Starz / Anchor Bay The Velveteen Rabbit

As stated before, "The Velveteen Rabbit" is pretty much my most favorite of fairytales. Something about it touched significantly when I was a child, and still does to this day. With that said, I had some misgivings about seeing this film. On the one hand, I was curious as to how they would pull this off (especially being a combination of animation and live-action), but on the other hand, I did not want to see them butcher MY fairytale.Anyone who read the book will immediately find by the opening scene that this is not the tale "your Mom read you". And as you go on, so many things were changed. I was slightly disconcerted. Normally, variations don't bother me, but when it comes to something that has such nostalgic power and connection to you, it can be difficult sometimes. But I stuck with it and found that this version is a wonderfully imagined and matured tale. It ingeniously implements the main plot points and keeps the spirit of the original, but brings fresh light to the key point of the tale, " 'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.' "CONTENT ISSUES:This film was intended to be a family film and it stays true to that purpose. There is absolutely nothing that I could find to be particularly offensive on any level.PLOT (ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS):One thing that is nice about this film is that it has a clear direction and nothing is too ambiguous. Children can easily follow this movie. But, there is a lot of meat and content for older viewers as well. All audiences of any age will understand the main tale of love...but more mature viewers will be able to muse over more subtle themes of faith, cynicism, naivete, regret, and redemption. It's a tale that really tries to appeal to everyone...in a good way. The pacing was actually quite good. What I really digged though was that though this is a VERY liberal execution of the source material, they still followed the key plot points and implemented very imaginative ways of executing them. The ways they crafted it allowed the plot points to better fit their direction, while still maintaining the nostalgia that most who have read the original will appreciate. The only thing is, I would have slightly changed the ending to give a stronger resolution for some of the other toys...but if I told you how, that would border on spoiling things. I was moved to tears at points...similar to when I read the original.CHARACTERS:I found the characters, in general, to be likable and effective. Nana and Dad were my favorites to watch as they evolved...and their struggles were things that many deal with to this day. The only character I found that irked me just a little was the rabbit himself. Now, in a way it actually worked out best that way because it gave the rabbit room to grow as you did see him mature as the movie went on...but initially, he was a little "too much" for me at points. Still, any faults the rabbit may have had were totally eclipsed by the tale as a whole.EXTRAS:Honestly, the special features are negligible. There are cast interviews, cast bios, and deleted scenes. Of all of these, I love documentary type things so Cast Bios and Cast interviews naturally are my first draw. However, the cast bios are basically a paragraph or two that you read...I would have previewed that they present themselves or something. And as to the cast interviews...it was short with not much information. Just some opinions and feelings...but really I felt they could have done something so much more meaningful with this. It just seemed like it was there to just be able to say it was there.ALL IN ALL:This is a beautiful and stirring rendition of a tale as old as time. The characters were well represented, the tale itself was wonderfully and imaginatively executed...and the spirit of the original tale still rings true. It's hard not to be moved by this one. By the end, just like the original book, it challenged me and the way I see things.

"The Velveteen Rabbit", Margery William's 1922 story, is a classic in the annals of children's literature. I loved it as a child, and continue to adore it as a grown woman, and have since shared it with my own preschooler. Thus, when I saw this new release, I could not wait to watch it with my daughter.Young Toby [Matthew Harbour] is sent to stay with his strict grandmother Ellen [Una Kay] when his serious father, John goes off on business to New York. Feeling abandoned and lonely, Toby explores the house and comes across the "Magic Room", which is filled with his father's old toys, including a rabbit stuffed toy. As Toby's imagination is given free rein, Rabbit comes 'alive' in a lively world of animation, and Toby together with rabbit and the other toys in the magic room run free and play in a lively dream world. The animals, i.e. Horse [Tom Skerritt], Swan [Ellen Burstyn], and Rabbit [Chandler Wakefiled] all dream of becoming real animals, and as we all know from "The Velveteen Rabbit", that can only be achieved by true love. Grandma Ellen and Toby soon bond, but his father John is still distant, and it takes a near tragedy to set things right.A mixture of animated sequences and live-action, this movie appealed to my family. Though the original story has been adapted here, I felt that the adaptation doesn't stray too far from the original message of love overcoming all obstacles.Purists may not appreciate this adaptation, but those seeking family-friendly entertainment will love it.

My son kept watching this on YouTube so I finally looked for one on DVD or bluray He watches this quite a bit

This is such a great version of this story! It is well acted, well animated. And made us all cry. It is my mom's favorite version of this story and she has many versions she has collected over the years. She was looking for this one and I am so happy I was able to find it for her and give it to her for Christmas! It was a hit and she loves, loves, loves it. Everything was in perfect condition and it worked beautifully. If you are looking for a classic imaginative version of this story, you have found it.

I LOVE this story! I remember watching the cartoon when I was very young and then also reading the book. I fell in love with the idea that my stuffed animals might have a secret life when I'm asleep or not home.This remake was still just as touching, emotional and adorable as the original telling. I would recommend renting or buying this movie to anybody that has young children and anybody that was born from 1970 on...

I purchased this DVD as a gift for someone special. I wanted to give it to someone along with the book The Velveteen Rabbit. I felt it portrayed the book very well and was entertaining enough for adults as well as children to enjoy. I am sure it is going to be a big hit.DVD came within the time frame promised in very good condition. I would recommend seller.

So beautiful! I bought it for my daughter and she loved it and so I decided to share it with my third and fourth grade music students. We have been talking about love for family. Everyone, without exception, loved it and wanted their own copy. When we return from holiday, I intend on giving them the title and directing them to the site to buy their own. Wonderful piece and a cool version of the original story!

I'm usually such a stickler for staying with the original story, but, for some reason, the very different approach in this movie didn't bother me a bit. I used to pretend as a kid so hard that things seemed absolutely real as well, and I thought the live action mingled with animation was well done.

Never having read the book, I don't know what I expected. I knew it would be sentimental, but that's fine with me (hell, I love IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!). I wanted to love VELVETEEN RABBIT like some of your other reviewers, but I didn't. I did like it, but that's all.The direction & photography were good, but the cast (save for the Mother & chauffeur) were not very good. The cast (including the lead), simply, walked through their parts. 'Family film' or not, one expects good acting today (like the children in HUGO). The confrontation between Mother & son needed much more development for maximum impact (after all, this was one of the more important dramatic scenes!).The film veers, sometimes suddenly, between live action & animated cartoon, and this can be quite jarring: Disney got away with this in MARY POPPINS, but this film doesn't. The 'magic' scenes, in my opinion, should've been done by CGI (like the backgrounds in WHAT DREAMS MAY COME). The live action & computer-rendered scenes would've blended so much better, but then, the budget would've had to be much larger.Still, it was fun to watch.

I love anything Christmassy at this time of year, even children's films, but when I started watching this I thought it was far too babyish and almost turned it off. Am so glad I didn't as it turned out to be a lovely film with a heartwarming ending - even shed a few tears! Will definitely add this to my Christmas collection to be watched each year.

This is beautiful story and so very cleverly filmed. It is a story about a young boy staying with his grandmother who is rather strict and unable to show her feelings. My 2 year old grandson absolutely loves it as do I .It has a real feel good factor with it .well worth watching over and over.

great film liked the live and animation change over , told the story with great feelings.

Purchased for my rabbit mad daughters. They've never heard of the story before other than for a reference in "Friends" TV sitcom. They cried.A powerful story for children.