Napoleon
This live-action feature follows the adventures of a golden retriever puppy who chafes under his given name of "Muffin" (much preferring his own choice of "Napoleon") and who travels through the Australian outback in search of his canine roots. Plopping, as puppies will do, into a basket suspended by balloons one day, Napoleon drifts from the home of his mother and human family, eventually landing on the rocky shore of Sydney Harbor. There he becomes acquainted with a chatty parrot named Birdo Lucci (say the name aloud, you film buffs) and encounters all manner of animals in the wild: a cagey koala, a maternal kangaroo, an irritated lizard, and the dingoes with whom he wants to bond. The film was produced with an eye toward pleasing young audiences practically anywhere on earth, and the sight gags and visual thrills have a broad, universal appeal, while the many creatures in this film are given human voices on the soundtrack (any language would do, but the English-language actors include Joan Rivers and Dame Edna). On the downside, the dialogue can be a bit coarse ("shut up," "stupid," that sort of thing), though it's never obscene. And while no animals were hurt during the making of the movie, some of them certainly look as if they're placed in stressful situations.--Tom Keogh