Scenery-chewing (and I mean that as a compliment) Kirk Douglas plays a shady reporter who unexpectedly comes across a man trapped in a cave before any local help has been summoned. Sensing that he’s on to a big scoop, he decides to make it bigger by manipulating the rescue effort for maximum dramatic effect – bringing as much media attention to him as that paid to the hapless victim biding his ever-lengthening, nail-biting time at the bottom of the cave-in. Though the noirish theatrics push the boundaries of credibility, if you’re familiar with the film Wilder made just prior to this - the sublime Sunset Boulevard - you know that OTT can be a good thing in the right hands.
Due to its unavailability in any video format until Criterion’s 2007 DVD release, the film has been something of a rarity in Wilder’s oeuvre, hardly as well-known as Some Like it Hot, Double Indemnity, or The Apartment. It didn’t do well in its theatrical release (the studio changing the film’s title to The Big Carnival without Wilder’s approval), and many contemporary critics found it far too cynical to be believable – but it’s that very cynicism that makes the film very of-the-moment, even six decades after its first screening. Ace in the Hole is no second-string Wilder production – it’s a first-rate film that's simply ahead of its time.
The main plot takes place in contemporary Israel, where a man who was an Israeli soldier during the Lebanon/Israel War of the early 1980's sets out on a journey to rediscover his lost memories of the war and to determine what role, if any, he played in the Sabra and Shatila massacres. The film's director and protagonist Ari Folman depicts the war as a horrorific act against humanity, where neither side was innocent of committing atrocities. Winner of many awards in 2008 and nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award, Waltz With Bashir is a haunting and visually rich meditation on memory, war and healing.
Learn more about this piece of history by accessing the library's information databases. They can put you in touch with the information you need to understand today's vital issues.
Burns’ approach to documentary filmmaking completely revitalized the art form. It wasn’t just the techniques of camera work, narration and writing, but the drama and emotional weight given to the subject matter, the placement of people and events into history’s long view. Offering more than the facts of events, his documentaries give us the how and why. The result is beautiful and riveting. The films have generated a host of companion books and CDs.
Ken Burns came to the fore with “The Civil War,” a monumental achievement, and continued with other works (among them “Lewis & Clark: The Corps of Discovery,” “Baseball,” “Jazz,” “Mark Twain,” “Thomas Jefferson”), all of which have explored facets of the American experience. It’s fitting, then, that Burns and long-time collaborator Dayton Duncan tackle the subject of our magnificent national parks.
And the parks themselves is the other reason I’m excited to see the series. The summer before my senior year in college, I worked as an interpretive naturalist at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There, in the Badlands of western North Dakota, I gave tours of TR’s Maltese Cross Cabin, roamed the Park’s 30-some mile loop on a moped (being fully warned that a moped cannot outrun a bison), and worked the desk at two visitor centers. I occasionally had to explain to visitors that this was not the park to “see the faces” for Mount Rushmore National Memorial was in another state, South Dakota.
The experience was one of those defining moments that helped me figure out the next direction of my life. It was a privilege to work with career, seasonal and volunteer park staff, most of whom forfeited job security and domestic stability in return for transitory service at one seasonal post or another, year after year. (One National Park Service employee set her mystery novels in national parks. The Anna Pigeon series of novels by Nevada Barr take place in such locations as Isle Royale and Mesa Verde.)
I hope you’ll watch the series, check out KPL’s many resources about national parks, and plan your next visit to a national treasure.
The beautifully detailed and soundly acted crime thriller L.A. Confidential also looks toward Los Angeles for its backdrop. A stylish and taut take on James Ellroy’s noir classic, director Curtis Hanson, unlike the mundane city of ineffectual Angelinos portrayed by Altman, delivers a cool Hollywood with a 1950’s sheen and Chandleresque heart. Like Short Cuts, a great deal of L.A. Confidential’s strength as a film stems from a strong cast including Aussies Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe as well as Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell and Kim Basinger. This a wonderfully paced detective thriller with strong performances from everyone involved. Hanson’s subsequent work has never quite lived up to the expectations that L.A. Confidential brought with it.
