The review may be broken down into each section of the video. This film contains:

-'Man In The Mirror' [concert footage/tribute to great peacemakers]
-'A Retrospective Of 24 Years Of Hits' [history as of 1988]
-'Badder' [cute kiddie remake of 'Bad']
-'Speed Demon' [CLAYMATION sequence}
-'Leave Me Alone' [short film]
-'Smooth Criminal' [the 45-minute feature]
-'Come Together' [concert at the end of SMOOTH CRIMINAL]
- and as the 'THE MOON IS WALKING' song played through the credits by an African group called Ladysmith Black Mombazo.

- Man In The Mirror is a great 'BAD' concert recap which successfully gives the respect to former men and women who have 'made that change' while showing off Michael's undoubtable charisma onstage. Uses a good bit of the split screen technique, which was a revolution back then.

- The look back at the '24' years of Michael's history is great. It traces 'ABC' to 'BAD' flawlessly, with some neat high-tech transition animations aiding it and gives lots of hard to find clips of little Michael. Nice little set up of memoirs and newer memories like 'Thriller', 'Beat It', and 'The Way You Make Me Feel'.

- The 'Badder' features a group of little kids in a mini-Michael Jackson bad cover. It's flat out cute, and the kiddies do a good job. You still get the feeling that no one does it like Michael.

- 'Speed Demon' is cute and is a comical view of what Michael's life is like with his tremendous fame. The segment combines CLAYMATION with live action fairly well. The short features "Spike" the rabbit, as well as an all-star cast being spoofed by the CLAYMATION creators. Very cute!

- 'Leave Me Alone' is a classic short film. The bizarre carnival theme laughably, yet with a severe undertone shows the rollercoaster ride which the Tabloid and media have locked Michael Jackson into. Sometimes scary, sometimes funny or cute - the piece is unique and meant to mock and illustrate the bogus media mayhem.

- 'Smooth Criminal' is, though I won't spoil it, full of awesome dancing and an adorable adventure. Michael Jackson, Joe Pesci, and son of legend John Lennon - Sean Lennon. The music video portion is beyond belief and your kids will be trying to mimic it eternally. The action/adventure storyline is fun (a bit corny), but meaningfully set against drugs. A sort of blend between Star Wars and E.T.

- 'Come Together' is an awesome performance. The Beatles hit is performed with much enthusiasm and forms a nice triumphant little ending.

- The credits and behind the scenes selection is also very nice. The sort of chant is accompanied by the group doing some cute little dance with bits of Michael and graphic element sequences dispersed through out.

Altogether A GREAT family film that adults will love and children will cherish. Catches your attention and keeps you happy throughout. You'll LOVE it!

- AnDie

62 of 68 found the following review helpful:


belongs on DVD  Jan 09, 2005 By Da Man "Da Man"
When Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker" was released on video in early 1989... Michael Jackson was still the king of pop. If anything, this could be the final stand of this amazing chapter of his career (beginning with the release of Thriller and ending here).

Michael Jackson's "Bad" album was a great record, while it wasn't as good as Thriller or Off The Wall, it was still as satisfying a followup one could expect. He had 7 big hits (5 #1's) off this album and a massively successful world tour. This video montage was released as his tour (which included a very young Sheryl Crow) was winding down, and it provided a big treat for his fans...

Here's what was included:

- Man In The Mirror - a live performance of the #1 hit (the music video for the song only had about 5 seconds of MJ)

- a classic MJ video montage - a neat little megamix going from the Jackson Five days through the Bad album.

- Badder - a remake of the Bad video but with kids featuring Brandon Adams as a mini-MJ. Cute but not one of the highlights of the set.

- Speed Demon - a mini movie making great usage of the claymation boom of the late 1980's (ie. California Raisins). MJ fighting against Claymation paparazzi and animated as a rabbit. The highlight of the video is the end when motorcycle clad MJ and the bunny have a dance-off.

- Leave Me Alone - music video that got plenty of MTV/VH1 airplay back in the day. MJ basically saying what he feels about the tabloids by opening himself up as an amusement park.

- Smooth Criminal - the centerpiece of this collection. An extended mini-movie also featuring Joe Pesci (right before Lethal Weapon and Home Alone took him to the next level and made him an A-list star) as an evil drug lord intent on pushing drugs to kids. Great special effects, including Michael morphing into a car as well as a spaceship in the climatic finale.

- Come Together - the end of Smooth Criminal leads us to a live performance of the Beatles classic, which didn't appear on a MJ album until HIStory six years later.

- The Moon Is Walking - over the closing credits, is another video with MJ and Ladysmith Black Mambaso.

26 of 27 found the following review helpful:


Imaginative and Entertaining Retrospective/Noir Musical  Aug 13, 2008 By Atli Hafsteinsson
If I were to take a trip back to my childhood, the aptly-named "Moonwalker", the brainchild of Michael Jackson, would be one of the prominent stops. Even back when I wasn't necessarily an MJ fan (I am now), this movie captured my imagination. Rather than a whole, cohesive movie, it's a collection of mini-films, for the most part well-woven together. The first part is a performance of "Man in the Mirror". The second is a retrospective on Michael Jackson's career, with clips from his music videos and performances from his early career to his "Bad" days (which is the era when the movie was made, and it shows). The third is a re-enactment of the "Bad" video by a younger counterpart of the cast. The fourth part is a mini-movie which features Michael Jackson escaping from maniacal fans and press by racing a motorcycle as a rabbit-man and eventually doing a dance duel with him (you really need to see it to believe it). The fifth is a video for "Leave Me Alone", and the sixth and final part is a noir/sci-fi film where Michael and three young kids on the streets who have befriended him try to escape a drug lord (Joe Pesci) who wants Michael's head after the latter discovers his plans to get all kids addicted to drugs.

