Cardcaptors: The Movie

Based on the popular manga series by CLAMP (four women artists in a genre virtually dominated by males), Cardcaptors: The Movie offers an English-dubbed, WB network friendly, cut version of the original Japanese anime. An action-fantasy series focusing on 10-year-old Sakura, who wields a magic wand and powerful cards ("clow cards") against her enemies, Cardcaptors: The Movie finds our young heroine journeying to Hong Kong with friends and her guardian Kero (who looks like a winged stuffed toy bear), where she's drawn into a dangerous dream world inhabited by a powerful woman who once was an enemy of Clow Reed (the ancient sorcerer after whom Sakura's cards are named). Beautifully drawn, this version--presented in standard screen format with Dolby Digital English stereo and few extras beyond a weird live action Japanese schoolgirl "No Nagging" music video that would be right at home on MTV--is certainly suitable for younger audiences, but libraries collecting anime would be better off considering the original version Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie ($29.98), also from Pioneer, which is uncut and includes both Japanese and English language options. Optional. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)