2008 Winter Movie Guide

The Pitch
A hotel handyman (Sandler, natch) regales his niece and nephew with wild stories set in the Middle Ages, outer space and ancient Greece. Magically, his tall tales turn real, and it's "Night at the Museum" all over again!

The Scoop
Let's face it, whether Disney's "Bedtime Stories" puts audiences to sleep or fires up their dreams with rock-'em-sock-'em adventures depends entirely on funnyman Sandler -- backed by a lot of FX. Formerly a choreographer, director Adam Shankman turned "Hairspray" into box-office gold, partially redeeming his record of flops such as "A Walk to Remember" (who remembers?) and "The Pacifier" (Vin Diesel as a babysitter!). Could be that babysitting rowdy kids will be this film's biggest Christmas Day gift.

The Pitch
The star of a Hollywood TV show about a superdog, Bolt (Travolta) has never doubted he possesses actual superpowers. (The pooch does sport a jagged lightning bolt marking strangely reminiscent of that wizard kid's scar.) Accidentally shipped off to the Big Apple, the delusional German shepherd doggedly heads home, surviving real-life threats with the help of a cynical pussycat and a nutball hamster.

The Scoop
Think "The Truman Show" for beasties, courtesy of Walt Disney. Formerly titled "American Dog," this CGI-animated road movie's been percolating since 2004, and was originally slated for release in 2007. Some are calling "Bolt" fall-down funny; others, "twisted." Let's sit up and beg for a bracing brew of both qualities, as opposed to cutesy-poo pablum strictly for tots.

The Pitch
Somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, civil war plagues the planet of Jhamora -- and by golly, only a brave young whippersnapper named Luke ... er, Delgo (Prinze Jr.) can save the day.

The Scoop
In Atlanta, of all places, a Little Studio That Could CGI-ed "Delgo" into existence, sans any industry support or control. The buzz is superpositive for Fathom Studios' maiden effort, pumped up by a terrific voice cast and a wonderfully imagined world, magical home to winged beings, forest sprites and a hero who resembles an adorable chimp-turtle hybrid.

The Pitch
When their new guardians forbid them to have pets, a couple of orphans hide a herd of stray pooches in a derelict hotel. Based on Lois Duncan's novel "Lost Treasures: Hotel for Dogs," this latest entry in Hollywood's preteen/teen filmfest features Julia Roberts' niece, previously seen -- and warmly appreciated by this flick's target demographic -- in "Aquamarine" and "Nancy Drew."

The Scoop
Surely Oscar-nominee Cheadle got roped in under the mistaken impression he was starring in a sequel to "Hotel Rwanda." But what's down-and-dirty Johnny Drama (Dillon) from TV's "Entourage" doing in these wholesome environs? Thank heavens Emma and her little brother aren't charged with saving the world, just dogs. Still, the combo of kids and canines will probably kill -- only a cold-hearted cat-lover could resist.

The Pitch
Adapted from a children's novel by Cornelia Funke, "Inkheart" boasts a trio of villainous fictional creatures, brought to life when Mo "Silvertongue" Folchart reads stories to his daughter Meggie. Happily visting mucho destruction on the real world, Capricorn (Serkis, the eternally conflicted Gollum from "Lord of the Rings"), Basta and fire-eating Dustfinger must be stopped -- and Meggie's just the girl to do it!

The Scoop
OK, how many heroic kids -- wizards, British brats abroad in Narnia, girl with golden compass, ad nauseam -- can even a sympathetic soul bear, not to mention all the tiresome battles to save civilization or the world or whatnot from apocalypse? Can't one of these precocious types just go do his/her homework? Judging from the silly alien-messiah flick "K-PAX" (2001) and "The Skeleton Key," a 2005 excursion into the horror genre, director Iain Softley isn't likely to make "Inkheart" another "Lord of the Rings." Still, if it generates shekels at the box office, look for "Inkspell," the sequel.

The Pitch
In this obligatory "Madagascar" sequel (the 2005 'toon gobbled up $500 million globally), the multispecies escapees from New York's Central Park Zoo take off from the island in a plane held together by spit and a prayer, only to crash in the middle of Africa. Charming -- and alarming -- adventures are guaranteed to unreel.

The Scoop
Eagerly anticipated by rugrats everywhere, "Mad 2" is sure to continue mining hilarity out of encounters between zoo animals and their counterparts in the wild. Will Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) speak? Roar? Growl? Talk the same language as his African bros -- or will they have him for dinner? Chill, little dudes, his posse's (Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the Hippo, et al.) got his back.

The Pitch
This animated celebration of misfits and outcasts is adapted from Kate DiCamillo's kid-friendly "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread." Four unlikely souls -- animal and Homo sapiens -- cross paths on the way to destiny: A mousey (Broderick) with Dumbo-sized ears, crushing on a human princess named Pea (Watson); Roscuro the rat (Hoffman), freaked out by the dark; and Mig (Ullman), a dopey peasant girl with Cinderella dreams.

The Scoop
Once Snow White's jealous stepmother and killer of many aliens, Sigourney Weaver narrates "Despereaux," while standout voices are supplied by a super array of stars. The imaging is gorgeous, almost painterly in its detail and tinting, and as for the titular hero, his family and friends are just too adorable for words. Looks like a winner -- for grown-ups as well as kidlets!