KIDS FIRST! News

Hoodwinked, released on DVD by Vivendi Entertainment, earned a nomination for a Saturn Award  in 2006 as Best Animated Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, from its theatrical release. KIDS FIRST! film critic Gabriella Chu (age 14) tells us about the movie. (See her video on YouTube.)

Hoodwinked
Reviewed by Gabriella Chu

This movie is sweet and funny. It made me laugh out loud a couple of times. The movie’s message isn’t new – “don’t judge a book by its cover.” However, the message is delivered with a lot of creativity and originality by  presenting the points of view of each of the characters.

You would expect Hoodwinked to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood and it does, but with a new angle. The movie starts off with Red delivering goods to her Granny, but once she arrives home, she sees a wolf disguised as her Grandma, her grandma is tied up and locked in the closet, and then a crazy woodsman breaks into their house screaming with an ax in his hand. As crazy as it sounds, there is an interesting explanation for everything that happened at this scene. The movie adds a lot of twists to the original story of Little Red Riding Hood as it depicts the viewpoints of all of the characters involved at the scene to keep you guessing what really happened. When you piece the different perspectives of the characters in the movie together, you will be shocked at the true story!

Hoodwinked stars the voice talent of Anne Hathaway as Red, Glenn Close as Granny, James Belushi as the woodsman and Patrick Warburton as the wolf. The movie is written and directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech.

The animation of the movie didn’t wow me when I compare it to films such as Shrek, Ice Age, Toy Story and similar. On the other hand, the voice talent is great. Anne Hathaway does a great job at portraying Red’s character as a tough yet charming girl, especially in the scene when she is about to perform kung-fu on the wolf. Glenn Close’s voice is a perfect match for the grandmother.

I recommend this movie to children ages 7 and up. Younger kids may not be able to understand some of the jokes. This is a fun family film and something I would enjoy watching with my friends. It is a sweet comedy with an interesting plot! 

PHOTO: Gabriella Chu

See Gabriella’s video on YouTube.

Six episodes of chuggers Wilson, Koko and Brewster come together on today’s Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD release Chuggington: Let’s Ride the Rails, along with some fun extras in a memory game and a coloring book. The appealing stars may look like train engines, but they act even more appealingly like children: eager to learn new skills but not quite getting them right on the first try or not quite remembering all the instructions.

The playfulness of their world’s pastel coloring and simplified sets disguises the factual information presented as play.

“Braking Brewster” builds up from a short lesson in how a hopper car works … subtly establishing what a “hopper car” is in the first place. Education at its most effortless – almost by osmosis. The lesson Brewster and Wilson are supposed to learn – that it’s “always harder going downhill with a heavy load” – is driven home by showing what happens when that warning is ignored. And what saves the day is taking an observation of action in an earlier situation and applying it to the new one.

Box cars are the train lesson of “Clunky Wilson.” The behavioral one centers on Wilson’s attempt to ignore the squeaky sound in his wheels and the shimmy that keeps getting worse. It’s an easy parallel to people not wanting to ask for help because they’d first have to admit there was something wrong. And although young kids may not know what a “suspension spring” is, just hearing real-world terms helps give them a basis on which future learning can be built. (A quick repair took care of Wilson, and he learned that needing a repair is a perfectly normal part of his life.)

It’s all simple and straightforward, in short tales suited to the young – short – attention spans of kids age 2-5. And not a hint of condescension.

It’s Open Season shenanigans at the circus, as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases Open Season 3 on Blu-ray and DVD. Bringing back two familiar voices from Open Season 2 (Crispin Glover as Fifi and Steve Schirripa as Roberto) as well as the same writer (David I. Stern), director Cody Cameron builds Boog’s latest adventures around his mishap in switching places with a grizzly bear in a Russian traveling circus. While Boog performs in the circus act, his friends Elliot, McSquizzy, Mr. Weenie (voiced by director Cameron) and the rest race against time to rescue Boog before the circus returns to Russia.

The DVD offers family-friendly (PG for some mild rude humor) entertainment, with some interactive extras such as the Runaway RV game. Seven-year-old KIDS FIRST! film critic Ny’Asia Bell reviews the film (click here to see her video review): 

Open Season
Reviewed by Ny’Asia Bell (age 7)
 
In this movie our furry friends are back. This time Boog has to go on the guys trip alone, because Elliot and the guys have other responsibilities. He gets very bored and decides to run away and join the circus. Where he meets another bear named Doug. They decide to switch places for one night, only Doug does not return.
 
Boog also meets Ursa the dancing bear. They fall in love. By this time Boog’s friends set out to rescue him from the circus. Even though Boog misses his friends, he does not want to leave Ursa. So what does he do! You will have to go see the movie for yourself to find out.
 
My favorite part is when the animals disguise themselves as circus animals to rescue Boog.

My favorite characters are Boog and Elliot because they both realized how important love, family and friendship is.
 
I rate this movie 5 out of 5 stars. I thought it was very funny and entertaining.

