I was hoping to be able to post my take on Disney’s The Jungle Book this morning, but the weekend and this lingering flu got in the way. Instead, I’ll draw your attention to The Reef, the “little film that could” as producer Mark Dippé describes it at one point in his commentary. True, the film does come off as an amalgamation of Finding Nemo and Shark Tale – not that either are logically referred to in the supplements – but, and I almost hate to admit it, I actually warmed to certain aspects of the movie.

While it’s obviously not in Pixar or DreamWorks’ league, for the time scale and budget constraints, the crew have made a splash in their own way, and one that only cries out for them to try their stuff on something more original. As a direct-to-video release in the US, its much more perfectly suited than as a big feature, which it certainly can not compete with. Still, there’s an awful lot worse out there, and with a couple of unexpected bonus features, The Reef is possibly worth checking out for its low list price.

I’ll be back soon with that Jungle Book review, as will Rand with a look at another Hanna-Barbera classic, but in the meantime, don’t forget that, while we’re dragging out feet here, our Animated News page keeps on rolling with all the latest headlines.

Stay tooned! – Ben.