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Monday, February 25th, 2013

Amazon_film_critic_banner.jpgKIDS FIRST! wants to hear from you!

Does your child love movies and love to talk about them? Do you love free stuff?

In our KIDS FIRST! Critics Go Local campaign, your child can be a film critic too. Send us your child’s video review of Chasing Mavericks, Life of Pi or Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon and you will receive free movie tickets or a free skin for your favorite mobile device from Zing Revolution (while supplies last) – just for sending us your review!

Chasing Mavericks and Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon are out on DVD and Blu-ray on February 26, 2013 and Life of Pi is available on DVD, Blu-ray, HD and 3D on March 12, 2013. You can purchase any of these movies on Amazon.com, or at your favorite retailer.

Click here to visit our KIDS FIRST! Critics Go Local website and see the details and instructions for participating. We can’t wait to hear from you!

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Find Fun and Friendship in Ruby’s Studio

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

RubyStudioFriendship.jpegFollowing up on the success of The Mother Company’s first DVD release, Ruby’s Studio: The Feelings Show, is another exciting addition to their line-up: Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show, featuring a lovable live-action host, art projects, animation, puppet shows, and original songs. With the voice of Mel Brooks and The Happy Song by Elizabeth Mitchell.

Though the overall intent of Ruby’s Studio is to help kids navigate the difficulties of childhood, taking its viewers on a journey of emotional literacy – kids think it’s fun! According to KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Cheyenne Nguyen, Ruby’s Studio shows short clips about friendship so it’s easy for younger kids to understand. This preschool, early childhood content even appealed to our own 13-year-old KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Brianna Hope Beaton, who says the activities are fun and the life lessons invaluable. She rates the DVD for ages 3-7, but word has it, even Brianna was glued to the screen!

Tune into the KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions episode from December 18, 2012 and hear our KIDS FIRST! reporters interview Abbie Schiller, CEO/Founder of The Mother Company, creator of the Ruby’s Studio series. Click here to go directly to this episode.

“Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show” is available on DVD or instant download now on The Mother Company’s website!

Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show
Reviewed by Brianna Hope Beaton
Click here to see Brianna’s full video review!

This award winning show is a must have for every child and will definitely help with their childhood. In Ruby’s Studio, Ruby tells you everything there is to know about friendship. She tells you how to make friends, keep friends, how to treat your friends and cover real life situations on how to relate to them. She also tells stories that show you what to do if you and your friend have a disagreement. Most importantly, Ruby covers the golden rule; treat others the way you want to be treated.

I like Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show because of the real life scenes, the activities and the songs which teach you valuable lessons. It seems as though the kids on the show are giving real honest answers, not fake at all.  I like that it’s interactive with the kids on the show and the fun they are having with the different activities.

One craft activity I like is the making of a friendship tree. You can place the names of your friends on it with what you think they enjoy or like. I like that this is a show that is very kid friendly. It’s fun with bright colors, upbeat songs, and interesting stories. It provides great tips and gives you a recap of everything.

Kids 3 to 7 well definitely love this show because it is interactive with its viewers, making you feel like you are included. Kids will also like it if they are seeking help for their relationships with their own friends.

I give Ruby’s Studio 5 out of 5 stars. It gives great lessons, it’s interactive and has real life examples of problems that kids may face with their friends. There is not one thing that I dislike about this show. I believe it is a great program. For parents, this show is educational in every way and you will love it with helping to raise your child. Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show is available now on DVD.

Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
Click here to see Cheyenne’s full video review!

This is a great movie for kids to learn the Golden Rule. Ruby’s Studio has many different shows. This particular one is about Friendship. This movie shows children how to make friends, understand to their friends and how to talk to them. The movie shows real kids feelings and has a lot of colorful displays, arts and crafts to keep children’s attention. It also repeats the messages several times so younger children can remember what the messages of the movie are all about. We need to hear how other kids are feeling so we can understand better. We should try to talk to our friends and see why they are feeling the sadness or not want to play.

My favorite character is Ruby. She is pretty and speaks slowly and make sure that all the children understand the message. The movie is full of fun arts and crafts.

