'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' (PG): While its clearly aimed at the kid movie set, there's still plenty of reason to bark for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," an expertly-produced talking dog romp that has plenty of heart.

The "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" in question is Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), a diamond-clad, bootie-wearing Chihuahua enjoying life as a pampered pooch in Southern California. A social butterfly, Chloe loves to hang out with her ritzy dog friends, but turns her snout up at Papi (George Lopez), a lovelorn, scrappy Chihuahua-mutt mix who belongs to her owner Viv's (Jamie Lee Curtis) landscaper, Sam (Manolo Cardona).

But Chloe's world is turned upside-down when Viv's irresponsible niece, Rachel (Piper Perabo), is given dog-sitting duties while her aunt is out of the country. While on a road trip with Rachel, who wants to party in Mexico, Chloe is stolen by a dog-fighting ring and is thrown into a match with Diablo (Edward James Olmos), a vicious Doberman. But thanks to the heroic actions of a reluctant German Shepherd, Delgado (Andy Garcia), Chloe escapes her captors and tries her hand at survival on the street.

But help isn't that far away: Rachel, Sam and Papi scramble to recover the vulnerable pooch before Viv gets home and worse yet, before Diablo -- who's been released by his dog-fighting ringleader -- finds her.

True, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" suffers from predictability, but honestly, kid audiences won't care. That's because the movie is technically impressive, thanks to the talents of director Raja Gosnell, who also was at the helm of the "Scooby Doo" movies.

Not only does Gosnell assemble a visual effects team to make the dogs appear as though they're actually talking; he also gives them emotion with their sincere facial expressions and actions. Plus, a gathering of an army of Chihuahuas at one point is hilarious.

DVD Features: Audio commentary by Gosnell; a new animated short, "Legend of the Chihuahua," deleted scenes, bloopers and more. (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)

'Australia' (PG-13): Perhaps Hugh Jackman's success as the host of this year's Oscars will help drum up support for "Australia," an epic film that recalls such classics as "The African Queen," "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz." True, it's over-long and far from perfect, but the long road to its conclusion is a satisfying one.

Directed by "Moulin Rouge" filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (interview), "Australia" stars Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who travels to Australia to save her inherited land from a band of cattle barons before World War II. Hiring rugged local Drover (Jackman), Sarah embarks on a cattle drive hundreds of miles over rough terrain and through man-made obstacles to bring the massive herd to market.

But getting to the city of Darwin in northern Australia provides only half the battle for Sarah, Drover and Nullah (Brandon Walters) -- a boy shunned because of his white and Aboriginal lineage that Sarah and Drover become endeared to. Darwin is also the target of the same Japanese forces that bombed Pearl Harbor, and it threatens to tear each of their lives apart.

"Australia" crosses many genres, from drama and comedy, to action and romance. The film works thanks to the charisma of Jackman and Kidman, who slip comfortably into their roles. It's fun in particular to see Jackman sporting the look of a young Clint Eastwood in the movie, which comes out in the Luhrmann's homage to Eastwood's spaghetti westerns.

There's no doubt that the massive scale of "Australia" is lost on the small screen. The film is still engaging thanks to Luhrmann's intimate storytelling sensibilities. Among the subplots is the tale of Australia's stolen generations, which is driven home by a poignant performance by Walters. On a much larger scale, the cattle drive and war scenes are spectacular.

DVD Features: Deleted scenes and more. (Fox Home Entertainment)

Also New:

'Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic' (Not Rated): Timed in conjunction with the release of director Zack Snyder's highly anticipated big-screen adaptation, the graphic novel's panes comes to life page-by-page in 12 episodes.

Co-creator and illustrator Dave Gibbons oversaw the digital conversion of the graphic novel and added limited motion, voice tracks and sound to create the work for the DVD, which clocks in at five hours in length. DVD features include a special sneak peek at the "Wonder Woman" DVD and the "Watchmen" theatrical trailer. (Warner Premiere Home Video)