Cats & Dogs **
Retail (£16.99) and DVD (£19.99)
Warner Cert PG

A speedy release for this frenetic, slapstick comedy, which only dropped out of cinema's top 10 a month ago. I can only sympathise with parents who will be in for a speedy repeat viewing of this animal version of a cold war spy plot. In animatronic terms, this is much more of a Dolittle than a Babe or a Stuart Little (D2 is also just out on video). In other words, it chooses hyperactivity over any attempt at charm and assumes an audience attention span equivalent to a gnat's. Jeff Goldblum, virtually lost to SFX movies these days, is the nutty prof working on a way of ending allergies to dogs while the local cats, led by an evil, Goldfinger-style fat white moggy and Siamese cat ninja warriors, try to reverse it to make everyone allergic to canines. There are a few nice jokes along the way, but overall, this is an exhausting experience for anyone over 10.

The Grinch **
Rental, retail (£16.99) and DVD (£19.99)
Universal Cert PG

Pretty much Scrooge in green fur, The Grinch looks like being this year's only big-budget video about Christmas. The story has been seen in a 1957 cartoon by the great Chuck Jones, but if you don't have animation, Jim Carrey is the next best thing. He goes up to 11 in this part, as OTT as his other green role, The Mask. This will probably be the nearest most kids get to pantomime this year, but in a frenzied and stylistically cluttered movie, the other Xmas JC doesn't leave much room for anyone else except Anthony Hopkins's voiceover and some horrifically cutesy kids. Jeffrey Tambor and Christine Baranski get the odd moment to shine, though. Director Ron Howard throws in a Chariots of Fire parody in a sop to tired parents. The effects are good, but you can't help visualising what an imaginative director like Tim Burton might have made of this material.