A mouse on a quest, culture clash with a detective dog and classic superhero fare from the Golden Age lead a strong week of animation disc releases.
Up first, The Tale of Despereaux, the Universal feature film based on the classic children’s book and featuring the voices of Robbie Coltrane, Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Tracy Ullman and Stanley Tucci. The film is out on both DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray ($39.98), with each edition featuring exclusive bonus features.
Crime-solving canine Scooby-Doo and his friends are back in a new, original animated feature movie Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword (Warner Bros., $19.98). The feature follows the Mystery Inc. gang to Asia, where they embark on a global treasure hunt featuring ancient riddles. The film is set for a broadcast premiere on Cartoon Network on April 19, but here’s an advance look at the movie.
Disney also rolls out an original feature starring old friends, with My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Tigger, Pooh And A Musical Too! ($26.99), inspired by the popular TV series.
The original superhero cartoons come to DVD in an authorized two-disc release titled Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1942 made from the original masters. The set (Warner Bros., $26.99) also includes some nice bonuses, such as a look at superhuman archetypes, interviews with surviving animators who worked on these classic 17 toons, and testimonials from animators like Bruce Timm and Paul Dini about the influence these cartoons had on their animation work. Here’s a sneak peek at the Man of Steel’s original screen adventures.
