Two recent children’s films dominate this week’s new releases.

Maurice Sendak’s once controversial Where the Wild Things Are had previously been filmed as an animated short in 1973 and re-released with new narration in 1988. Spike Jonze’s new film stretches the thin story to the breaking point, but nonetheless has legions of admirers.

The original controversy stemmed from the 1963 book’s depiction of a violent child who is sent to bed without his supper, conquers some imaginary monsters and goes downstairs to eat his still hot supper. Librarians of the day thought it unseemly and refused to stock it. When children found it anyway, they took another look and decided it had a wholesome message after all. It wasn’t about a boy overcoming monsters, it was about a boy overcoming his anger.

In any event, the film has a lovely nostalgic opening and an equally lovely ending. What comes between is a matter of taste, but even if you’re not enthralled by the story you can’t help but be taken in by Carter Burwell and Karen O’s lovely score.

Max Records is quite natural as the boy, Max, and a genuine find. Catherine Keener does her usual strong work as his mother. Mark Ruffalo has a throwaway role as her new boyfriend whose presence precipitates the boy’s tantrum.

There is solid voice work from James Galdofini, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker and others as the monsters, some of whom are so tame, the word “animal” might be more befitting than “monster”. They are, in fact, described in the film’s press release as “creatures”.

Where the Wild Things Are is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD. The Blu-ray edition includes the standard DVD as a second disc. Extras on both discs include several making-of documentaries are in my estimation more fascinating than the film itself, including one on the children of the crew who were present during filming to keep star Max Records company. Max’s little brother, Sam, steals the show.

Exclusive to the Blu-ray is the 23 1/3 minute Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More about a dog who runs away from home. Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker and Spike Jonze are among those supplying the voices in this live action-animated hybrid from another of Sendak’s books.

Master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki won an Oscar for Spirited Away and another nomination for Howl’s Moivng Castle, two of his trademark films noted for their vivid style and edge of the seat excitement. His latest, Ponyo, is taken from Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, which has been filmed many times, most notably by Disney in 1989.

In this latest version, also produced by Disney, the little mermaid is a goldfish who risks her life for the five year old boy who finds her. Pixar’s John Lasseter directed the English language version which features strong voice work by Noah Cyrus (Miley’s little sister) as Ponyo (the mermaid), Frankie Jonas (the youngest of the Jonas Brothers) as Sosuke (the boy), Tina Fey as the boy’s mother, Matt Damon as his seafaring father, Cate Blanchett as Ponyo’s mermaid mother, Liam Neeson as her sorcerer father and Betty White, Cloris Leachman and Lily Tomlin as a trio of lovable old ladies, excuse me, senior citizens.

Ponyo is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD. The Blu-ray edition includes the standard DVD as a second disc.

Criterion has released Eclipse Series 20 – George Bernard Shaw on Film. The Eclipse series is a bare bones collection of releases – films only, no extras. The films included here are Major Barbara; Caesar and Cleopatra and Androcles and the Lion.

Shaw liked what producer Gabriel Pascal did with the film version of Pygmalion, which won the Irish playwright an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay even though five other writers actually had a hand in reshaping Shaw’s scenario and dialogue for the screen. The result, though, was that Shaw (1956-1950) gave Pascal (1894-1954) a lifetime contract to film his other works. The contract was for Pascal’s lifetime, not Shaw’s, but it resulted in only three of Shaw’s works being filmed by Pascal, two before Shaw’s death and one after.

Because Shaw was a control freak, he insisted on approving the casting for both Major Barbara and Caesar and Cleopatra as well as insisting that no dialogue be cut. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the casting was a great strength of the two films, a curse because the uncut dialogue resulted in overlong films that the public stayed clear of. Freed from Shaw’s control after his death, Androcles and the Lion suffers from somewhat questionable casting but clocks in at less than two hours. Alas, it too was a flop at the box-office.

Pascal himself directed the first two films.

Though it may have been a flop at the time, Major Barbara was a critical success, landing on numerous top ten lists of 1941 and remains a favorite of many today. The story is about a zealous Salvation Army lass (Wendy Hiller) and her fiancé (Rex Harrison) who agree to spend a day working in her father’s (Robert Morley) munitions plant if he will spend a day working for the Salvation Army. Each hopes to convert the other. Filled with droll dialogue and interesting characters, the film is a showcase for its actors, particularly Morley. The supporting cast includes Sybil Thorndike, Emlyn Williams and in her screen debut, a luminous Deborah Kerr.

Major Barbara was a rare anti-war comedy released smack in the middle of World War II. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t successful at the time.

The most costly film yet then made in England, Caesar and Cleopatra cost five million pounds to make and lost three.

Claude Rains was Caesar, Vivien Leigh was Cleopatra and the Technicolor production used sand imported from Egypt to give the post-war film as authentic a look as possible.

Rains is good as usual, though to see him romantically paired with Leigh stretches credulity. The thirty-something Leigh herself is a bit of a stretch playing a teenager. Despite this, they have great chemistry together. The strong supporting cast includes Flora Robson, Stewart Granger and Francis L. Sullivan.

Pascal stuck to producing Androcles and the Lion, putting theatre director Chester Erskine at the helm of the only one of the films to be made in Hollywood.

Released after Quo Vadis and before the highly anticipated first Cinemascope film, The Robe, Androcles and the Lion had none of the success of those two megahits about the early Christians. For one, the film was based on one of Shaw’s weaker plays. For another it was in black and white. Audiences of the day were not interested in ostensibly seeing Christians eaten by lions unless it was in vivid color. Then there was the clash of acting styles.

Lovely Jean Simmons is top billed and does admirably as the beautiful Christian girl even the hardnosed Centurians love. Victor Mature is the stoic Army captain. Robert Newton is his usual larger than life self as a burly turn-the-other-cheek convert. Maurice Evans is a thinking man’s Antonius Caesar. Alan Young is a light comedian cast as the gentle Christian who pulls a huge thorn from a lion’s paw. Fortunately the lion remembers him in the arena and dances with him instead of eating him.

The Christians are not only content, but happy to go their martyrdom, singing as they march along. It’s meant to be witty, but comes across as somewhat incongruous. Still, it’s a treat to see so many great actors including Elsa Lanchester, Reginald Gardiner and Alan Mowbray among them, have their moment in the limelight.

At the time of his death in 1954, Pascal was working on a musical version of Pygmalion. It was to be called My Fair Lady.