Fly Away Home

This soaring girl-and-her-geese drama was one of 1996's best films. Anna Paquin (the young Oscar-winning star of The Piano) gives an enchanting performance as a morose 13-year-old reunited with her estranged father, an unconventional artist and inventor (Jeff Daniels), after the death of her mother. Her spirit is renewed when she finds and nurtures a nest of geese eggs. Together, they endeavor to lead the adorable, scene-stealing goslings south for the winter via a glider contraption. Families should flock to this family classic by the director and cinematographer of The Black Stallion. (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 31, 2009—Sony, 107 min., PG, $28.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1996's Fly Away Home features a good transfer and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, the 49-minute “The Ultra Geese” making-of documentary, an “Operation Migration: Birds of a Feather” behind-the-scenes featurette (18 min.), the “HBO Making Of: Leading the Flock” featurette (13 min.), and trailers. Excusive to the Blu-ray version is the BD-Live function (missing are the filmographies from the DVD). Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for a winning family film.]