Anime & Manga

Manufacturer: Nickelodeon Brand: Paramount

Avatar: The Complete Book One DVD Box Set includes the collection of all Avatar Water Nation episodes. This six-disc set will center on the Water Nation and its characters in 20 Avatar episodes (Chapters 1-20), Five DVD’s plus a bonus disc filled with incredible special features! Book 1: Water, Vol. 1 Mysterious, visually beautiful at times, and surprisingly funny, Avatar: Book 1, Volume 1 is the exciting story of Aang, a 12-year-old reincarnation of the ancient Avatar, whose purpose (in an imagined world that seems both ancient and futuristic) is to restore peace and order between warring armies of the four elements: fire, earth, water, and air. At one time or another, over thousands of years, the Avatar has been embodied in masters of each of the elements. Aang (who is freed from a century-long sleep inside an iceberg) happens to be an "airbender," capable of using air and wind as powerful forces for moving objects and defeating hostile armies of firebenders. The feature-length Avatar follows Aang and a couple of friends as he becomes reacquainted with the world he knew before his 100-year hibernation--a world now lost to history. The story also concerns internal dramas within the unforgiving world of firebenders, who are intent on destruction and conquest. This engaging story, very pleasant to look at in its rich tones of blue and orange, is for all ages. --Tom Keogh Book 1: Water, Vol. 2 Avatar The Last Airbender, Book 1: Water, Volume 2 continues the adventurous if half-comic journey of 12-year-old Airbender Aang, reincarnation of an ancient avatar, and his friends Katara and Sokka as they seek a teacher to help Aang fulfill his peacemaking destiny in a war-torn world. The four episodes on this disc, a follow-up to the elegant, magical series introduction, find the trio wandering through sundry Earth Nation cities, where they encounter signs of troubles between the once-harmonious, elemental tribes representing fire, earth, air, and water. They also bump into trouble with the occasional evil kingdom...

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video / Pixar Brand: chamnan.d Model: 30078

From the Academy Award(R)-winning creators of TOY STORY and MONSTERS, INC. (2001, Best Animated Short Film, FOR THE BIRDS), it's FINDING NEMO, a hilarious adventure where you'll meet colorful characters that take you into the breathtaking underwater world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to Marlin (Albert Brooks), his worrisome father, and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, to make the epic journey to bring Nemo home. Their adventure brings them face-to-face with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more. Marlin discovers a bravery he never knew, but will he be able to find his son? FINDING NEMO's breakthrough computer animation takes you into a whole new world with this undersea adventure about family, courage, and challenges. Take the plunge into FINDING NEMO, a "spectacularly beautiful animated adventure for everyone" -- David Sheehan, CBS-TV

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Brand: Disney

THE LITTLE MERMAID, one of the most celebrated animated films of all time, is now spectacularly transformed for the first time on Blu-ray, with a state-of-the-art digitally restored picture and brilliant high-definition sound! Venture under the sea where Ariel, a free-spirited mermaid princess, longs to be part of the human world. After bravely striking a bargain with Ursula, a sneaky sea witch, Ariel embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. With Flounder and Sebastian at her side, Ariel will need all of her courage and determination to make things right in both her worlds.

Manufacturer: Paramount Brand: PARAMOUNT - UNI DIST CORP Model: 26822562

From the creators of the Award-winning Avatar: The Last Airbender, comes a new TV series that continues the exciting adventures of element bending. When Avatar Aang passes, he is reincarnated as a girl named Korra, from the Southern Water Tribe. Against the wishes of her guardians, Korra leaves the safety of her home to travel to Republic City. Before long, Korra’s Avatar skills are put to the test when she encounters a group of Chi-blockers led by a masked man named Amon. With his Equalists followers, Amon plots to gain control over Republic City and ultimately rid the world of the “impurity” of bending. Korra and her friends will stop at nothing to capture him, leading to an Avatar adventure like nothing before in Legend of Korra: Book One: Air!

