Bovie Movie

A high-school bookworm transforms into a swan in Walt Disney Pictures’ “ICE PRINCESS.” Brainy Casey Carlyle (’Michelle Trachtenberg’ (qv)) has never quite fit in. Caught between her fantasy of becoming a championship figure skater and her strong-willed mother (’Joan Cusack’ (qv)), who has her on the fast track to Harvard, she can only hope to be like Nikki, Tiffany and Gen (’Hayden Panettiere’ (qv))—three elite skating prodigies who are ruthlessly competing on the US National circuit (and have attitudes to match). But when Casey gets the chance to train with Gen and her coach, a disgraced former skating champion who also happens to be Gen’s mother (’Kim Cattrall’ (qv)), she must dash her own mother’s hopes in order to pursue her dream. Now, with only the support of Gen’s teenage brother, a hunky Zamboni driver (’Trevor Blumas’ (qv)), Casey takes on the challenge of her life when she finds herself competing against the best to make it into the championship circuit and become a real “ice princess.”

A director of contemporary comedies, Charles Shyer makes a genre leap into period costume drama with this lavish epic based on a controversial chapter of French history. Hilary Swank stars as Jeanne de la Motte Valois, a countess whose royal title has been stripped from her family by the crown in late 18th century. Determined to restore her good name and privilege, Jeanne schemes politically and sexually with a trio of co-conspirators that includes her gigolo lover, Retaux de Villette (Simon Baker), her husband, Nicolas (Adrien Brody), and a mysterious Italian count (Christopher Walken) to obtain a diamond necklace worth millions. Jeanne’s cabal concocts a series of forged letters linking Marie Antoinette (Joely Richardson) and the stunning 2,800-carat jewelry to the debauched Cardinal Louis de Rohan (Jonathan Pryce), an act that could end up restoring rank to the Valois family or fanning the flames of growing revolutionary sentiments. The Affair of the Necklace (2001) co-stars Brian Cox as the narrator Minister Breteuil.

Walt Disney Pictures redefined computer animation with this technically accomplished fantasy of prehistoric life, combining live-action backgrounds with computer-generated animals. After a pterodactyl snatches a dinosaur’s egg and accidentally drops it while flying away, the egg is rescued by a family of lemurs, who keep it warm until it hatches. They raise the baby dinosaur, named Aladar, as one of their own, and as he grows to adulthood, Aladar protects the primates that he has come to regard as his family. When a giant meteor appears in the sky, packs of dinosaurs have no idea what to make of the strange fiery light, but Aladar and the lemurs are convinced that they must escape to a safer place before the huge flaming stone destroys their home, leading Aladar to encounter his own kind for the first time. D.B. Sweeney provides the voice of Aladar; other actors in the voice cast include Joan Plowright, Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, and Ossie Davis.

A struggling Chinese-American actor, who unwittingly finds himself involved with a high school girl, learns he has inherited his grandmother’s home in Shanghai. The American-raised character moves to China in an attempt to connect with his ancestry, leaving behind quite possibly the only girl who has ever loved him.

Denzel Washington is hired as the T.C. Williams High football coach over a white coach in Alexandria, Virginia in the early 1970’s during a time when the school has just been integrated to allow blacks into the school.

A horse of a different pattern becomes a spoiler in a high-stakes race in the family-friendly comedy-drama. Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood) is a farmer who once earned his living training racehorses before his wife was killed in an accident while riding, which led him to leave the racing game. Nolan tends to his farm and looks after his daughter Channing (Hayden Panettiere) and a large flock of animals, who speak to one another but not to humans. After a traveling circus passes through town, a zebra pony is left behind; Nolan takes in the animal, intending to return it to the circus, but at Channing’s insistence they keep the zebra, naming him Stripes (voiced by Frankie Muniz). Channing loves Stripes, and the zebra is welcomed by the other critters on the farm, including grumpy Shetland pony Tucker (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), slow-moving hound dog Lightning (voiced by Snoop Dogg), a New Jersey-born pelican named Goose (voiced by Joe Pantoliano), skinny-brained rooster Reggie (voiced by Jeff Foxworthy), and deep-thinking goat Franny (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg). Channing discovers that Stripes can outrun nearly any horse around, and Woodzie (M. Emmett Walsh), a local character who has spent years handicapping the ponies, is convinced the zebra would be shoo-in in the Kentucky Open, a prestigious race held at the estate of champion horse breeder Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick). Channing believes Stripes can win, but he’ll need the help of Nolan, who isn’t so sure he’s ready to start training again; meanwhile, Stripes gets plenty of advice from the other farm animals about his big step onto the race track. Mandy Moore, David Spade, and Steve Harvey also contribute their voice talents to the picture.