The kid-friendly Santa vs. the Snowman began as a 1997 animated television special, then made a leap to the biggest movie screens-IMAX-in the world (in 3-D, no less), and now has come full circle to DVD with its extra, simulated perspective and deep focus intact. (3-D glasses, which come with the disc, are required. ) An animator's lark, Santa concerns a battle between Mr. Claus and a scheming snowman who tries to overtake Santa's toy-making and Christmas Eve delivery operation. A full-scale war erupts (there are some scary images here, particularly of a snowman writhing to his fiery death), though the violence is mitigated by clever quotes from movie and animation classics, including Toy Story and the stop-motion television perennial Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. The original 2-D geometric planes are artfully reinvented to achieve an exciting depth. -Tom Keogh.

From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering Beauty and the Beast to theaters. A modern Disney classic. -Keith Simanton.

The third volume of "The Hubley Collection" contains three of the innovative studio's most unusual and interesting works. Based on the writings of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, "Everybody Rides the Carousel" (1976) examines the stages of human personality development. "A Doonesbury Special" (1977) was the last film on which John and Faith Hubley collaborated, and it was their last Oscar nominee. Created with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Garry Trudeau, this neglected television special brings to life the situations that appeared in the strip during the '70s: the football huddle, dinner at Walden Commune, the day-care center, etc. The familiar characters-Mike, Mark, Joannie, and Zonker-examine their present lives and how the legacy of the political activism of the '60s has affected each of them. In "My Universe Inside Out" (1996) Faith Hubley reflects on her own life and work, including her distinctly odd childhood, her life with John, their children, and the personal films she's made since his death. The Hubleys use the medium of animation to explore often challenging ideas and find humor in quirky, personal ways. Their films are completely unlike the slapstick cartoons of the Hollywood studios but remain extremely satisfying in their own way. -Charles Solomon.

Although it was ultimately overshadowed by Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy classic is not without charms of its own. A target of derision from intolerant fans, this ambitious production is nevertheless a respectably loyal attempt to animate the first half of Tolkien's trilogy, beginning with the hobbit Frodo's inheritance of "the One Ring" of power from Bilbo Baggins, and ending with the wizard Gandalf's triumph over the evil army of orcs. While the dialogue is literate and superbly voiced by a prestigious cast (including John Hurt as Aragorn), Leonard Rosenman's accomplished score effectively matches the ominous atmosphere that Bakshi's animation creates and sustains. Bakshi's lamentable decision to combine traditional cel animation with "rotoscoped" (i. e. , meticulously traced) live-action footage is jarringly distracting and aesthetically disastrous, but when judged by its narrative content, this Lord of the Rings deserves more credit than it typically receives. -Jeff Shannon.

Waking Life is a film that never settles down. Or maybe it never wakes up. Regardless, Richard Linklater's animated meditation seems to strike a perfect balance between the plotless meanderings of Slacker and the unquenchable knowledge-seeking of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Any way you look at it, this is a weird, original movie. As he attempts to figure out what separates dreams from reality, the protagonist (Dazed and Confused's Wiley Wiggins) hears an earful from everyone he stumbles upon. Ramblings range from the scholarly (Linklater's former college professor Robert C. Solomon gives a monologue) to the banal (of which there are plenty). Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Steven Soderbergh, and Adam Goldberg all get animated cameos, basically playing themselves. The dream-centered dialogues eventually grow mind-numbing, but that's OK; the animation steals the show. Each frame of the movie, which was first shot with live actors, was painted over, and the process renders a distorted and trippy collage of sights and sounds. [+]