Manufacturer: Nickelodeon Brand: Paramount

The kids return to the Fire Nation and prepare for their final confrontation with Firelord Ozai, but they discover that the Firelord has plans of his own: he has ordained himself Phoenix Lord and appointed Princess Azula as the next Firelord. In the spectacular 4-part finale of Avatar Book 3: Fire, Aang fulfills his destiny as Avatar and confronts the Firelord in the greatest battle of the series. Book 3: Fire, Vol. 1 Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 3, Volume 1 is a slightly unusual suite of episodes in the Avatar canon, as the majority of programs are even more comical than usual. Not that the five shows included on this disc lack seriousness: the long-running series now finds young Aang (the once and future avatar destined to reunite the world’s four estranged nations) and his traveling companions behind enemy lines in the Fire Nation, disguised as colonists. In "Awakening," Aang arises--with a surprising headful of dark hair--from several weeks of unconsciousness (due to the injuries he sustained during a battle for Ba Sing Se) aboard a captured Fire Nation warship. Though he finds old friends Sokka, Toph, and Katara nearby, all urging him not to take matters in his own hands, Aang ultimately feels compelled to go head-to-head with the Fire Lord before he is ready. The result forces Aang and the others to remain incognito, setting up subsequent episodes in which the heroes are forced to lay low and find something else to do with their time besides fight adversaries. In "The Headband," Aang enrolls in a Fire Nation school, where his eyes are opened to such ordinary experiences as dealing with a campus bully and getting a hard time from strict teachers. In "The Painted Lady," Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph visit an impoverished fishing village and have to repress their typical instinct to help lest they be recognized as outsiders. (An alternative is found.) "Sokka’s Master," in some ways the most enjoyable episode here, finds Sokka feeling useless because he doesn’t possess powers similar to ...

Manufacturer: Universal Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)

The Minions, breakout stars from "Despicable Me," are presented in an origin story that showcases their unpredictable personality and physicality, and pairs them with equally memorable human characters. As it turns out, Minions have existed since the beginning of time. They have evolved from single (yellow) cell organisms into the familiar beings we know, and they live for a collective purpose: to seek out and serve the most despicable master they can find. Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock will lead the voice cast of the human characters as Scarlett Overkill, the world's reigning super-villain of the 1960s.

Manufacturer: Lionsgate Brand: Super D

Millions of fans agree – no one makes animated mayhem like crackpot inventor Wallace and his faithful dog, Gromit. Join the Oscar®- winning sensations for four madcap adventures in their cheesiest, breeziest and funniest collection yet! Hang on for an out-of-this-world ride as Wallace’s mad craving for cheese leads to a space rocket adventure in A GRAND DAY OUT. In THE WRONG TROUSERS, Gromit smells something fishy after a penguin moves in and plots to make off with Wallace’s Techno-Trousers. Then it’s time for A CLOSE SHAVE as Wallace & Gromit™ get wrapped up in a sheep-rustling scheme. Finally, trouble rises after Wallace & Gromit start a bread- baking business and are ensnared in a murder mystery that becomes…A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH!

Model: MSE1278610

Disney animated version of the classic fairy tale. When a prince is turned into a hideous beast by a magical spell, he finds that the only way out of his predicament is to win the love of the beautiful Belle. Belle agrees to come and stay at his home in exchange for the freedom of her father, whom the Beast had previously captured. At first she is repulsed by his hideous features, but as time passes she learns to recognise his true inner beauty.

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Brand: TCFHE Model: 31820531

From producer Guillermo del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez comes an animated comedy with a unique visual style. THE BOOK OF LIFE is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, THE BOOK OF LIFE encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.

Manufacturer: Walt Disney Brand: Disney

UK Released DVD/Blu-Ray item. It MAY NOT play on regular US DVD/Blu-Ray player. You may need a multi-region US DVD/Blu-Ray player to play this item. The film that officially signalled Disney's animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father's place, imprisoned in the Beast's gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love. What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast's mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken's score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is "Gaston," a lout's paean to himself (including the immortal line, "I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting"). "Be Our Guest" is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman's passing, animated musicals haven't quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. --David Kronke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.