Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller

One of the strangest children's movies I've ever seen, Michael Rubbo's 1988 Canadian film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller is half over—without a hint of fantasy—when it suddenly turns, well, fantastical. Tommy Tricker (Anthony Rogers) is a pubescent con man who steals a rare and valuable postage stamp from the collection of the father of one of his classmates, Ralph James (Lucas Evans). Setting out to recover the stolen property, Ralph accidentally discovers a magical method of shrinking himself down to ant size so he can hide in a postage stamp and get mailed around the world. You probably had to be a kid the first time you saw it, which might explain the bit of a cult following the film seems to have...or at least the breathless anticipation some Generation Xers seem to have over the DVD release. Presented on an extra-less disc, the video transfer and audio qualities are fine, which help highlight the musical performances here by the always engaging McGarrigle sisters and 14-year-old Rufus Wainwright (who also appears in the film). Chances are, some of today's kids might get a kick out of this, making it a strong optional purchase. (M. Johanson)