KIDS FIRST! News

The message at the heart of this slapstick tale of doggy derring-do from Anchor Bay is relevant any time of the year: Everyone deserves a second chance. Delivering it in a Christmas setting adds an extra zing because, as the mother in this story insists, “No one should be alone on Christmas.”

Shades of “Home Alone,” but here with a former K-9 police dog as hero, give the film its big pay-off and most of its humor. Unfortunately, it takes far too long to get there, straining for humor and character identification along the way. Part of the problem with the movie is its ambivalence about what age audience it’s going for.

At the start of the movie, we meet Zeus, a golden Labrador Retriever who looks well fed and well cared for. But appearances must be deceiving, because Zeus shares his thoughts with us about getting picked up and sent to an animal shelter so he can be assured of “three square meals on the inside.” (Zeus is not so much a talking character as one whose thoughts we are able to hear.) Such references are above the heads of the youngest viewers, but the tone of voice most characters use is the one that many adults affect when they try to make conversation with toddlers.

Zeus is adopted from the pound by George Bannister, who promised his wife, Belinda, that he would not buy a dog until the two of them had time to discuss it more. His sophistry (“I didn’t buy it; I got it for free”) raises a point about honesty parents may want to discuss with their kids after viewing the movie. Ostensibly, George wants a dog that can be a guard dog, as there’s been a robbery on their block; Belinda, however, suggests they get an alarm instead. What George really wants is a pet, because as a child he lost his dog. So when it becomes apparent that Zeus lacks a basic requisite — he can’t bark — George insists on giving him another chance.

The Bannister kids, Kara and Ben, are on their dad’s side, and we see them getting a DVD “Teach Your Dog to Bark.” Even though they profess to care about Zeus, we don’t see any real feeling to their words or actions.

The source of Zeus’ problem is explained in a short, confused flashback scene: On a police mission, he barked at the wrong time and blew a five-year investigation. Now, he knows he has to overcome this psychological block, and, predictably, it takes a robbery attempt on the Bannister’s house to get him past his hang-up.

Recurring gags are Zeus drinking out of the toilet and one of the robbers with a flatulence problem. The pair of robbers are, in many ways, more likeable than the family whose home they’re robbing. They are stupid and clumsy, easy foils for Zeus’ tricks, and their conversation and pratfalls — over-the-top though they are — provide the most honest humor in the movie.

A secondary story involves a hermit-like neighbor about whom Kara and Ben propagate a rumor that she poisons dogs. Zeus also plays a role in resolving her relationships in time for a merry Christmas.

Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Taken in one 70-minute sitting or viewed in single installments, this collection of six Wubbzy adventures from Anchor Bay is silly enough to engage young viewers while never talking down to them. The underlying message throughout is that friends help each other, and the point is clearly made through actions and dialog that move each story along, rather than by any pedantic narration.

These adventures, as the DVD title states, all revolve around Christmas-time celebrations of Wubbzy, Widget, Walden and their other friends in Wuzzleburg. Credit Wubbzy’s creators with acknowledging there are other holidays celebrated around the same time of year, but there is one technical discrepancy: The Jewish menorah shown in one episode is the standard seven-branched one rather than the special nine-branched one used for Chanukah.

Snow ushers in the winter season, and in “Snow Day,” Wubbzy and friends respond to the first snowfall each in his and her own way: Wubbzy goes sledding, Widget invents a super snow shovel, and Walden builds a perfectly executed snow sculpture of a polar bear. When Wubbzy accidentally destroys Wally Polar Bear, he and Widget immediately set about to rebuild it — and we cheer for them as they send Walden off on a series of errands in hopes of finishing it before he discovers the disaster. Walden eventually does discover what’s going on, and matter-of-factly modifies his plan so the same thing won’t happen again. After all, accidents will happen.

In “O’Figgity Fig Tree,” Widget gets the job of decorating the big Christmas tree in Wuzzleburg’s town square. Wubbzy gets excited about trying to make it brighter, and they blow out the generator. When he steps up to apologize to all the disappointed townsfolk for causing the problem, they respond by contributing their own special decorations. With everyone’s help, and unflagging good cheer, they end up with the best Christmas tree ever.

“The Snow Shoo Shoo” is a mystery in which Wubbzy, Widget and Walden search for the missing creature with the help of a special gadget from Widget that goes Sherlock Holmes two better: It’s a magnifying lens AND a flashlight AND a ball-point pen. And adults can chuckle with the kids when Wubbzy, told to be on the lookout for anything unusual, sees his tail through the lens and comments that his tail is bigger than it used to be.

“Dash for Dolly” not only promotes the value of homemade gifts over off-the-shelf ones, it’s full of project examples and ideas an astute adult could do with his or her own kids. The focus is always on giving, not getting, and in “Great and Grumpy Holiday,” caring for one reaps benefits for all. Not all gifts have to be material things, either, as “The Super Special Gift” relates.

And what would a Christmas story be without Santa Claus? Jolly old St. Nick makes his special appearance in the DVD’s bonus episode, “The Super Special Gift.”

Recommended for ages 2 to 5.

Elf is a feel-good Christmas movie that brilliantly balances Will Ferrell’s typical silliness with James Caan’s perfectly delivered tough-guy cynicism. Whichever humor is better suited to your personal funny bone, there’s plenty of it to raise a smile or guffaw through to the film’s epilogue.

With a touch of “The Ugly Duckling,” Ferrell’s title character grows up with the elves in Santa’s workshop at the North Pole after having crawled, unseen, from his crib in an orphanage into Santa’s bag of toys one Christmas Eve. The pathos of an orphanage existence is furthered by the scene in a sterile nursery being shot in darkness and shadows, in sharp contrast to the festive ambience of Santa’s North Pole. But rather than open on that dreary note, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man and Iron Man 2) introduces us to the story through a visit with the adoptive elf-father (a pointy-eared Bob Newhart, in his trademark deadpan delivery that imbues the far-fetched tale with an earnest honesty).

“Buddy” (named from the label on the diapers he was wearing on his arrival) grows up with all the positive self-esteem the elves can encourage in him, although it’s obvious to everyone but him that he just doesn’t fit in — literally as well as figuratively, as he spills out of his school desk, squeezes through doorways and nearly smothers Papa Elf when he sits in his lap. But his idyllic existence is shattered when he overhears two elves refer to him as “human.”

So Buddy sets off to find his real father (James Caan as Walter Hobbs), and the snow-globe essence of the scenes changes to real-life when he hits New York City. Misadventures and clumsy emotional overtures follow. Zooey Deschanel provides Ferrell with a sweet love-interest, and Daniel Tay becomes his compatriot as Caan’s other, emotionally starved, son.

There is some mild profanity and discreet sexual innuendo in this 2003, PG-rated, award-winning family film from New Line Cinema, but possibly more disturbing is the reference to unbelievers who think “parents leave the presents under the tree” and eat the cookies put out for Santa — although the film’s resolution affirms that Santa is as real as Christmas spirit.

A REMINDER ABOUT KIDS FIRST! FILM  CRITICS’ SEARCH:
Tomorrow, Oct. 20, is the last day to get those reviews entered in our first annual KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search.

The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com. Check it out — entries are posted there now. And be sure to vote for your choice to win. There are two more weeks, but remember that voting closes Oct. 31. Your vote is important — the popular vote will determine the 20 finalists.

Keep your Kleenex handy as you watch My Dog Skip. With a screenplay based on the same-named autobiography of writer and editor William Weaks “Willie” Morris, the award-winning Warner Bros. film from 2000 is a poignant revisit of a period of his childhood growing up in Yazoo City, Miss. Accompanied by his Jack Russell terrier Skip, Will (Frankie Muniz) experiences life lessons of idols fallen and retrieved, bullies, first love and, above all, loyalty and friendship.

The boy-dog partnership almost doesn’t happen, when the puppy Will’s mom gives him for his eighth birthday is taken away by his father. This seeming hard-heartedness is revealed to be anything but, as the stoic dad (in a consummate performance by Kevin Bacon) describes to his wife all the heartache he is trying to protect Will from. Pointing out that Will will face these things eventually, she perseveres, and the story unfolds in multiple layers. As much for adults as children, the film offers gems of insight such as, “Give a man a label and you never need to get to know him.”

It’s fall of 1942, and shy bookworm Will is losing the support he has heretofore relied on when the town athletic hero, Will’s next-door-neighbor and seemingly only friend, is shipped off to fight the Nazis in Europe. Although Dink has been a willing mentor, he’s been more crutch than ladder, and it is Skip who helps Will grow in confidence this pivotal year.

Peopled with believable characters in the adult roles, the film centers much on relationships between Will and other kids in his small town, and their performances are uniformly excellent. And aside from a few inconsistencies (such references to both moonshiners and a six-pack), the period in World War II, pre-integration South is nicely constructed.

A REMINDER ABOUT KIDS FIRST! FILM  CRITICS’ SEARCH:
Tomorrow, Oct. 20, is the last day to get those reviews entered in our first annual KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search.

The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com. Check it out — entries are posted there now. And be sure to vote for your choice to win. There are two more weeks, but remember that voting closes Oct. 31. Your vote is important — the popular vote will determine the 20 finalists.

Entertainment One has released The Secret of Moonacre on DVD and Blu-ray. If you loved it in the theaters (or if you missed it), now you can enjoy it at home. Especially suited to eight- to 12-year-olds, The Secret of Moonacre is one of the seven titles on the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search, which invites kids aged six to 15 to compete for a chance to be a recognized film critic for 12 months — attending red carpet events and interviewing stars as well as reviewing new films ahead of their theatrical release for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners. And, like the other six titles, The Secret of Moonacre is readily available in-store at Toys “R” Us (on the special KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search endcap display) and online at Amazon.com.

The film, adapted from Elizabeth Goudge’s novel The Little White Horse, follows the fantastical adventures of a newly orphaned 13-year-old who discovers a magical, moonlit world when she goes to live with her eccentric uncle at his aptly named Moonacre Manor. The mysterious environs are a huge change from the luxury she’d known in London, but Maria Merryweather (played by Dakota Blue Richards, The Golden Compass) suffers a bigger shock when she learns that the task of saving Moonacre Manor from an ancient curse rests on her young shoulders.

The story offers a safe context for parents to discuss with their children several topics that may otherwise be too hard or scary to express: Who would take care of you if something happened to your parents? What would you do if, instead of your family taking care of you, you found it was you who had to save your family? And in the story, Maria’s uncle (played by the wonderful Ioan Gruffudd, whose film credits include Fantastic Four) treats her dreadfully – opening up the question of why a tragedy can affect someone’s behavior. These are among the talking points developed in the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Discussion Guide.

We’ve developed the discussion guide to enhance your after-viewing discussions, and it’s a great resource if your child plans to enter the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search (there’s a guide for each of the seven titles). There’s still plenty of time to enter. October 10 is the deadline to submit the written review, and, upon acceptance, KIDS FIRST! will send the applicants instructions for creating a videotaped review that will then be posted on WonderWorldTV.com for public vote — like this one that’s on the site now. Be sure to visit and vote for your favorite critic!

Winners of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search will be announced the weekend of Nov. 12 – 14, with festivities that will include the excitement of KIDS FIRST!’s attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” a single film (The Velveteen Rabbit) with a caring adult.