“Anyone can be anything.” That’s what little Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) thinks about the city of Zootopia. This optimistic and plucky little rabbit wants to make the world a better place, and she gets her chance in the hit animated movie Zootopia.

Judy followed her dream and became the first bunny cop on the ZPD (Zootopia Police Department). Her eagerness for the job is not dampened when she is assigned parking duty. Oh no. When she is tasked with writing 100 parking tickets, she sets her sights on writing 200. But she suddenly finds herself in the middle of a giant missing mammal case.

Judy and her new acquaintance Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly but sweet fox, are on the trail of a missing otter. There have been 14 cases of missing mammals. Together, this unlikely pair manages to get to the bottom of a sophisticated plot and uncover the mastermind. Along the way they form a friendship that gets them through some tough times, and even sets the stage for a sequel if the powers that be at Disney decide to continue their story. They are both fun characters, and Judy is a great role model for boys and girls. She is steadfast in following her dreams. After all, if she doesn’t try, she won’t know if she can succeed. That’s a great lesson for everyone.

The bonus features include a look at how the filmmakers researched animal behavior by first visiting Disney Animal Kingdom in Florida, then traveling to Africa where they figured out which animals were going to be what kind of characters in the film. Their big ah-ha moment was at a watering hole, which was a peaceful place where animals came together, and that became the foundation for the city of Zootopia.

The filmmakers pitched three stories to Executive Producer John Lasseter, all featuring animals in clothing, which appealed to Lasseter. Looks at the characters, environments, and animation as well as the score are featured in bonuses. Lasseter said he wanted a “world music vibe” with a “hip vibe” when it came to the score.

Keep your eyes open during the movie for signs of Big Hero 6, hidden Mickeys, Frozen, Tangled, Moana, and even Oswald. Those clever folks at Disney always manage to include hints of their past and future films and characters. A music video with Shakira, deleted scenes, and a look at some characters that didn’t make it into the film round out the bonuses.

Zootopia is rated PG for some thematic elements, rude humor and action.

Check out this cute Z.P.D Forensic Files Easter Egg clip.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Based on the popular novel, Love Finds You in Valentine is another story from the “Love Finds You” series about finding love and destiny. This story is about a law student living in Los Angeles who travels to the quaint town of Valentine, Nebraska to undertake the sale of her family’s ranch. What she discovers is that she is happier in Valentine with the fresh air, rolling hills, and friendly people than she is in the high-powered world of the big city.

Kennedy Blaine (Michaela McManus) never knew much about her family, but she discovers everything when, according to her father’s will, she must take care of the selling of the ranch in person, so she travels to Valentine with the intention of signing the documents. What she learns is that her mother, a Morgan, married the love of her life, a Blaine. The two families had been feuding for generations. After her mother ran off with her father, neither of them spoke much about their past lives in Valentine. And Kennedy never knew her grandfather (Ed Asner).

The first person she meets is the ranch foreman, Derek (Diogo Morgado), who lives with his mother (Lindsay Wagner) on the property. But Kennedy also meets a cousin who is anxious to get her John Hancock on the papers to sell the property.

The more she learns about Valentine the more she feels at home there. And the more time she spends there, the more she realizes something is screwy. Why does her cousin want her to sell so badly? What’s really going on?

Kennedy also learns about her family history and the ranch from Derek, who eventually warms up to the city girl. With secrets of his own, this man keeps his distance from her, but the attraction between them is difficult to ignore.

So, with Derek’s past coming back to haunt him and maybe put everyone in jeopardy, and her cousin pushing her to sell the ranch, there are plenty of things going on in Valentine that intrigue Kennedy. But the most important thing is the connection she feels to this land. It was where her parents grew up. It was their home. Now that they are both deceased, Kennedy feels like this might be her home as well.

Love Finds You in Valentine is a nice little story, especially for Valentine’s Day viewing. Like all the “Love Finds You” movies, this one leaves viewers feeling good, content, and hopeful. And the scenery is spectacular. It was actually filmed in a small town in Ohio and could end up being an ad for tourism Millersburg and Dover, Ohio. It’s that charming.

Love Finds You in Valentine is not rated however it is appropriate for all ages. Unfortunately, there are no bonus features on the DVD.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

This whacky comedy pays tribute to old Hollywood, actors, and movies as it spoofs several genres while at the same time bringing the old studio system front and center. Set in the early 1950s, Hail, Caesar! has its share of laugh-out-loud moments.

Josh Brolin stars as the head of Capitol Pictures Eddie Mannix. This guy solves all the problems on the sets, behind the scenes, and orchestrates the personal lives of his actors.

Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is a movie star in the same vane as a Charleston Heston or Richard Burton. He’s currently filming a movie called “Hail Caesar!” A group of Hollywood communists, an element of the story that brings up the mood of the time when the cold war was looming large in the consciousness of the people, kidnaps Whitlock. It’s now up to Mannix to get his star back while at the same time keeping everything working smoothly at the studio.

This all takes place in one day as not only the kidnapping is playing out, but also other movies are being filmed on the lot. The other films add the whimsy to this story.

First there is a cowboy star, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich), who has a following for his western movies. He’s a singing cowboy, but is suddenly out of his element when he is cast as a suave, sophisticated man in a new film. This guy does his best to please the director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes), who is dumbfounded why this cowboy is suddenly cast in his dramatic film.

Then there’s the Esther Williams-type actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) who always looks great in the water but on dry land she finds herself in the middle of a personal dilemma. Mannix is pulling all his strings to fix her situation while at the same time juggling the other problems of the studio along with a pair of gossip columnists (both played by Tilda Swinton) who are each looking for a big scoop.

And finally, a Fred Astaire/Donald O’Connor/Gene Kelly singing and dancing star, Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum), is rehearsing his number complete with with tap dancing and all the trimmings.

This is a fun little film filled with whimsy and wit, while at the same time showing Hollywood in the 1950s.

Bonus features on the Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD include looks at how the Coen brothers make their films. There are also comparisons between the characters in the film and those in old Hollywood. It’s also interesting to see how the communist threat of the day played into this story.

The movie might not have been produced had it not been for Clooney’s continual efforts to have the Coen brothers make it. He says it was listed in the IMDB site before there was even a script because he had often spoken about it in public and people thought it was a done deal. His persuasion was the push the producers needed to finally make this film that they had been thinking about for years. The actors discuss their characters and making the movie and there are plenty of other interesting tidbits in these bonus features.

Hail, Caesar! is rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and smoking.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter