Details :

Cat.no : ODL 103

Cert : PG

Running time : 120 mins

Sides 2 (CLV)

Year : 1992

Pressing : UK, 1996

Chapters : 26 total (Side 1 : 1-14, Side 2 : 15-26)

Sound : Dolby Surround

Widescreen : 1.85:1

Price : £29.99

Director:

Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam, Bugsy, Avalon)

Producers:

Mark Johnson and Barry Levinson

Screenplay:

Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson

Music:

Hans Zimmer and Trevor Horn

Cast:

• Leslie Zevo : Robin Williams (Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire)
• General Zevo : Michael Gambon (The Singing Detective, The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover)
• Alsatia Zevo : Joan Cusack (The All-Nighter, Addams Family Values)
• Gwen Tyler : Robin Wright (Forrest Gump, The Princess Bride)
• Patrick Zevo : LL Cool J (The Hard Way)
• Kenneth Zevo : Donald O'Connor (Singin' In The Rain)
• Old General Zevo : Jack Warden (All The Presidents Men, The Verdict)
• Nurse Debbie : Debi Mazar (Batman Forever, Beethoven's 2nd)
• Researcher : Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa Simpson, "The Simpsons")

When eccentric toy tycoon Kenneth Zevo is about to die, he has to leave his toy factory to one of his relatives. He chooses his brother Leland, an ex-Army general who was rendered obselete after the end of the Cold War, feeling that his two children Leslie and Alsatia are too immature for the job.

Leland has slightly-warped ideas of what to do as the new head of the company, and decides upon creating a series of war toys, something that's never been made before at Zevo Toys; and he brings in his son Patrick as head of security.

Leslie and Alsatia are horrified to discover what is happening, especially as the new project begins to encroach on their space, with the walls literally closing in on them.

What can they do to stop this, and bring back the light-hearted atmosphere that once dominated the factory, especially when they're fighting with teddy bears against his computerised tanks? Christmas is coming soon, so time isn't on their side.

Picture quality of this disc is superb with sharp detail, something particularly needed to fully appreciate the multi-coloured visuals, which are as vibrant as the luscious gatefold sleeve that the disc comes in.

The Production Designer, Ferdinando Scarfiotti, is responsible for the imaginative display of an intricate mix of sets, locations, models and computer-generated imagery. One such clever set piece is when the walls close in on a meeting about fake vomit at the end of side one.

The sound quality is well worth hearing too. It's used to good effect for the ambience of toys whizzing and clicking all over the place, and for later when the computerised war toys begin to kick in. Also, the background music features songs like Tori Amos's "The Happy Worker" and a remix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Welcome To The Pleasure Dome".

The gatefold sleeve is very colourful, and contains a number of stills from the film, a personal view of the film from Philip Kemp, plus a chapter listing. 24 chapters cover the film itself, with the Odyssey logo and the original theatrical trailer preceeding the film.

Director Barry Levinson makes good use of the camera frame, and has an extensive list of films to his credit including classics like "The Natural" and "Rain Man", the cult hit "Diner", and another Robin Williams-starrer, "Good Morning Vietnam".

Robin Williams is no stranger to comedy and makes good use of his character here too. There's more than adequate support in the acting stakes from Joan Cusack who plays his sister Alsatia, an experienced actor Michael Gambon, the love interest provided by Robin Wright, and cameos from Donald O'Connor and Jack Warden. LL Cool J plays Leland's black son, something never explained in an otherwise all-white family.

All in all, a film that can be viewed by all the family time and time again, and a good disc to use as a demo to show friends how laserdisc can provide perfect colour separation and top-notch surround sound, something that not all video tapes can manage.

Review © Dominic Robinson, 1996.