New DVD Releases

Eddie Murphy and cute child actress Yara Shahidi play father and daughter in this pleasant family comedy. Evan Danielson (Murphy), a financial analyst at a Denver investment firm, is so into his job he's separated from his wife and spends little time with his seven-year-old daughter Olivia (Shahidi). Then she comes to stay with Evan for a week just as he is competing for a big promotion. Olivia retreats into a fantasy world, which she describes, but is never shown onscreen. Her imaginary characters tell her things she passes on to her dad, and he turns them into investment tips.

This comedy is a vehicle for Nia Vardalos, who has slimmed down and glammed up since she starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). Here Vardalos plays Georgia, an American who works as a guide to Greek tourist attractions such as the Parthenon, Delphi and Olympia. The movie shows Georgia helming a bus trip for a group of obnoxious tourists that includes a wisecracking widower portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss. The tour has a number of comic complications, but the sights are impressive, and Georgia gets romantic with the driver, whose name is Poupi Kakas.

In this six-part PBS series that runs over 11 1/2 hours, Ken Burns traces the history of US national parks, slowly building a powerful case that they have become an elemental component of America's national identity. Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon are central to the story, but playing significant roles are dozens of other parks, including Mesa Verde, Everglades, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia and Denali. Among the issues raised are preservation versus accessibility and spectacle versus wilderness experience. The discs also contain 3 1/4 hours of bonus materials.

In 1937 Walt Disney created the first feature-length animated film in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Early in the film we see the wicked Queen stand before a looking glass and ask, "Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" (Contrary to popular belief, these are the exact words she speaks in the movie.) When the Queen doesn't like the answer she receives, she orders Snow White killed. But Snow White gets some help from seven delightful dwarfs named Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey, and Grumpy, and later Prince Charming plays his part in the story as well.

Jack Black and Michael Cera are paired in this irreverent buddy comedy set in biblical times. Zed (Black) is a hunter and Oh (Cera) a gatherer who dress in animal skins. They leave their prehistoric tribe and wander about, encountering Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd). Later they happen upon Abraham (Hank Azaria) and his son Isaac (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) just in time to prevent the boy being sacrificed. Eventually, they make their way to Sodom, where one of the Sodomites takes an interest in Oh. There's gross-out humor, including Zed eating human excrement.