The lesson in this movie is “The Golden Rule”; you treat others like you want to be treated. I rank this movie 5 out of 5 stars. This movie’s age range is 3 -5.

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KIDS FIRST! Top 10 Films for 2012

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

KF_BestAwards_forwebsite.jpgEvery year, KIDS FIRST! puts together a list of what we believe to be the best feature films of the year. These are all major feature releases that were released theatrically in 2012 and some are already out on DVD/Blu-Ray. So, be sure to check them out before the Oscar nominees are announced.

Click here to see KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Cheyenne announcing the winners!
(Drum roll please) In no particular order, the KIDS FIRST! Top Ten Kid Films 2012 are:

Ice age: Continental Drift

Life of Pi

Rise of the Guardians

Hotel Transylvania

Odd Life of Timothy Green

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Brave

Hunger Games

Journey 2: Mysterious Island

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‘Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’ Memories of Summer Laughs

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

DiaryWimpyKid.DogDays.jpg

Greg Heffley leaves the worries of school for the pressures of summer vacation in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: dog days, and gives our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics plenty of laughs. Julia Chestnut, age 12, says, “Greg is funny and always finding himself in embarrassing situations that are so hilarious.”

Some favorite scenes: For Brianna Beaton, age 12, it’s the pot roast covered in dog slobber from Greg’s escapade rescuing his little brother’s blanket, “and his mom and two brothers don’t know and start eating the pot roast. It is so gross and funny.” Julianna Noone, age 12, who also interviews stars Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron, loves when Rodrick tries to get the attention of a girl lifeguard, but gets mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from the other lifeguard, an older man. “Rodrick’s facial expression is priceless, and this scene is just so funny I could not stop laughing.” Anthony Aranda, age 10, likes the doubles tennis match Greg gets into, “He gets hit a lot of times with a tennis ball in different places, which is really funny.”

With memories of some of the best laughs of summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days comes out on DVD and blu-ray on December 18, 2012.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Reviewed by Brianna Beaton
(See Brianna’s full review on video.)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is very entertaining and hilarious to watch. It’s really a good film with lots of funny scenes and great messages.

School is finally out, and the perfect summer to Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is to stay inside and play video games all day. On the other hand, his dad, Frank Heffley (Steve Zahn), decides he’s had enough of his son’s laziness and takes away his video games for the rest of the summer. With Greg’s main plans for summer canceled, he has to figure out what to do with the rest of his summer break.

There are several reasons of why I love this film, one being that, in the beginning, it goes from the book’s characters to real-life characters. Also, I am laughing at almost every scene. I really enjoy it and think the acting is good. My favorite part is when Sweetie, the family’s new dog, gets hold of Greg’s little brother’s blanket, Tingie. Greg happens to use his mom’s pot roast to get it back. Once he gets it back, he also gets the pot roast back, but it is full of dog slobber. Greg’s dad cleans up the pot roast to serve it for dinner but it still has some slobber on it, and his mom and his two brothers don’t know and start eating the pot roast. It is so gross and funny.

David Bowers does an amazing job on directing this hilarious film. Also doing a great job are the writers Gabe Sachs (screenplay) and Maya Forbes. The other actors are Robert Capron, playing Rowley Jefferson; Devon Bostick, playing Rodrick Heffley; and Peyton List, playing Holly Hills.

I found a couple of great messages in this film. One is to always tell the truth. Greg lies to his dad that he had a job, he lies to the different desk clerks at the country club about his name, and he lies to Holly that he is a member at the country club. It like a lying Macarena, but in the end it all catches up to him. Also, sometimes it’s okay to mess up. Just admit it, take responsibility and learn from it.

I recommend Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days for ages 5 to 15, but the whole family will enjoy it too.

I give this film five out of five stars because it is very very funny, has a great message and is good for the whole family to enjoy. It will keep you laughing.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Reviewed by Julianna Noone
(See Julianna’s full review on video.)

This film is the third in this popular series and is based on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, which are written by Jeff Kinney. These books are about the ups and downs of growing up and trying to deal with school, family and relationships. The stories are so well written and relatable that you can’t help but love the books and the movies.

