Little Rantaro comes from a long line of ninjas, so when he leaves the family farm to enter ninja school himself he is determined to master star-throwing, explosives, and rock-climbing. But Rantaro’s first-year class is so inept that the headmaster declares an early vacation and sends them all home. The youngsters nonetheless earn their stars when they are challenged by a rival clan and must race to ring the bell at a mountaintop temple to save the school. Brilliant in its excess and bursting with energy from the infectious young cast, the film is loaded with non-stop visual gags, dopey villains, adorable ninja trainees … and easily earns all three exclamation points in its title! Recommended Ages: 8 and up. In Japanese with English subtitles.

A classic misunderstood-monster tale, this warm-hearted musical about the power of song features Django Reinhardt-style gypsy guitar and honey-toned vocals courtesy of Sean Lennon. Paris, 1910. The streets of the city are flooded. A mist-enshrouded Eiffel Tower looms over a temporary lake and the alleyways sport makeshift bridges so Parisians can go about their daily routines. But spirits are high for the citizens of this romantic city, including Emile, a lovelorn film projectionist, and his inventor friend Raoul, whose enthusiasm for breaking rules places him and Emile at the center of some unintentional mischief after they sneak into a scientist’s laboratory greenhouse and unwittingly let loose a monster onto the soggy streets. Yet this terrible monster turns out to have a sad and sensitive soul - as well as musical talent - and when cabaret singer Lucille discovers the beast hiding backstage at the music hall, he dons a cape and hat and joins her act, instantly wowing the crowd with his silky smooth voice and hot guitar licks. Despite his peaceful demeanor, the City of Lights is in a panic, as the rotten rogue of a mayor plunges his police force headlong into a chaotic monster hunt that uses both the sweeping backdrops of Paris and 3-D effects to the fullest. Recommended ages: 5 and up. In English.

Taking much of its inspiration from Homer’s The Odyssey, this Coen brothers comedy stars George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as escaped convicts in Depression-era Mississippi. On a wild goose chase for loot from a previous crime, the trio encounter bluesmen, bank robbers, Bible thumpers and politicos, and become unlikely hitmakers as the “Soggy Bottom Boys” (in real life, the film’s bluegrass-filled soundtrack topped charts and won three Grammys). Costarring John Goodman. The title is taken from the social-realist film-within-a-film Joel McCrea's character wants to make in Preston Sturges' SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS!