Winning heaps of awards and beating The Prince Of Egypt and Disney's A Bug's Life, The Iron Giant is an animated cartoon without lobsters blaring into 'melodious' tunes with backup crabs humming and twitching their claws, finally. Giant is a sensitive and wholesome (aren't they all?) movie about a kid's bond with a BFG (Big Friendly Giant). With beautiful voices from Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr, this simple and sweet tale (where the bad characters are obviously bad and the good ones clearly angelic) is a nice weekend treat for kids. And boy, do I mean just kids.


ANNA AND THE KING

US$75 million budget Anna And The King is still negotiating with the Thai authorities to allow the epic to be shown in the original setting of the story. After being refused permission to film in Thailand due to objectionable contents and a 'historically inaccurate' portrayal of the country's royalty, the production crew set up in neighbouring lands of Malaysia, with much of the footage shot on the popular Langkawi beach. The palaces, statues, temples, shrines, fields and every other set of the Andy Tennant (Fools Rush In and Ever After) film was re-created in a matter of months to perfection. Touted as the biggest set recreated from scratch since Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra decades back, the exciting production has kept eager movie-goers in anticipation of a more accurate and serious depiction of the story about a Siam king and an English school teacher hired to teach his 68 children the ways of the modern world.

This 1999 film that was shot in 5 months between Febuary and June cannot be better casted. 2 time Oscar winner Jodie Foster (Nell and The Silence Of The Lambs) is full of praise for the Asian co-star who is already a legend in Hong Kong. Chow Yun-Fat is smooth and most charming as the righteous King of Siam over a century ago. His potent screen presence coupled with Jodie's amazing aura provided such sexual energy that the spectacular sets and sights takes backstage, as they rightfully should. Jodie as Anna Leonowens is as apt as Julia Roberts as the Pretty Woman. The same can definitely be said about the male lead. The touching and dramatic story is not too far off The Sound Of Music and Jodie's English accent sounds uncannily like Dr. Quinn - Medicine Woman's Jane Seymour's (both characters do share similar qualities as well). Based on the diaries of Anna Leonowens herself, this screen version is tasteful, funny at times, bittersweet and feels expensive with its elaborate set interiors and lavish costumes (supposedly 15 km of materials was used for the entire cast's costumes)

Definitely a should-watch this holiday season. It is a treat catching the versatile actress in her fine form, artistically and physically. Also to look out for is dare-devil Asian actress Bai Ling in another dramatic breakthrough role. She plays the tortured soul sent to the palace for the king and away from her lover. The star-crossed lovers will see their passion ending their fate. Other supporting roles are played by artistes from all over Asia including Malaysia and Singapore.


STUART LITTLE

Purrr..fect effects and cute little animated pests, Stuart Little is a riot - for kids and those young at heart. Cynics, jaded teens and guys like myself will probably see our skin crawling as we wait for the 'sweet' little tale to end. An adopted mouse joins the Little family as a member (not as a pet) and faces some problems fitting in emotionally and physically. His new 'brother' (Jonathan Lipnicki of Jerry Maguire) finds him a pest and the family cat hates seeing his lunch becoming 'part of The family'. The brothers start to develop a friendship... street cats try to kill Stuart... yada yada, its like reading the book. If you find the creatures' voices familiar, that is because Michael J. Fox (Back To The Future) is Stuart, Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) is the cat and Jennifer Tilly (Chucky's Bride) is the mother mouse. Huge points for scoring with the kids but definitely not for guys. Well, most guys.


TOY STORY 2

The animation is perfect and the characters all reprised their roles from the original hit (including Miss Bo Peep). The magic, however, is lost. Despite the mega opening weekend gross and a tremendous momentum following it, I find that the excitment lacking in this sequel. Maybe because Woody (Hanks, not Allen) spends half the show with his new found family while Buzz (Allen) is stuck with Porkchop and company. Nevertheless, children will find this colourful movie a thrill. Check out the Barbie dolls strutting their stuff the way they should (remember those vicious karate-chopping Barbie blonde-terminators in Small Soldiers?). Without the initial novelty in the original, Toy Story 2 still captures the essence of a wholesome family entertainment movie. Yeah, the heartwarming stuff as well.


DOUBLE JEOPARDY