No comments about Josh Kirby... Time Warrior!: Last Battle for the Universe.

5 comments about Spirit Of Wonder: The Movie.

1. In a small town lives a girl named Miss China, the owner of the local tavern and her friends. In an unexplained phenomenon, a message appears on the night of a full moon and she wants to know how it got there.

   The story around Miss China's Ring includes many different stories rolled into one. The movie features the story of three characters and leaves viewers hanging, giving the impression that more characters and different stories will be told if this series progresses. The character designs are very well drawn and could be closely compared to the Disney style of animation. The movie does not contain any adult situations and because of that, I feel that this title is safe for the whole family to enjoy END




2. So why 5 stars? As a stand alone story in VHS or DVD format this is a terrific fantasy! The only reason I consider it less than perfect is because I was spoiled on the original comic book series (five or six issues called Spirit of Wonder, published by Dark Horse comics I think) in the early or mid 1990's. This is a terribly whittled down version of some of the best Manga I ever laid my eyes on. But again, it's well worth it, especially if you do not have the benefit of the original comics.
   
   There is some mild adult content, as with almost any anime out there. The fiesty old Doctor Breckenridge grabs poor Miss China's breasts a time or two, and attempts to peak at her panties. It has been a while since I saw the film, but I think he also slapped her on the butt once. There are a few instances of mild adult language: the word d**n is used. But these instances are fairly quick and isolated and are certainly not the strong selling points of this wonderful tale.
   
   What is the strong selling point is the purely unique Japanese imagination. Somehow or other Japan's cartoonists seem to think a little more abstractly than do Westerners and Miss China's Ring is a grand example of that. The characters are lovable and easy to warm up to. There's Doctor Breckenridge, the dirty old man who is a raging mad scientist, then Jack, the mild-mannered assistant who supplies the mad doctor's needs via a beautiful fair-skinned blonde with petite features and who runs a flower stand that peddles black market items on the side. Finally we have the beloved little star of the show, Miss China, a young girl who owns the Ten-Kai Chinese restaurant on the coast of Australia. Yes, the setting for the story is actually "down-under," hence all the white sailors and the lack of anyone remotely Asian except Miss China.
   
   Basically, the flower stand girl is in love with Jack. Miss China is also in love with Jack. Jack loves Miss China but more like a little sister or maybe a puppy. Dr. Breckenridge is unaware of the existence of any female except Miss China. The scheming doc is living with the notion that if he cannot go to the moon, then he will bring the moon to him. His idea is to cleverly carve a message in the moon's surface that can be seen from earth, without actually touching it. He endeavors to do so with his space refracting telecope invention. Things do get a little out of hand and the moon is terribly effected by it but in the end Miss China and Jack manage to find innocent romance while the rest of the world looks into the night sky to find something they never expected.
   
   The second DVD in this series, titled Spirit of Wonder Part 2, is a fairly recent release. I am unsure of the authoring company. It is clever in it's own right but falls very short of Miss China's Ring.
   
   You might still be able to find DVD copies of Miss China's Ring (The Spirit of Wonder Part 1) by Animeigo but it will take a little looking since it was a limited production.
   
   In all, I would say that this is a great story to view on an inclement day or later in the evening when you just want to relax and forget the rest of the world. This film could never fall into the category of smutty and really only scrapes the line of adult (being slightly more child oriented), but it's not quite appropriate for young children. That must be why the original plastic wrapper had a 13 and up label. They were accurate in their summation. I hope I am accurate in mine by saying that you would enjoy it: highly recommended!



3. A very different yet interesting yet loveable piece of work. Not your usual anime. I liked how this one had very real emotions and themes in it. Not to mention the artwork and animation for this piece was very beautiful. Very nice indeed.



4. Spirit of Wonder has one two episode story about the Scientific Boys Club and their plan to visit Mars. the club has only three members, Cooper, Gordon and Shepherd. Jack is the son-in-law of one of the members and Windy is his wife, the daughter of Gordon. She also happens to be the mind behind the theory of ether currents. In other words without her knowledge going to Mars isn't going to happen.
   There is also two shorts featuring China and friends. SHE is the main character of the manga and, frankly, I don't know why she has become a side show.
   At first I thought China's voice actress was Carrie Savage but it turned out to be Carrie A. Daniels (Angel Tales). Jim is played by Crispin Freeman (Hellsing, Howl's Moving Castle) while Windy is played by Tricia A. Dickson (Read Or Die, Hellsing) and Jack is played by Justin Gross (I MY ME! Strawberry Eggs, Ikki Tousen).
   The stories have humor and a touch of old fashion Victorian scientific romance but are too short. The extras don't make up for the lack of material.