"Moonwalker" never made it to theatres in the US (it did, however, in Europe and South America), but that didn't stop the VHS release to be sold in over 800,000 copies within a year of the movie's release. It is a truly engrossing trip through the imagination of the legendary musician/entertainer. While many musicians have tried their hands at filmmaking and only succeeded at showing that they have no talent at it, Michael Jackson surprises. Not only does he show that he has as much feel for staging and visual storytelling as he has for music, he manages to make this movie his own, weaving into both the collage and story some truly imaginative moments.

Take the midway point, where we sort of hit the "present". The "Bad" video is reenacted by younger actors, in a truly hilarious but nonetheless competent spectacle. After that, Michael Jackson emerges onto the 'streets' of Hollywood and is hounded by an assortment of stark-raving-mad, claymated fans and press. An attempt by a humoured Michael to escape his chasers ensues, but as he finds out, trying to hide out in Hollywood studios (especially when you're Michael Jackson) is about as easy as hiding the punch at a banquet.

But his way out of this situation is possibly my favourite part of the movie. Disguising himself as a leather-clad rabbit man, he manages to escape the studios on a bicycle, which transforms into a motorcycle. At this point "Speed Demon" kicks in as the rabbit-man drives at breakneck speed down the highway, ocean and sky. And still the relentless fans and media are hot on Michael's tail, his disguise not fooling them. This all makes up a truly stunning piece of claymation, both excellently-paced and delicious to behold. Driving out into the desert, Michael takes off his disguise only to have the rabbit disguise reanimate itself, and the two do the best dance duel I've ever seen. It's especially stunning to see the claymated rabbit dance like MJ, and Will Vinton and co (who were responsible for the claymation segment, while Michael himself is live-action) truly deserve an applause for this as well as Michael.

Following is the video for "Leave Me Alone", a truly imaginative, satirical portrait of the mass hysteria the media attribute to Michael. Michael humorously visualises this as an amusement park constructed on top of him, while a miniature version of him goes through a has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed tour, frequented by lots of dogs in suits. This video may feel like a filler but its imagination and vision more than make up for it.

This is when the 'movie' itself begins. My favourite part is when Michael steps into a 30s-style club and "Smooth Criminal" kicks in, resulting in a truly artistic music-video sequence, climaxing in the middle, when the music dies and the club-goers chant, for almost a minute, before the music kicks back in. I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you, but these are my favourite parts.

If you are a Michael Jackson fan then this belongs in your collection for sure. Whether or not you are a fan, if you want to see a really imaginative, creative journey through Michael Jackons's imagination, I can also recommend this. One thing is for sure; the tagline couldn't be more correct. This truly IS a movie like no other.

21 of 21 found the following review helpful:


Michael Jackson: An ANGEL disguised as the WORLD'S BIGGEST SUPERSTAR!  Feb 17, 2010 By JenniferWalsh "LawyerbyDay"
At long last, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker DVD in USA-Format. I watched mine about 5 times now before writing this review and I have to say, the picture quality and Dolby sound on this imported DVD is SUPERBLY EXCELLENT, Im really really impressed! DVD is indeed 100% Authentic and Brand New. It arrived in tamper-proof shrinkwrap seal which you can only open by peeling off the plastic completely. The disc is brand new and perfect. Amazing to see Michael in flat screen =) Its Crystal Clear!

I'm a big Michael Jackson fan. The last time I saw this in my own TV was on VHS and that was way back when I was in highschool. I watch the Youtube uploads but nothing compares to watching it in your own TV, so imagine my BLISS this past weekend. I ordered it Jan 25 and I received it Friday afternoon Feb 12th because it came all the way from Manila, Phillipines so be prepared to wait. I didn't really mind because I found out about this item from another friend from the forums who ordered and received hers ahead of mine. And boy, its truly worth the wait! That same evening, I sat down on my bed and watched this alone with buttered popcorn and iced coffee---OH WOW! Its Michael, Michael and more Michael in all glory- that angelic dimpled smile, his fierce swagger and his bad era curls... the storyline is about this mysterious superhero or ANGEL who moonlights as a pop superstar. He fights against the antagonist played by Joe Pesci. You could really notice the influence of 80s-90s Japanese superheroes like Shaider, Bioman and the likes of Daimos to Michael in making this movie. He really is a child at heart which is why all children will surely enjoy this movie. For adults like me, its simply nostalgic and a true reminder of why Michael remains to be the biggest superstar the world has ever known. He is truly one of a kind and truly amazing! Imagine watching the shortfilm "Smooth Criminal" in the 1980s??? I mean, it drops my jaw even now, what more back then! I remember really being GLUED to the screen whenever I saw it on MTV and It still has that same effect to me now seeing the full shortfilm included in this DVD. And the full MTV of "COME TOGETHER"-- oh wow, no words... no words to describe Michael here. So hot!

Every Michael Jackson fan should have this DVD in their collection! DEFINITELY BUY IT! THIS IS IT! Genuine Moonwalker DVD for all American fans! 5 GLOWING STARS *****

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