Jack And The Beanstalk - The Real Story DVD

Advantages: Teaches colours and shapes
Disadvantages: Can drag out at the end, if you let it

...have won practical pre-school awards, Jack and the Beanstalk being one of them in 2005. There are not many shops that stock their whole range, a few shops stock their popular games and puzzles like Boots at Christmas and The Entertainer. I am quiet lucky though that one of my toy shops is not a chain one and is an independent one and stocks virtually the whole range. It is not that more expensive than ordering direct from Orchard toys, no more than ...
...now about the actual product, Jack and the beanstalk. Cost: £10 - Direct from Orchard £10.99 - From my independent toy shop Age: 3 - 6 years old Players: 2 - 4 players The box: The box has the name of the game in big while letters across the top and a picture of a boy, meant to be Jack I think, holding a bag and a card with a shape on it. Jack is standing next to the beanstalk which goes all the way up to the sky with creatures on it and ... Read review

Advantages: Disc would make a nice Frisbee
Disadvantages: Too many to count.

...and since this, I wonder? Jack (Costello) gets a job babysitting a young prodigy-cum-brat, and Abbott plays his manager. The prodigy-cum-brat is basically a… well… brat. In an attempt to settle the boy down, Jack reads the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. We leave their black and white world and, very ‘Wizard of Oz’ like, we appear in a colourful world where Jack lives with his mother. The story is pretty much the fairy tale story that everyone ...
...the gist? However, when Jack starts to climb the beanstalk, along with Abbott – who plays a butcher (Jack swapped his cow for the beans with the butcher – was basically conned, but the giant takes the cow and Abbott wants it back; plus the giant has a goose that lays golden eggs… added incentive for Abbott), the village below bursts into song. This surprised me somewhat as I did not expect that. A bit of ‘filling in,’ I suspected at the time. But ... Read review

Advantages: Great Classic story with a twist, and magnificent ending.
Disadvantages: 3 hours 20 minutes- a bit long

~:∞:~:∞:~:∞:~:∞:~ JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: THE REAL STORY (2001) ~:∞:~:∞:~:∞:~:∞:~ This is an imaginative production on the traditional Jack and the Beanstalk story. While it was made for young kids, the story maintains adequate complexity to keep adults interested. But it really is something worth watching - it sure does have an unusual ending. Starring Richard Attenborough, Matthew Modine, Vanessa ...
...Modine plays the role of Jack Robinson, who is a very wealthy businessman and has no time for anything other than work, yet he doesn't realise that he is about to face the family curse where no man in the Robinson line lives past the age of thirty. Prior to his birthday, he stumbles across the remains of a giant's skeleton as well as someone who claimed to know the giant. He meets a woman (Mia Sara) who takes him to another world and the true story ... Read review

Advantages: Classic Oldie
Disadvantages: dated Gags and Humour

Abbott and Costello's Jack and the Bean Stalk. Saw this film just before Christmas; I remember how much I used to laugh whenever I saw Abbott and Costello on the television when I was younger, So for £4.99 I thought, what a bargain. Bar of Chocolate, bag of crisps, and a mug of tea, I was sorted, ready for a good nights viewing of laughter. Well to be brutally honest, I cant remember laughing once, It was nothing that the guys were doing different ...
...this film, it starts as Jack is baby sitting young Donald, he reads him the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' to help settle him down, But Jack falls asleep instead, and starts to dream that he is in the story. A good film, there's no denying that, lots of the usual gags and antics the pair always get up to, but I just found it really dated, I wish I had kept Abbott and Costello where they belonged, in my fond memories. Got my copy from Tesco ... Read review