Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. announced the

simultaneous worldwide VHS release of George Lucas' STAR WARS: EPISODE I

THE PHANTOM MENACE. Young Jedi wanna-bes around the globe will snag their

copy the week of April 3 - 8, 2000. The biggest box office hit of 1999 and

second highest-grossing motion picture of all time worldwide, will official

go on sale in North America on Tuesday, April 4, 2000. The US$922 million

As of December 21, 1999, both young and old fans of the lovable elephant

Babar can take home his new direct-to-video feature BABAR: KING OF THE

ELEPHANTS. The new film follows the adventures of Babar's life from birth

to his kingship. The video was co-produced by Nelvana Limited and HBO Home

Video and features computer replications of original Babar illustrations.

BABAR: KING OF THE ELEPHANTS bounces into stores at a suggested retail

price of US$19.96.

The Dark Knight descends into video stores December 21, 1999 with three new

BATMAN BEYOND videos and two new DVDs -- BATMAN BEYOND: THE MOVIE and

BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM. Each of the three BATMAN BEYOND VHS tapes

(DISAPPEARING INQUE, SCHOOL DAYZ, TECH WARS) all feature three episodes of

the Warner Bros. cartoon series. The BATMAN BEYOND DVD features the movie

and four bonus episodes of the series. BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM is the

first feature animated movie and has sold millions of copies on VHS

Urban Vision will soon re-release Vampire Hunter D and Wicked City. The

classic horror anime D will hit streets January 18, 2000 and Yoshiaki

Kawajiri's hit Wicked City debuted December 7, 1999. Both flicks will be

available in an English Dubbed version for US$19.95 and a Japanese with

English subtitles version for $29.95. Other anime titles coming soon to DVD

are Slayers: The Motion Picture, street date February 8, 2000 for $29.98

and Legend Of Crystania: The Motion Picture, street date February 8, 2000

Sony Wonder and Golden Books Family Entertainment Home Video will bring the
beloved children's holiday film, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, to DVD for
the first time. The adventures of the shunned reindeer will be available for
US$19.98. For the holidays, Sony Wonder will also re-release ELMO SAVES
CHRISTMAS on DVD and more favorite Sesame Street titles for $19.98.

Six films from Czech puppet master, Jiri Trnka, will be available on a new
compilation DVD available February 29, 2000. Included on the release will
be the feature-length classic THE EMPEROR'S NIGHTINGALE based on the Hans
Christian Anderson fairy tale and narrated by legendary-Hollywood actor
Boris Karloff. The five featured shorts will include Trnka's world famous
THE HAND, along with STORY OF THE BASS CELLO, A MERRY CIRCUS, A DROP TOO
MUCH, and THE SONG OF THE PRAIRIE. Not to sound too much like a late-night

In a far distant future, a
would-be master race seeks to dominate the galaxy. Against these merciless
Afressians, mankind has just one hope: the mysterious female warrior known
as Emeraldas. This is the story behind the Houston, Texas-based ADV Films
November 23, 1999 release of QUEEN EMERALDAS on DVD. The US$29.98 QUEEN
EMERALDAS DVD will be in English and Japanese with English subtitles. Also
from ADV the following VHS tapes will all be released on January 25, 2000:
The war against Genom escalates as the Knight Sabers find themselves forced

Previously, we reported that Warner Bros. Home Video had announced that THE
IRON GIANT DVD would be letterboxed at 1.85:1, which would have been
unfortunate because the film has a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and Brad Bird
designed THE IRON GIANT partly in homage to the very wide CinemaScope films
of the 1950s. But Warners has changed their mind and the DVD will be
letterboxed at 2.35:1. THE IRON GIANT DVD will include letterboxed (2.35:1)
and pan & scan versions of the movie, be 16X9, have AC3 and 5.1 surround

Image Entertainment is releasing Art Clokey's DAVEY AND GOLIATH on DVD and
VHS. DAVEY AND GOLIATH was a stop-motion television series that was made by
GUMBY creator Art Clokey for the Lutheran Church in America from 1962 to
1977. It was usually shown on Sunday morning. In the series, Davey, a boy,
and his dog, Goliath, would usually get into some sort of trouble, but
learn a moral lesson by the end of the story. The DAVEY AND GOLIATH DVD
will include eight 14 minute episodes. It is not region coded. Image is

Buena Vista Home Video is releasing new videos featuring Goofy, Winnie the
Pooh, Belle, and Inspector Gadget early next year. WINNIE THE POOH, A
VALENTINE FOR YOU! is due January 11, 2000 on VHS for US$14.99. In the
video, which premiered last year as a television special, Pooh and his
friends are afraid that Christopher Robin has been bitten by a Smitten when
he becomes interested in a girl. They search the Hundred Acre Wood for the
love bug, hoping it will bite him again and cure his lovesickness. BELLE'S