Anyhow, Daniel and Miyagi are on their way when the owner and trainer of the Cobra Kai, John Kreese (Martin Kove) is beating up on his losing student. This prompts Miyagi to intervene and ‘make his knuckles bleed’ without even touching him. You need to remember this for Karate Kid part III (actually you don’t, you’ll be reminded with flashbacks again).

Once the initial euphoria of Daniel’s victory has settled down we can get on with the storyline. Miyagi must return to Okinawa because his father is dying, but in doing so he will have to fight his old friend Sato (Danny Kamekona) to the death for stealing his betrothed some 40 years earlier, before escaping to America.

There, that’s the storyline.

As with the first Karate Kid, you can pretty much guess the rest. Daniel will fall for some pretty young Okinawa beauty, some local hoodlums with trash some plants attempting to act tough, Miyagi and Sato will eventually put things behind them and Daniel will have a one-on-one fight in the end, which he no doubt wins with the use of some new move that he learns throughout the course of the film.

All goes without saying.

In truth, and not a lot of people would say this, Karate Kid part II is actually a better film than the original, if perhaps not quite as enjoyable. Daniel’s character is far more likeable and with much of the drama centring on Miyagi (who is a far better actor than many give him credit for) the film stands up much better than the first.

However, nothing can quite top the impact and sheer enjoyment of the first film, with that memorable scene where Daniel realises that he has been learning karate for three whole days without even knowing it.

Just like the first film however, this Blu-Ray release is completely devoid of special features (save for the original featurette), and doesn’t even contain the original trailer.

Also – the original Karate Kid films are a trilogy, so where’s the third film on Blu-Ray?

All of that side, The Karate Kid part II is another classic of 80s cinema and a worthy follow up to the original. It’s a shame more effort hasn’t been put into the Blu-Ray release, as the original trilogy DVD was crafted with real love and attention. Owners of the DVD trilogy need not bother with this, but if for some strange reason The Karate Kid Trilogy isn’t in your collection, you could do a lot worse than these very affordable Blu-Rays.

The Karate Kid was originally released in a digital format back in 2003, on a Trilogy DVD set crammed with special features, but sadly this Blu-Ray, by comparison, is rather sparse. For example, the great ‘catch the fly with the chopsticks’ DVD game that provided literally minutes worth of entertainment for me all those years ago is now absent. However, with the Karate Kid it’s not about special features, nor is it about quality Blu-Ray high definition (which is lucky, because the picture on this Blu-Ray looks no better than the DVD) – no, Karate Kid is about reliving your childhood, learning karate, performing general maintenance on an old man’s house and listening to truly awful 80s music.

The first thing that struck me about the Karate Kid, after all these years, is what a truly whining character Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) really is. He’s moody, immature, mistrusting and not particularly eloquent when he speaks to Ali with an ‘I’ (Elisabeth Shue). So much so that you can’t quite fathom what her character is supposed to see in him at all.

His temper is such that he even shouts at Mr Miyagi on several occasions, making you again wonder why the elderly karate expert would have anything to do with this precocious Italian American from New Jersey.

All of that aside (and it is difficult) the film sure is entertaining. LaRusso moves with his mother from New Jersey to the West Coast of America, where he instantly makes friends and spies a potential new girlfriend who, for some inexplicable reason, seems attracted to him. All would be great if it weren’t for ‘Johnny’ (William Zabka), Ali’s ex boyfriend and resident karate champion, who is intent on persecuting Daniel for daring to make eyes at his ex-girlfriend.

Johnny and his gang of karate experts pick on Daniel at every opportunity (and let’s be honest, most of time it was justified) until Mr Miyagi promises to teach him the ways of karate so that he can face Johnny in a tournament.

All very simple so far, and that’s about it. You know how it’s going to end simply by looking at the poster, but the manner in which Karate Kid plays out makes you love the film more and more with every viewing. Maybe it’s the music, which is more unashamedly 80s than the music for Rocky IV, maybe it’s the fact that when they play football (soccer to our American readers) they chase the ball around in groups in a manner that even five-year-olds in the UK know not to do, or maybe it’s just the way that Daniel learns karate by performing menial household chores, such as painting fences and sanding floors.

There’s something about Karate Kid that you just can’t quantify, and that’s what makes it a cinematic classic, and a film that guarantees that children of all ages, and adults who remember it first time round, will love it still.

