KIDS FIRST! News

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Flynn, Vice President of Sales, Content and Acquisitions for NCircle Entertainment, who brings over 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry.  “When I started working in the video industry, remote controls were connected by wires to the video players.  Many things have changed since then and being in the industry since it started has been very exciting and rewarding.” 

Mary started her career as a sales person calling on video stores.  The industry has grown from videos to streaming and Mary has been at the forefront of this entertainment evolution. Over the years, Mary was very fortunate to have many opportunities to do different things; sales manager, VP of sales, general manager, just to name a few. 

Before NCircle Entertainment, Flynn was the senior director of business development for Alliance Entertainment, Vice President of Sales for Allumination Filmworks and Vice President of Sales for Apix Entertainment.

In her spare time, Mary enjoys traveling, biking, cooking with her godchildren and adventures with her Dachshund/Papillon dog Wolverine, named by her godson and affectionately called Wolfie.

Founded in 2006, NCircle Entertainment is one of the largest independent distributors of quality children and family entertainment content. NCircle is committed to providing quality children’s entertainment that builds a solid foundation of early learning skills upon which future educational success can be built. NCircle’s award winning brands engage your child in the learning process, using the interdisciplinary STEM approach, teaching reading readiness, science concepts, problem solving tactics, social skills and environmental awareness, while entertaining them with song, dance and laughter. NCircle’s library includes many of the most loved and best-selling children’s brands including The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Sonic Boom, Gigantosaurus, Llama Llama, The Octonauts, The Floogals, Gumby and many more. 

Interviewed by Nathalia Marie J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Join the Floogals on a mission of discovery as they explore Earth and the funny “hoomans” who live there! KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Ethan P. comments, “I like Floogals Investigation Station because it is very funny, original and creative… I like that it is not just animation, as some parts are real life graphics.  I also like that it is always teaching kids to explore and experiment in every episode.” See his full review below.

Floogals Investigation Station
By Ethan P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 11

I like Floogals Investigation Station because it is very funny, original and creative.  It captured my attention the whole time.  I like that it is not just animation, as some parts are real life graphics.  I also like that it is always teaching kids to explore and experiment in every episode.

This DVD is about three purple lookalike aliens called Floogals – Captain Fleeker, First Officer Flo and Junior Boomer.  The Floogals learn new things and report back to their boss to inform him what they have learned on Earth.  This DVD contains six episodes about experimentation, discovery and observation.  Each episode has about 11 minutes of adventure and funny situations.  One of the funniest things of this show is that the aliens call the humans “hoomans.” 

My favorite episode is “Project Popcorn.”  This episode is about the Floogals discovering a food called popcorn.  When a human accidentally lets go of the popcorn, it falls and the dog eats it, so they think it is dog food.  Later they start to realize what popcorn is.  Another one of my favorite episodes is “Project Sleep” which is about how a “hooman” girl invites her friends over for a sleepover.  The Floogals spy on the girls to see what a sleepover is all about.  The Floogals slowly learn about and process the word “sleepover,”  The Floogals do not realize that the whole time they are actually part of the sleepover.  The graphics are real live backgrounds and the Floogals are little animated aliens.  The animation is neat and very colorful.  The voiceover talent suits each character.  I like Junior Boomer’s character the most, because he is clumsy, funny, and always curious about learning new things.

The moral of this show is: don’t ever let someone stop you from doing what you desire.  Don’t allow anyone to discourage you from doing what you are capable of doing.  For example, Junior Boomer investigates this thing call “popcorn” and Captain Fleeker tries to stop him, but Junior Boomer still investigates.

I give Floogals Investigation Station 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it ages 6 to 18, plus adults.  By Ethan P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews by youth, visit kidsfirst dot org.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Glenn Entis recently. Glenn co-founded Pacific Data Images (PDI), a leading graphics/animation house, led DreamWorks Interactive as CEO, and developed some of the most popular video games worldwide while Senior Vice President and Chief Visual Officer at EA. 

