Animation, annihilation and aggravation

If there are religious fanatics who are all up in arms over the perceived gayness of Disney's Oscar-winning Frozen, just wait until they get a load of the less-than-subtle gay adoption metaphor of – wait for it – Mr. Peabody & Sherman (DreamWorks Animation). Seriously, a single, well-educated, literate dog, with a penchant for bowties and a way with a martini shaker, lives in a fabulous penthouse high above Manhattan. He discovers an abandoned human baby in a box and takes the legal steps to adopt him. He instills in the boy a love of learning and culture. But following a run-in with a militant children's protective services agent, he finds himself at risk of losing the adopted son he loves so dearly.

Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) and Sherman (voiced by Max Charles) are two characters near and dear to an entire generation of – at this point – middle-aged people, some of whom are parents and grandparents, both gay and straight. Rob Minkoff, the man who (co-)directed The Lion King and the classic Roger Rabbit short Tummy Trouble, has a vision when it comes to visuals, but also honors the characters' origins. There are plenty of contemporary and retro references. Peabody and Sherman's journey through time to rescue a mean-girl classmate of the boy's named Penny (voiced by Burrell's Modern Family cast-mate Ariel Winter), combines history and humor for an entertaining and enlightening experience.

Following the less than successful "live-action" big screen adaptations of Jay Ward classics such as George of the Jungle, Dudley Do-Right, and, of course, the mixed-medium Rocky & Bullwinkle fiasco, the 3D computer animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman is downright refreshing. Maintaining Ward's gift for punning and ramping up the adult-oriented humor makes Mr. Peabody & Sherman a pleasing experience for audience members across the span of the age spectrum.

Mormon sci-fi writer (that sounds redundant, doesn't it?) Orson Scott Card is an unapologetic and outspoken homophobe. What makes matters worse is that before he let his opinion be known, he had amassed a sizable LGBT readership, especially for his award-winning novel Ender's Game.

Ender's Game (Summit), starring Harrison Ford (chomping scenery like a ravenous alien) as Col. Graff, is the first big screen adaptation of a Card novel. Set 50 years after aliens called Formics attacked the earth killing tens of millions. It was the greatest commander Mazer Rackham's sacrifice that staved off total annihilation. Still the people of earth have been prepared for the alien's return since that time.

"Raised on war games," the world's smartest children are recruited and trained to save the planet. Among the kids, skillful, young Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) is mankind's greatest hope. Once Ender passes a personal endurance test, engineered by Graff and Major Anderson (Viola Davis, acting like she's in another movie altogether), he is offered a place in their elite program. Graduating to Battle School , Ender begins his training. There he befriends classmate Bean (Aramis Knight), even though friendship is discouraged. Quickly promoted to the Salamander Army, Ender is under the thumb of ruthless C.O. Bonzo (Moises Arias), who has it in for him. Continuing to rise through the ranks, Ender is put in charge of the Dragon Army of misfits.

Proving himself during a boot camp exercise, Ender comes face-to-face with Rackham (Ben Kingsley), long thought to be dead, to complete his training. Ender's transition from games to real war occurs just as the Formics are expanding their military power in preparation for another earth attack.

In a year of sci-fi overload and disappointments, Ender's Game ranks far below After Earth and Elysium. As boring as a lecture, Ender's Game might be the first movie made specifically for Latter Day/Scientologists. If you see Ender's training as metaphor for LDS missionaries on bicycles, you probably aren't far off the mark. The film's ultimate and unintentional (?) message about the way (religious?) leaders trick you into doing things you don't want to perfectly sums up the Ender's Game experience. The DVD includes a Digital UV copy, as well as special features; such as deleted and extended scenes and director Gavin Hood's audio commentary.

Oy vey! If Jewtopia (Cinedigm/Flatiron) is supposed to be funny then that must make Michele Bachmann a Muslim. Hitting virtually every tasteless button – anti-semitic, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and utterly humorless – Jewtopia has something to offend everyone.

Jews have played a central role in dyed-in-the-wool gentile Christian's (Ivan Sergei) life since Jewish best friend Adam (Joel David Moore) saved his life when they were kids. But their adult lives aren't going as planned. Adam is engaged to OCD OB/GYN Hannah (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) but really doesn't want to be. He also doesn't want to be working in the family embroidery biz with his parents Dennis (Jon Lovitz) and Arlene (Rita Wilson), but he does.

Christian runs his own plumbing business but never got over being dumped by college girlfriend Rebecca (Crystal Reed), a true Jewish American Princess. After stumbling upon a synagogue singles social where he meets rabbi's daughter Alison (Jennifer Love Hewitt!), Christian assumes the identity of Avi Rosenberg in order to snare the Jewish girl of his dreams.

Enlisting Adam for a crash course in all things kosher, Christian begins the process of erasing all traces of gentile from himself, including tattoo removal and circumcision. Of course, everything that can go wrong, for both Christian and Adam, does. The same can be said for this movie adaptation of the stage play. The Blu-ray + DVD combo pack comes with no bonus material, and for that we should thank God.