A number of screen adaptations have been presented over the years, but only Kenneth Branagh’s version features the play in its entirety. In bringing it to screen, Branagh said he wanted to create “an experience, an event.” This wide-angle view of human nature was shot in 70 mm, a wide-angle high-resolution film that lends itself well to the many sweeping shots used in the movie, whether of soldiers mustered outside a snowy Elsinore Castle, or a grieving Ophelia wandering along a hall of mirrors. The most amazing, and memorable, shot is a pan to behind the king and queen on their thrones to Hamlet lurking behind the wall, looking at the camera. We and the camera are shocked to find him there. Visually this is a stunning achievement.
But more than the beautifully composed scenes and elegant Victorian set design, this “Hamlet” succeeds with superb acting and direction. Brash, ambitious and talented, Kenneth Branagh was likened as the next Orson Welles or Laurence Olivier when he came on the scene in the late 1980s. A heavy mantle. Starring as Hamlet, he’s joined by Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud, Richard Briers, Julie Christie and others.
I think Kenneth Branagh’s real gift to audiences in his understanding of the text. One cannot appreciate the humor and wisdom in Shakespeare’s writings when actors don’t understand what they’re saying. In “Hamlet,” Branagh’s goal was to have the lines “spoken as clearly as possible, as naturally as possible,” and he succeeded. (This natural presentation is seen in his other film adaptations of Shakespeare, too: “Henry V,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Othello,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”)
I encourage you to experience this “Hamlet”: beautiful scenes, impeccable acting and brilliant delivery.
What happens when a wife discovers that her husband is dying of a terminal illness but who then dies herself before telling him or their family? Subtle and yet packing an emotional punch, this film is a modern day love story that is heartbreaking yet poetic in its life affirming tone.
That is what the great Ben Stein said of director, producer, and writer John Hughes who died suddenly of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 59. Hughes' iconic films, including The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Uncle Buck, and many more, touched millions and helped to define suburban teen culture in the 1980's. His movies were funny and poignant and rang true, especially to those of us who happened to be living in that 1980's suburban teen culture. Their are very few people who are within ten years of my own age who when they read the name Ben Stein above didn't think - "Bueller...Bueller...Bueller".
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This quietly beautiful film by Byambasuren Davaa portrays daily life for Nansal, her younger siblings, and their parents - also a family in real life. Nansal finds a black and white dog in a cave and names it Zochor (Spot). Her father forbids Nansal from keeping the dog, warning that wolves may follow and attack the family’s livestock. In an effort to find Zochor after he has run away, Nansal becomes lost and takes refuge with an old woman who tells her the story of the Cave of the Yellow Dog.
Many elements of this film on the edge of documentary work together to make it special. There is the realistic representation of kids being kids. Real life siblings Nansal, Nansalmaa, and Babbayar Batchuluun and their parents are shown, well, being a normal family. Then there's the sheer pluck of Nansal who, accompanied only by her dog Zochor, heads off on horseback to graze the sheep. Yet when Zochor runs off and Nansal herself becomes lost trying to find the dog, the movie never loses its calm feel. Finally, a subtle yet important theme of the film is contemporary Mongolia's creep towards consumer culture. Davaa explores this theme more overtly in The Story of the Weeping Camel.
Set under blue skies with a backdrop of mountains and windblown steppes, The Cave of the Yellow Dog is captivating for adults and children. The dialogue is Mongolian with a variety of languages available as subtitles if you and your kids don’t understand Mongolian. The great thing about foreign language films with subtitles is that they allow you - force you, really - to read the movie aloud to your pre-reading children when you choose to watch with them. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under two years old not watch any TV and that those older than two watch no more than one to two hours a day of quality programming. This programming would be a great choice. I think reading the film aloud to my own pre-reading daughter may be what opened the movie up for make-believe games long after viewing.
I was unaware of the work of photographer Sally Mann up until several days ago but on a whim, I checked out a documentary film about her life, family and work from the library. Mann’s photography has been largely hailed by art critics as some of the best photography in the nation. Time Magazine dubbed her “America’s Best Photographer in 2001.” What the documentary does so well is bring her family life into the frame so that we have a broader, more nuanced understanding of her creative influences, philosophical concerns and goals as an artist. Mann’s photography centers on both universal themes (life, mortality, family, love, hope) as well as regional specificities (Southern motifs, landscapes e.g.). Her work has been described as moody, ethereal, haunting, preternatural, and dream-like.