This film stars Zachary Gordon, who does a great job once again as the main character, Greg Heffley, and Robert Capron as his lovable friend, Rowley Jefferson. This film starts out with Greg and Rowley finishing the school year and planning out their summer vacation. There’s only one problem, as usual for Greg: Nothing goes as planned. Follow along as Greg and Rowley try to make it through the dog days of summer.

My favorite character is Greg because he is funny and means well even when he makes mistakes. Deep down, he just wants everyone to like him. It is hard choosing one scene as my favorite, because most of the scenes at the country club are absolutely hysterical, but I was able to choose one, when Greg’s older brother, Roderick, played brilliantly by Devon Bostick, tries to fake drowning so the pretty lifeguard will save him. The problem is, she doesn’t even notice him, so an older, hairy man dives into the pool, pulls him out and performs mouth to mouth on him. Roderick’s facial expression is priceless, and this scene is just so funny, I could not stop laughing.

Not only is this movie well written and very funny, but it has a really strong cast that help bring to life the Heffley family and make this an enjoyable film that the entire family can relate to and enjoy. The movie also has a great message in it about growing up and learning from your mistakes. I love this fabulous film and urge you to take your family and go see this film today.

I rate this film five out of five stars, as I think this is a film your entire family will love as much as I do. Trust me, you will love it!

And remember, a man who makes no mistakes is a man who hasn’t learned anything.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Reviewed by Anthony Aranda
(See Anthony’s full review on video.)

This movie is awesome. It has so many funny parts in the movie. It was hilarious. This movie is based on the third and fourth book of the Wimpy Kid series, The Last Straw and Dog Days, which are also really good.

This movie is all about a person named Greg Heffley who is ready for summer. He has a lot of plans to have a lot of fun, but everything seems to go wrong. He is acting really lazy because all he is doing is playing video games and trying to impress a girl named Holly Hills. Rowley invites him to the country club where they can go swimming, play tennis and play golf.
The main characters in this movie are Greg, Greg’s family, Holly Hills and her family, and Rowley and his family. My favorite character in the movie is Greg because he is really funny and is kind of like me. He also does a lot of stuff to get out of spending time with his family. He will go do something else even if he doesn’t really want to so that he can get away from them.

My favorite part in the movie is when Rowley invites Greg to the country club and he meets Holly Hills. He has to play a tennis game with Rowley against Holly Hills and his mortal enemy, Patty Farrell. He gets hit a lot of times with a tennis ball in different places, which is really funny. Rowley gets hit a few times too, but it is mostly Greg who keeps getting hit. It made me laugh a lot.

I would recommend this movie for ages 5 and up because this movie is rated PG and there is only one scary part in the movie that younger children might not like. Everyone will think this movie is really funny and a great movie to watch with the whole family.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Reviewed by Julia Chestnut
(See Julia’s full review on video.)
(See Julia’s live interviews on location.)

I LOVE this movie. It is full of comedy and it makes you laugh the entire movie.
School is out and summer is waiting, and Greg (played by Zachary Gordon) is ready for summer and can’t wait to just play video games. Slowly, everything starts to go wrong. He finds himself sneaking into a country club each day to try and hang out with Holly Hills (played by Peyton List). My favorite part is when Greg gets called into the pool by his little brother and Greg finds out that he is peeing and then all the other little kids are peeing and then his little brother splashes the water with pee in it on Greg. It is so funny! Zachary Gordon plays Greg Heffley. He and Robert Capron are the stars in this movie, and they play best friends. Greg is funny and always finds himself in embarrassing situations that are so hilarious to the viewers watching!

Robert Capron plays his part very well as Rowley Jefferson. He is Greg’s best friend in this movie, but Rowley always embarrasses Greg in front of a big group of people. Rowley is funny and comes from a loving family and is a great best friend to everyone. He can connect with everyone. When he gets made fun of, he doesn’t care and he doesn’t let them get in his way of things.

Peyton List plays her part very well, too. She plays Holly Hills. In the movie, Greg likes Holly and tries to hang out with her for a while. He sneaks into the country club each day to hang out with Holly. I can see why Greg likes Holly, she is a very cute girl and is nice. She helps with everything and she is never selfish. She never looks at the bad side of people; she only looks at the good side. She is a great friend to everybody.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is great! I give it five out of five stars. It is so funny and full of comedy. I would recommend ages 8-12.