5. Okay, let's correct some details here: the 2003 'Spirit of Wonder:The Movie' DVD is a sequel that was completed nine years after the original 1992 Spirit of Wonder animation video. The 1992 version was a one-shot charmer under the title of 'Spirit of Wonder: Miss China's Ring'. The Spirit of Wonder 1992 OAV was produced by Toshiba EMI and originally released in vhs format, followed later by a Laser edition. It was later subbed and released in North America by Animeigo, and it became an early personal favorite among anime fans.
   
   However, the new 2003 'Spirit of Wonder: the movie' DVD was produced by the Bandai company. It represents a new series consisting of four stories that were produced and completed for release in 2001. These new stories lack the quiet freshness and clever charm of the original 1992 'Miss China's Ring' OAV. Granted: the humor of the new Miss China lead story 'the Shrinking of Miss China' is funny. However, the following 2 part 'Scientific Boys Club' stories on the same disk becomes a miserable bore.
   
   Although the writers and producers of The 'Scientific Boys Club' put some care into the animation design/color and art, they put too little concern or thought into the motivation, logic, and sensibilities of the characters. The two stories are also overloaded with cliched fanservice, sexism, and female harassment that becomes annoyingly repeated in other scenes, leaving little footage remaining in the movie that could be considered a good plot or story development.
   
   So nearly 10 years later after the release of the original Spirit of Wonder charmer it seems apparent that the producers of this new 'Spirit of Wonder:The Movie' were incapable and hard-pressed to find anything original, charming, or interesting to say in this new 2001 sequel.
   
   With the exception of the very short and funny `Shrinking Miss China', there's really not much true spirit in the new 2003 DVD version of Spirit of Wonder

No comments about Secrets of Glacier National Park.

1 comments about Apollo 11: The Eagle Has Landed.

1. The first thing to note about this documentary, which was produced with the participation of NASA, is that the title is very misleading. Not much of this film is about the Apollo 11 mission. The title is just there for marketing purposes--Apollo 11 is the famous moon-landing mission, so that will help sales. Unfortunately, it basically amounts to a bait-and-switch tactic. I can especially understand people being upset who might buy this at a NASA or science museum gift shop, say, as they usually outrageously overcharge for videos.
   
   Even more unfortunately, this isn't a horrible film for what it is--a 90-minute history of rocketry, going all the way back to 9th Century China, briefly moving to an extended section on rocketry developments in modern warfare, then tracing the earliest attempts to put rockets in orbit, the space race, and ending with the Apollo 11 mission.
   
   As an educational tool, Apollo 11: The Eagle has Landed, deserves a slightly higher rating. It's packed full of historical information, and even as a lifelong astronomy and space sciences buff, I learned a couple things (or at least was reminded of things that I've long forgotten). On the other hand, as has been pointed out elsewhere, there are a couple factual errors in the script . . . but no documentary (or non-fiction in general) should be taken as gospel.
   
   However, it's weaker as a documentary, especially when considered aesthetically. As much as I love Tom Baker as an actor--he's England's answer to William Shatner, after all--he's not a very exciting narrator here. Too much of the beginning is essentially a slide show, and too many images seem a bit blurry and overexposed. The historical space program footage has not been spiffed up, so it tends to look a bit washed-out. And as a documentary covering such a wide swathe of important history, 90 minutes just can't do the material justice--you'd need a 10-part series to do a really good job.

1 comments about 3-2-1 Penguins!: Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn.

1. This is a darling video. Two children, Michelle and Jason get dropped at Grandmother's while their parents go out of town. Dad leaves the children with a new video game so they don't get bored. They fight over who is going to use the video game first, which sets the scene as Grandmother quotes Scripture and tells them to be patient. The video game never works and they are both sad. Dinner is a disaster as Grandmother is British and serves kidney pie. The children go to the attic to play, and this is where they find a telescope. Michelle, being the oldest, insists on going first, while Jason waits impatiently.
   
   This is when the penguins appear for the first time to only Jason. They explain that his sister can come on another occasion. The first three names rhyme, Zidgel, Midgel, and Fidgel, then there's the joke when Kevin says his name, because it doesn't rhyme, and he says it in a slow funny way. They're all very funny, and the captain's character is a little pompous, and over the top with the big shoulders, ego, and big hair, but loveable.
   
   They've been called to planet "Wait your turn" by a distress signal received on their fax machine. When they get there everyone is cutting in line. The penguins offer to help, but that's not what the distress call was about. They called because it is getting so hot. Well it turns out the cutting in line bug has affected the planet, which is not in its usual orbit, but instead is headed towards the son. "But we're first!"
   
   Kevin points out that they're heading into the sun, and that being first isn't important. He quotes Scripture, and explains the importance of patience, which all goes over their heads. But when he tells someone else to go first, he breaks the spell of the cutting in line bug, and everything returns to normal, including the orbit of the planet. He asks what they were all cutting in line for they show him that they were looking at someone who is spying on them, and it turns out to be his sister Michelle with the telescope.
   
