Kids' Movies & TV

With all the talk about super hero movies and such, I thought it important to point out that young kids and family friendly flicks for kids of all ages have not been forgotten. In fact, there are three animated movies coming up in the next couple of months -- two sequels and a brand new original animated adventure.

First up, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, opening in theaters on June 8th. This movie is the third theatrical release starring our favorite friends from the NY zoo, but there was also the direct-to-DVD holiday special "Merry Madagascar" that our family really enjoyed. In Europe's Most Wanted, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus which they reinvent Madagascar style. (Photo © DreamWorks Animation).

Next, on June 22, experience a brand new adventure from Pixar called Brave. In Brave, Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land. Her choice ends up taking her on a journey that is perilous, mysterious and enlightening.  (Photo © Disney/Pixar).

And on July 3, 2012, our prehistoric pals are back in a fourth movie! Ice Age: Continental Drift finds Manny, Diego, Sid and friends in a pickle when Scrat's relentless pursuit of his acorn results in a cataclysmic catastrophe. You know, despite the fact that we liked each Ice Age movie, each time I felt there was really no need for another. However, the franchise has proven resilient, bringing fun new characters with each new film that managed to keep things interesting and funny. So, even though a fourth film seems excessive for any popular movie, I have high hopes for this one. (Photo © 20th Century Fox).

I'm looking forward to seeing all three of these animated movies with the kiddos. And, since school is out, I hope to use all three as fun themes for some summer learning and artistic expression as well. I'll have more details on fun crafts, activities and curriculum ideas for each movie coming soon, but for now, how about celebrating Europe's Most Wanted by making your own family circus. Here is a recipe for homemade face paint from our family crafts guide.

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(Photos © The Walt Disney Family Museum)

One thing I love about Mother's Day -- peace and quiet. Other than using the phones to snap a few pics of the girls attempting to teach their uncle some power yoga, the electronics were generally shut down, and the kids spent the day creating pictures and cards and spending time with family.

As good as it is for mommy to have days like this, it's also great for kids. We try to have an unplugged day once a week, but the older the kids get, the more challenging that will become. And today I realized that it's not just screens that keep us from connecting, it's just plain old busyness. I've always thought it's great that we keep busy, because our kids don't have a lot of time to spend on things like watching TV or playing too many video games, so it's really not a problem for us. But there's a lot more to it than that.

And so I write about days like today, so that I don't forget how important it is to slow down and live instead of rushing through life and living vicariously through movies or games during those precious few moments when there is nothing else to do.  It's funny how randomly the desire to evaluate our lives and our decisions can hit. Playing a game of Uno and laughing at an impromptu family yoga class taught by a 9-year-old can really give one reason to think, right?

Here is a list of questions I was inspired to ask myself while pondering on a wonderful day:

• How can I simplify our lives so that there is more time to just enjoy being together as a family?
• What memories do we hope to build over the next few months and years and how can I work those things into our schedules?
• Am I teaching my kids to be creators instead of consumers, to enjoy life simply, to be satisfied and grateful for what we have?
• How can I better teach them self discipline, work ethic and time management?
• Are we using our time wisely? Where do we need to improve?

Of course, a list of introspective questions on how well I'm doing as a mother could go on and on. But for today, just because, I want to commit refining these questions and coming up with some answers about how we spend our time and how to make better use of it. Because if there's one thing I've learned from being a mom, it's that time goes by way too fast.

Among the amazing tourist attractions the San Francisco area has to offer, there is one gem that might get overlooked when you are making vacation plans. In fact, our family lived in the area for five months once while my husband was on a consulting project, and not one of our weekend adventures took us to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio of San Francisco. We just didn't know to go there. While I was recently in San Francisco visiting Pixar Studios to learn more about the upcoming movie Brave, however, Disney treated us to a trip to the museum. Not only do I wish we would have gone as a family, but also, I left the museum convinced that a study of the life of Walt Disney should be a mandatory part my kids' curriculum.

Here are three reasons why you should not miss the Walt Disney Family Museum:

1. History: In following the life of the famous Walt Disney, the museum covers a wealth of filmmaking history. Of course,  it's fascinating to see how animation developed over the years, especially for Disney fans or those interested in the art of filmmaking. But, did you know you can also listen to Walt Disney's testimony to the House on Un American Activities (HUAC), where he testified that communist agitators incited the famous strike at his company? The historical aspects of the museum often go beyond just films and allow visitors interesting glimpses into the past.




2. Interactivity: The museum houses ten widely different and beautiful interactive galleries, and another focal point is a glass-walled back exterior that frames a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Families can really experience hands-on the history of animation through listening stations, fantastic interactive tables, and more. All of this interactivity helps kids learn and stay interested, but with state-of-the-art technology and relevant applications, it's fun for adults as well.




