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Cartoon blockbusters hiding from Xmas?

With Flushed Away opening this weekend, and Open Season still playing across the country (in IMAX, too), for the first time in quite a while we have a considerable animated presence in theaters. In addition, prints of the 3-D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas may be still lurking, and Happy Feet  coming up in a couple weeks. Having at least one animated feature among the choices at a multiplex at all times is nearly a reality in 2006 – or so one would think. However, it comes as a bit of a surprise to find no animated features – Cganime or otherwise – set to open in the United States during December. Why is that? One would think that studios, who expect families to go to the movies while they’re out shopping or while relatives are visiting, would want a cartoon blockbuster in theaters for winter. Do they think these November releases will still be playing then? Do they think the competition from CG-heavy films like Eragon, Arthur and the Invisibles, Charlotte’s Web and Night in the Museum will be too much for audiences? Or didn’t they have room on their slates as they try to crowd potential Oscar contenders onto the schedule before January? It is a puzzlement. 

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK 

Speaking of theatrical hits…  

(O)  CARS (Buena Vista) Pixar hit in which Owen Wilson plays a race car who is stranded in a small desert town where he finds redemption. Widescreen and “fullscreen” editions include bonus shorts, featurettes, deleted footage and more. 

NEW DVD RELEASES 

Here’s a rundown of the constant stream of anime comin’ at ya on DVD from around the world: 
 
(O)  AH! MY GODDESS Premium Box Set (Media Blasters) 6-disc set collects the story of an engineering student who accidentally acquires the goddess Belldandy as a girlfriend. 
THE BEST OF CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG (Lionsgate) 5-volume gift set. 
(O)  BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING (Cinema Epoch) A stop-motion feature thirteen years in the making, Christiane Cegavske's dialogue-free film tells the tale of the struggle between the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak over the doll of their heart's desire. Includes commentrak and more. 
(O)  CARE BEARS: THE NUTCRACKER (Lionsgate) E.T.A. Hoffman’s fairy tale as he surely meant it to be told – reinterpreted to ionclude toy tie-n cartoon characters aimed at impressionable pre-schoolers. 
(O)  THE CHRISTMAS DINOSAUR (Genius) Xmas story about a young boy who wishes for a robotic dinosaur toy for Christmas, but receives a petrified dinosaur egg instead. And he didn’t get the cha-cha-heels he wanted either. 
(O)  FUNTASTIC ADVENTURES COLLECTION (Fox) Box set includes the features Ice Age, Robots, Once Upon A Forest and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. 
(O)  GAOGAIGAR Volume 2: King of Braves (Media Blasters) AI Robot brothers HouRyu and EnRyu have successfully completed system change and rallied alongside GaoGaiGar. The fiery, brash HouRyu and the cold, cautious EnRyu have opposite personalities. Will they be able to unite their purpose long enough to combine their powers using symmetrical docking? If they can't, they won't be able to save GaoGaiGar, who is on a mission to rescue Mamoru from the depths of the ocean. Gai is fighting a giant Zondar robo at 10,000 meters under sea level, but his protective Arresting Field has failed. Can bravery fight against 1,000 kg of pressure per square centimeter? Doesn’t seem likely… 
(O)  GHOST IN THE SHELL: Stand Alone Complex Complete Season 1 (Manga/Bandai/Anchor Bay) Set in a future in which the boundary of technology and humanity has been stretched beyond imagination, an elite secret police squad battles cybercrimeinals. A companion series to Mamoru Oshii’s excellent movie series, this is kind of like a sci-fi anime version of CSI, but much more thought provoking. 
(O)  THE GREAT RUPERT (Image) 1950 family film produced by George Pal features Jimmy Durante as a destitute vaudeville performer whose life is changed by a magical stop-motion squirrel.  
(O)  HARVEYTOONS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION (Classic Media) 4-disc set presents all 312 cartoon shorts with Casper the Friendly Ghost, Little Audrey, Baby Huey, and other Harvey characters. Includes original Harvey comic. Delayed from September. 
(O)  JINKI: Extend Volume 2 (ADV) Giant robot action and soap opera intrigue. 
(O)  KALEIDO STAR NEW WINGS Volume 6: A Kaleido Star Is Born (ADV) The circus drama continues with more jealous divas, temperamental artists, and dangerous stunts. 
(O)  KOALA BROTHERS: Outback Christmas (Lionsgate) The holiday comes a bit too early in Australia. 
(O)  THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: A MOUSE TALE (Genius)  
(O)  ONCE UPON A TIME (Hen’s Tooth) Fairy tale of a wicked stepmother, a handsome prince, a garnet necklace, etc. 
(O)  SHE-RA PRINCESS OF POWER Season 1 Volume 1 (BCI Eclipse) Fantasy world princess is also a superhero in this spin-off from the hit toy/TV series He-Man. The first 32 episodes on six discs, plus commentraks, featurettes, interviews, trivia, storyboards, DVD-ROM activities and more. 
(O)  THIS UGLY YET BEAUTIFUL WORLD Volume 3: Red Swarm (ADV) The story about a guy’s romance with an alien girl continues. 
(O)  TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE (Sony Music) The story takes place 20 years after the TV series' second season and sets up the third season, with the Autobots struggling to reclaim control of their home planet from the Decepticons. 2-disc 20^th anniversary edition includes multiple commentraks, deleted footage, annotation track, interviews, game and more. 
(O)  TRIGUN Remix Volume 4 (Geneon)  
(O)  THE UGLY DUCKLING: The Christmas of the Ugly Duckling (Genius) 
(O)  THE UGLY DUCKLING: The Tale of Elves and Dragons (Genius) 
(O)  THE UGLY DUCKLING: The Ugly Duckling Goes On Vacation (Genius) 
(O)  VEGGIE TALES: Gideon, Tuba Warrior (Sony Music) Larry the Cucumber stars in the Biblical story. Includes commentrak, Making-Of, activities and more. 
 

And be sure to check back next week—and every week—for Mania’s Anime Avalanche! And check in every Tuesday for the latest DVD Shopping List!

Anime Avalanche (© 2006 Brian Thomas) is our weekly animation column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound’s DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now! 

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVD Shopping List.