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The Movie:
"The Little Vampire" stars Jonathan Lipnicki(the little kid from "Jerry Maguire") as Tony Thompson, an American who moves to Scotland after his parents get a new job. Although school isn't terribly fun for the youngster(he gets bullied and laughed at), he manages to get along. He also thinks that there's vampires on the loose - which, actually, he's right about. He even meets a little vampire his own age (well 300 years ago he was Tony's age) named Rudolph.
The general plot revolves around the two looking for a missing amulet that will help Rudolph and the rest of the vampires return to being human again - that's if a local vampire hunter named Rooker doesn't get to it first, giving him the power to stop the vampires. There's really nothing terribly frightening about the film, with the exception that Lipnicki still looks almost exactly the same as he did a few years ago in "Jerry Maguire"(maybe he's a vampire!).
Although maybe director Ulrich Eldel may not have been the best choice to helm this children's tale (his previous experience includes the Madonna flick "Body Of Evidence" as well as TV fare like "Twin Peaks" and the TV film "Confessions Of Sorority Girls"), the end result is actually a fun (if sometimes odd - as cows play an interesting role, for example) tale. The dialogue and acting (well, with the exception of Lipnicki) is also very good.
Although the material (vampires and all that) may be a bit too scary for the youngest viewers, older children may find "The Little Vampire" to be a fun rental.
The DVD
VIDEO: Reviewing New Line titles, you always know what you're going to get. "The Little Vampire" is presented in 1.85:1 and, like all New Line titles, it is anamorphic. And, like all New Line titles, the image quality is never anything less than first-rate. Even for this little, little-seen children's film, they've put forth an excellent effort. Images are consistently sharp and well-defined, with excellent clarity, even in the film's many dark sequences.
There are some minor problems on display throughout. A little bit of edge enhancement and pixelation is visible, althoug these problems don't cause much of a distraction. The print used is clean and clear, with nothing in the way of marks or even slight speckles. The film isn't overly colorful as many of the sequences take place at night with a rather "blue" tint. Daytime scenes remain natural looking, with bold, crisp colors that are pleasing to look at. Although not their most impressive release, "The Little Vampire" still offers very solid image quality. A pan&scan version is included as well, and can be selected from the menu.
SOUND: "The Little Vampire" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and actually, boasts a moderately active audio presentation. Although much of the film is generally dialogue and music driven from the front, the more intense sequences spread out the action a bit. There is some fairly involving surround use as the vampires fly around and occasionally seem to be flying around the room.
MENUS:: As usual, New Line provides creatively done animated menus, included a main menu with the two characters flying through the night sky.
EXTRAS: The film's theatrical trailer (Dolby Digital 5.1), 3 games, cast and crew bios, jokes, recipes and DVD-ROM features including web-links.
Final Thoughts: "The Little Vampire" will make for a fine rental for older children. New Line offers a very good DVD, with strong audio/video quality and a couple of decent extra features.
Film Grade
The Film ** 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 89/B+ = (356/400 possible points)
Audio: 88/B = (352/400 possible points)
Extras: 75/C = (210/300 possible points)
Menus: 85/B = (170/200 possible points)
Value: 82/B = (246/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1334/1600
DVD GRADE:B/83%
FILM GRADE: ** 1/2
DVD GRADE: B
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