Customer Reviews

Family Favorites 4 Movie Collection (The Little Rascals / Casper / Flipper / Leave it to Beaver)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was quite pleased with Universal Pictures' combination of 4 of their family films into one DVD package. It would've been even better if they had thrown in featurettes on the making of each film, but the quality presented here is fine.
"The Little Rascals" is a sheer delight. I was amazed with how well they recaptured the original spirit of the old "Our Gang" comedies. The casting was uncanny as these new, adorable kids strongly resemble their original counterparts. The story re-connects with the old storylines through familiar trappings: The go-cart race, Alfalfa's romance with Darla, his friendship with best pal Spanky, etc. And it's seasoned with cameos from "old pros": Mel Brooks, George Wendt, Darryl Hannah, Whoopi Goldberg, Donald Trump, Lea Thompson, and Reba McIntire.
"Casper" is my personal favorite, a dandy CGI-laden comedy supported with a story that has lots of heart. The creation of "friendly ghost" Casper and his nasty, mischievous uncles is wonderfully done--along with brilliant art direction in the form of "Whipstaff Manor"--but it's also a human story given credibility by Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. Cathy Moriarty & Eric Idle are tops as the comic villains here, along with cameos by everyone from Father Guido Sarducci and "Ghostbuster" Dan Aykroyd to Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Gibson, and--yikes!--the Crypt Keeper.
"Flipper" is another familiar story brightened by gorgeous tropical scenery, a playfully cute dolphin, and the appealing star power of then-teen Elijah Wood and the amiably charming Paul Hogan. Starting off as a fish-out-of-water story (no pun intended!), misplaced teenager Wood eventually finds new meaning & direction in his life from Flipper, with the support of his unconventional, slightly crusty distant fisherman uncle (Hogan). The film's weakness here is its antagonist, a rather one-dimensional "island bully" played by Jonathan Banks. But again, its the star power which elevates the story and makes it engaging to watch.
"Leave It To Beaver" does its best to live up to the beloved old T.V. series. Its art direction and fashion tries to wed the old with the new, falling somewhere in-between, and set in one of those blissfully innocent towns in the heart of America. Christopher McDonald does his best to fill the shoes of stern but loving model husband/father Ward Cleaver, but it's tough not to think about the "jerk" roles he's played in the past. Janine Turner (from T.V.'s "Northern Exposure") is fine as June Cleaver, blending old traditions with new in her characterization. Eric Von Dotten takes on uncertain teenaged older brother Wally. The young actor who plays sly juvenile opportunist Eddie Haskell is a hoot. But the film belongs to the "Beav" as he's faced with problems both serious & comical: A stolen bicycle, not-so-spectacular grades in school, failing miserably on the football team, etc.
This is a great package idea. There's a little bit of everything here to make anyone smile!

While I still haven't watched Fipper, I was absolutely ecstatic to watch the other 3. What a great combination of movies from my childhood at a great price! Fantastic box set.

My family enjoyed these and the price was right. They can be watched over and over again!

Four family-friendly favorites for the price of one? It's FANTASTIC!! These are movies both adults and children will love. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Brought many good enjoyable hours to our family while watching these movies. It brought memories of my younger days forward & gave me a time to share them with my grandchildren. What a blessing. I recommend it to anyone who desire a great movie to spend good holsome hours & share with the younger ones in your life.

The purchase of this Christmas present has been a nightmare. I am based in NZ and was completely unaware that DVD's had 'zones' . We have played this DVD on our new Mac lap top over Christmas with disasterous effects. We can no longer play 'NZ' DVDs on our laptop as it just locks up. While I like the content of the DVD - I would never have purchased this if I knew how incompatible this was with NZ programmes. Was this something that was explained for non - USA purchasers and I missed the warning? Our system will no longer play any DVD's which is extremely upsetting as we travel regularly and rely on that system to entertain our kids.

I am very pleased and it was in great condition and I received it faster than expected. Thank you.

Don't get this. What the details don't tell you is that the first disc that contains Little Rascals and Casper is a flipper/double sided disc. Which doesn't make sense. Universal has several other sets with four movies, movies which last shorter than the films in this set, but those sets don't have double sided discs. Shame on you, Universal, for giving us this inferior dvd set. If I had known there was a flipper disc in this set, I would've just bought the individual dvds of Little Rascals and Casper, and forgotten about Flipper and Leave It To Beaver, which I didn't want in the first place. I only bought this because it was cheaper than the individual dvds of Rascals and Casper. I guess this will teach me to do more research next time.

The selection is great. I only had one problem: it should have the french or spanish version as options.