3. Inspiration: As cool as the history and advancement of filmmaking is, and as awesome as the museum's galleries and interactive features are, what I loved the most about the museum is the story it tells. How did one man, Walt Disney, possess such endless ingenuity? How can one person accomplish so much in one lifetime? His optimistic and relentless pursuit of his dreams is truly inspiring. Also inspiring, is the way he seemed to acknowledge and involve his wife in his life's work. The Walt Disney Family Museum conveys the idea that with hard work and passion, dreams really can come true.

To find out more about the museum or purchase tickets, visit the Walt Disney Family Museum website.

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(Photos © The Walt Disney Family Museum)

Loki is the resident evildoer intent on ruling over the inhabitants of earth in the movie Marvel's The Avengers. Actor Tom Hiddleston, an all around nice guy who is best known for playing more upstanding characters, talked with us just before the movie played at the Tribeca Film Festival. His nice guy mentality came out when he gave us a sympathetic description of Loki and the heartbreak that drives him to make some rather bad choices.

"I hope that anyone who has seen Thor can recognize [Loki]," Tom said, "and there is still this spiritual damage at the heart of him, underneath his anarchy and his chaos and his anger and destructiveness. There is still a vulnerability there."

If you have older kids who will be going with you to see the movie, this is a great discussion point to bring up. What drives a villain to become a villain? And in real life, what causes "bad" people to become the way they are? Even in our own lives, we often justify poor choices or poor treatment of others with things that have happened in the past. Pointing out these tenancies in an overblown comic book movie character can be a fun way to discuss real life behavioral tenancies.

READ MORE about Loki and Tom Hiddleston's analysis of the Marvel character you love to hate...

*Marvel's The Avengers is rated PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference. Read our review for parents for more info on the movie's content.

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(Photo © Marvel Studios)

When we interviewed the lovely Cobie Smulders, who plays Agent Maria Hill in the movie Marvel's The Avengers, she comically described the film as being about family -- a dysfunctional family, to be exact. I thought this was a fun and fitting analogy, because the interplay between the different personalities on the Avengers team is a huge component of the movie, and the source of many of the movie's best moments. When asked what about Marvel's The Avengers would appeal to families, she said:

"Well, you know, what I like about this film is it's kind of a dysfunctional family. Like, it's the way that all these sort of separate superheroes have to come together to succeed. And, I feel like there's sort of like a team, a family dynamic within that, and it's cool to see them rise above their personal issues and sort of accomplish the goal."

Putting an egotistical Iron Man, an unpredictable Hulk, a man with super strength who's a little behind the times, a king from another planet, and an assassin with baggage on a makeshift team to save the people of earth is bound to result in some glorious dysfunction, but that's what keeps it interesting. Agent Hill has a few ruffled feathers of her own, however. She's capable, composed and loyal, but underneath her businesslike attitude, she quite obviously has some issues with the way Nick Fury is running things.

READ MORE about Agent Maria Hill and the extreme preparation Cobie Smulders put herself through in order to play the part...

*Marvel's The Avengers is rated PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference. Read our review for parents for more info on the movie's content.

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(Photo © Marvel Studios)

At the Tribeca Film Festival last weekend, some of Hollywood's biggest superstars, who depict super heroes in the upcoming film Marvel's The Avengers, honored real life heroes. The Avengers closed the festival (which was founded in response to September 11 to honor the New York film industry and revive lower Manhattan), paying tribute to real heroes from police agencies, fire departments, first responders and various branches of the U.S. military who were invited to attend the screening and meet the cast.

After their red carpet entrance, cast members (L-R) Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (the Hulk), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) and Cobie Smulders (Agent Anita Hill) were introduced on stage. Robert Downey Jr. took the mic and dedicated the screening to men and women real life heroes who make our lives better, and he thanked them for their service.

Luckily, the movie that spurred this tribute to real heroism turned out to be a treat for the honored guests. Exploding with action and strewn with comedy that hit the mark, Marvel's the Avengers made for a truly entertaining evening for all. And while in the movie super heroes overshadowed the efforts of everyday heroes, the presence of men and women in uniform in the audience reminded us all that somewhere, there are people fighting for us and protecting us right now.

READ MORE about the Tribeca Film Festival screening and see photos of the cast with real life heroes...

*Marvel's The Avengers is rated PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference. Read our review for parents for more info on the movie's content.

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(Photo © Marvel Studios)

John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers, Co-creators of International Talk Like a Pirate Day (TalkLikeAPirate.com), have dropped anchor on the Kids' TV & Movies site Pirate Palooza to give us a few pointers on our pirate lingo!:

What is it we all respond to about the Pirate Captain? He's not smart, he's not a particularly good pirate. He leads his crew into one misadventure and disaster after another.

And yet, he never lets it get him down, and maybe that's why we all love the character from the book The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists, which opens Friday as the movie The Pirates! Band of Misfits. The captain doesn't understand he's in over his head or, he refuses to understand.

As Cap'n Slappy says: "I am a big fan of obliviousness - especially willful obliviousness - the accidental courage of the obtuse."

The Pirate Captain believes he has just as good a shot at the title Pirate of the Year as his rivals, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It's not that he disagrees with the evidence, he simply denies its existence, he refuses delivery. And his crew loves him for it.

