The Tenth Kingdom, an epic 10-hour miniseries from the Emmy-winning screenwriter of Gulliver 's Travels, was a ratings failure when broadcast on US television, but on video and DVD, where it can be enjoyed at one's leisure, it has a better chance to cast its magical spell. Kimberly Williams has never been more enchanting than as Virginia, a waitress who still lives with her janitor father (John Larroquette) and yearns for something exciting to happen to her. Her wish comes true when she and her father are transported from New York City into a dimension that, with apologies to Rod Serling, can only be called the "Fairy Tale Zone"; nine kingdoms populated by characters from fairy tales of yore. They team up with a dog who's really a prince--Wendell, grandson of Snow White--changed into canine form by the evil Queen (Dianne Wiest), who plots to usurp Wendell's throne. Father, daughter, and his royal dogness are relentlessly pursued through the nine kingdoms by the Troll King (Ed O'Neill) and his three bumbling and horrible children, and the conflicted Wolf (Scott Cohen), who is allied with the Queen but, with the aid of some Oprah-esque self-help books, tames his inner beast and falls in love with Virginia.

The Tenth Kingdom is also a special effects extravaganza. There is indeed, as one character marvels, "magic to behold". But despite the Hallmark brand name and the presence of a grown-up Snow White (Camryn Manheim) and Cinderella (Ann-Margret), bewitched animals, magic mirrors and trolls, this is not kid's stuff. It can get scary, surprisingly violent and quite intense, just like real fairy tales. --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com

When my husband, then boyfriend, bought me my first DVD player many years ago now this was the first DVD I bought to watch on the player. I had heard about The Tenth Kingdom but missed the series on Sky when it was televised so I'd read the book instead and couldn't wait to see the show.

We sat down as a family to watch this, our stepson was around 10 or 11 at the time and we all were swept away by the story, scenery and acting in The Tenth Kingdom. It is very witty, well written and we couldn't wait to watch it together each evening. Now if we are looking for something to watch together we still consider this one of our top choices many years later along with classic family films such as Harry Potter.

Now many years after I bought the show I have had 2 children, who are now aged 2 and 4 - a little young yet to watch the show but I cannot wait to sit down with them in a few years and watch as they become mesmerised by the world of The Tenth Kingdom. Only one confusion for me was it's certificate of 15, many family films released more recently have contained more scary content and been rated as PG or 12 so try not to let this put you off enjoying this as a family.

Having missed the TV series I bought the DVD version of the 10th kingdom & a good thing too..I could never have waited to watch each episode! I watched the whole lot in 2 days & absolutely love it. It's a witty look at what happened after 'happily ever after' & a weaves fairy tale magic with a typical storyline. Well worth watching for any fantasy fan

The 10th Kingdom is television making at its very best. The mini-series was very poorly publicised when it was first shown - both on American and British television - but it can now be enjoyed again and again with the advent of DVD.

The series blends fantasy and reality and also pokes fun at age old fairy tales, legends and myths. At the beginning of the series, we are introduced to Virginia, a waitress who lives in New York with her Father, who is the Janitor in their apartment building. She tells us that nothing exciting ever happens in her life.

However, all of this is about to change as Prince Wendall, the ruler of the fourth Kingdom, who has been turned into a dog by his stepmother, the evil Queen (superbly played by Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest) bursts through a magic portal, causing Virginia to hit him and crash her bicycle. As he was being chased by trolls - a group of three siblings who blunder throughout the series trying to capture Wendall for the Queen - he happened upon a mirror with a mystical portal which led to Central Park and Virginia. The trolls soon follow, then a Wolf (Scott Cohen) who is also in pursuit of Wendall for the Queen.

After taking the dog under her wing and bringing him to the restaurant where she works, Virginia begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The dog seems to understand everything she says and it warns of danger. The ensuing drama which follows her discovering that the dog may not be a dog after all is gripping and exciting. So much happens in the first two episodes that it is hard to keep up with the speed of the action, which only makes for an exhilerating experience.

