Wednesday, September 23, 2020

DREAMWORKS Starts the Fall with Fun

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from DreamWorks and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is an amazing collection of beloved films that will have the family snuggling up on the sofa for the beginning of a fun fall with DREAMWORKS 10-MOVIE COLLECTION.

Beginning in 2001, audiences were introduced to SHREK, the swamp dwelling ogre who only wanted to be left alone. When the kingdom is turned upside down by a pint size ruler, Shrek (voiced by Mike Meyers) begrudgingly agrees to bring the king Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) along with Shrek’s irritatingly delightful sidekick Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy).

SPIRIT: Stallion of Cimarron arrives in theates in 2002 with Matt Damon as the voice of Spirit, a wild stallion that begins an adventure learning about humans. Captured and experiencing the world, his one goal is to return home to the herd he loves.

In 2005, the animated film MADAGASCAR introduces us to animals living the good life at the New York zoo. Star attraction Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller) is a lion enjoying his home and all the attention. Best friend Marty (voiced by Chris Rock) is a zebra who wants to see more of the world. Friends Melman (David Schwimmer) the hypochondriac giraffe and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) is the luscious hippo who is not ashamed of who she is join them on the trip. Ending up in Madagascar, they must learn to adjust to a new life and King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen)!

The world has always had a soft spot for pandas, well, in 2008 we had more of a reason for that when DreamWorks brought KUNG FU PANDA. Po (Jack Black) is a panda being raised by Mr. Ping (James Hong) in the family noodle business, but he wants more. Obsessed with the group known as the Furious Five that included Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross), a twist of fate has Po crowned the Dragon Warrior. Much to the dismay of Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), the group has no choice but to train him in preparation for the arrival of the evil Tai Lung (Ian McShane). They can do it but only if they do it together!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON enchanted audiences in 2010 with the story of a young Viking boy named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who can’t seem to find his place which is more difficult when your father is Stoick (Gerard Butler), leader of the Vikings. Known for taking down dragons, imagine how his life changed when he meets Toothless! Trying to explain the sudden switch to caring about dragons, Astrid (America Ferrera) must be shown why they are so great (although I could have told her THAT). Hiccup must find out what is happening to the dragons before his dad makes things more difficult!

If you think your family has it hard, trying being part of THE CROODS! Brought to us in 2013, this family led by very protective dad Grug (Nicolas Cage) also includes Mom Ugga (Catherine Keener), Gran (Cloris Leachman), son Thunk (Clark Duke) and teenager with a dream for more in the world Eep (Emma Stone). As their world literally starts falling down around them, they run into Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who is a tad different than they are but has great ideas for surviving. Trying to reach a safer place to live, Grug is not happy that Eep has taken to Guy and that Guy is taking away the trust the family has always turned to him for. It is survival mixed with creatures and intense humor but, most importantly, the love of family – especially this family.

Turning to outer space that takes over our space, the 2015 DreamWorks film HOME introduced us to the Boov and Oh (Jim Parsons). Removing humans from their homes, the young Tip (Rihanna) is separated from her Mom Lucy (Jennifer Lopez). After accidentally sending an invited to the universe for every Boov to join them on Earth, it also is received by the Boov enemy and Gorg. Now Tip and Boov must learn from one another about how to become friends and save the world!

The year 2016 became the year of the TROLLS as we meet Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) who spend their time trying to avoid the Bergens. Especially since there is a belief that the only way Bergens can be happy is by tasting a Troll! Escaping, the unhappy Chef (Chrstine Baranski) spends her life trying to find them. In the meantime, the kingdom is taken over by King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who waits for the day he can taste a troll and be happy. Watching his every move is Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) who basically is crushing on the King. When Bridget meets Poppy, Branch and the gang, she sees there is more to them than a tasty treat – its song and friendship.

A year later, DreamWorks brings us an unexpected little package of fun with the 2017 film BOSS BABY. Tim (Miles Bakshi) is surprised when Dad (Jimmy Kimmel) and Mom (Lisa Kudrow) bring home a bundle of boy (Alec Baldwin). But there is something a little different about this particular bundle when Tim discovers his baby brother is a suit wearing talking (Alec Baldwin) affection robber! They must put that aside when they learn that the company their parents work for, Puppy Co., is about to unleash animals that are not as adorable as they look. The brothers are about to show how it is done!

The last film in the collection is the 2019 animated ABOMINABLE. It is the story of young Yi (Chloe Bennet) who spends her time finding ways to make a few dollars to someday make a trip to anywhere. On the rooftop of her building, she sneaks away to play the violin to remember her father. One night she discovers a hurt abominable and there is almost an immediate connection between the two. Wanting to get him home, Yi names her friend Everest and along with Peng (Albert Tsai) and Jin (Tenzing Trainor), they must get their big fluffy friend back home before Mr. Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) capture him for their own purposes. On their travels, Yi begins to release the hurt she carries to see the beauty of the world and the amazing things her friend Everest can do!

DreamWorks Animation brings amazing animated entertainment to films, television specials and series for the young and young at heart audiences around the world. For more of what they have to offer please visit http://www.dreamworksanimation.com.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

The Collection also includes Bonus Features of Animated Shorts + Music Videos + How-Tos + Trivia + Deleted Scenes + so much more!

DREAMWORKS 10-MOVIE COLLECTION is stunning, charming, endearing, fun, hilarious, life lessons, friendship, personal responsibility, protecting family and creating a new family and everything else wonderful. The colorful animation is something that DreamWorks started so many years ago and each film brings it better, sharper and more amazing.

The storytelling for each of these films is based in creativity that is rich and deserving of applause for each of the directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Tim Johnson, Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, Kirk DeMicco, John Stevenson, Mark Osborne, Jill Culton and Mike Mitchell.

Time to break out the popcorn and make a floor bed enough for the entire family because once you get started with these films you may not want to stop. It is fantastic to have all 10 of these films in one place for easy access and, in my case with a big entertainment library, makes them easier to find to watch again and again.

In this time of us all being together, what more could you ask for then sharing it with the films we have come to love.

In the end – family night is going to be every night with DreamWorks!

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