesitation they said it was Rowley. Why? Because he’s the one character that stays true to himself, the one character who tries his best and isn’t afraid to fail, and the one character who is an individual and isn’t trying so hard to fit in with the cool crowd.

Perhaps that was the point Freudenthal and Kinney were going for. I can only assume, yes; but damn it, they did such a good job with this film at making the hero a jerk, that I just couldn’t love the movie as much as I wanted to.

Despite my reservations about Greg, Diary of a Wimpy kid should be checked out, even if it inspires conversations with your kids about Greg’s behavior and why Rowley is so awesome. The Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy of the movie is an excellent deal. Besides the three different formats to play the movie, there are some great bonus features, including diary pages from Rowley (written by Kinney) and deleted scenes.

Johnson plays Derek Thompson, a minor league hockey player past his prime. Instead of being a force on the ice, he’s just an enforcer, sent into games to knock out opposing players. He’s earned the nickname “The Tooth Fairy” thanks to his habit of hitting his opponents so hard they end up missing teeth. Derek eats up the attention, even though he’s seen more as a novelty than an integral part of the hockey team. This point is driven home when a hotshot young player arrives and Derek is relegated to protecting the kid on the ice so he doesn’t get hurt. The tooth fairy is now the babysitter

Thanks to Johnson’s natural charm as a performer, Derek comes across as good-natured, even though he’s pretty cynical. For example, when kids tell him they want to grow up to play hockey be just like him, Derek doesn’t encourage them. Instead, he tells them the long odds they’re against and that they should choose something else to do with their lives. Someone who is able to look past his faults is Carly, a single mom that he’s been dating. Ashley Judd, who once starred in movies but now seems relegated to supporting roles, plays Carly. She brings a lot of warmth and definitely the right amount of strength and believability to her part. Carly has two children, six year old Tess (Destiny Whitlock) and teenager, Randy (Chase Ellison), a shy boy who has channeled his feelings into becoming an excellent guitar player.

One night, Derek babysits Carly’s kids and has his hockey buddies over for some poker.  Low on cash, he sneaks into Tess’s room and swipes the money Carly left under her daughter’s pillow after losing a tooth. Later on, Tess wakes up and realizes that her tooth is gone and there is no money. Derek nearly reveals to Tess that there is no tooth fairy. Luckily, Carly stops him by finding a dollar on the floor. Disaster averted. Pissed, Carly sends Derek home. That night he’s summoned to the realm of the tooth fairies where he must make amends for being a “dream crusher.”

Dressed in a pink tutu, with magic wings sprouting out of his back, Derek stands before head fairy, Lily, and is told he must serve as tooth fairy for two weeks. Lily is played by the legendary Julie Andrews, a woman who makes anything she’s involved with 100% classier. With her warmth and grace, she commands the screen; it’s always a pleasure watching her perform. To Johnson’s credit, he holds his own with the great Andrews.

Derek is given a caseworker named Tracy, played by British actor Stephen Merchant. These two butt heads almost immediately so you know they’re going to become best buds by the end of the movie.  Derek is given a bag full of tricks by a spacey old fairy named Jerry. Billy Crystal, reprising his Miracle Max shtick from The Princess Bride, portrays Jerri. I’ve grown weary of Crystal over the years, but in small doses he can still liven up a dull scene.

The film proceeds to follow Derek on his tooth fairy mishaps missions, avoiding cats, trying not to get caught. Gradually he comes to appreciate that dreams are important and he becomes friends with all of the fairies.

Meanwhile, Derek develops a relationship with Randy, at Carly’s bequest. At first Randy wants nothing to do with his mother’s latest boyfriend. But the two eventually bond over music. Derek jams on the drums, accompanying Randy and helping him gain the confidence he needs to perform at his school’s talent contest. Of course, there are some hiccups along the way and Derek has to redeem himself in everyone’s eyes. Like I said, the plotting is fairly predictable.

However, even though you can predict what‘s going to happen next, that doesn’t make Tooth Fairy a bad film. For family entertainment, it has the right amount of laughs and drama to appease parents and kids alike. As I said, Johnson is certainly a charismatic star and he really sells the film with performance. If you’re sitting down for movie night, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much fun you’ll have with Tooth Fairy.

The DVD has some nice bonus features. Besides an extended, karaoke scene between Johnson and Merchant (the highlight for me), there is also a “fairy workout” which is a nifty little exercise feature on the DVD. I hadn’t seen that before.

