Kim (DVD)

The boy Kim knows how to scrounge up a hot meal in India's bustling cities, how to scamper catlike across rooftops, and disguise himself as a local and conceal his Anglo heritage. To Kim, these are just ways to be free. To colonial British intelligence, they're skills it knows will be useful when it makes Kim a spy. Like Gunga Din, Captains Courageous and The Man Who Would Be King, Kim belongs to the treasury of films based on Rudyard Kipling's works. Dean Stockwell, then just five years into a career stretching from the 1940s into the 21st century, plays the title role. And Errol Flynn is Red Beard, Kim's protector and a key operative in espionage activities that spies call "the Great Game." It's all great Kiplingesque adventure.

• animation