Virginia and her Father - with Wendall in tow - eventually end up finding the portal themselves and travel through it, straight into the fourth Kingdom. Wendall explains how his world is made up of Nine Kingdoms - which if you look closely, are simply a modified map of Europe - and that each Kingdom is ruled by a different person and group of people. The evil Queen wants to seize control of all Nine Kingdoms, but she can only achieve this by killing the other leaders and taking over. We discover that she is the successor to the evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White and there is also another secret about her which is discovered later on.

The series is highly original and very beautiful - the sets and the costumes are wonderful, as are the production values in general - to look at. The actors all perform brilliantly as their characters and it is obvious that they took their roles very seriously. There are some very big names in the cast, including Dianne Wiest, Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, Ed O'Neill, Camryn Manheim, Rutger Hauer, Ann-Margret, Warwick Davis, Jimmy Nail and it was awarded an Emmy for its efforts. The series has a concept similar to that of the recent film Enchanted and is very enchanting itself.

It is filled with great adventure, stunning cinematography, wonderful performances from a brilliant ensemble cast and a thrilling story filled with twists and turns, romance, magic, suspense, happiness, heartwrenchingly sad moments and a spirit that will appeal to everyone. This series is a must see and will enchant anyone with a love for storytelling and the imagination.

The 10th Kingdom is television making at its very best. The mini-series was very poorly publicised when it was first shown - both on American and British television - but it can now be enjoyed again and again with the advent of DVD.

The series blends fantasy and reality and also pokes fun at age old fairy tales, legends and myths. At the beginning of the series, we are introduced to Virginia, a waitress who lives in New York with her Father, who is the Janitor in their apartment building. She tells us that nothing exciting ever happens in her life.

However, all of this is about to change as Prince Wendall, the ruler of the fourth Kingdom, who has been turned into a dog by his stepmother, the evil Queen (superbly played by Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest) bursts through a magic portal, causing Virginia to hit him and crash her bicycle. As he was being chased by trolls - a group of three siblings who blunder throughout the series trying to capture Wendall for the Queen - he happened upon a mirror with a mystical portal which led to Central Park and Virginia. The trolls soon follow, then a Wolf (Scott Cohen) who is also in pursuit of Wendall for the Queen.

After taking the dog under her wing and bringing him to the restaurant where she works, Virginia begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. The dog seems to understand everything she says and it warns of danger. The ensuing drama which follows her discovering that the dog may not be a dog after all is gripping and exciting. So much happens in the first two episodes that it is hard to keep up with the speed of the action, which only makes for an exhilerating experience.

Virginia and her Father - with Wendall in tow - eventually end up finding the portal themselves and travel through it, straight into the fourth Kingdom. Wendall explains how his world is made up of Nine Kingdoms - which if you look closely, are simply a modified map of Europe - and that each Kingdom is ruled by a different person and group of people. The evil Queen wants to seize control of all Nine Kingdoms, but she can only achieve this by killing the other leaders and taking over. We discover that she is the successor to the evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White and there is also another secret about her which is discovered later on.

The series is highly original and very beautiful - the sets and the costumes are wonderful, as are the production values in general - to look at. The actors all perform brilliantly as their characters and it is obvious that they took their roles very seriously. There are some very big names in the cast, including Dianne Wiest, Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, Ed O'Neill, Camryn Manheim, Rutger Hauer, Ann-Margret, Warwick Davis, Jimmy Nail and it was awarded an Emmy for its efforts. The series has a concept similar to that of the recent film Enchanted and is very enchanting itself.

It is filled with great adventure, stunning cinematography, wonderful performances from a brilliant ensemble cast and a thrilling story filled with twists and turns, romance, magic, suspense, happiness, heartwrenchingly sad moments and a spirit that will appeal to everyone. This series is a must see and will enchant anyone with a love for storytelling and the imagination.

I absolutely adore 10th Kingdom! I watched it when I was younger and I've loved it ever since. I already have all the videos but since I don't use my video player anymore, I came to seek the DVDs.
It's fantastic fun and just an amazing story.