Set in London, 1897, the film begins with the kidnapping of a kind toymaker mouse by a nasty bat (Candido), leaving his young daughter Olivia (Pollatschek) all alone. Meanwhile, Dr. Dawson (Bettin) has recently arrived in London after living abroad for some time. He meets the distraught Olivia who has taken refuge in a discarded shoe in a rainy alleyway. She’s trying to find Basil (Ingham) of Baker Street, the famous mouse detective. Moved by her plight, Dawson decides to help her.

They soon find Basil, a whirlwind of energy and movement. He’s a master of disguise and very intelligent – within seconds he’s able to deduce Dawson’s past with his powers of perception and deduction. Olivia tells Basil about what happened to her father and we learn that the bat is in the employ of the mouse detective’s arch-nemesis, Professor Ratigan (Price), “a Napoleon of crime.” And so, Basil decides to help out Olivia with Dawson’s help.

The great Vincent Price lends his distinctive voice to the character of Ratigan and sounds like he’s having a blast playing a larger than life villain. Ratigan’s not afraid to punish his underlings, feeding one of them to an obese cat for calling him a rat. The actor has certainly played his share of criminal masterminds and so this was inspired casting – he even gets to sing!

The animation is excellent, blending computer with hand-drawn, and certainly up to the high standards of Disney. It’s very fluid in nature with beautifully rendered backgrounds that are rich in detail. For example, London is presented as a gloomy place with all sorts of nooks and crannies for danger to lurk. The scene where Basil and Dawson track the bat henchman through a toy store where the toys suddenly come to life is not only atmospheric but also exciting and one of the film’s highlights. This rather foreboding setting is tempered by a lot of broad humour as Basil is a bit of a goofball and Dawson his bumbling sidekick.

The film’s conceit – reimagining Sherlock Holmes and Watson as mice – is an inspired one and the filmmakers offer a few glimpses of how the mouse world mirrors the human one. The Great Mouse Detective is a good film but not a great one what with so-so musical numbers (including one sung by Melissa Manchester – remember her?) tempered with a memorable performance by Vincent Price.

Special Features:

There’s not too much difference from the previous DVD release for this film. New to this edition is a pretty superficial featurette entitled, “So You Think You Can Sleuth?” It gives a brief history of detectives and highlights some of the most famous in history. It also gives a brief example of a mystery for you to solve.

Ported over from the previous release is all-too brief “The Making of The Great Mouse Detective” which traces the origins of the film. It took more than four years to make blended computer animation with hand-drawn characters for the first time in Disney’s history. We see footage of the voice actors giving line readings while Vincent Price speaks highly of his character, expressing his joy at being able to appear in a Disney film.

Finally, there is “’The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind’ Sing-Along Song” which allows you to sing along with Professor Ratigan’s song and dance number.

Mr. Fox (Clooney) used to steal birds but has reformed his ways and is now a newspaper man. He is getting old and tired of living in a foxhole. So, he consults with his real estate agent Stan Weasel (Wes Anderson). Before he takes the plunge, Mr. Fox talks with his lawyer Clive Badger, Esq. (Murray) and ends up buying a treehouse so that he and his family can live in comfort. However, cousin Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) comes to visit and makes Ash (Schwartzman), Mr. Fox’s son, jealous with his athletic prowess. Meanwhile, in her spare time, Mrs. Fox (Streep) paints portraits of thunderstorms.

Mr. Fox decides to pull one more job stealing birds to eat but this one is his most ambitious gig to date. With the help of his landlord Kylie (Wolodarsky), he plans to steal chickens from farmer Boggis, then the next night geese from farmer Bunce, and finally the following night he steals some of farmer Bean’s cider from his secret cellar. Understandably upset, the three farmers get together and plan to kill Mr. Fox. As a result, he and his family are on the run and hunted. They have to call in the favours of all their friends if they hope to evade the farmers’ wrath.

Anderson still has an uncanny knack for picking just the right song for a given scene. Early on, Mr. and Mrs. Fox playfully yet stealthily circumvent a farmer to steal one his birds all scored to the melodical strains of “Heroes and Villains” by the Beach Boys. Later on, Anderson pulls out the obligatory Rolling Stones cue and scores a sequence to “Street Fighting Man.” There is something thrilling about seeing these vintage tracks pop up in an animated film – a genre that tends to rely on mainly orchestral music or more contemporary songs.

The stop-motion animation actually gives the film a personal, handcrafted feel that has been absent from Anderson’s recent work and harkens back to his first couple of efforts, which are the ones where most people first noticed and fell in love with his films. The animation is incredibly rendered and executed, reminiscent of the vintage Rankin and Bass cartoons that kids of Anderson’s generation (and beyond) grew up on. There is a tangible quality to the characters and their environment that is still missing from most computer animation.

