review: CARE BEARS MOVIE

20th Century Fox  //  Buy from Amazon.com The Care Bears live in a country high in the clouds, where they have a lot of fun together. But they also do care for the human children on Earth, who they watch through huge telescopes from the sky, and come to help whenever there is need. Nikolas, a magician's apprentice, is in danger of getting under the influence of a bad spirit, which resides in an ancient spell book. The siblings Kim and Jason don't trust anyone anymore after being disappointed once too often. The Care Bears take them into their wonderland where they experience exciting and dangerous adventures together and quickly become good friends. What the hell -- I have just bore witness to a surprisingly scary, eye-popping experience: I watched "The Care Bears Movie." Who'da thunk that this classic film (released here for its 25th anniversary), starring everyone's favorite merchandising gimmick... er, I mean teddy bears, would be so truly hallucinogenic and down-right scary?! I thought this might be one I could watch with my own kids, but thankfully I didn't subject them to the inaugral viewing for this review - I'm sure my youngest would be bouncing off the walls and beating his older brother brother, just like the kids in this cartoon. Maybe it's more the shock of how hard-hitting and "edgy" (not a word I'd typically associate with the Care Bears) was that has me so in shock - this is not a kids movie, or maybe it's a kids move for us kids who grew up in the 80s. Nowadays, there's no way this kind of film would get released in theaters for kids - at least not without a PG or PG-13 rating. Wild. Mind-blowing. I'm speechless. Video Released in its original fullscreen (1.33:1) aspect ratio, the animation is very strong, with rich, bright colors and sharp detail throughout. Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 mono mix is hardly exciting, but it's clear & clean, so take what you can get. Extras episode of the "Care Bears" cartoon show Closing Thoughts Trippy, strange "kids" movie + minimal extra = not for the young at heart, but probably good for those looking for a mind-altering experience