Bring summer theatrical hits home
Plenty of DVDs extend the Batman, Hulk franchises
By Wendy Wilson -- Video Business, 7/21/2008
JULY 21 | Kids are buzzing about the big movies in theaters now, but summer’s hot tickets won’t be travel-ready in time for your summer road trip. Parents facing long hours in the driver’s seat can instead test drive these DVD and videogame alternatives.
The Dark Knight: Batman is summer’s cool drink of water. Let other action heroes kick and fly and sweat in their super suits, in the jungle, in the desert. Christian Bale’s Batman gets just as much done, he just keeps to the shadows to do it. For more Caped Crusader fun, Tim Burton’s stylized Batman and Batman Returns DVDs are for kids who can handle PG-13 content. For all audiences, Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman are just two of the animated series available featuring Gotham’s favorite crime fighter. And consider retreating to your rolling Batcave with Adam West and Burt Ward in 1966’s Batman—The Movie for capers to keep everyone laughing. (Bam!)
The Incredible Hulk: Ah, this franchise is a gift that just keeps on giving. Ed Norton’s turn as Dr. Bruce Banner marks the first time Marvel has taken its big green warrior into theaters on its own, with the Sega videogame tie-in for this version already at retail for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox 360 platforms. For a genetically altered monster the whole family can enjoy, try some of Universal’s season compilations of the live-action TV series on DVD. The late Bill Bixby is from the same era as some the sillier special effects of the late ’70s and early ’80s, but his Bruce Banner—along with Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk, for that matter—stand the test of time.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Dr. Jones is back on the big screen this summer, hunting for alien artifacts in the jungles of South America. Kids discovering this whip-cracking incarnation of Harrison Ford for the first time can spend more quality time with Indy in the DVD of the ’90s TV series The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones as well as the adventurous archaeologist’s first three cinematic adventures on DVD. But, 20 years later, melting faces (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and a monkey brain buffet (Temple of Doom) might still be too much for the younger set. For the littlest Indiana fans, try the LEGO Indiana Jones game, available for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox 360: no Nazis, just lots of blocks.
Iron Man: Marvel’s $300 million-grossing (and still counting) man won’t be available on DVD in time for your family’s cross-country summer viewing pleasure, but you can still catch billionaire industrialist Tony Stark in animated titles from Lionsgate. In The Invincible Iron Man (2007),Stark creates his super suit after being injured at an archaeological dig in China rather than during an imprisonment by Middle Eastern terrorists. But this is no all-ages cartoon: It shares the live-action film’s PG-13 rating for violence. And there’s more animated Iron Man in Lionsgate’s Ultimate Avengers—The Movie and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, sharing the stage with Marvel’s stable of superheroes.
Speed Racer: So the Wachowski Brothers’ racetrack redux didn’t get audiences’ hearts racing in theaters this summer. The anime camp classic that inspired the feature is available in its entirety from Lionsgate. And for kids without the patience for late ’60s animation, state of the art Speed Racer graphics can be had in the Warner videogame for Nintendo DS and the Wii. Now even tweens don’t have to drive 55.
