VHS : The Tenth Kingdom

Rating: - A fun fantasy quest!
Having missed the TV series I bought the DVD version of the 10th kingdom & a good thing too..I could never have waited to watch each episode! I watched the whole lot in 2 days & absolutely love it. It's a witty look at what happened after 'happily ever after' & a weaves fairy tale magic with a typical storyline. Well worth watching for any fantasy fan

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Rating: - An Astonishing Achievement, A Wonderful Mini-Series
The 10th Kingdom is television making at its very best. The mini-series was very poorly publicised when it was first shown - both on American and British television - but it can now be enjoyed again and again with the advent of DVD.

The series blends fantasy and reality and also pokes fun at age old fairy tales, legends and myths. At the beginning of the series, we are introduced to Virginia, a waitress who lives in New York with her Father, who is the Janitor in their apartment building. She tells us that nothing exciting ever happens in her life.

However, all of this is about to change as Prince Wendall, the ruler of the fourth Kingdom, who has been turned into a dog by his stepmother, the evil Queen (superbly played by Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest) bursts through a magic portal, causing Virginia to hit him and crash her bicycle. As he was being chased by trolls - a group of three siblings who blunder throughout the series trying to capture Wendall for the Queen - he happened upon a mirror with a mystical portal which led to Central Park and Virginia. The trolls soon follow, then a Wolf (Scott Cohen) who is also in pursuit of Wendall for the Queen.

After taking the dog under her wing and bringing him to the restaurant where she works, Virginia begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The dog seems to understand everything she says and it warns of danger. The ensuing drama which follows her discovering that the dog may not be a dog after all is gripping and exciting. So much happens in the first two episodes that it is hard to keep up with the speed of the action, which only makes for an exhilerating experience.

Virginia and her Father - with Wendall in tow - eventually end up finding the portal themselves and travel through it, straight into the fourth Kingdom. Wendall explains how his world is made up of Nine Kingdoms - which if you look closely, are simply a modified map of Europe - and that each Kingdom is ruled by a different person and group of people. The evil Queen wants to seize control of all Nine Kingdoms, but she can only achieve this by killing the other leaders and taking over. We discover that she is the successor to the evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White and there is also another secret about her which is discovered later on.

The series is highly original and very beautiful - the sets and the costumes are wonderful, as are the production values in general - to look at. The actors all perform brilliantly as their characters and it is obvious that they took their roles very seriously. There are some very big names in the cast, including Dianne Wiest, Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, Ed O'Neill, Camryn Manheim, Rutger Hauer, Ann-Margret, Warwick Davis, Jimmy Nail and it was awarded an Emmy for its efforts. The series has a concept similar to that of the recent film Enchanted and is very enchanting itself.

It is filled with great adventure, stunning cinematography, wonderful performances from a brilliant ensemble cast and a thrilling story filled with twists and turns, romance, magic, suspense, happiness, heartwrenchingly sad moments and a spirit that will appeal to everyone. This series is a must see and will enchant anyone with a love for storytelling and the imagination.

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Rating: - An Astounding Achievement, A Wonderful Mini-Series
The 10th Kingdom is television making at its very best. The mini-series was very poorly publicised when it was first shown - both on American and British television - but it can now be enjoyed again and again with the advent of DVD.

The series blends fantasy and reality and also pokes fun at age old fairy tales, legends and myths. At the beginning of the series, we are introduced to Virginia, a waitress who lives in New York with her Father, who is the Janitor in their apartment building. She tells us that nothing exciting ever happens in her life.

However, all of this is about to change as Prince Wendall, the ruler of the fourth Kingdom, who has been turned into a dog by his stepmother, the evil Queen (superbly played by Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest) bursts through a magic portal, causing Virginia to hit him and crash her bicycle. As he was being chased by trolls - a group of three siblings who blunder throughout the series trying to capture Wendall for the Queen - he happened upon a mirror with a mystical portal which led to Central Park and Virginia. The trolls soon follow, then a Wolf (Scott Cohen) who is also in pursuit of Wendall for the Queen.

After taking the dog under her wing and bringing him to the restaurant where she works, Virginia begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The dog seems to understand everything she says and it warns of danger. The ensuing drama which follows her discovering that the dog may not be a dog after all is gripping and exciting. So much happens in the first two episodes that it is hard to keep up with the speed of the action, which only makes for an exhilerating experience.

Virginia and her Father - with Wendall in tow - eventually end up finding the portal themselves and travel through it, straight into the fourth Kingdom. Wendall explains how his world is made up of Nine Kingdoms - which if you look closely, are simply a modified map of Europe - and that each Kingdom is ruled by a different person and group of people. The evil Queen wants to seize control of all Nine Kingdoms, but she can only achieve this by killing the other leaders and taking over. We discover that she is the successor to the evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White and there is also another secret about her which is discovered later on.

The series is highly original and very beautiful - the sets and the costumes are wonderful, as are the production values in general - to look at. The actors all perform brilliantly as their characters and it is obvious that they took their roles very seriously. There are some very big names in the cast, including Dianne Wiest, Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, Ed O'Neill, Camryn Manheim, Rutger Hauer, Ann-Margret, Warwick Davis, Jimmy Nail and it was awarded an Emmy for its efforts. The series has a concept similar to that of the recent film Enchanted and is very enchanting itself.

It is filled with great adventure, stunning cinematography, wonderful performances from a brilliant ensemble cast and a thrilling story filled with twists and turns, romance, magic, suspense, happiness, heartwrenchingly sad moments and a spirit that will appeal to everyone. This series is a must see and will enchant anyone with a love for storytelling and the imagination.

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Rating: - Amazing!
I absolutely adore 10th Kingdom! I watched it when I was younger and I've loved it ever since. I already have all the videos but since I don't use my video player anymore, I came to seek the DVDs.
It's fantastic fun and just an amazing story.

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Rating: - Fun and Entertaining
I loved this film, it was a very entertaining, adult spin on the classic fairy tales I grew up on.