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Tom Thumb & Thumbelina
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // G // August 6, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
An enjoyable enough concept that I'm surprised it hasn't been done a few times prior, this straight-to-video animated feature has Tom Thumb paired with Thumbelina in an animated adventure. The film opens with a little village of thumb-sized people being invaded by an evil circus promoter who figures that he can gain a large audience by featuring scores of little people.
Thumbelina (Jennifer Love Hewitt, who also did voice work in this year's "Hunchback of Notre Dame II") is one of the captured, forced to do stunts each day while wondering if there's someone out there for her to love. In steps Tom Thumb (Elijah Wood), who teaches her to be happy with her short self.
As per usual for a Disney (although it's actually not a Disney release, it's put out by sister company Miramax) straight-to-video release, the film offers a fair amount of action and several helpings of messages - it's okay to be yourself, small people can make a big difference and that kind of thing. What makes this feature rise above the material is the voice casting, which is nothing short of remarkable for such a small feature. Not only do Hewitt (who also sings) and Wood take part, but there are also supporting roles for Bebe Neuwirth, Jane Leeves, Robert Guillaume, Rachel Griffiths, Peter Gallagher and Jon Stewart. Hewittt was a surprise in "Hunchback of Notre Dame II" and is again here. She really invested more emotion into voicing these two characters than she has for any of her acting efforts. In both instances, she's really done a fine job creating strong, entertaining heroines.
While not excellent, I thought "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" provided a fairly enjoyable 75 minutes. The story doesn't include much in the way of original twists and turns, but the voice talent really brought a lot of energy to the proceedings and added greatly to the characters.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Tom Thumb & Thumbelina" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame by Miramax. While the film's animation is nothing more than the standard Saturday morning cartoon variety, the presentation at least offers it as best as I'd guess it can look. While rather flat, the animation at least appears crisp and clear, with no instances of softness or other faults. No pixelation or edge enhancement were spotted, either. Lastly, the film's somewhat subdued color palette remained crisp and nicely rendered.
SOUND: Unlike most of the Disney/Miramax straight-to-vid releases, some of which are even offered with DTS 5.1 soundtracks, "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" finds itself with only an uninspired 2.0 soundtrack. Dialogue-driven with occasional touches of an unintrusive score, the soundtrack is passable, but not noteworthy in any way.
MENUS: Slightly animated menus that use film-themed images.
EXTRAS: Select-a-song feature and ads for other Disney/Miramax titles, including the new live-action version of "Pinocchio", "Spy Kids 2" and "The Rookie".
Final Thoughts: This is one of the better straight-to-vid cartoon releases I've seen. While the animation is pretty flat and unremarkable, the voice-acting really livens up the characters and story. The DVD doesn't offer a great presentation or supplements, but the film itself is entertaining enough so that parents might still want to at least try this one out as a rental for their kids to watch.
An enjoyable enough concept that I'm surprised it hasn't been done a few times prior, this straight-to-video animated feature has Tom Thumb paired with Thumbelina in an animated adventure. The film opens with a little village of thumb-sized people being invaded by an evil circus promoter who figures that he can gain a large audience by featuring scores of little people.
Thumbelina (Jennifer Love Hewitt, who also did voice work in this year's "Hunchback of Notre Dame II") is one of the captured, forced to do stunts each day while wondering if there's someone out there for her to love. In steps Tom Thumb (Elijah Wood), who teaches her to be happy with her short self.
As per usual for a Disney (although it's actually not a Disney release, it's put out by sister company Miramax) straight-to-video release, the film offers a fair amount of action and several helpings of messages - it's okay to be yourself, small people can make a big difference and that kind of thing. What makes this feature rise above the material is the voice casting, which is nothing short of remarkable for such a small feature. Not only do Hewitt (who also sings) and Wood take part, but there are also supporting roles for Bebe Neuwirth, Jane Leeves, Robert Guillaume, Rachel Griffiths, Peter Gallagher and Jon Stewart. Hewittt was a surprise in "Hunchback of Notre Dame II" and is again here. She really invested more emotion into voicing these two characters than she has for any of her acting efforts. In both instances, she's really done a fine job creating strong, entertaining heroines.
While not excellent, I thought "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" provided a fairly enjoyable 75 minutes. The story doesn't include much in the way of original twists and turns, but the voice talent really brought a lot of energy to the proceedings and added greatly to the characters.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Tom Thumb & Thumbelina" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame by Miramax. While the film's animation is nothing more than the standard Saturday morning cartoon variety, the presentation at least offers it as best as I'd guess it can look. While rather flat, the animation at least appears crisp and clear, with no instances of softness or other faults. No pixelation or edge enhancement were spotted, either. Lastly, the film's somewhat subdued color palette remained crisp and nicely rendered.
SOUND: Unlike most of the Disney/Miramax straight-to-vid releases, some of which are even offered with DTS 5.1 soundtracks, "Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" finds itself with only an uninspired 2.0 soundtrack. Dialogue-driven with occasional touches of an unintrusive score, the soundtrack is passable, but not noteworthy in any way.
MENUS: Slightly animated menus that use film-themed images.
EXTRAS: Select-a-song feature and ads for other Disney/Miramax titles, including the new live-action version of "Pinocchio", "Spy Kids 2" and "The Rookie".
Final Thoughts: This is one of the better straight-to-vid cartoon releases I've seen. While the animation is pretty flat and unremarkable, the voice-acting really livens up the characters and story. The DVD doesn't offer a great presentation or supplements, but the film itself is entertaining enough so that parents might still want to at least try this one out as a rental for their kids to watch.
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