What do a Shark, an Eagle, and a bunch of cats Have in Common?

A video review from yours truly!

For the Kids: The Aristocats

My family and Disney's The Aristocats go way back. I remember going seeing the movie with my mom, my cousin, and my sister. My mom wanted my French cousin to have an "American experience" by taking her to a drive-in.

She wasn't impressed - she was a teenager after all - but my little sister, Michele fell in love with Duchess and her three adorable kittens, Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse and a rough-and-tumble, big-hearted tomcat named Thomas O'Malley. Sometime after that, my mom bought her the Aristocats book and my dad read it to her every night for months.

Thanks to the folks at click-comm.com, I now have a copy of the new The Aristocats Special Edition with digitally enhanced picture and sound. (It's being released tomorrow, February 5, 2008.) The movie features jazz-inspired musical numbers from the Sherman brothers (those guys who wrote "Chim Chim Cheree" from Mary Poppins). It also contains a virtual kitten game, a fun learning activity, and a nostalgic behind-the-scenes featurette that showcases classic Sherman brothers music.

Boo Girl, like her aunt, has also fallen for these cool cats and crazy kitties. And Michele? Well, she'll have to get her own copy.

For the Parents: Eagle vs. Shark

If you liked Napoleon Dynamite or Little Miss Sunshine you will enjoy Eagle vs. Shark, an offbeat romantic comedy set in Australia that was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

In Eagle vs. Shark, Lily and Jarrod play out their romance in an utterly disarming, completely cockeyed world of their own making, expressing their love through video games, “crazy burgers” and revenge against high school bullies.

When click-comm.com sent me the description, I wasn't sure about it. But I was pleasantly surprised even though the main characters and their families are almost painfully nerdy. Still, it was heartwarming and sweet, though I wanted Lily to dump Jarrod. She deserved better!

The movie is rated R, but except for a very brief sex scene (no nudity) and the usual dirty words, you can watch it with your older kids.

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