Part of the New Line Platinum Series, the 2003 family film Secondhand Lions comes to DVD from Warner Home Video. The disc contains both widescreen and full-frame transfers. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. Optional subtitles are available in English and Spanish. Director Tim McCanlies provides an audio commentary track. Also included are deleted and alternate scenes with optional director commentary and the featurettes "Secondhand Lions: One Screenplay's Wild Ride in Hollywood, " "On the Set With Secondhand Lions," and "Haley Joel Osment: An Actor Comes of Age." Other special features include theatrical trailers, TV spots, visual-effects comparisons, and DVD-ROM material. Recommended for family viewing.
Customer Rating
5
Great cast, story
on August 5, 2008
Posted by: migrator
from Texas
Here is a heartwarming tale of a lad and his eccentric uncles who bond through a summer in Texas. There is a pet lion, 5 dogs and one pig who enliven the pale country haven of the elderly but still spunky uncles. As the summer goes on, the boy becomes a wiser person through a series of experiences that teach him the value of teamwork and free him from the mundane world.
What's great about it: eccentric without being weird
I was expecting to be drawn into this story about whimsical cars with attitude, but there were some flaws which prevented me from entirely enjoying the movie.
First, I found the lead character's personallity traits annoying. When he gets taught a life lesson of course he becomes a better person (or car), but this transformation seemed stilted and forced.
Second, the number of colorful characters in the story seemed excessive. Quaint instantly recognizable characters are good, but too many makes for a noisy mishmash.
This said, there were some really good scenes and devices like the tractor-cows which while not completely redeeming the film, did provide good comic relief.