When Glenn first started in computer graphics, very few companies paid any attention to the blooming medium. So, Glenn founded PDI with Carl Rosendahl and Richard Chuang. The three built the company into a booming business that has since won numerous awards. 

Glenn always had his heart set on making and programming graphics. Suddenly, he and his fellow founders were managers. They had to negotiate salaries, consider career paths and direct the future of the company. Yet Glenn’s love for computer graphics and his commitment to PDI allowed him to smoothly enter the role of COO of PDI. “My core passion for computer animation has never gone away,” he explained, it simply “manifested” into a new role. 

The future had yet another unexpected manifestation: video games. When given the opportunity to lead DreamWorks Interactive, Glenn jumped at the opportunity. In some ways, it seemed more daunting than computer animation – video games require interaction from the player and so creators must think of far more variables and challenges than in pure entertainment mediums like computer animation. Yet, in other ways, it freed Glenn to be more creative. Video games lacked the massive hierarchy of film and thus, Glenn had finally been granted the opportunity to lead his teams with little restriction.

Throughout Glenn’s career, one thing remained apparent: Glenn’s job title didn’t involve managing products, instead, his career revolved around managing people. The talent to get people together, to get them to create and to get them to innovate does not change no matter the place, the time or the industry. 

By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 17
Author’s Page – Amazon
World According to G

Doozers: We Dig Spring! – Living at the edges of our world and right under our noses are Doozers. Just who are the Doozers? They’re green, they’re cute, they’re three inches tall, full of energy, ideas, and enthusiasm they’re AWESOME! Doozers love to create, build, and innovate. Doozers are DOERS they put their ideas into action! KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Ethan P. comments, “The stories follow four green Doozers that love helping wildlife and building things.  Doozers are little green, cute and energetic creatures – two boys and two girls.  Each one has a unique talent. For example, one has the power of science, another has technology, the third one has engineering and the fourth one has arts and math.  All together it equals STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math).” See his full review below.

Doozers We Dig Spring!
By Ethan P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 11

I like Doozers We Dig Spring! DVD because it is very entertaining, even for an 11-year-old, like me.  This animation has very unique story lines in every episode.  

The DVD has six episodes, each about 11 minutes long. The stories follow four green Doozers that love helping wildlife and building things.  Doozers are little green, cute and energetic creatures – two boys and two girls.  Each one has a unique talent. For example, one has the power of science, another has technology, the third one has engineering and the fourth one has arts and math.  All together it equals STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts ,and math).  In every adventure they learn something new such as the stages of a butterfly, what bees like or how to work together.

My favorite episode is Oh Beehive where one of the Doozers is hungry and goes to a bakery to get something to eat.  When he is about to go inside, a storm of bees swoops in front of the bakery’s door so the owner has to shut the bakery down.  The Doozer calls his friends to come and help him.  All four Doozers together think of a genius plan so they can stop the bees and remove them from the door.  The animation is cute with vibrant colors.  The voice-overs are all by kids and their voices fit each character perfectly.  The theme song is very energetic.  Each episode is a different adventure and they don’t necessary follow a sequence.  My favorite catch phrase they say is, “Doo, doo, doo…” and, right after that phrase, they start working together as a team to resolve a situation or to build something. 

The moral of Doozers We Dig Spring! is “team work makes the dream work,” because in all six episodes all four Doozers team together to solve situations or to build something and they always put their ideas together to make things happen as a team.

I give Doozers We Dig Spring! 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to ages 4 to 18, and adults can enjoy this DVD as well.  ThisDVD is available now so go get it before it runs out!

Doozers We Dig Spring
By SaniyaRain F., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12

Doozers We Dig Spring is a great educational DVD for preschoolers. They can learn lots! The series has many life lessons.  For example, one of the lessons is about friends caring about their friends’ happiness. Another lesson is about how sometimes people need to grow on their own without help.