Once again, sometimes the rewards of learning derive rather simply by taking a chance, picking up a book or film that you know nothing about and finding along the way that life continues to surprise and inspire. This to me is what libraries are all about.
The original film’s leap from screen to stage seems especially natural. Music and dance are crucial to the plot, in which the young title character pursues his dream of becoming a ballet dancer against the backdrop of the 1984 UK miners’ strike – and some of his family’s wishes. Billy’s fits of dancing are scored by pop classics by T. Rex, the Clash, and Paul Weller’s outfits the Jam and the Style Council, many of which are being heard through home stereo speakers and headphones as Billy lets himself go.
This more organic use of music is in sharp contrast to the stage production's numbers, written by lyricist Lee Hall, who wrote the original film, and composer Sir Elton John. Still, the spirit of the songs found in the original film can’t help but to have influenced those in the musical – especially since the lyricist has such a direct connection to the movie version, and the composer was a contemporary (and fast friend) of the most frequently heard musician on the film’s soundtrack, T. Rex’s Marc Bolan. A classically trained pianist who made his name as a glam rocker, John’s well suited to be involved in this particular musical production.
Whether or not a film version of the musical based on the original film will be made (à la Mel Brooks’ The Producers or John Waters’ Hairspray), the drama and joy found in the music and story of the original Billy Elliot will surely stir the cosmic dancer in viewers who haven't yet seen its award-winning stage incarnation.
The film flashes back to the veteran’s harrowing journey behind enemy lines in war-torn Italy, as he and three fellow Buffalo Soldiers attempt to keep an orphaned boy, the only survivor of a village massacre at the hands of the Nazis, from being discovered. As they travel, not only do the soldiers have to deal with the racist propaganda the enemy uses to distract them (an Axis Sally broadcast during combat, Nazi propaganda posters employing black stereotypes), they still have to endure the explicit prejudice of their commanding officers and, on leave in the deep South, the murderous hatred of ungrateful citizens. In light of all the injustices heaped upon them, their sacrifices at this journey’s end seem especially heroic.
Though McBride and Lee turn the conventions of the epic war film inside-out, the look and structure of the film pay homage to many epic war films that came before. Lee is no stranger to epic filmmaking (see Malcolm X and When the Levees Broke), and though this is his first war film, it plays as though he’s made a dozen. While the film doesn’t glorify combat, it does recognize the unique responsibility of soldiers who put themselves on the line to defend freedoms threatened by force. That some soldiers might have been fighting for freedoms denied to them in their own country is astounding – that rare perspective makes Miracle at St. Anna a war film unlike any other.
Danny Boyle creates atmosphere well. Slumdog’s gritty scenes of poverty and desperation reminded of his earlier and perhaps best film, Trainspotting, which follows the gritty, heroin-laced lives of five disaffected boys in Edinburgh.
I also couldn’t help but be reminded of Charles Dickens. I’ve been enjoying Masterpiece Theatre presentations of Dickens’ works over these last few months — David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Little Dorrit, and The Old Curiosity Shop. Slumdog Millionaire is a story that Dickens could have written. The brother Salim in Slumdog Millionaire is a chip off the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. Both lead gangs of child criminals, both answer to dangerous men who manipulate and motivate the boys through their desire for material possessions.
Charles Dickens’ books offered strong commentary on social class and cast light on the awful state of child poverty. His books ultimately caused the enactment of child labor laws. While Slumdog Millionaire is a story that Dickens might have enjoyed, I also think it is one that would have made him sad and frustrated to see the plight of children in today’s world.
Ms. Benson also travels the country to speak at film screenings. It would be wonderful to see her in Kalamazoo someday.
Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) plays a dog with superpowers on a popular TV show, which also features his young owner as his co-star. From the time he was a pup, he’s been led to believe he really is a superhero, a ruse his owner and handlers pull off by keeping him in the tightly controlled environs of the studio set, all for the sake of keeping his on-screen performance as believable as possible – he never knows his on-screen adventures are pure fiction. (If this plot sounds familiar, perhaps you’ve seen The Truman Show, which is much more existential and angsty than Bolt.)
