Now you see and hear him

It was difficult not to encounter a Hugh Jackman movie at a multiplex near you last year because the lanky Australian starred in four features and lent his vocal talents to two animated films.

Two of his 2006 projects make their DVD bows today: “The Prestige,” Christopher Nolan’s complex, now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t thriller, and “Flushed Away,” the animated comedy that spelled the end of the partnership between DreamWorks Animation and England’s Aardman Animations.

In “The Prestige” (Touchstone, $35), Jackman plays an ambitious magician dazzling audiences in Victorian England who desperately tries to discover the secret behind the death-defying illusion of his rival (Christian Bale). Michael Caine also stars. The film is Oscar-nominated for its production design and cinematography.

The extras are limited -- a photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes featurette that at least offers several intriguing interviews with Nolan (“Memento,” “Batman Begins”), the actors and his creative staff. A great bit of trivia: The scenes of Victorian England were actually shot on the back lot at Universal.

In “Flushed Away” (Paramount, $30), Jackman supplies the voice of a sophisticated “society mouse” living the posh life of a London pet. After he is flushed down the toilet by a sewer rat named Sid, he finds himself in the underground world of Ratropolis. Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen also supply voices. The disc is filled with lots of fun extras, including a lengthy tutorial on how to make one of the film’s adorable slugs out of clay, as well as one on how to draw Jackman’s character of Roddy. There’s a better-than-average featurette on the challenges of scoring an animated film, an animator’s gallery, games for the kiddies, two songs featuring the scene-stealing slugs and amusing commentary from directors David Bowers and Sam Fell.

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Also new

“Man of the Year” (Universal, $30): The latest collaboration of Robin Williams and director Barry Levinson (following “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Toys”) is a schizophrenic political satire in which Williams plays a Jon Stewart-esque TV host who runs for president and, because of a computer snafu, wins the White House. Laura Linney also stars. Extras are meager: a passable behind-the-scenes featurette and a look at Williams.

“49th Parallel” (Criterion, $40): Michael Powell directed and Emeric Pressburger wrote this stirring 1941 British propaganda drama -- it was released in the U.S. in 1942 as “The Invaders” -- set in the early days of World War II before America entered the war. It revolves around a crew of a German U-boat stranded in Canada, who, to escape incarceration, must reach the U.S. border. Extras include vintage commentary from historian Bruce Eder; a rare 46-minute Powell-Pressburger war-effort short, “The Volunteer” from 1943, starring Ralph Richardson; a splendid 1981 documentary, “A Pretty British Affair,” that features candid interviews with Powell and Pressburger; and excerpts from Powell’s audio dictations for his autobiography.

“The Alice Faye Collection” (Fox, $50 for the set; $20 each): From the mid-1930s until the mid-’40s, Alice Faye was the top musical star at 20th Century Fox. This four-disc set includes two of her lavish Technicolor musicals: 1941’s “That Night in Rio” and 1943’s “The Gang’s All Here,” plus 1937’s “On the Avenue” and 1940’s “Lillian Russell.”

“Family Ties -- The Complete First Season” (Paramount, $39): The Emmy Award-winning NBC sitcom that premiered in 1982 finally makes its DVD bow, but without a single extra. Michael J. Fox, Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers star.

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And

“Babel” (Paramount, $30); “For Your Consideration” (Warner, $28); “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” (First Look, $27); “Shut Up & Sing” (Weinstein, $29); “American Hardcore” (Sony, $25); “Apartment Zero” (Anchor Bay, $20); “Alias Smith & Jones -- Season One” (Universal, $40); “C.R.A.Z.Y” (Netflix, $25); “The Cuban Masterworks Collection” (First Run, $100); “When a Woman Ascends the Stairs” (Criterion, $40).

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susan.king@latimes.com