Madeline: Lost In Paris a sweet, innocent film that parents and kids can sit through together. It features Christopher Plummer’s warm voice as the narrator, Jason Alexander as the male villain, Horst, and Lauren Bacall and the villainess, Madame Lacroque. The plot is something right out of a turn of the century adventure story. Madeline, the spunky orphan girl who lives in a big house with eleven other girls and Miss Clavel, their teacher, receives a letter from a man claiming to be her long lost Uncle Horst. He comes to Paris to whisk her away with him to attend finishing school in Vienna.  Although saddened to be leaving her friends and Miss Clavel, Madeline is very excited to have a family. Madeline and her loyal dog, Genevieve, go away with Uncle Horst.

All is not what it seems, though, and Madeline learns this right away when Uncle Horst leaves Genevieve to fend for herself in the Paris train station and Madeline is kidnapped! Uncle Horst is not her uncle at all. He’s a scoundrel who takes orphans to work in forced labor creating delicate lace collars under the strict supervision of Madame Lacroque.

WOW! If you went by that description alone, you’d be horrified about this film. However, like any Dickens novel (which always seemed to have kids in peril), Madeline: Lost in Paris uses a light touch to keep the horrific conditions and the scary situation not so horrific and not so scary. Moreover, Madeline is such a brave little girl you don’t believe for one second that she’s going to remain trapped, nor will she allow her new friends, all of the other kidnapped children, to stay under the cruel care of Madame Lacroque.

Meanwhile, Genevieve returns to the school, signaling to Miss Clavel and the other girls that Madeline is in trouble. Immediately Miss Clavel goes to the police. At the same time the little girls and their next-door neighbor, Pepito, set off to save Madeline. Again, a light touch is used and you never get the sense that any of these kids are ever truly in danger.

The film moves briskly and is full of vibrant colors. Seeing a digital copy of the movie for the first time really made me realize how awful our VHS version was back in the day. It’s also wonderful to see a hand drawn animated film that doesn’t appear so cookie cutter like most of the shows you see on television. The backgrounds are all painted to look like watercolors and the character animation is quite fluid. The filmmakers really captured the feeling of the drawings from the original Madeline books. All of the actors are excellent.

It had been at least seven years since I last saw Madeline: Lost in Paris and I was curious how my daughter would react when she watched it with me. It was wonderful to sit down with her again, and with my younger son, and relive some old memories. Although she seems to have outgrown the age group of this movie, she still enjoyed it after all of these years. Madeline: Lost in Paris is a gentle and kind film that fits in nicely with all of the other movies you may own that have been produced by Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar or Nickelodeon. I highly recommend it for little girls (and boys) and I’m very glad it’s found a home on DVD through those good folks at Shout! Factory.  Although there are no bonus features, the movie is reason enough to make this purchase.

The Nickelodeon series has been on the air nearly a year now and it’s a big hit for the network. So, in true fashion of the marketing savvy network, Nickelodeon has released Operation: DVD Premiere, the first “feature length” DVD with over two hours of entertainment. The DVD is a collection of some of the Penguins best adventures, as well as a brand new, never-before-seen special, “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge,” and two never- before-seen episodes, “Truth Ache” and “Command Crisis.” On a side note, I know that Nick plans to air “Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” on President’s Day. I don’t understand the logic in advertising something as “never-before-seen” for just one week before putting in on television. I digress.

The set up for the show is simple: The Penguins, that is Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private, are back living at the New York City Zoo. Even though they are residents in the zoo, that doesn’t mean they’re confined behind bars. Instead, they have plenty of crazy adventures within the zoo and outside it. Along for the fun are three characters they never lived in the zoo in the films: King Julien, the insane lemur, originally voiced by Sacha Baren Cohen, by on television capably handled by Danny Jacobs, Maurice, an aye aye who is Julien’s trusty servant, and Mort, the accident mouse lemur who is the brunt of Julien’s contempt.

Supporting characters on hand to fill the absence of the main Madagascar characters include Marlene, an otter whose character is solely new to the series, plus Mason and Phil, the two chimpanzees from the films.

“Dr. Blowhole’s Revenge” is a funny, “save the world” adventure that finds the Penguins pitted against the evil Dr. Blowhole, an angry dolphin who gets around on a Segway. Dr. Blowhole plans to melt the North Pole in order to flood the earth as payback to humans for making him perform tricks in a ring of fire. Making matters worse for the Penguins is the fact that Julien has teamed up with Blowhole. The nefarious Blowhole is voiced by guest-star Neil Patrick Harris (who seems to be everywhere these days) and he has a good time with the role. Like most animation being produced these days, the adult behind the creation of the show often slip in a little bit of safe grown-up humor to make the show enjoyable for parents, as well as their kids.

