Video: What's new in videos for children

Eloise At The Plaza

Buena Vista Home Video; 88 minutes; $24.99, DVD; $19.99, VHS Grade: B+.)

New York City in the 1950s is bustling, but no place is busier than the Plaza Hotel, home of exuberant, 6-year-old Eloise.

With a nose for adventure and a habit of meddling in the guests' affairs, Eloise keeps the high-strung hotel manager at his wits' end. Luckily for everyone, Eloise's precociousness endears her to other characters in the movie, and to the audience.

Based on Kay Thompson's 1955 book, "Eloise," the live-action "Eloise At The Plaza" treats the audience like Eloise's confidante. We accompany her everywhere and she often speaks to us in asides. At the start, Eloise (Sofia Vassilieva) introduces herself, telling of her likes and dislikes and of her life at the Plaza Hotel. She lives with her English nanny (a delightful performance by Julie Andrews) and receives daily French lessons from a serious young tutor, whom she drives to distraction.

Although she hasn't been invited, Eloise is planning to attend an elegant debutante ball in the Plaza's grand ballroom. When she gets wind of the imminent arrival of a foreign prince, Eloise is determined that he will escort her to the event. But the beleaguered hotel manager (Jeffrey Tambor) is equally resolute that both the royal visit and the ball will go off without a hitch.

Fans of the book will be pleasantly surprised at how true to its spirit the video incarnation is. We admire Eloise's pluck, laugh at her hijinks and love the fact that she wants everyone to find happiness. "Just say what you need," Eloise is fond of advising anyone around her. And in "Eloise At The Plaza," they get it. So do we.

Christmas Carol: The Movie

MGM Home Entertainment; 77 minutes; PG; $19.98, DVD; $9.94, VHS Grade: C-.)

"Christmas Carol: The Movie," a new, animated version of the Charles Dickens' holiday story, gives us more insight into the childhood relationships and events that hardened Ebenezer Scrooge's heart.

Although it's Christmas Eve, Scrooge (Simon Callow) is busy overseeing his clients' accounts and debts. In these hard times, the local debtors prison is filling up, and tonight, the beleaguered doctor who runs a charity hospital for children has been carted away to join its ranks. His dedicated nurse, Belle (Kate Winslet), is left alone to look after the sick children, one of whom is Tiny Tim Cratchet, whose father works for Scrooge.

Belle knew Scrooge when they were young, and she writes him an impassioned letter on the good doctor's behalf. She delivers it to Scrooge's office, but it winds up in his pocket, unread. Soon, Scrooge receives another visitor, the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley (Nicolas Cage). In life, Marley was as miserly and lacking in compassion as Scrooge; in death, he carries the heavy chains of remorse. He warns Scrooge that he'll three spirits will visit him before dawn.

The Ghost of Christmas Past takes him on a journey full of scenes from his youth. No sooner does the excursion end than Scrooge is lifted off by the Ghost of Christmas Present. By the end of Christmas Future's visit, Scrooge is scared out of his wits and eager to change his ways. But there might not be enough time left.

At an hour and 17 minutes, "Christmas Carol: The Movie" is too long, and its dreary, halting animation seems to slow it down even more. Disney's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" with the irascible Donald Duck as Scrooge, is a far livelier adaptation told in only 25 minutes. Two live-action film versions, a 1951 British release and the 1984 movie with George C. Scott in the lead role, are better bets as well.

The Land Before Time: The Great Longneck Migration

Universal Studios Home Video; 85 minutes; $24.98, DVD; $19.98, VHS Grade: D.)

This 15-year-old series has come out with its 10th full-length feature, "The Land Before Time: The Great Longneck Migration." While favorite characters Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike and Petrie sparkle in the lively opening scene -- and anyone who remembers the original story will be thrilled at their return -- the story soon slows to a crawl and seems to stop about two-thirds into the movie.

The earth was still forming when its population of dinosaurs roamed the land, eating, playing, fighting, sleeping, and perhaps even dreaming. Lately, the longneck herd that lives in the Great Valley is eager to embark on a journey. None of them knows where exactly, only that it is time to go to "the Great Beyond." Littlefoot says good-bye to his friends and heads out with his grandparents. They join other longneck herds headed the same way, have a bit of adventure, and get to where they're going -- although none of them knows why they've come.

In the meantime, Littlefoot's friends miss him and decide to follow the grandparents' giant footprints. The foursome's journey is fraught with peril -- a savage crocodile on the prowl and an attack by tyrannosaurus rex. Still, they catch up with Littlefoot in a land of lakes, grass, trees and mountains -- all set around what appears to be a giant crater. "What could have made a hole this big?" Littlefoot asks his grandpa.

We never find out. After witnessing a solar eclipse, the longnecks seem satisfied that their mysterious journey's been explained, but the audience remains unenlightened. A subplot involving Littlefoot finding his father, (lethargically voiced by Kiefer Sutherland), goes nowhere, too. A few off-key songs provide annoying musical interludes along the way. ("I hate it when dinosaurs sing," one of my sons said.) It's a shame that this epic tale could end with not even so much as a whimper.