By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

Movies

Dolphin Island (Family Adventure)

A family friendly adventure, “Dolphin Island” is now available on DVD, from Entertainment Squad.

Fourteen-year-old Annabel lives with her fisherman grandfather on an island paradise. She is surrounded by an extended family of loving but quirky neighbors and her best friend—a dolphin named Mitzy.

“Dolphin Island” stars Peter Woodward (“The Patriot”), Dionne Lea (“No Bad Days”), Tyler Jade Nixon (“Dolphin Kick”), Bob Bledsoe (“Parks & Recreation”), David Raizor (“You Can’t Take my Daughter”) and introduces newcomers Annette Duncan and Aaron Borrow. Director Mike Disa (“Space Dogs,” “Hoodwinked Too!”) helmed the live-action film.

Dove-approved for all ages, “Dolphin Island” was filmed on the Grand Bahama island between hurricane Dorian and beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The filmmakers hoped to stimulate the island’s devastated economy and highlight its beautiful sites and culture. The film can be viewed at: https://dolphinislandmovie.com/watch-now/

Earwig and the Witch (Animated Adventure)

“Earwig and the Witch,” arrives in a Limited Edition Steelbook and a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Tuesday April 6, the first new release in four years from the legendary Studio Ghibli, through GKIDS with distribution by Shout! Factory.

Directed by Goro Miyazaki (“From Up on Poppy Hill,” “Tales from Earthsea”) and produced by studio co-founder Toshio Suzuki, with planning from Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki, the feature is based on the children’s novel “Earwig and the Witch” by Diana Wynne Jones (“Howl’s Moving Castle”), and marks Studio Ghibli’s first entirely 3DCG animated feature.

The all-star voice cast for the English dub features the voices of Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “Gosford Park”), Kacey Musgraves (“Golden Hour” “Same Trailer Different Park”) and Dan Stevens (“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” FX’s “Legion”), as well as Taylor Paige Henderson as “Earwig.” In addition to her debut voice acting role as “Earwig’s Mother,” six-time Grammy Award winner Musgraves sings the English language version of the film’s theme song, “Don’t Disturb Me.” The “Earwig and the Witch” Blu-ray +DVD Combo is packed with bonus features, including behind-the-scenes interviews with director Goro Miyazaki, producer Toshio Suzuki and Japanese cast and crew, and feature-length storyboards.

Growing up in an orphanage in the British countryside, Earwig has no idea that her mother had magical powers. Her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch. As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that may be the key to finding the family she has always wanted.

An official selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in theaters earlier this year and is also available on Digital platforms.

Mapplethorpe: The Director’s Cut (Biopic)

“Mapplethorpe: The Director’s Cut, a biopic about the controversial photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe, is available now on Digital platforms.

The film stars Matt Smith (“The Crown”) in the title role, alongside John Benjamin Hickey (“The Good Wife”) and Marianne Rendón (“Imposters”).

From acclaimed director Ondi Timoner (“Dig!”) and executive producer Jamie Wolf (“What Would Sophia Loren Do?”, “The Great Hack”), “Mapplethorpe: The Director’s Cut” takes viewers on a journey through the iconic American photographer’s life.

The film follows Mapplethorpe’s important love affair with singer Patti Smith and his subsequent, pivotal romance with powerhouse art collector Sam Wagstaff.

In the all too rare tradition of restoring the original vision of a film, this director’s cut adds new scenes and a vibrant new soundtrack, to provide a richer, more contextual narrative of the biopic of the controversial photographer’s life and work. Viewers see Mapplethorpe’s development of a precise, erotically charged photographic style, along with his ultimately successful struggle to attain mainstream recognition—a status interrupted, although barely halted, by his untimely death from AIDS.

Mapplethorpe: The Director’s Cut,” portrays a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft, along with the self-destructive impulses that threatened to undermine everything he prized.

The Reckoning (Thriller/Horror)

RLJE Films, a unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural will release the horror film, “The Reckoning” on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday April 6.

The film stars Charlotte Kirk (“Ocean’s Eight,” “Vice”), Joe Anderson (“Across the Universe,” “The Crazies”), Steven Waddington (“The Imitation Game,” “The Tudors”) and Sean Pertwee (“Dog Soldiers,” “Equilibrium”). The film was directed by Neil Marshall (“The Descent, ““Dog Soldiers”), who co-wrote the film alongside Kirk, (making her feature screenwriting debut), and Edward Evers-Swindell (“Dark Signal”).

After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil himself starts to work his way into her mind.

“The Reckoning” DVD and Blu-ray will include deleted scenes as a bonus feature. It will be available on DVD for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $27.97 and Blu-ray for $28.96 (SRP).

Space Dogs: Tropical Adventure (Animated Adventure)

Epic Pictures’ “Space Dogs: Tropical Adventure” will be available on Video on Demand Tuesday April 6.

When a mysterious and dangerous whirlpool appears in the tropics of the Atlantic Ocean, canine astronauts Belka and Strelka are sent to investigate. With the help of their good friends, Belka and Strelka must once again act heroically and complete a daring mission to save the planet along with the distant home of their new alien friend.

Directed by Inna Evlannikova, the family-friendly animated film features the voices of Maria Antonieta Monge and Mauriett Chayeb-Mendez. “Space Dogs: Tropical Adventure” is the third and final installment of the successful “Space Dogs” trilogy (following “Space Dogs” and “Space Dogs: Adventure to the Moon”).