Through a series of mishaps, our hero ends up on his own thousands of miles from his owner and known life, and must find his way back, with the help of a streetwise cat (with abandonment issues akin to Jessie’s in Toy Story 2) and superfan hamster (who also stars in the cartoon short exclusive to the Bolt DVD, which includes a hilarious send-up of Hannah Montana, Bolt voice actress Miley Cyrus’s alter-ego). He also has to come to terms with the truth about his superhero abilities, sometimes discovering the truth midway through some harrowing situations on his cross-country journey.
Bolt’s a lot of fun, and possesses more charm and depth than most films aimed at the family audience. If you’re a dog lover, you may want to see all those films I'd mentioned having seen on the big screen – but Bolt’s the only one that’s not a real dog.
Such a famous story will certainly have its own animated version out on DVD – whether or not the animated telling remains faithful to the book. Thankfully, Scholastic’s animated version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a faithful and appropriate adaptation of the story. Using Carle’s original illustrations, the animation is limited and evenly paced, never jarring the senses. The story is narrated word for word, nothing added and nothing taken away. The male narrator’s voice is soothing but not sleep-inducing, and while it’s no substitute for the voice of a loved one reading the story aloud, it has its charm. (Subtitles are available for those who want to read along as the story unfolds.) The film is as short as the book – it’s over in less than 10 minutes – but for those who want more, adaptations of Carle’s Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, and I See a Song are included on the same disc.
Carle’s print version of the story, in its many forms (most fun – an oversized board book with a toy caterpillar that can be moved in and out of the holes of the eaten fruits), is the finest way to enjoy the tale. Still, it’s nice to have an animated version of this classic available, as a calm alternative to the more boisterous cartoon fare which may not suit all ages or moods. In any form, Carle’s vivid colors are sure to amaze those who encounter them as much forty years on, as in forty years past.
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Following reluctant medium Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette) as she helps the Phoenix, AZ police department investigate murders revealed to her randomly (and often piecemeal) during her sleep, the show is no ordinary detective drama. Arquette is perfectly cast in the role of a special investigator who doesn’t really want the job, constantly trying to balance the stress of her unusual occupation with the everyday struggles of marriage and motherhood. The family scenes are sweet, and often hilarious, which offer relief from the heavy suspense (and frequently creepy violence) of the crimes the protagonist envisions without warning.
Any uninitiated intrigued by the show's premise - which, by the way, is based on the experiences of a real-life medium named Allison Dubois - will be glad to know they can catch up with Medium on DVD through our library – make an appointment today!
The film begins in a visual style reminiscent of today’s fast-paced cable news outlets (ABC reporter Mike Cerre is the film’s narrator and interviewer). Quickly edited clips of archival, rehearsal, and performance footage from the band (only a couple of songs are heard in their entirety), audience commentary and reactions, quotes from reviewers, and contemporary news footage fly by at such a pace that, at first, it’s hard to get at the emotional center of the film’s subject – Young and band intend to push audiences to react to the plight of the current war, and call for change, with the same fervor of their Vietnam-era audience. The band does get strong reaction, positive and negative – many concert-goers are incensed at the message of the songs being performed in place of the quartet’s well-known classics (an Atlanta audience’s fiery reaction to “Let’s Impeach the President” gives new meaning to the term “protest movement”).
Once the film hits the halfway mark, it starts to slow its pace. Concentrating on stories of war veterans connecting to the band politically (Stephen Stills offers campaign support to Iraq vets running for Congress), musically (an Iraq vet whose song becomes a sensation on Young’s website gets to jam with Neil), and spiritually (Vietnam vets – now offering counsel to Iraq vets – share hugs with the band), the film packs its emotional wallop. The film’s final performance is heart-wrenching.
In addition to the documentary, the DVD includes videos for every song on Living With War in their entirety. Though I’m a hardcore Neil Young fan, I hadn’t fully appreciated that album until viewing this powerful film. It’s refreshing to see artists that would rather challenge their audience than play to their expectations – if yours are to watch this film to see the band playing their hits in concert... look elsewhere.
