Product Details

• Actors: Tsubasa, Colleen Clinkenbeard
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Funimation Prod
• DVD Release Date: February 19, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0010X8NLE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,871 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Clamp Double Feature: Tsubasa Chronicle and xxxHOLiC" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The popular continuities from the all-female Clamp studio are linked by the formidable character of Yuko, the Dimensional Witch. Just 35 minutes long, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: The Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage (2005) plays like an extended episode of the series with lavish art-nouveau backgrounds. Syaoran, Sakura, Fay, Kurogane, and Mokona visit the Land of the Birdcage, where people lead apparently peaceful lives with their bird-familiars. A boy named Koruri and Princess Tomoyo join the regular cast to battle an evil king who wants use the power of one of Sakura's feathers to plunge the realm into eternal darkness. Syaoran's battle with the King features striking special effects and effective camera work. In A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005), eternally put-upon Watanuki follows Yuko and his friend Domeki to a party at an eerie mansion. The owner of the mansion has assembled noted collectors from around the country for a party that's really an elaborate game of cat and mouse. The filmmakers use CG to create such interesting effects as a maze of tatami mats and an endless hallway covered with cases of butterfly antennae. Director Tsutomu Mizushima's handling of the transitions between fantasy and reality pales beside Satoshi Kon's haunting Paprika, but the film will please the many fans of xxxHolic and Clamp. (Rated TV PG: violence, grotesque imagery, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description
From the sweeping universe of CLAMP.

Two journeys run parallel, yet intersect. As two souls seek the mystery of truth, worlds collide where the dimensional witch waits. There is no coincidence, only the inevitable…

CLAMP Double Feature contains over two hours of bonus features!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A CLAMP appetizer, February 25, 2008

By	Kellyannl (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

With two seasons each (xxxHOLIc 2 having been announced fairly recently) plus a reportedly spectacular OVA covering Tsubasa's famed Acid Tokyo arc (which is currently in full swing in the English manga release) about to conclude in Japan, collecting the Tsubasa/xxxHOLIc crossover in anime form is going to be a pretty big investment for us Region 1 fans if it is in fact eventually all licensed. These two short movies - essentially anime-exclusive episodes based on the mangas acting as advertisements for their respective series - are an excellent opportunity to dip into the continuum to help us decide if we want more. They seem to be intended for people who are familiar with at least the story covered in the first four or so volumes of the mangas, as a basic understanding of the situations of the characters is taken for granted. The Tsubasa gang's initial separation suggests that their story takes place before the Shura arc and Fai's subsequent insistence that they maintain physical contact during space-time jumps, while the xxxHOLIc story clearly takes place before the Spider's Grudge arc.

First up is The Princess in the Birdcage, a half hour Tsubasa adventure. You know the drill: The gang drops into another alternate universe in search of Sakura's feathers. This time, their quest involves rescuing an AU Princess Tomoyo from an evil would-be usurper. It's drawn in more or less traditional fantasy style, the highlights probably being a fight scene for Kurogane and Fai against a routine military patrol (poor patrol) fairly early on and an aerial combat sequence between Syaoran and the main villain near the end. It gives a pretty good idea of what could be done with the more drawn-out events of the manga visually. The problem is that we're given only the barest hints of the heart of the series - which is the relationships between the four leads (five if you include Mokona). A few words of banter between Kurogane and Fai and some meaningful glances between Syaoran and Sakura are just about it. On that basis, I'd give Princess in the Birdcage three stars - not bad but nothing particularly special, aside from the enjoyment of seeing the characters animated for the first time for those of us who haven't watched the volumes of the Tsubasa series currently available.

Then, there's A Midsummer Night's Dream - our highly anticipated first look at xxxHOLIc in animated form. As opposed to Tsubasa, it's drawn in a very stylized art nouveau form, faithful to the manga, with some trippy psychadelic sequences thrown in for Watanuki's clairvoyant spells. The one hour long story involves Watanuki and Domeki accompanying Yuko to a haunted house to which she's been summoned. The big news here is the absolutely amazing English dub, which I can say without exaggeration is one of the best I've heard so far with solid performances all around. In particular, Todd Haberkorn uncannily captures Watanuki in all his shrieking, fussy, goodhearted glory. He had me laughing out loud several times, at one point in particular bringing new meaning to the catchphrase "screaming like a little girl", but in some other scenes also hinting at Watanuki's warmth and empathy - something that's going to be very important in the series proper. A very solid four stars for this one.

