(c) Disney

The humor in Hitchhiker’s - what could be called a Monty Python-esque jaunt through the canons of sci fi iconography (Adams himself contributed to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, as well as another popular British television import, Doctor Who) - has not aged well over the years spanning from its creation to its present incarnation, or, at the very least, a lot gets lost in the transition from page to screen. Unlike such other recent literary fantasies that have successfully made that leap (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter), Hitchhiker’s isn’t given the running time to breathe, clocking in at just under two hours.

I’m sure the ardent Adams admirers out there, with all they bring to the table, will find equal parts epiphanic and blasphemous in this realization. But they should remember to heed their icon’s main litany: "don’t panic" ... it’s only a movie after all.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

• Pocahontas gets a two-disc 10^th Anniversary Edition DVD, including a restored musical sequence sung by Mel Gibson (May 3^rd).
• Wave 2 of the Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites line, with three separate volumes themed to sports, music and adventure (May 31^st).
• If you just didn’t get enough of young Tarzan and pals in the original film, then get ready for the direct-to-video “midquel�? Tarzan II (June 14^th).

• Hayley Mills fans rejoice - three of her classic films finally arrive on DVD: Summer Magic, In Search of the Castaways and That Darn Cat!; Nicholas Cage stars in the action hit National Treasure; the Disney Channel production of Heidi starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour; the Oscar-nominated, acclaimed French film The Chorus (Les Choristes); and Three Amigos … no, not the Steve Martin movie, but a concert film starring a trio of Latin comedians (May 3^rd).
• A special extended edition of the Disney Channel movie Kim Possible: So the Drama; and Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (May 10^th).
• Something old, something new: the second season set of The Golden Girls and the complete first season of Scrubs (May 17^th).
• From the “Wasn’t this just in theaters?�? department: Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (May 24^th).
• Lindsay Lohan fans rejoice - her Disney Channel movie Get a Clue and a Special Edition of The Parent Trap (May 31^st).
• More Tool Time with the Complete Second Season of Home Improvement; and a batch of Special Editions: a 15^th Anniversary edition of Father of the Bride, a Director’s Cut of the Oscar-winning Sling Blade, and Unrated version of Coyote Ugly and, naturally, an Unrated Director’s Cut of Gone in 60 Seconds (June 7^th).