This DVD has multiple episodes following four little, cute, green aliens who try to make sure that the people in their community are happy. In one episode, three of Doozers try to brighten up Daisy Wheel’s spirit by trying to make a rainbow. They keep trying when things don’t work out as planned. Eventually, a scientist teaches them that they need to use light and a prism and – magically, it works. Daisy feels wonderful when she sees the rainbow. I am the same way, I love rainbows and I love making others feel good.

The character that I like the most is Daisy Wheel. She is not like everyone else. She is her own person. She doesn’t hang around other people, but she likes to be around her dad and help him at work. I can relate because sometimes I am a bit antisocial, not because I don’t like or enjoy my friends, but because I like my private time.

My favorite episode is when Daisy Wheel and the Doozers save the butterflies. Their cocoon was falling and she jumps to catch it, but falls.  She brings it to a place where she tells a man that she wants to keep the butterflies and he explains that they will not survive without the things they need. They save all the cocoons and watch them grown into beautiful Monarch butterflies.

The message I got from this DVD is about the importance of nature.

I give Doozers We Dig Spring 4 out 5 stars and recommend this DVD for ages 3 to 5. This DVD is available now, so if you have a preschooler look for it.

Today, it is our pleasure to introduce you to a female leader in animation film production. Maureen Fan, CEO and co-founder Baobab Studios. Six-time Emmy winning Baobab Studios is the world’s leading independent interactive narrative animation studio. Their mission: Bring out your sense of wonder. Inspire you to dream. Make YOU matter. Baobab has won an Emmy for Best Interactive Media for every qualifying project the studio has created. Named Fast Company’s 2018 Most Innovative Company, Baobab is creatively led by Eric Darnell, the writer and director of Antz and all four Madagascar films. In a first, Hollywood is taking Baobab’s VR IP to become a feature film: Roth Kirschenbaum Films (​Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and The Huntsman) has signed on to adapt ​INVASION! into a traditional feature film.

Check out Gerry O’s interview with Maureen Fan from earlier this month.

Baobab has won six Emmy awards as well as the first-ever Annie award for Best VR Production. Crow: The Legend, both a linear animated short film and an interactive VR experience, won the most awards of any animated program or series, traditional and/or interactive, at the 2019 Emmy Awards. Baobab has released Invasion!, Asteroids!, Jack, Crow: The Legend, and Bonfire to commercial and critical acclaim. Their work (traditional, VR, and AR) has gone viral landing on YouTube’s trending category. 

Their work stars diverse talents such as John Legend, Oprah, Constance Wu, Diego Luna, Liza Koshy, Tye Sheridan, Elizabeth Banks, Ethan Hawke, Lupita Nyong’o, and Ali Wong.

Lauded as the “Pixar of Virtual Reality” (CNet, The Wall Street Journal), Baobab’s advisors include Alvy Ray Smith (Pixar co-founder), Glenn Entis (DreamWorks Animation co-founder), legendary Oscar-winning animator Glen Keane, Mireille Soria, Kevin Lin (Twitch co-founder).

Investors include: Comcast Ventures, HTC, Samsung, Shari Redstone and Liz Murdoch’s Advancit/Freelands Cap, The Chernin Group, Horizons Ventures, 20th Century Fox, EMP, Shanghai Media Group, Youku Global Media Fund (Alibaba), Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

Ms. Fan has held leadership roles in film, gaming, and the consumer web. She was most recently vice president of games at Zynga, where she oversaw three game studios, including the FarmVille sequels, which contributed to 40% of the company’s revenues. Previously, she worked on Pixar’s Toy Story 3 film and at eBay in product management and UI design. Her most recent collaboration, “The Dam Keeper,” directed by Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo, was nominated for the 2015 Oscar® Best Animated Short. She received her undergraduate degree in an interdisciplinary program in computer science, art and psychology from Stanford University graduating Phi Beta Kappa and earned her master’s degree in business from Harvard University.

By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 17
Author’s Page – Amazon
World According to G