As the Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) progresses, it becomes apparent what drew Anderson to this project. Thematically, it fits right in with his other films. Mr. Fox is a charismatic yet rebellious patriarch, much like Royal in The Royal Tenenbaums and Steve Zissou in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). Furthermore, the Fox family is a highly intelligent dysfunctional one much like the family in Tenenbaums. The casting is spot on with George Clooney and Meryl Streep playing Mr. and Mrs. Fox. They banter back and forth like a couple from an old screwball comedy. Anderson has not forgotten what the majority of animated films not made by Pixar seem to have – that the best of the genre appeal to both kids and adults. Fantastic Mr. Fox does not talk down to kids and also still manages to appeal to the Anderson faithful. This film is a delightful, entertaining adventure well worth experiencing.

Special Features:

“From to Script to Screen” briefly explores how Anderson and his co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach took Dahl’s short story and expanded on it, even creating characters but all done in the spirit of the source material. Anderson says that he approached the animated film as if it was a live-action one with collaborators commenting on how the director managed to infuse it with his distinctive style. To this end, he storyboarded the entire film and shot video of himself acting out the story so that the animators knew what he wanted.

“Still Life (Puppet Animation)” takes a look at the stop-motion animation process. It is very meticulous and time consuming but if done well, looks great. It’s amazing how the animators can get expressions and emotions out of these puppets.

“A Beginner’s Guide to Whack-Bat” is a humourous mock-featurette on how to play this bizarre sport within the film.

Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.

Satsuki and Mei help their father and the Nanny clean up the house. While Satsuki is at school during the day, Mei plays outside in the yard and spots a little bunny-like ghost that disappears and then appears before her very eyes as if playing a game. Mei then spots something that resembles a cross between a cat and a rabbit and chases it into the large tree. Deep inside the tree she comes across a gigantic sleeping cat (a cautionary tale to cats everywhere – this is what happens if you eat too much!). She names the large, sleepy feline Totoro after the troll in her picture book.

Miyazaki introduces the magical elements gradually with the brief appearances by the soot spreaders (that, at night, fly up into the sky and head for the large tree near the house). My Neighbor Totoro evokes those endless summer days when you were a child and would spend hours playing outside, losing all track of time. The film captures perfectly how little kids amuse themselves with the games that they invent. In a nice touch, instead of scoffing at Mei’s admittedly fantastic story, her father encourages her to pay respect to the tree and the denizens of the forest.

My Neighbor Totoro celebrates the simple pleasures in life, like playing in puddles when it rains. Like all Miyazaki films this one is filled with images that are at once stunning and whimsical, like the bus that is a huge cat with its eyes as headlights (and a huge Cheshire grin) that is able to fly and travel along power lines. My Neighbor Totoro is a great example of magic realism with beans sprouting suddenly into a huge tree and a large flying cat transporting the two girls across the night sky. In a way, this fantasy world is how Satsuki and Mei deal with their mother being sick as they are forced to face the real possibility that she might die – something that a lot of children don’t confront in these kinds of films. My Neighbor Totoro is the perfect marriage of your childhood experiences and your childhood dreams.

Special Features:

There is a feature that allows you watch the entire film in its original Japanese storyboard form.

“Behind the Studio” is comprised of six featurettes that cover various aspects of My Neighbor Totoro. The film started off as a storybook that Miyazaki wrote and that helped rekindle his love for Japanese landscapes. He also talks about how he came up with the name Totoro and the various sizes of the character throughout the film. The film’s producer talks about the origins of the studio’s name. A 28-minute featurette explores the locations that inspired the film with footage of the actual places in this fascinating extra. The film’s composer talks about specific musical cues, like Totoro’s theme and how he felt that the character’s first appearance should have a musical introduction and not just sound effects.

Also included is the original Japanese trailer.

“Behind the Microphone” takes a brief look at the American version of My Neighbor Totoro with some of the voice actors talking about their love of the film and how they approach the job of dubbing their respective characters.

Finally, there is “Enter the Lands,” which allows you to take a brief look at various characters from several of Miyazaki’s films.

