December exists for the holidays, and the holidays exist for kids. It's no wonder the studios are sure to get the year's animated movies out on DVD in time for them to stuff St. Nick's stockings or serve as Menorah-lit Chanukah gifts. This is a quick guide to this year's crop.
With Disney and Pixar'sWall-e looking to corner the holiday market by hitting shelves in November, other outfits are sprinkling in their animated family fair, including the DVD and Blu-ray edition of the successful Kung Fu Panda. The special edition of the Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman-voiced martial arts comedy comes with a special 22-minute short highlighting the secrets of the feature's Furious Five.
Dr. Seuse's heroic Horton earned his own Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time this year, and it's not a coincidence that the animated Horton Hears a Who hit the market before Turkey Day. The big screen Horton expands on the children's book while keeping in touch with Seuse's unique blend of creativity and heart.
Alvin and the Chipmunks pair up nicely with Christmas as the group's chirpy novelty songs are seasonal standards. Their first CG-animated feature updated the look and the attitude of the melodic rodents and should keep them on the pop culture radar for a while.
Before Eddie Murphy seized control of the Nutty Professor name, it belonged to France's favorite comic, Jerry Lewis. Now, Lewis reclaimed the title with a CG, youth-orientated retelling of the Nutty tale with the title's professor looking to tame his equally experimental offspring.
Finally, Space Chimps, a decent little animated comedy, was completely lost during its theatrical run -- largely because it was released the same day as that delicate and mildly successful art house flick, The Dark Knight. Now, it gets a chance to find some kind of an audience on DVD.
All five films are out on disc now and are certified safe for kiddy consumption -- especially as almost all of them have at least one flatulence gag.
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