• November 13, 2014
• At Home, Family, Music

Having grown up with the soundtrack to Mary Poppins in my little record collection, I learned the film’s fabulous songs long before I ever saw the movie. When it...

• November 7, 2014
• Adventure, Animation, At Home, Family

Our scrappy hero Hiro is a smart but unfocused teen. He gambles with his creations on the robot-fighting circuit, while his idolized elder brother Tadashi excels in college. Just...

• July 17, 2014
• Action, Animation, At Home, Family

I admit, after seeing Planes: Fire & Rescue, I kind of wanted a toy of one the retro park-ranger trucks, à la Glacier Park’s tourist buses from the 1930s. I...

• February 8, 2014
• Adventure, Animation, At Home, Family

101 Dalmatians is what I consider to be one of Disney’s Dodgy Classics. It’s cute and familiar, but it doesn’t have the substance of the Classic Classics, which offer...

• December 12, 2013
• At Home, Comedy, Drama

Emma Thompson, turning in what is easily one of her richest and most complex performances, stars as P.L. Travers, the seriously sour, exceedingly stubborn and altogether unpleasant British author...

• November 21, 2013
• Adventure, Animation, At Home

As Disney movies go, The Jungle Book will never be my favorite. Like Peter Pan, it lacks a linear storyline, and consequently feels messy and neverending. It’s the kind...

• February 12, 2013
• Adventure, Animation, At Home, Family

I was one of those kids who liked all the educational stuff on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, but always got fidgety when he dragged us along to The Neighborhood of...

• December 27, 2012
• At Home, Documentary

When you think of Disney, you probably place the words drama, tragedy, betrayal, and triumph in the context of their films and associate them with lion kings, little mermaids,...

• November 2, 2012
• Animation, At Home, Comedy, Family

Set in the world of video games old and new, Disney’s latest offering blends nostalgia and high-energy antics to create the story of its titular oaf (voiced by John...

• September 24, 2012
• At Home, Comedy, Family

Tara (Debby Ryan) is a quiet kid at her high school in always-sunny Seattle (har!). She freezes up when her teachers call on her, and she has a huge...

• September 23, 2012
• Action, Adventure, Animation, At Home, Family

Here’s one of my favorite things about this grrrrl-power, action-comedy from Pixar: I honestly had no idea what it was about when I sat down to watch. The filmmakers,...

• March 1, 2011
• Animation, At Home, Drama, Family

When I finally watched Bambi as an adult, I was struck not only by the beautiful animation, but by the sneakily educational storyline. The film is formatted in a...