Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Calling all kids who love movies and love to talk about them. KIDS FIRST! has launched its 2012 search to find eight kids to become official KIDS FIRST! Film Critics. The lucky winners – who will serve a twelve-month term – will attend Red Carpet events and advance film screenings where they will review new family films, interview celebrities, and blog about upcoming films.

To enter, applicants submit both a written and videotaped review of one of the official KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search titles: Happy Feet, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, Glee!, Season 2, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Barbie: A Perfect Christmas which are available for purchase at Amazon.com or wherever DVDs are sold and available on VOD from Comcast.

Each of the current film critics has garnered their own fan club and seems to have established an identity of their own. Raven Devanney, from Denver, excels in her role as host of KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions radio show on VoiceAmerica Kids Gabriella Chu from New York has attended many advance screenings and interviewed celebrities including Jordana Beatty (star) and Megan McDonald (author) of Judy Moody & the NOT Bummer Summer. Anthony Aranda has attended two red carpet events – for the Disney release of Winnie the Pooh and the indie film, This is Your Ocean Sharks and just interviewed John Lasseter, director of Cars 2 on the Pixar lot. Makai Weber Colvin says her best experience was, “interviewing Travis Oats, (voice of Piglet) on the Honey Colored Carpet at the Winnie the Pooh premiere at Walt Disney Studios” during the KIDS FIRST! 2011 Film Critics Boot Camp.

The focus of the film critics program is teaching children healthy media habits, as well as strong critical thinking, writing and public speaking skills that will stay with them for a lifetime. The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search began October 25 and runs through December 31st. It is open to all children between the ages of six and fourteen.

Of the twenty-four finalists, twenty are selected by public voting determines and four additional finalists are selected by special committee. The public voting site is www.wonderworldcity.com/kidsfirst. Be sure to vote for your favorites.

The celebrity judges will select eight winners and 4 alternates, one for each age group. Judges for 2012 search are Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures, Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to ‘Good Morning America,’ Thelma Adams, whose debut novel Playdate, was an O Magazine pick, was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post and George Pennacchio of the ABC7 Eyewitness News team in Los Angeles KABC-TV.

The current KIDS FIRST! Film Critics have had a busy and successful year. Their reviews are posted regularly on AOL Kids, WorkingMother.com, KIDSFIRST.ORG, HPUB (Huffington Post Union of Bloggers, parenthood.com, a host of local web publications and KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions, a weekly radio show on Voice America Kids, which was just rated the #2 show on the network.

Industry supporters of The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Campaign include Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, and WonderWorld Entertainment. Campaign support also comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative membership of over 17 million.

For more information about the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics campaign, visit the campaign landing page.

Congrats to The Space Race web series and interactive site, at www.spaceracekids.com, which was just awarded a 2011 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in web development by the Web Marketing Association. Each year, the WMA presents awards to various websites in a multitude of categories. Space Race was selected in the Education Category for outstanding website together with their development partner Speakaboos.

The website achieved above average scores in all categories including design, content, and innovation. The website has received over 28,000 visitors since it was launched as part of Speakaboos “Journey to Space Month” on March 14 and has expanded its fan base all over the world.

“Many families have written thanking us for making a kid-friendly web series focusing on space education,” CEO and Executive Producer Richard Schweiger says. “They also appreciate the fun and entertaining learning tools we offer – the 3D Space Race game, trivia, coloring pages – all of which makes Space Race a truly interactive website.”

Space Race’s Chief Space Scout and social media guru Matthias Schmitt explains that “the space race is a marathon, and we want to plant the seeds of knowledge about exploring our solar system and beyond as early as we can. One way we’ve done this is by taking our main character, Eagle, on a journey along with us to shuttle launches, museums, and schools, where we’ve met new fans and generated excitement about Space Race and space education.”

Space Race launched as an animated web series focusing on space education, space travel and racing, with the goal of teaching children about space and the solar system. Space Race features eight characters, each in spaceship form, as they race through space, merging unique comic relief with breathtaking excitement and adventure.