This 1939 animated film is based on Jonathan Swift's classic novel about a sailor stranded on an island populated by people the size of his thumb. When Gabby, the town crier, discovers Gulliver on the beach, he runs to tell the king. But the king is preoccupied with the impending wedding of his daughter, Princess Gloria, to Prince David from the neighboring kingdom. When the kingdoms can't agree on which song to play at the wedding, Gulliver is caught in the middle of a war. His common sense helps the two sides resolve their dispute, but not before a lot of adventure and romance. A milestone in the art of animation, this was the second animated motion picture of its magnitude ever produced, after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It has been digitally mastered and visually enhanced, making it first-rate family entertainment even today. -Elisabeth Keating.

The monster-about-town becomes doting dad when he adopts orphan lizard Minilla, the result of a radioactive storm caused by a scientific experiment gone wrong. This decidedly juvenile affair shows signs of the series' cost-cutting measures and Godzilla himself has been redesigned to reflect his new, younger audience, with an oversize head and big, doll-like eyes. This kindler, gentler lizard king proceeds to protect the happy-go-lucky kid from the newly mutated giant insects of the island and teaches him how to breathe fire. Much of the film is played for comedy-Minilla blowing smoke rings instead of flames, skipping rope with Dad's tail, skittering about like a mischievous little kid as put-upon Godzilla tries to keep the tyke focused-and is obviously aimed at Godzilla's enormous adolescent audience. But as always, the picture delivers great monster battles, notably with the mutant spider giant Kumonga. -Sean Axmaker.

It's been available on audio CD since 1985 (now in a newly-remastered edition), but the long-awaited release of the DVD version of Bring on the Night will be a cause for celebration for fans of both Sting and the Police. Directed by Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorky Park, Enough), the film observes Sting and his new band as they rehearse and then perform their first concert, in Paris. The musicians, including Branford Marsalis (sax), Kenny Kirkland (keyboards), Darryl Jones (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), and two backing vocalists, are all superb, all with strong jazz backgrounds but a good feel for rock as well; and Sting's then-new material, drawn from his The Dream of the Blue Turtles album, is among the best of his solo career, especially "Consider Me Gone," "Children's Crusade," and the brilliant "Fortress Around Your Heart" (there are also several Police tunes, including "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle"). Equally compelling, surprisingly, are the insights, intended or otherwise, into the characters of the various participants. Sting himself is a bit of a stiff, frankly. Guarded, controlled, and not a little arrogant (he calls the pop music of the day "reactionary and racist"-except his, of course), he's in direct contrast to the others, especially the outspoken, irrepressible Marsalis, who's not at all shy about needling his basically humorless boss; Sting's manager, Miles Copeland, also has no problem saying exactly what he thinks. With a crisp digital transfer and remastered digital sound, Bring on the Night is highly recommended on every level. -Sam Graham.