You might give pause once the price for this volume jumps, but while it remains the price of a hardcover book it's well worth your money, with the Holic movie quite possibly having rewatch value even once both series are commercially available in their entirety and we don't need these shorts for a quick fix anymore.

4.0 out of 5 stars Yuko, Watanuki, and Domeki vs. Syaoran, Sakura, and Tomoyo, March 29, 2009

By	James F. Neel "Jemcollector" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

Having only recently begun watching both CLAMP TV series, TSUBASA - RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, and xxxHOLiC, I decided to revisit this pair of so-called "movies" to compare these to the series; and to see if knowing more about what has been called the CLAMPverse would affect my opinion of them. Rest assured that if you know nothing about these intertwined tales, watching "Midsummer Night's Dream" will at least allow you to understand what's going on. ( And it definitely should be watched FIRST; otherwise the "flashback" which begins TSUBASA will be totally meaningless. ) This hour-long stand-alone story has all the elements of a xxxHOLiC episode, including information about the main characters Yuko, the Dimentional Witch; her "part-time employee"/lacky/flunky, the spirit-sensitive Watanuki; and his stolid, unemotional "rival" Domeki. The story itself plays out like a regular, if extended, episode; featuring beautiful lush backgrounds and interiors appropriate to the eerie setting of the likely haunted mansion. The "crossover" in it with TSUBASA is minimal and doesn't really affect the understanding or enjoyment of the xxxHOLiC story.

The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom suffers by comparison: as part of an essentially continuing saga of the hunt for Sakura's Feathers of Memory, it is far less episodic in nature than xxxHOLiC, and is given far too little time for any backstory. Those unfamilliar with either the characters or their predicament will be struggling to understand exactly what's going on. The supporting characters Kurogane and Fai suffer particularly in this respect; at least I was already somewhat familliar with Sayoran and Sakura. For me the only real treat was the reintroduction of the character of Tomoyo, here the eponymous captive princess of the title and NOT exactly the same princess who propelled Kurogane on his particular journey. Unfortunately, these characters have lost a great deal of their connection and recognizability from their origins in CLAMP'S Card Captor Sakura by the changing of their original voice actors. Still, it was good to see Tomoyo-chan again, even if it was no longer Junko Iwao doing her voice; but instead Escaflowne's Hitomi, Maaya Sakamoto!

The story in Birdcage Kingdom is a rather ordinary-seeming tale of a typically evil usurper who essentially wants to destroy Princess Tomoyo's idyllic paradise; as usual in tales like this aimed essentially at a young audience, for no apparent reason whatever. Layered on top of that is the ongoing search for another of Sakura's magical "feathers". And all in a timespan of only about 40 minutes! If you're not too familliar with TSUBASA, you might be rather confused and even bored by all this rushing around in the pursuit of??? It usually takes several episodes of the series to resolve the story behind each of Sakura's errant feathers; stupidly, this SHOULD'VE been the case here, evidenced by the backstory of the Birdcage Kingdom crammed into one of the extras! ( If you want this to make any sense, you should watch it FIRST. ) Contrasted with the slower-paced logically unfolding Midsummer Night's Dream, there's NO contest between these two stories. Even a viewer unfamilliar with the CLAMPverse should be able to understand and hopefully enjoy the xxxHOLiC story.

A final selling point of this set is the two hours or so of extras, particularly if like me you are fans of the Japanese original casts. Both the TSUBASA and xxxHOLiC separate discs feature interviews, clips from the recording sessions, and full commentary tracks with the Japanese voice actors that add to the appreciation of the respective stories. Recommended for fans of CLAMP; but xxxHOLiC - Midsummer Night's Dream is accessable to anyone interested in a humorous and mild tale of the supernatural.

4.0 out of 5 stars 1 star for Tsubasa, 3 for xxxHolic, February 15, 2009

By	Stephanie Callan "wrdo" (Boston MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love the Tsubasa manga. However, the movie is definitely not one of the highlights of the Tsubasa franchise. A half an hour of random fight scenes with very little plot, and a not-so-good voice dub from FUNimation (although the voices for Fai and Kurogane aren't that bad). It's worth it, however, for the xxxHolic movie. Beautiful art, beautiful music, and an intriguing storyline, A Midsummer's Night Dream excels where Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom is lacking. And the voice dub is surprisingly well done, kudos to FUNimation.