   Back at home, he kneels down to say his prayers and thanks God for teaching him patient, but says, "Next time, please teach Michelle something." It is very sweet.
   
   The animation is beautiful, lots of rich colors, and the illusion of depth, like the Veggie Tale movies. The story moves quickly, is funny and has a wonderful moral. My three year old and my six year old both love this movie, and I am happy to let them watch it.

1 comments about Travel With Kids - Caribbean: Puerto Rico and The Virgin Islands.

1. Travel With Kids Caribbean from Destination Travel Guides is a deftly condensed but completely accessible 63-minute DVD formatted guide for those wishing to knowledgeably explore Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda with their children. Introducing the viewer to a fun filled journey through Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, an insightful tour of the famed Fort at El Morro, a trek through the Rain Forest at El Yunque, and an exploration of the underground caves of Rio Camuy, Travel With Kids Caribbean is an informatively fun application of the Caribbean for everyone. Replete with numerous tips for traveling with a young child, Travel With Kids Caribbean is very highly recommended to all aspiring or prospective visitors of the Caribbean area with children of all ages for its exclusive presentation of information which will enable an enjoyable, successful, memorable family vacation for all.

3 comments about Mission to Mir.

1. This IMAX video takes you through the first flights and cooperative training that joined the US and Russia on MIR. It chronicles what US astronauts experienced in their training with the Russian cosmonauts in preparation for their experiences aboard MIR. Never before seen footage of Russian space sites and training along with footage of the first woman aboard MIR Shannon Lucid are included. This video gives you the history and work that led up to the eventual construction, launch and deployment of today's International Space Station.



2. This is a very well done space video. You actually see the rockets taking off and people up in space. Other videos get distracted and go off into computer simulations or random things only sort of related to space, but this one is focused on the real life good stuff.



3. IMAX movies always lose much of their visual impact on the small screen. The better IMAX DVDs make up for this with more substance: "Space Station", for instance, includes an extensive documentary and an informal video tour of the station by the astronauts themselves. Unfortunately "Mission to Mir" offers nothing along these lines (the brief "behind the scenes" feature is really just an extended trailer). Nor is the movie itself technically substantive: instead it harps on the political symbolism of both Russian-American cooperation after the Cold War (and to a lesser extent of the career of Shannon Lucid as a female astronaut). "Mission to Mir" isn't bad if you can get it cheap -- but as IMAX space movies go, "Space Station" is a much better choice.

No comments about Nature Parks KRUGER NATIONAL PARK South Africa.

1 comments about Discover China: A Tale of Tofu.

1. I first saw "A Tale of Tofu" on the National Geographic Channel, as part of the "About Asia" series. This fascinating documentary transports you into the depths of remote provinces of China, and traces the hostory of tofu in China from ancient times to the present day. The photography is exquisite, and the narration informative. Captures the feel of Chinese villages and the history of an ancient nation, together with a feel of the staggering variety of Chinese tofu-based cuisine, and how different provinces have adapted this simple food in their own unique way! Highly recommended for anyone interested in Chinese cuisine, or just interested in China!

1 comments about Bump! South America.

1. "Bump!: South America"
   
   Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro
   
   Amos Lassen
   
   "Bump!" is back and we are going way south to South America as Charlie David takes on a personal tour of Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.
   Buenos Aires was the home of Evita Peron and is a town of mystery and suave Latin men. The Evita museum is a major stop as is browsing the open air markets. Also we get to learn to tango and visit a men's spa and with good looking Charlie as our guide we can't help but have fun. Buenos Aires is a big city--eleven million people and if we figure out the one in ten rule we see that there is someone for everybody there.
   Brazil is out next stop and it is paradise. We all have heard of the beaches there and we do not want to miss a single one and see the beautiful and tanned Brazilians lying out in places like Ipanema, Copa, Copacabana and Leblon. Brazil is one of those places that everyone has on their wish list of places to vacation and "Bump!" makes it possible from our TV screen. The men of Brazil are like the beaches--beautiful and the country is a mix of cultures. Party is the word for gay Brazil and we party both on the beaches and in the clubs. We charter a boat and go island hopping, look at the beautiful architecture and sample "cachaca", a popular Brazilian alcohol. But the highlight of the trip is our visit to Paraty, Brazil, a small gay town that pays no attention to time.
   For those of you who have never watched "Bump!" let me remind you it is a wonderful GLBT travel series that takes viewers on personal tours all over the world and includes interviews with locals and is a way to gain an accurate and entertaining look at places all over the world. "Bump!" looks at the social scene in each locale and the historical sites and shopping. It is a series of travelogues with a gay touch.