The other two episodes, “Truth Ache” and “Command Crisis” fit right in with the seven other episodes included on this DVD, all of which have previously aired on Nickelodeon. As for bonus features, they aren’t much. But you shouldn’t expect too much when you’re buying TV episodes on a single disc like this one, anyway. There are trailers for upcoming Dreamworks animated features, Nick animated show and a couple of online games. Like I said, it isn’t much. Still, if you have a Penguin or King Julien fan in your house (child or adult) then this DVD is a worthwhile investment.

When Walt Disney decided to produce his first primetime series, he went all out to ensure that what he was airing met the high standards he set for his studio, both in motion pictures and television. He smartly chose to adapt the pulp novels of Johnston McCulley and partly based his vision of the masked avenger on the wildly successful silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks.  The Fairbanks version of the hero was a lighthearted take, adding humor and charm mixed with swordplay and spectacular stunts. Disney hired top writers to produce the show, he built an elaborate, permanent set on the Disney lot, and he brought together a cast of talented character actors to bring to life the colorful characters he envisioned. In the role of Don Diego/Zorro, an unknown actor named Guy Williams was cast. While this may have seemed like a risk, the actor exuded charisma as the masked avenger out to defend the oppressed. Moreover, Williams had an everyman, relatable quality that draws you in and keeps you entertained. And entertained you will be.

Every episode of Zorro is full of action, adventure and plenty of lighthearted humor. The combination of these three elements made it an instant success when the first season began airing in October of 1957.  Each of the half hour episodes were self contained, but continued an overall story arc that usually lasted about thirteen episodes, a commonly practiced method. While the first season saw Zorro acting as a lone avenger aided by his trusty servant, Bernardo (Gene Sheldon), the second season saw Zorro falling in love and considering giving up the mask to get married.

Only two seasons of Zorro were produced. However, the TV seasons were longer then (39 episodes), so there are 78 episodes included in the two DVD sets combined. Both of these collections have been lovingly remastered to look as fresh and new as possible. In addition to the remastered picture and sound, the collections also include rare Zorro episodes from Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, as well as insightful introductions by Disney expert, Leonard Maltin, who delivers plenty of history. The Walt Disney Treasure editions also come in a collectible black tin with a Zorro pin, an authenticity certificate and exclusive lithograph.

Pricewise, the Zorro collections compare favorably with any other TV series box sets being released. Considering the amount of material being given in the 6 DVD collections, and the quality of not only the remastering jobs, but the entertainment, these two latest installments in the Walt Disney Treasures series are worth the investment.

What I always liked about this particular X-Men series was the way it adhered to the mythology from the long-running comic books. Even though some of the characters were changed, the story lines about the Savage Land and  in particularly the Phoenix saga (in which telepath Jean Grey is gradually transformed into a God with unlimited power) were played out over a series of episodes that treated this show more like a continuing drama you’d find on prime time instead of a Saturday morning cartoon aimed at kids seven years and older.

Volume 3 contains the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” the conclusion to the Phoenix storyline. This four-episode story arc covers the point in time when Jean Grey’s brain is manipulated by Mastermind and she begins to lose touch with reality. Again, the animated series kept pretty close to the comic book story, although the outcome and fate of Jean Grey was radically changed. Other exciting episodes from the third volume include “Obsession,” in which Arcangel tries to destroy thee ultimate mutant villain, Apocalypse; “Nightcrawler,” featuring an appearance by the lovable, blue skinned furry mutant, Kurt Wagner; and “Orphan’s End,” a story involving Cyclops piecing together the fragments of his youth and learning who his father may be.

Volume 4 features the two-part Magneto episode, “Sanctuary.” In it, the X-Men’s arch nemesis invites all mutants who wish to flee Earth to  join him on his orbiting  asteroid, Asteroid M, to live free of the hatred and ridicule of humanity. Also included is the epic “Beyond Good and Evil”  a four-parter which features appearances by the then popular Cable and Bishop in a battle through time to save humanity from Apocalypse, and “The Lotus and The Steel,” a classic Wolverine episode that finds him leaving the X-Men and returning to Japan, where he spent his youth.

