Let's clear up some things first. I don't normally review kids movies. The reason for that? I hate Disney. I hate Disney with a passion. And it's not that it's all bad, but it's definitely not all good. I mean come on, have you ever watched Winnie the Pooh? The elephant sequence is just way too damn creepy for me. And I hate their revised endings on every tragedy that they do. (The real ending of the Hunchback had him in the bottom of a pit, and Esmerelda's beheaded body thrown on top of Quasimodo. And the real ending of the Little Mermaid wasn't happy either!) I also hate the fact that just because something has a Disney stamp on it that most people assume that it's good entertainment for children. It just ain't so, and how many copies of Flubber got sold on video? I hate Walt, and his stint in carbon-freeze. I hate the fact that they have attempted to establish a monopoly on childrens' entertainment and have almost succeeded. (Fox Animation is gone due to the bombing of Titan A.E. and Warner Bros. didn't do exceedingly well with this film either. Which is really a shame.

I said it before, and I'll say this several more times. This was not just a great kids movie, it was a great movie. From the opening sequence, I was totally sucked in. And I was there for the whole ride.

Absolutely original in every way. The entire look of the film screams, "This IS NOT Disney!" This movie has great characters, not characatures (the Disney staple), each of them with their share of ideals and flaws. And they are all so human. There are no obvious plot twists or melodrama, just a wonderful rich and compelling story. And best of all, there is not one single instance that the characters feel the need to break into a stupid song! This movie has a score, not a soundtrack.

And might I add, they had real humor in this movie. Not the "Oh, that was clever" humor, I mean, belly laughing humor! (Come on, Brad Bird directed cartoons for the Simpsons, so you know he can make you laugh!) And in the same movie, he can charm, amaze and surprise the hell out of you.

In a way, I'm kinda glad I didn't remembers this movie, because it was the neutron bomb of surprises for me.

I already got my copy on DVD. Not my kids, mine. If you've got kids, see it. If you don't have kids, see it.

I loved this movie. From beginning to end. And I'll even say it... I cried at the end.