I recommend this movie to kids of all ages. I think everyone will love it!
 
Click here to see Ny’Asia’s video review.                                                                                                      
And check out the Open Season 3 trailer for yourself, now live on Yahoo! Kids!

Photo: KIDS FIRST! film critic Ny’Asia Bell

Childhood angst is perhaps never so strained as in the stresses of love, and Valentine’s Day brings that to the fore more than any other time of year. Charlie Brown, Charles M. Schultz’s beloved antihero, worries his way through 25 minutes of daydreams and despair in A Charlie Brown Valentine, helped along by the stalwart Linus and intermingling with the rest of the Peanuts gang as they, too, try to defeat disappointment.

While Charlie Brown obsesses over getting a Valentine’s card from the little red-haired girl he admires from afar, he’s insensitive to Peppermint Patty’s efforts to pull his attention to her; Sally continues to chase Linus in spite of his avowed disinterest in her; and Lucy hangs over an oblivious Schroeder but has no patience for anyone else smitten with an overwhelming crush. Snoopy is the counterbalance as he outdoes himself on gimcrack verse typical of Valentine’s Day cards, with messages in rhyme even very young viewers would find silly. But, as always, he’s the hero of the occasion – this time, ending up with a wheelbarrow overflowing with the desired missives.

A second feature on the Warner Home Video DVD release is Someday You’ll Find Her, Charlie Brown. A two-second glimpse on TV of a girl in the crowd at a football game sends Charlie Brown on a quest to find her. Tireless in tracking her down, he’s still too timid to speak directly to her; Linus stands in for him at every turn, and ultimately finds he shares something special with her and leaves Charlie Brown out in the cold.

Although made as TV specials (2002 and 1981 respectively), the stories retain the quality of comic strips, pieced together into a cartoon storybook. There are elements of each story that date them – will young viewers even understand what a mechanical pencil sharpener is, that Charlie Brown gets his sleeve caught in and ends up bringing onto himself the worst kind of attention when he most desperately wants to make a good impression? However, the characters are timeless – drawn in simple strokes and developed with uncomplicated personalities that give all viewers someone they can identify with. And Charlie Brown continues to muse on the deep philosophical questions of life in language children, too, can relate to: “I was almost happy yesterday” and “Just when you think everything is perfect, life deals you a blow.”

Image Entertainment gives us The Dogfather next week, when it releases the 2010 film on DVD. Directed by Richard Boddington, it stars Chris Parnell, who may be a familiar face from his prolific TV work in shows such as “30 Rock” and “Big Lake.” But who’s watching him when there’s a slobbery bulldog pulling at your heartstrings and you’ve got tears of laughter blurring your vision? Nine-year-old KIDS FIRST! film critic Makai Weber Colvin tells it best …

Get Ready to Laugh with ‘The Dogfather’
By Makai Weber Colvin

Do you like to laugh and laugh until your side hurts? I do, and that why I like the film The Dogfather. The story is about a bulldog named Sonny that is a rich man’s pet. The rich man is a gangster Boss. The men in the gang have to call him “Godfather” and they have to call Sonny “Dogfather.” When the Godfather feeds Sonny a meatball from his hand, Sonny accidentally eats the ruby ring off the Godfather’s finger along with the meatball. When the Godfather sees the ring is gone, he thinks Sonny has turned against him. Sonny gets scared and runs. The Godfather tells two of his men, “Get Sonny and my ring back dead or alive.” And the chase for Sonny is on!

Sonny gets hauled off to the pound, where a boy with a heart problem wants to adopt him. The pound has a lot of cute fluffy little dogs, but the boy wants the big drooling bulldog. The boy really loves Sonny and his mother loves him too, but the boy’s father can’t seem to get along with him.

My favorite character in Dogfather is the bulldog Sonny. He’s a great comedian. He plays goofy jokes on people. The funniest part is when Sonny leaves a surprise in his new owner’s shoe. When the father takes Sonny for a walk, Sonny pulls so hard, it’s actually the dog walking the man.

Things get super silly when the father tries playing his own tricks. He builds a doghouse for Sonny that looks like a prison. But Sonny ends up sleeping in the father’s bed and guess where the father sleeps?

The Italian gangsters chasing Sonny talk with Italian accents and they’re not too smart but really funny, even though they’re bad guys. They walk around so cool except they are afraid of a tiny puppy.  It’s silly. Who would be afraid of a puppy?

The Dogfather soundtrack helps make a happy and exciting mood. I found myself smiling and laughing during the whole movie. It’s just plain ridiculous and I love a movie that lets me feel like that.

I recommend this film for kids of all ages. I think parents and kids would enjoy watching it together, as long as the grownups don’t mind a few poop jokes. Will the two Italian gangsters catch Sonny? Where is the Godfather’s ring? Will then father let the little boy keep Sonny the slobbery bulldog as his pet? If you’re ready for some good laughs and a brilliant story, get this movie on DVD today! (streets 1/18/11)

Photo: Makai Weber Colvin