Gulliver Returns to Daring Adventures!

Shout! Factory is bringing in this Ukraine favourite, Gulliver Returns, to North America! He’s heading to Lilliput and to help his pals, and….

Gulliver Returns VOD Release: July 26 &
DVD on Aug 9, 2022
Available to preorder on Amazon USA

Summer will soon be here, and there’s a no better way than to enjoy the time with one of literature’s biggest heroes. In Gulliver Returns, the titular hero heads back to Lilliput and all new adventures. A bit of prior knowledge is required and there’s no better book than reading Jonathan Swift’s book that started it all.

From the Press Release:

The classic character Gulliver is not a giant in size but a giant in heart and courage. Inspired by both Jonathan Swift’s timeless tale and an original idea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Gulliver Returns is a fresh and funny adventure the whole family will enjoy! A production of Gulliver Films and 95 Animation Studio in Ukraine, the English-language movie is directed by Ilya Maksimov (Dobrinya and the Dragon) with Tony Bonilla (Encanto, Moana) as animation director.

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Little Vampire Lands on Home Video Oct 5th!

Little Vampire (Blu-ray)Shout! Factory
Release Date: Oct 5, 2021

Available to order on Amazon USA

Arriving just in time onto home video for the Halloween season is Joann Sfar‘s Little Vampire! This story about family and friendship has a lot to like, and it can make for a nice way to end Oct 31st with. 

The messages imbued into the tale is heartfelt. This latest adaptation of Angela Sommer-Bodenburg’s books of the same name goes in an entirely different direction. The animator makes it his own! I wrote a full review when it played during Fantasia Film Fest 2021. This French cartoonist turned his television series into a much more engaging film and I finally got to compare the graphic novel to this film. The story is an expansion of the first chapter in the USA release of the trade paperback, and I searched far and wide to see if the rest of his series exist translated. Alas, this volume is it.

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When Sherlock Holmes Turns Hound (Again)

The bigger mystery concerning Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape lay in whether Hong Kong-based writer and directors Matthew Chow and Toe Yuen knew of the animated anthropomorphic take made many decades ago.

Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape DVD CaseShout! Factory
Available to order on Amazon USA or stream on YouTube or Google Play

Spoiler Alert

The bigger mystery concerning Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape lay in whether Hong Kong-based writer and directors Matthew Chow and Toe Yuen knew of the animated anthropomorphic take made many decades ago. Sherlock Hound featured everything I loved about this famous detective as a caring humanitarian. This series had a charm which I adored. The theme song from the localized French television broadcast had lyrics to which I still remember to this day.

It’s rare to transform the sleuth into a canine again, and I suspect Chow and Yuen knew what they were doing. They didn’t bank on everyone knowing the previous work. The character designs of other figures are similar enough, and what’s done art-wise was a change on costumes to avoid law-suits. Plus, a few moments may have been copied from the original. I’d have to search the episodes to verify, but I’m sure I saw this film’s bicycle chase before!

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Elmo’s World is Set for DVD Release Oct 2nd

Elmo’s World DVD

Explore the everyday world with everybody’s favorite furry red monster, Elmo, in the new DVD release of Sesame Street – Elmo’s World: Elmo Explores!, on October 2, 2018, from Shout! Factory and Sesame Workshop. Fans can now pre-order their copies on Amazon.com.Elmo's World

This home video release is a two-hour collection of Elmo’s World episodes, appearing for the first time on DVD. Using the power of his imagination, Sesame Street’s little red monster explores kid-friendly topics such as painting, cooking, and habitats from a child’s point of view. Joined by the hilarious Mr. Noodle, Smartie the Smartphone, and his pet goldfish Dorothy, Elmo asks questions that lead to fun discoveries. An age-appropriate launch pad for imagination and learning, Elmo’s World: Elmo Explores! indulges children’s natural sense of curiosity about the world around them.

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Gertrude Chandler Warner’s Boxcar Children Gets Animated on Aug 7th!

Bluray of Boxcar Children
Available for pre-order on Amazon

Small island. Big adventure! The release of the new animated feature film, The Boxcar Children, Surprise Island, is coming August 7th. This direct to home video title comes courtesy Legacy Classics and Shout Kids.

This adaption of the popular children’s book of the same name, stars Golden Globe®-winning actor Martin Sheen (The West Wing) as James Alden, Oscar®-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Dr. Moore, Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets) as the mysterious Joe, Joey King (Independence Day: Resurgence) as Jesse Alden, Carter Sand (Frozen) as Benny Alden, Gil Birmingham (Twilight) as Lonan Browning, Griffin Gluck (Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life) as Henry Alden, Stephen Stanton (Star Wars Rebels) as Capt. Daniel and Talitha Bateman (Love, Simon) as Violet.

This work sees these lads spending their entire summer living on their Grandfather’s small, nearly uninhabited island. There they meet Joe, who is friendly and helpful, and inexplicably living on their island. Does their new friend have a secret?

Directed by Dan Chuba and Mark Dippé, this film is the first of three new animated features to be adapted from the “The Boxcar Children” book series. For those who have not yet heard of them, the books by Gertrude Chandler Warner can be found at most bookstores.  The collected volumes 1-4 are available as a single package on Amazon and is one of the best-selling children’s book series of all time and has recently marked its 75th anniversary, over 70 million books have sold world-wide. There are 150 books in the series, and over 1 million kids read the books in schools across North America every year.