Full of drama, action, and a little bit of romance, these volumes do have some clunkers. “Have Yourself A Morlock Little X-Mas” is so sugary sweet you may have to vistt the dentist afterward. Trust me when I tell you it is sickening.  Moreover, some of the episodes were a little more heavy handed than I recalled. “Nightcrawler,” in particular, was really laying on the Christianity message. By the end of it I think everyone in the show was worshiping God. It felt a little too preachy for me.

Technically, the animation is still blocky, and the sound a little overbearing at times. Furthermore, some of the voice actors were a little weak. Still, with such great stories to tell, the misteps in animation and voice acting are easily overlooked.

For any child who is a fan of the X-Men movies, or who catches the Nickelodeon hit, Wolverine and the X-men, these two volumes (along with the previously released two) are a fine addition to their library. They ain’t too bad for the fan boy fathers, either.

Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection: X-Men Volume 3 (2009, Buena Vista)
purchase this DVD from Amazon

Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection: X-Men Volume 4 (2009, Buena Vista)
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Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break (2009, Disney)

Disney’s Sonny with a Chance is cut from the same cloth as the mouse house’s other tween sitcoms: bright, pretty young ingénue thrown into a crazy situation and surrounded by an ensemble of wacky supporting characters. In this case, the female star is Demi Lovato; the budding young music star that also has appeared in the Disney hit films, Rock Camp and Princess Protection Program. Lovato plays Sonny; she’s a Midwestern teenager brought to Los Angeles to become the newest star on “So Random,” a sketch show that resembles the old Nickelodeon series, All That. With her wide-eyed optimism and Midwestern gosh oh golly, Mickey and Judy “let’s put on a show” enthusiasm, Sonny is a fish out of water and immediately at odds with “So Random’s” other so L.A. starlet, Tawni (Tiffany Thornton). Tawni is a bratty teen whose ice cool heart is eventually melted by Sonny and they soon become fast friends.

The remainder of the “So Random” cast includes the Mutt & Jeff duo, Nico (Brandon Mychal Smith) and Grady (Doug Brochu). Smith and Brochu are great with the one liners and willing to make fools of themselves. They’re my favorite characters. There is also the standard “bratty little sister” character, this time in the form of Zora (Allisyn Ashley Arm), the youngest cast member. While “So Random” is very popular, it competes for an audience with “Mackenzie Falls,” a sort of Gossip Girl soap opera staring a group of prima donnas. Their leader is Chad Dylan Cooper (a funny Sterling Knight), who is so full of himself, he can’t pass a mirror without looking. Chad loves getting the better of the “So Random” gang, but has a hard time breaking Sonny’s spirit. This confuses him and strangely, makes him drawn to the girl.

Lovato is excellent in the title role. She seems game for anything the writers throw at her and she imbues her character with dignity and self-confidence. Sonny is not a snob and her intentions always seem to be good; she’s never out to “get” anyone. Moreover, unlike some of the other girl stars on Disney, Sonny seems like the kind of kid you’d trust to babysit your kids and not try to sneak out of the house to meet her boyfriend. As for the rest of the cast, they have grown more comfortable working together and exhibit all of the charms and strengths of a good comedy ensemble. As an adult, not all of the material tickles my fancy, but my children sure enjoy the show, so the producers must be doing something right.

Because of Sonny with a Chance’s set up, the audience is treated to the show within a show and sometime we get to see the “So Random” sketches. Think of this series as 30 Rock for kids. The skits will either make you groan because they’re so bad, or they will make you burst out laughing; there is no middle ground. My favorite sketch (and one that had my daughter searching for it online) is the “Check It Out” girls, a couple of cashiers who begin each sentence with the phrase, “check it out.” At first it was annoying, but after the fourth time watching it with my daughter I started laughing with her (and using the phrase, too).

I believe that watching the show with your kids is the key. Given the opportunity to view programming they find entertaining is a good way to begin communicating with them about quality and crap. I would rank Sonny with a Chance with the former. It has displayed growth since the first episode, as the four episodes on this DVD show. The DVD has some bonus features including Demi Lovato’s audition and the online short, “Mackenzie Falls – Season Finale Cliffhanger. More importantly, a never before seen episode, “Sonny in the Middle,” is included.

The Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (2009, Disney)

Disney attempts to create the same excitement that surrounded the Beatles with the opening of their new DVD, Jonas Brothers: The Extended Concert Experience. We watch the three brothers, Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas wake up early in the morning for a TV show appearance, we see them banter about like real brothers, making fun of each other and, in Joe’s case, hitting on the cute young woman assigned to cater to their breakfast needs, and then attempt to get through morning NY traffic on their way to the television studio. Trapped in their SUV, the boys decide to get out of their car and run through the streets of Manhattan chased by a swarm of screaming teenage girls, a la A Hard Day’s Night. For some reason, this homage to the Beatles felt cheap. Are these guys really worthy to be compared to the fab four? I guess the question isn’t for me to answer, because my two kids loved the opening and found it hilarious.

Oh, how I look forward to the day we get to watch the Beatles together!

Alas, the behind-the-scenes footage interspersed throughout this movie isn’t as important as the main attraction: Seeing the Jonas Brothers perform on stage in front of more screaming girls while a tight band and a string section accompany them and flames shoot from the stage. The boys, who just a couple years ago were opening for Disney’s other sensation, Miley Cyrus, are now full-fledged headliners and they want to prove to the world that they’re the real deal. Nick and Kevin carry guitars throughout the show and Nick also sits down at the piano for one of his trademark poignant ballads later in the film.

As the film progresses, the roles of all three seem to define themselves: Joe is the sexy one who lives it up performing for the girls. He sings lead or co-lead (with Nick) on every song and really plays to the crowd. Nick is the quiet, artistic one. I don’t want to diminish the input of the other two on the songwriting duties, but I don’t think it’s a mistake that Nick’s name is listed first in all of the credits. Nick also can wail on the drums pretty well, I believe they were his first instrument. As for Kevin, well I’m not sure what all Kevin does. He hams it up for the camera, sings backup and plays a mean rhythm guitar. If I was being cynical… well, let’s not. They seem like nice guys so I’m sure Kevin does a lot of behind the scenes stuff that we don’t see in this film.

I am very impressed that the Jonas Brothers write most of their material. That said, every single word out of their mouths comes across as so earnest that it’s difficult to take in huge doses. Moreover, Joe has a tendency to get a little pitchy when singing. Kudos to the band for not rerecording any of the vocals; next time just they need to make sure it’s the greatest performance ever when putting it down on HD.

Sitting still to watch Jonas Brothers: The Extended Concert Experience. with my children was sometimes a little too much for my tastes. But the kids loved every minute of the film. From the in-between bits, including a trio of silly “fake Jonas Brothers” who interview fanatics, to watching them be the first ones to buy their new CD at midnight the day it’s released, to every single thing they did on stage. I am happy to say that they were less impressed with guest star Demi Lovato, who joins the brothers for a song. If there is one person trying too hard to be a “star,” it’s this young lady. She has talent, but she’s too much. More appealing was Taylor Swift coming out for her song, “You Should’ve Said No.” Her performance is pretty fierce. Not sure where the filming of this movie fell into the whole Joe breaking up with Taylor over the phone affair. I imagine it happened before the movie was shot, otherwise I don’t think they would have been so polite on stage.

The bonus features on the DVD are kind of sparse. There are two bonus songs and a behind the “Disney Backstage” featurette about the boys on tour. The DVD also comes with a digital download. Nothing earth-shattering. Overall, The Concert Experience is something for the younger set and tolerable if it’s on in the background. But it’s not the Beatles.

Disney has also released this a Blu-ray version of the movie that includes the Blu-ray, a DVD, a Digital Download and the movie in 3-D, as it was originally shown in theaters. That version is available here.

I have a Blu-ray copy of the movie to give away. Email me at malchus@popdose.com by Wednesday, July 15 to have your name entered into a contest for this free DVD courtesy of Disney and Click Communications.

Princess Protection Program (2009, Disney)

When the DVD for Disney’s latest, Princess Protection Program arrived at the house, my daughter could hardly contain herself. The constant ads on the Disney Channel and the casting of TV stars Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) made it seem like this film was going to be a tweenage masterpiece, or at least something fun. On a Sunday morning while her mom and brother slept in, my daughter and I snuggled up on the couch and watched Princess Protection Program.