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Ice Age: Continental Drift, Endearing As Ever, Coming To DVD and blu-ray

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

IceAge4DVDbluray.jpgThe Ice Age cometh again. The fourth in 20th Century Fox’s franchise, Continental Drift, is coming to us on DVD and blu-ray on December 11, 2012. The characters are as endearing as ever, with the familiar voices of Ray Romano (Manny), John Leguizamo (Sid) and Denis Leary (Diego), among others. New to the cast of characters this time out is Granny (voiced by Wanda Sykes), who makes a big hit with KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Cheyenne Nguyen, age 9: “My favorite character in this movie is Granny. Everything about her is funny and unpredictable.”

On a more technical note, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Julianna Noone, age 12, observes, “The animation is so well done that the characters appear life-like as you can see the details in the sheen of their fur and the muscle movements.”

See the full review by Julianna Noone and Cheyenne Nguyen on video.

Ice Age: Continental Drift
Reviewed by Julianna Noone

HOLY CRAB! What a great movie! This film really kicks some pirate booty.
From Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox comes Ice Age: Continental Drift. This fantastic film is about a group of different families that come together to form their own herd, and together they overcome obstacles to stay together.
Once again, Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo) and Diego (voiced by Denis Leary) set off on another wild adventure caused by Scrat’s continued chase of that elusive acorn. Along the way, they overcome pirates, sirens and many other life-and-death obstacles.

While I love all the characters and they are voiced by a terrific and funny set of actors, my favorite character is Granny (voiced by Wanda Sykes), who is a new addition to the cast. Granny is so hilarious and a little zany and crazy. Everyone thinks Granny has an imaginary friend, but as the movie goes along, we find out that the friend is not so imaginary. It’s a very precious moment in the movie.

My favorite scene is when Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny are having hallucinations that are unique to each of them. Sid’s is about a female sloth; Diego sees Shira, a female pirate and also a sabertooth tiger; Granny sees a muscular sloth; and finally Manny sees his wife, Ellie (voiced by Queen Latifah), who says to him, “Manny, you were right, you’re always right.” Manny hears that and he snaps out of his hallucination because he knows that Ellie would never say that to him. It’s such a funny moment in the film, but also saves them all from dying.

The music is very catchy and fits the movie well. My favorite song is at the very end, because it’s about family and it is an adorable song. The animation is so well done that the characters appear life-like as you can see the details in the sheen of their fur and the muscle movements.

I rate this film 5 out of 5 stars as it is funny, well written and has a great message for the audience. It is a perfect movie for everyone in your herd.

Always remember, stick with your herd because they always have your back, no matter what.

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen

Ice Age: Continental Drift is an adventure and comedy animation. Ice Age 4 picks up where Scrat still does not catch that acorn, and the result of his chasing after the acorn is the continent drifts apart.

Manny (voiced by Ray Romano) is an over-protective father trying to keep his teenage daughter, Peaches (voiced by Keke Palmer), from hanging out with the bad group of mammoths. However, Peaches is desperate to prove that she is cool so she can hang out with the cool kids.

Manny and his daughter have a fight in front of her friends, and the last thing Peaches says to her father is, “I wish you were not my father.” This is when the earth shakes; Manny, Diego and Sid are separated from the rest of the pack. They encounter ice pirates and many different sea creatures.

They all are homesick and want to find a way home. However, the ice pirate wants to capture them as prisoners. Manny and his gang have to come up with a plan to escape from the pirates and use his ice ship to go home.

This movie has a lot of jokes that make me laugh throughout the movie. The love story between Diego and the white tiger Shira (voiced by Jennifer Lopez) is so cute.

The message of this movie is the importance of family and we do not have a choice to pick who is in our family.

My favorite character in this movie is Granny. Everything about her is funny and unpredictable. One thing that I did not like is there are too many new characters. I would like to see more of Granny.

I rank this movie 5 out of 5 stars because it’s exciting, funny and all the characters are so strong and different. I recommend this movie for ages 3 to 18.

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