The first six minutes of dialogue-free footage demonstrate Miyazaki’s skill as a purely visual storyteller. We meet Ponyo, a goldfish who travels from the depths of the ocean to almost getting trapped in a net of a trash-collecting boat. However, she gets stuck in a glass jar and is rescued by a little boy named Sosuke. Her father is a powerful underwater sorcerer and he pursues his daughter on land. Ponyo is not your typical fish as Sosuke discovers. For example, she likes to eat the ham right out of his sandwich!

Ponyo and Sosuke become friends only for her father to reclaim the girl and return them to the sea. Sosuke’s father works long hours piloting a transport boat of some type which angers his mother but she has developed a strong bond with her son. Back at home, Ponyo begins to take on human characteristics like arms and legs, much to her father’s chagrin. She escapes from her underwater home and in doing so creates monsoon-like conditions on the surface. This almost destroys the ship that Sosuke’s father pilots with large waves that are created from her underwater escape. Ponyo and Sosuke are reunited once again and the film follows their adventures.

The underwater scenes come to life with vibrant colours thanks to the vast assortment of life that populates it. Miyazaki creates a fascinating sense of wonder with the help of the film’s soundtrack by his long-time composer Joe Hisaishi. There are also all kinds of vivid imagery, like the giant waves of water that resemble a fish. Soon, we see Ponyo running on top of the giant fish-like waves of water as Sosuke and his mother race home from the storm in her car.

Ponyo doesn’t quite have the same magical sense of wonder as other classic Miyazaki films but it is still a very engaging effort in its own right. There is something to be said when a minor work by Miyazaki is better than most animated films out there. Only Pixar has as good or maybe a better track record.

Special Features:

“Disc Introduction – Meet Ponyo” features the American version’s executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy singing Miyazaki’s praises and talking briefly about the film.

Kiki is a 13-year-old girl who is a witch. At this age, she must leave home by the first full moon and train for a year by finding the right town in which to live by herself. So, she says goodbye to her family and friends and departs on her mother’s broom with her black cat Jiji. Kiki heads for the ocean and finds a city that is not occupied by any other witches. She befriends Osono, a kind pregnant lady who runs a bakery and accepts the girl for who she is. This becomes the deciding factor for Kiki staying in the city where most people really don’t know what to make of her. Osono has Kiki work part-time in the bakery and allows her to use the phone for the delivery service she starts. Kiki also finds herself drawn to and annoyed by Tombo, a boy her age that she shares a common love of flying, she with her broom and he with a bicycle that he’s converting into a flying machine.

Like many of his films, Miyazaki presents the countryside as an idyllic setting. In Kiki’s Delivery Service, we meet then film’s protagonist living out in the country with her loving and supporting parents. Clearly, he sees nature as being a nurturing force. The city is a busy, impersonal place where a police officer chastises Kiki for disrupting traffic with her flying and a group of noisy girls her age walk past her without even acknowledging her presence.

Like any good fable, Kiki’s Delivery Service has a timeless quality to it. The city where most of the film takes place doesn’t resemble one specific place but rather an intriguing pastiche of several European cities and even one from America. One of the great things about Miyazaki’s films is that he doesn’t forget what it was like to be a kid – how they talk and act – and I think that is what about his films that appeals to both adults and kids. By running her own business, Kiki learns to be responsible and independent as well as the value of working for a living. These are values that seem in short supply nowadays which makes this film even more relevant than when it was released in 1989.

Special Features:

The first disc includes an “Introduction by John Lasseter,” the head of Pixar. He offers his brief thoughts on what Kiki’s Delivery Service is about and what he thinks of it.

The second disc contains the bulk of the extra material starting with the “Original Japanese Storyboards,” allowing you to watch the entire film in storyboard form.

“Behind the Studio” consists of six brief featurettes that explore various aspects of the film. We learn that Miyazaki wasn’t even supposed to direct Kiki’s Delivery Service but a problem arose that threatened the project and so he stepped in and took charge. It was suggested by his producer that the protagonist be an adolescent girl but Miyazaki had no experience with them and asked one of his collaborators to use his young daughter as the basis for Kiki. Miyazaki talks about the challenge of animating the flying sequences. The film’s producer talks about working with Miyazaki. There is a 28-minute featurette that takes a look at the real-life locations that inspired the ones in the film. Miyazaki’s long-time composer Joe Hisaishi talks about his approach to scoring these films and how he tries to enhance the imagery with music.

Also included are 10 minutes of Japanese trailers for the film.

“Behind the Microphone” takes a look at the dubbing for the American version of the film with interviews with some of the voice actors like Kirsten Dunst and Phil Hartman.