The library collects a wide and diverse array of documentaries that cover the topical gamut, including art, politics, nature, religion, popular culture, history and sports. Those films that have struck a chord with me over the past several years are too numerous to mention but here is a brief list of those that stand out.
The Kid Stays in the Picture (The rise and fall and rise again of Hollywood producer Robert Evans)
Born Into Brothels (A heart wrenching examination of Indian children caught up within a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation)
The Cool School: How L.A. Learned to Love Modern Art (a look back at a closely knit group of artists who played a large role in the making of the post-war, Los Angeles art scene)
The Fog of War (Academy Award Winner follows the life of former Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara as he opines about the lessons he’s learned about war, diplomacy and foreign relations)
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986 (Examines the cultural and historical roots of this seldom chronicled style of music)
The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs (An excellent historical introduction to many of the topics central to Middle Eastern conflicts that still persist today)
Riding Giants (Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of big wave surfing is here with panache and style)
An Inconvenient Truth (Global warming has never been so stylishly presented for the masses)
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition (Few stories are as compelling and unbelievable as this one)
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (More than just a biography of the cult singer/songwriter but also a tender portrayal of someone who suffers from schizophrenia and depression)
The Bridge (A difficult film to watch but one that humanely grapples with the subject of suicide)
Rivers and Tides (Chronicles the way in which the artist Andy Goldsworthy goes about working on one of his earth sculptures)
Fans get a chance to see the great photographer at work in Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens. Directed by her sister Barbara, the documentary finds Leibovitz opening up about her influences, experiences, and inspirations. Combining on-screen interviews with Leibovitz, her colleagues, and many of her famed subjects with archival footage (including some very rare video of the fledgling Rolling Stone staff) and chronicles of the photographer at work (on the set of a Vanity Fair photo shoot with the cast of Marie Antoinette; pondering piles and piles of photos she’s considering for a book of her work), the DVD is a fascinating view for photogs and stargazers alike.
Following the adventures of a process server (Freaks alumnus Seth Rogen) and his pot dealer (fellow Freaks alumnus James Franco) as they flee from a drug lord after witnessing his murder of an international rival, the film is not for the faint of heart. Not only are the gags as dirty-minded as ever, but the high level of violence (never before seen in Apatow ventures) is on par with that found in Quentin Tarantino films.
Between the foul language, the bloody action, the rampant drug use, and a premise that’s ridiculous beyond belief, I couldn’t possibly recommend this to sane-minded viewers who withstood the vulgarities of The 40-Year-Old Virgin or Knocked Up enough to appreciate their sweeter aspects. As for the rest of you – don’t tell anyone you found out about this movie from me.
Which one is my favorite? Pixar’s WALL-E amazed me with its incredible sci-fi visuals (set in outer space and on trashed terra firma), amusing social commentary on consumerism run amok (I now quote the line “I didn’t know we had a pool” whenever I realize I’ve been far too engaged in front of a computer screen), and daring narrative choices (for one thing, no significant dialogue is spoken in the film's first third).
Still, for sheer popcorn pleasure, Kung Fu Panda wins. I’ve never cared for Dreamworks' animated features as much as Pixar’s, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The story of a klutzy panda bear who dreams of being a kung fu master (and gets his wish) was funny and action-packed – anyone who loves martial arts films should find all kinds of sly references to classics of the genre, as well as combat sequences that are beautifully staged and bound to leave one breathless.
I also enjoyed Disney’s Bolt (due out on DVD in March) more than I expected - I'd read about animator Chris Sanders' original concept for the movie (working title: American Dog), and was worried about getting a watered-down version. The finished film, about a brainwashed canine actor who tries to use superpowers he doesn't have while on a cross-country adventure, may not have matched Sanders' original vision, but it never lacked for thrills or heart (and being my - and my child's - first 3D movie theater experience made it even more of a thrill).
Some animation fans will be disappointed that more adult fare didn't make this year's nominations, but no matter which film wins, each deserves the nod. Did I mention kids should like them, too?
