Watch Kids' Reviews of
MARIA THE SUPER HELPER / MARIA LA SUPER AYUDANTE

The animated short film, Maria the Super Helper is very fun to watch and gives you a feeling of happiness! The animation style is good and very simplistic, as is the story. And, it is told in both English and Spanish. This makes it great for younger audiences and for people learning English or Spanish. Although it is a bit slow at times, it is definitely worth watching.

The storyline describes a day in the lives of Maria and her family. Maria wakes up, cleans the house, sweeps the porch, washes the dishes and does other chores with her family. They also eat and play with each other.

The storyline is quite basic. The images are lovely, however the animation is not full motion animation, which may be a turn off for some. On the other hand, its bilingual element makes up for that and there are many shots that are just charming. One that stands out is the shot of Maria cleaning the house with her siblings as it has an interesting camera angle. Another shot of note is of Maria and her siblings sweeping the porch where the camera zooms out to show an interesting angle of Maria's house. The sets and locations are different parts of inside and outside of Maria's house. We see the bedrooms inside and the pigs and hens outside. I like how it captures the environment that Maria lives in quite well. The sound effects are typical of the environment from birds chirping to running bath water. The characters are Maria, her parents and her brothers. The key influencers of the film are Luz Maria Mack (author), Vanessa Balleza (illustrator), Victor Colon (animator) and Carter Mangan Jr. (musician). Of these, Vanessa Balleza and Victor Colon probably stand out the most because the imagery in the film is what drives it.

The film focuses on how Maria and her family work and play hard together. It shows the value of hard work, family and interpersonal relationships. It exudes happiness in every way. My favorite part of the film is the ending, when "super helpers" are able to have a snack with their parents. After spending the day working, they are able to enjoy a moment with their family.

I give Maria the Super Helper 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 2 to 5. I think it would be a valuable and interesting addition to a youth and family film festival, particular those with a Hispanic or multi-cultural focus. Reviewed by Raj S. KIDS FIRST! Youth Juror

The animated short film, Maria the Super Helper is very fun to watch and gives you a feeling of happiness! The animation style is good and very simplistic, as is the story. And, it is told in both English and Spanish. This makes it great for younger audiences and for people learning English or Spanish. Although it is a bit slow at times, it is definitely worth watching.

The storyline describes a day in the lives of Maria and her family. Maria wakes up, cleans the house, sweeps the porch, washes the dishes and does other chores with her family. They also eat and play with each other.

The storyline is quite basic. The images are lovely, however the animation is not full motion animation, which may be a turn off for some. On the other hand, its bilingual element makes up for that and there are many shots that are just charming. One that stands out is the shot of Maria cleaning the house with her siblings as it has an interesting camera angle. Another shot of note is of Maria and her siblings sweeping the porch where the camera zooms out to show an interesting angle of Maria's house. The sets and locations are different parts of inside and outside of Maria's house. We see the bedrooms inside and the pigs and hens outside. I like how it captures the environment that Maria lives in quite well. The sound effects are typical of the environment from birds chirping to running bath water. The characters are Maria, her parents and her brothers. The key influencers of the film are Luz Maria Mack (author), Vanessa Balleza (illustrator), Victor Colon (animator) and Carter Mangan Jr. (musician). Of these, Vanessa Balleza and Victor Colon probably stand out the most because the imagery in the film is what drives it.

The film focuses on how Maria and her family work and play hard together. It shows the value of hard work, family and interpersonal relationships. It exudes happiness in every way. My favorite part of the film is the ending, when "super helpers" are able to have a snack with their parents. After spending the day working, they are able to enjoy a moment with their family.

I give Maria the Super Helper 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 2 to 5. I think it would be a valuable and interesting addition to a youth and family film festival, particular those with a Hispanic or multi-cultural focus. Reviewed by Raj S. KIDS FIRST! Youth Juror

In this animation and book, you find María and her siblings discover fun ways to work together as a family. At the same time, they help out with housework and small backyard farming chores, and the best part it's in English/Spanish.