“Enter the Lands” is an interactive map of key locations from various Miyazaki films. By clicking on them you can take a character quiz and view clips from the film that briefly examine significant characters.

Previous DVD releases of the show lacked in quality and quickly went out-of-print, fetching a considerable price on eBay. Now, the folks at Shout! Factory is giving G.I. JOE the special edition treatment with a DVD set that includes the first three mini-series and a portion of the first season. The show debuted in September 1983 with the episode, “The Cobra Strikes,” the first of a five-part mini-series known as The M.A.S.S. Device. The opening credits tell you everything that you need to know about the show. G.I. JOE is a special missions force that does battle with Cobra, an elusive and very dangerous terrorist organization.

Its leader, Cobra Commander, and his right-hand man, Destro, have created the M.A.S.S. Device, capable of harnessing incredible amounts of energy, including transporting a large group of soldiers and vehicles. They steal a top secret government satellite that will let them direct the energy of the Device anywhere in the world. However, they need three precious elements to keep it running and so the race is on to recover them in various countries around the world with JOE creating their own M.A.S.S. Device.

After the success of the first mini-series, a second one debuted in 1984, again with a five episode arc entitled The Revenge of Cobra. While maintaining many of the popular characters from the first mini-series, several new ones and vehicles were introduced including their corresponding toys. This time around, Cobra steals the laser core (along with JOE members Duke and Snake-Eyes) to use with a device Destro invented called the Weather Dominator, which allows them to manipulate the weather and wreak havoc on any given location.

The third and final mini-series came out in 1985 and was called The Pyramid of Darkness. Cobra is at it again when they sneak a cargo pod onto the JOE’s space shuttle (what kind of security checks do they have?). Cobra takes control of the JOE’s space station and uses it to destroy the JOE’s home base and create a pyramid-shaped net over the Earth that robs many countries of their electrical energy source.

G.I. JOE really is a time capsule of the times: the wasteful, materialistic ‘80s under Ronald Reagan. This is illustrated in every episode which features all kinds of destruction with many jets, tanks and other expensive vehicles being blown up en mass in any given battle. Cobra obviously acquired their money through terror campaigns and other nefarious means but what kind of budget did the JOEs have? Also, being a kid’s cartoon, no one is allowed to die which makes the many gun battles hopelessly unrealistic as no one is even wounded! But it’s all good, clean fun and when you’re kid, these things didn’t really register or matter. What worked were the distinctive personalities of the various characters. Everyone had their favourites, which one was the coolest, and so on.

Shout! Factory has done a great job restoring these episodes and they look as good as they did when they first aired. For anyone who grew up with this cartoon, watching these episodes will be a wonderful trip down memory lane to revisit their childhood.

Special Features:

The first disc features “Looking Back with Writer Ron Friedman, Part One.” He talks about creating a central conflict that would bring G.I. JOE and Cobra in opposition with each other with the fate of the world hanging in the balance while also conveying it visually. Friedman talks about how a stint in architecture school influenced the look of the toys and the show.

The second disc includes “Looking Back with Writer Ron Friedman, Part Two” where he talks about how he got the gig writing for G.I. JOE. The powers that be were looking for someone who hadn’t written for animation before. Initially, he wasn’t interested because cartoon writers were looked down upon in the industry. Friedman talks about the importance of voice actors and how they give the characters a distinctive voice.

The third disc features “Looking Back with Writer Ron Friedman, Part Three.” In it, he reflects on the legacy of G.I. JOE.

The last disc contains the rest of the extras. “’Knowing is Half the Battle’ PSAs” features seven of the classic public service announcements that were created to counterbalance all of the violence in the show with various characters appearing in these cheesy segments that were placed at the end of every episode. They were intended to teach kids what to do if, for example, they got lost or if their house is on fire. Every segment ended with a JOE member saying those immortal lines, “and knowing is half the battle.”

“Archival Hasbro Toy Commercials” features three classic toy ads that takes one back if you ever saw them when they first aired.

“1963 G.I. JOE Toy Fair Presentation” is a vintage featurette for the original JOE action figure that is pretty cool and comes across as half commercial, half patriotic hype.

Finally, there is a printable script for the “Jungle Trap” script.

Millions of years ago on the planet Cybertron, two warring groups of transformable robots are draining their world of its energy. The cruel Decepticons, led by the merciless Megatron, want Cybertron for themselves. They have almost made the peaceful Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, extinct. Both sides decide that they must look to other planets for the energy they so desperately need. Each side sends their best representatives and it doesn’t take long before they continue their battle in outer space.

