THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 4, 1995 TAG: 9504050060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
``GHOSTBUSTERS'' or ``Ghost.''
``The Wizard of Oz'' or ``Return to Oz.''
``The Parent Trap'' or ``Parenthood.''
Ask any mom and dad. Choosing a video for the family has to be, oh, their second-most-favorite thing to do. The first is anything else.
The movie that gets an OK from big sister might not be right for little brother, who's never heard of ``attention span.'' Grown-ups get some say, too. See why only Henry Kissinger has a tougher time negotiating accords?
``VideoHound's Family Video Retriever'' can help. Just published by the folks who put out the ``Golden Movie Retriever,'' it has everything that makes the big book the Big Kahuna of guides: loads of listings (4,000), indexes and categories for cross-referencing and a very useful distributor guide.
This pup also does more than list just the standard MPAA ratings. It indicates if a video is suited for family or junior/senior high to adult viewers, and, on some titles, it includes a Hound Advisory, caveats like salty language, alcohol use and violence.
Which explains why one page, for instance, reviews ``Mary Poppins,'' ``M*A*S*H'' and ``The Mask.''
``It's different from other guides because it's focused on entertainment that is appropriate for the entire family, where others are focused on movies that appeal to children,'' said Jenny Sweetland, publicist for Detroit-based Visible Ink Press, which publishes the guide.
``Parents can get burned out watching kids' videos over and over again. `VideoHound' helps find videos that are intriguing not only for children, but themselves.''
The new guide shares one other thing with the big book, an Attitude that makes for a fun read. From last year's superb remake of ``Black Beauty'': ``Six-year-old quarterhorse named Justin gives a nuanced portrayal as the Black Beauty, recalling Olivier in `Hamlet.' ''
``In a sense, it's written to be a piece of entertainment as well as a guide,'' Sweetland said. ``That's part of the philosophy: to be entertaining about entertainment.''
``VideoHound's Family Video Retriever'' lists for $11.95 and is available at most video and bookstores. What's new
Must be MacBacklash, because ``The Pagemaster'' (FoxVideo, $22.98) is hardly the turkey some critics called it. Macaulay Culkin is a timid boy who overcomes his fears when his animated self ventures into the world of books. There, aided by Adventure, Fantasy and Horror, he meets a host of literary characters. The animation isn't on par with Disney, but the producers get points for promoting reading. Christopher Lloyd, Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart and Leonard Nimoy give voice to this unique, fast-moving story. (G)
On the other hand, ``The New Adventures of Peter Rabbit'' and ``Pocahontas'' (Sony Wonder, $14.98) sacrifice their literary roots just to be contemporary. Figure in the flat animation and, with ``Pocahontas'' (next Tuesday), inattention to musical detail - the classical music it uses wasn't composed until 200 years later - and both have little to offer.
``Young Pocahontas'' (UAV Entertainment, $9.99) suffers from the same hurried-up look and one-dimensional characters, but it does at least mention that it's 1607 and the settlement is Jamestown.
Disney has something new - sort of - with ``The Princess Collection'' ($12.99), four tapes featuring new-to-video stories with Ariel from ``The Little Mermaid'' and Jasmine from ``Aladdin.'' In ``Giggles,'' Ariel is put under a spell by an aquatic Grinch who tires of her good humor. Disney doesn't cheat its built-in audience. The cartoon boasts the same high standards as the studio's TV projects. (Friday)
ABC Video's ``Wildlife Tales'' ($9.95), a superior series that first aired on The Discovery Channel, makes its points without talking down to kids. ``The Legend of the Bison" is a thoughtful look at these great survivors, one of the last living reminders of our country's beginning. (Next Tuesday) ABC also has ``Kitty Love'' ($9.95), one for cat fanciers that plays as billed: a half-dozen kittens pouncing and prowling. In other words, being kittens. A note at the end about the commitment of owning a cat, and a plea for neutering or spaying pets, are nice touches.
Even for 3-to-8-year-olds, ``A Day With Horses,'' part of KidVision's new ``Real Animals'' series ($10.95), pours on the sugar a bit thick. Still, they'll learn lots about responsibility while enjoying the footage.
What took so long? ``Beethoven'' the movie is a natural for animation, and producer Ivan Reitman has done a good job with the big lug. The cartoons (MCA/Universal, $12.98) offer good-natured fun that borrows from ``Ren & Stimpy'' and USA's ``Itsy Bitsy Spider.'' (April 25)
Score another one for Moonbeam Entertainment. The kids' wing of Full Moon has added ``Pet Shop'' (Paramount, PG) to a roster that includes ``Prehysteria,'' ``Dragonworld'' and ``Beanstalk.'' Two aliens hatch a plot with extra-terrestrial pets as bait, coming up with a mix of decent FX and goofy humor that works.
Fred Levine, who produced ``Road Construction Ahead'' and ``Fire & Rescue,'' goes three-for-three with ``Cleared for Takeoff.'' He follows his wife and kids through O'Hare International, but mostly lets the pictures do the talking. And they do, effectively. One for plane buffs of all sizes. ($19.95 plus S&H; order at 1-800-843-3686) Quick cuts
Columbia TriStar: three new titles in National Geographic's excellent ``GeoKids'' series ($12.95).
Sony Wonder: episodes from the original ``Lassie,'' ``The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' ($9.98), ``Clarissa Explains It All'' and ``Ren & Stimpy'' ($14.98).
ABC Video: ``The Magic Flute,'' based on Mozart's opera ($14.95).
FoxVideo: ``Ferngully: The Last Rain Forest,'' ``Once Upon a Forest'' and ``Baby's Day Out'' (reduced to $14.98).
NEXT TUESDAY in Videomatic: ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' ``Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,'' ``Silent Fall,'' ``Drop Squad,'' ``Cosmic Slop,'' ``Younger and Younger'' and ``Imaginary Crimes'' ILLUSTRATION: Book jacket
by CNB