His newest movie Happy-Go-Lucky has garnered the positive attention of film critics for the performance of the film’s leading actress, Sally Hawkins. Playing this weekend at WMU’s Little Theater, moviegoers may just find out what the secret to happiness is and whether or not Leigh has lightened up from his usually, serious and bleak depictions of British life.
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Some of Jane Austen’s movies in our collection are Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park. I have to admit, though, that my all time favorite is Kiera Knightly in Pride and Prejudice.
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By chance, I just discovered High Tech Lincoln in our DVD collection. It is a commentary by the History Channel on this award-winning presidential museum. I'm still not sure if it was a real person or a hologram, but I know a lot about how this museum was designed and the behind-the-scenes operation.
I recommend a weekend trip to this museum. Watch this DVD before or after, or just because you are interested.
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Set in Germany shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, The Lives of Others concerns a playwright and his actor girlfriend and the Stasi agent assigned to conduct surveillance of the couple. You couldn’t find two men more different than these: the passionate artist who has managed to live a full life within the constraints of the Communist system, and the Stasi agent who has no life of his own.
This will be no typical surveillance assignment. As the agent listens in on the playwright and his girlfriend, his life begins to change, a sort of familiarity-bred contempt in reverse that affects the agent’s life and his allegiances and that eventually propels everyone past a point of no return.
A beautiful story that is superbly acted and directed, The Lives of Others is a movie you won't forget.
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While these family members' emotional distance from each other finds a parallel in Brecht's "distancing effect", the film does not, though writer-director Tamara Jenkins certainly picks up on Brecht's suggestion of using "dark comedy" to address serious issues. The film's deft mix of humor and drama dares you to laugh at the most uncomfortable moments (a nursing home showing of The Jazz Singer is squirm-inducing on many levels). Of course, the actors' part in making the story work is huge - everyone is well cast, and Linney's and Hoffman's performances are pitch-perfect.
Obviously, a movie referencing Brecht is no popcorn film, but you really don't have to know anything about him to understand - and be engaged by - the basic family drama at the heart of The Savages.
What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? Wall-E, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for, as he adventures across the galaxy chasing his dream. - Yahoo! Movies
This got me thinking about my top five favorite movies from Pixar, other than WALL-E.
Here's the list.
Considering the plot (following Cormac McCarthy's novel) - in which Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones take turns pursuing each other when $2 million goes missing after a drug deal gone wrong - viewers should expect violence. Coen brothers fans familiar with Fargo and Blood Simple may not flinch, but will notice the filmmakers have upped the carnage quotient. While some have pegged the film as just another psycho-killer riff, there’s more than one killer in the film (though Bardem makes the biggest impression). All the damage inflicted by these killers is in service, or response, to the booming, criminal drug trade (in cahoots with big business and corrupt government officials). Getting the money at any cost is the new breed’s credo – which may be nothing new, even when corrupt government and big business are implicated and innocent people are affected. In this sense, No Country for Old Men works as a meditation on greed akin to Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, and may be a more effective look at the drug trade than Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic.
It’s fine if you ignore the social commentary, though – as panoramic and tense as an Anthony Mann western, No Country for Old Men will hold those viewers, who can handle its brutality, pessimism, and lack of easy outs, spellbound.
Among them, 1958’s Paul Bunyan and 1953’s Ben and Me left an indelible impression on me after several screenings of 16mm prints in elementary school classrooms. The catchy renditions of nursery rhymes in 1957’s The Truth About Mother Goose and jazz interpretations of children’s stories in 1956’s Jack and Old Mac were floating around in my memory banks as well.
Still, there are quite a few surprises in store, such as Smokey Bear's cameo appearance in 1956’s In the Bag, and the stop-motion animation in 1959’s Noah’s Ark (which could be mistaken for later production work by Rankin-Bass). Throw in some shorts from the silent era (the "Alice" series, which blends animation and live action), a WWII propaganda piece (1943's Chicken Little), and a couple of Academy Award winners (1938’s Ferdinand the Bull and 1953’s Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom) - along with documentaries, audio commentaries, art galleries, and a whole lot more - and you have a winning collection which, despite its title, deserves a wide audience.