In the film, Lovato is a Princess Rosalinda, next in line to the throne of Costa Luna. When her country is overthrown by an evil dictator, she is put into the Princess Protection Program, a secret organization funded by royal families to protect their daughters. She is saved by Joe Mason (Tom Verica) an agent for the PPP, who takes her into hiding in his own home. His home is in rural Louisiana where he’s raising his teenage daughter, Carter (Gomez) on his own. That’s right, the Masons come from a long line of Disney families without a mother figure. That means that Carter is a tomboy and an outcast in her school. Still, she has one guy who really likes her, Ed (Nicholas Braun), but Carter is too blind to see how much Ed, her best friend likes him, because she has a thing for Donny (Robert Adamson), a rich snob.

Rosalinda enters the Mason home and takes up the name Rosie, in hopes to be seen as a normal teenager. But, since she is royalty, she has been written as a stiff lipped, proper speaking aristocrat. This is supposed to set up jokes about the differences in classes, but you’ll find yourself saying, “Man, I’ve seen this a thousand times before, and better.” As the film progresses, Rosie and Carter become close friends and go to the school dance together. Eventually Carter realizes how great Ed is and how much of a jerk Donny is and Rosie is able to turn the tomboy Carter into a princess herself (all through the magic of a shopping montage).

Honestly, I didn’t expect much. I’m no fan of Miss Gomez; I find her acting abilities limited. And Miss Lovato, while charming on her own sitcom, grates my nerves whenever she opens her mouth to sing. Still, I’m not who this movie is intended for, which is why I sat down with my daughter. As with any film or TV show I review for Dadnabbit, I do my best to get a reaction from the people these shows are aimed at. For the first time in as long as I can remember, my daughter and I agreed on how bad a movie was. It wasn’t just the acting, or the writing that left plot holes as large as Demi Lovato’s smile. Not, it was that the whole package felt like it was thrown together for the sole purpose of capitalizing on the growing fame of these two young stars and their real-life friendship. Worse, the movie was boring, the worst crime you can commit with a 10-year-old girl. When your daughter starts asking questions about the logic of a movie or catching continuity errors, people, you screwed up.

Is there any reason to rush out and buy this DVD for your kids? No. Disney will rerun the movie for years to come and the bonus music video has already been playing on the Disney Channel. My suggestion if you really want a decent DVD is to buy the Hatching Pete/ Dadnapped release that came out earlier this year.

The Jetsons: Season 2, Volume 1 (2009, Warners)

Did you know that Star Trek wasn’t the first sci-fi series to develop a life after it was cancelled and earn a new life almost 20 years later? I didn’t. The Jetsons, the first animated family in space, premiered in 1962 as a prime time family show before immediately jumping to Saturday mornings. For over 20 years, the original 24 episodes played endlessly until the show’s producers, animation legends Hanna Barbera, decided to give their fans more adventures of George, Jane, Judy, Elroy and Astro, the family pet. The Jetsons Season 2 premiered in the fall of 1985 and now, the first 21 episodes of season 2 have been released on a 3 disc set, The Jetsons Season 2, Volume 1.

The second season took on a direction for the show. Now strictly a Saturday morning cartoon, the revived series was aimed squarely at children. The focus shifted from the adult adventures of George to more stories about Elroy and Judy. Additionally, there was an emphasis on computers and all the great, cool gadgets the future would provide. The second season also introduced a cuddly, furry creature called Orbitty, which became Elroy’s sidekick and the new family pet (Astro was always more of a human character; a space age Scooby Doo).

It’s important to know these facts going into The Jetsons Season 2, Volume 1 because if you were like me, expecting the same 60’s, cool cartoon that I grew up with in the 70’s, you’ll be in for a bit of a letdown. The second season of The Jetsons is purely kids stuff. The animation is glossy and slick, better than the 60s’ version, but there seems to be a little bit of soul and charm missing from the 1980’s version. Furthermore, the music was updated for the time and featured electronic instruments, then the current fad.

Still, this new version of The Jetsons was never intended for grown ups and the trust test of its appeal is how it will play to a kid in the 21^st Century. I sat down with my 7 year old cartoon loving son to get his reaction.

He loved it. He laughed at the corny jokes, thought Orbitty was cute, and seemed to associate with Elroy. Everything the producers were pursuing in the 1980’s held true twenty years later. That, my friends, is the true testament of a great series. If it holds up for a modern audience, then it must have been doing something right.

Go out and find The Jetsons Season 2, Volume 1, for your kids. It’s safe, goofy fun and doesn’t contain any of the mean spirited humor that so many modern cartoons contain. Furthermore, the well produced documentary bonus feature, The Jetsons Return to the Future has plenty of little informational nuggets to satisfy the little ones curiosity and create fans for life.