In the ensuing chaos, the Transformers crash land on Earth where they lie dormant for many years. A volcanic explosion revives the Autobots and Decepticons. Megatron plans to take all of the resources they need and return to Cybertron, while Optimus Prime wants to stop them. In order to remain undetected, the Transformers can change into things common to our planet: automobiles, airplanes, a portable radio, a gun, and so on. And so, the epic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons continues on Earth with humanity caught in the middle.

The series kicked off with a three-episode mini-series before settling into a familiar formula as the Decepticons try to drain the planet of its resources and the Autobots try to stop them. One of the things that makes the show work so well is that it has a great villain in Megatron and a true hero in Optimus Prime. They represent tried and true archetypes that are easy to root for and against. It doesn’t hurt that there is something inherently cool about giant robots fighting each other.

This first season saw the introduction of two new sub-groups of Transformers – the Dinobots, inspired by dinosaur skeletons but unfortunately with the same level of intelligence, and the Insecticons, robots that can turn into nasty insects. The former ally themselves with the Autobots, while the latter team up with the Decepticons.

For anyone who grew up watching The Transformers, these DVDs will be a wonderful trip down memory lane. The episodes all look great with the correct animation colour inserted back in which was missing from the previous edition. The recaps of previous episodes and previews for upcoming ones are included, as well as bumper spots for commercial breaks that will instantly take you back to when you first saw them. I, for one, can’t wait for season two, which, of course, is the build up for Transformers: The Movie (1986).

Special Features:

“Triple Changer: From Toy to Comic to Screen” is a 20-minute retrospective featurette about The Transformers phenomenon. The show’s origins came from several Japanese toy lines. An American company named Hasbro decided to bring it to North America and create a cartoon around them, giving each robot its own personality and create a storyline. They also created a comic book to go with the toys. With this featurette we get the lowdown behind the names for the various robots in this informative and engaging extra.

Also included are three original commercials, vintage ads that tie in the toys with cartoons. The one featuring the Insecticons is a particularly memorable one.

“Public Service Announcement” is an example of how each episode used to end with a Transformer imparting a safety lesson and this one sees Bumblebee convincing a kid not to run away from home. This is all good cheesy fun.

Finally, there is a PDF copy of the script for “Transport to Oblivion.”

Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann along with director John Hough return for this delightful sequel to Escape to Witch Mountain. Barney Miller’s Jack Soo also stars as a truant officer who ends up helping Tia find Tony and provides some classic comic relief with his deadpan style. This time around, legendary actors Bette Davis and Christopher Lee play the film’s villains and they provide just the right amount of menace. As always, Christopher Lee imbues just the right amount of menace to his character.

Where Escape to Witch Mountain was a road movie that took place in the countryside, for Return from Witch Mountain, Hough sets what is essentially a chase film in an urban area complete with a suitably groovy score by Lalo Schifrin that sounds like it came from a 1970s cop show. Return is sorely missing the presence of Eddie Albert from the first film but Jack Soo does a fine job as the kids’ adult guardian of sorts. As far sequels go, this one is pretty good and is not just a formulaic repeat of Escape.

Special Features:

There is an audio commentary by director John Hough and actors Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards. Eisenmann and Richards share their experiences making the film and joke about their costumes and hairstyles. Hough explains, that like with Escape, he insisted on shooting on location wherever possible and this included the streets of L.A. He gives his impressions of working with Bette Davis and Christopher Lee on this solid track.

“Making the Return Trip” takes a retrospective look at how the film came together with key cast and crew members reminiscing about making it. Eisenmann tells a funny anecdote about Davis and her entourage. Various aspects, like shooting on location and the visual effects, are also covered.

“Lost Treasure: Christopher Lee, the lost interview” was conducted with a Spanish journalist while promoting Return. He speaks fluent Spanish and talks about his character and shows clips from the film.

“Disney Kids with Powers” is a montage of clips from various Disney films of kids doing extraordinary things.

“The Gang’s Back in Town” reunited three out of four of the actors who played the Earthquake Gang in Return. They talk about what they’re doing now and share some of their memories of making the film.

“1978 Disney Studio Album” is a montage of clips from that films that Disney released that year.

“The Eyes Have It” is a vintage Donald Duck animated short film which sees Donald trying to learn how to be a hypnotist and putting the zap on poor Pluto.

Finally, there are “Pop-Up Fun Facts” which allows you to watch the film with trivial factoids frequently appearing on-screen.