The captain sees himself as he wants to be seen, and that's how the crew sees him. You've gotta respect that.

After all, doesn't that sound like, well, most pirate re-enactors, fans and whatnot that you know? Isn't that what we're all doing when we "put on the pirate" and swash our buckles? We're telling the world, "Sure, in real life I may be an insurance adjuster or a warehouse manager or assistant to the sub director in charge of staples at some big corporation. But this is who I am in my heart!"

We're never so real as when we're pretending.

So to celebrate the opening of the movie, Cap'n Slappy and I want to give you a brief exploration of pirate patois. After all, we're the Talk Like a Pirate Guys. the guys who invented International Talk Like a Pirate Day (every Sept. 19! Put it on your calendaarrr!) and then took the idea way too far.

There's a lot more than this to the language of the buccaneer, of course. But the Five As will give you just the pirate patina you'll want when you're standing in line waiting for the kid in the paper hat to squirt "buttery flavored oil" on your popcorn. (And that kid? He or she wishes like crazy that the paper hat they make him/her wear was a tricorn.)

The Five As:

Ahoy! - "Hello!"

Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or perhaps "Shut up!"

Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."

Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."

Aarrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Aarrr!" is the most flexible word in your lexicon. It can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "That was a clever remark you or I just made." "My team is going to win,"  "My team is going to love," or "I would like a muffin!" Basically, "Aarrr!" means "I'm here and alive!"

And this weekend, "Aarrr!" can also mean, "Wow! I sure enoyed THAT movie!"

Thanks so much to "Ol' Chumbucket" and "Cap'n Slappy" for participating in the Pirate Palooza. Visit the Talk Like a Pirate website for more pirate vocab and a wealth of fun pirate information for adults and kids!

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(Photo © Mark Summers and John Baur )

This weekend in New York City, The Avengers have the honor of closing the Tribeca Film Festival with the premiere of the movie Marvel's The Avengers. In the film, iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow team up to fight a global enemy, but at the film festival (which was founded in response to September 11 to honor the New York film industry and revive lower Manhattan), the honor will go to real life heroes.

In celebration of everyday heroes from police agencies, fire departments, first responders and various branches of the U.S. military, local heroes will have an opportunity to attend the screening and meet the cast. Marvel Studios' producer Kevin Feige said in the announcement, "We are proud that Marvel's The Avengers is the closing film of this year's Tribeca Film Festival and we are excited to welcome local heroes to the screening as special guests. We all know and love our iconic Super Heroes, but when it really counts, it's our real-life heroes who save the world every day by making it a better place for all of us."

Thanks to Disney and Marvel, I will be attending the screening in New York, so I look forward to sharing lots of pictures and thoughts on the experience. I'm thrilled that Marvel has chosen to honor real life heroes, and if your kids are Marvel fans, this is something you can share with them which could lead to a great discussion about the heroes we worship on the big screen and the every day heroes that work in ways both big and small to save, protect, and serve in each of our communities.

Our kids are too young for the Marvel super hero movies, but my husband and I have been gearing up for Marvel's The Avengers by watching all of the relevant prequel films (in the correct order, of course). Still trying to decide which film is my personal favorite: it's between Iron Man and Captain America. If you have older kids who are Marvel fans, be sure to start your Marvel marathon in time for The Avengers opening day, May 4, 2012. Starting this weekend, we'll be highlighting the different films on the site and sharing fun ideas for movie parties and more!

*Marvel's The Avengers is rated PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference. More info on the movie's content soon to come.

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(Photo © Marvel Studios)

Keriann Wilmot, About.com captain of Toys, has come up with a list of the best pirate booty for our Pirate Palooza. A few words from Keri:

Several popular pirate themed movies and television shows have been released in the past few years. For older children, Pirates of the Caribbean has been quite popular, and now for preschool kids on the Disney Junior television channel is the animated series, Jake and The Neverland Pirates.

Given that children enjoy watching their favorite characters on the big screen, toy companies have worked diligently to help children embody the spirit of their favorite characters by developing engaging toys that spark imagination and creativity. So in honor of the new movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, I've put together a collection of some of the best pirate toys for kids.

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(Photo of Queen Anne's Revenge LEGO Pirate Ship © LEGO )

Christine Gauvreau, About.com captain of Kids Parties, is joining in our Pirate Palooza today with some fun ideas on how to throw a pirate-themed party for kids. She says:

When The Pirates! Band of Misfits drops anchor in our town, there's little doubt that Cap'n Mom (that's me) will find herself loading up the ship (that's my minivan) with a band of misfits all her own. To the drive-in we'll sail, because what could thrill a rowdy bunch of kids more than a rowdy band of pirates playing out their adventures on the big screen? Aside from the extra-large bucket of popcorn, that is.

With two kids' birthdays pending, I'm also pretty sure we won't make it home before I hear a request for a pirate-themed party (I'm betting before we even exit the parking lot). Lucky for them, I'm a fan of pirate birthdays, too. After all, is there anyone who knows how to party better than pirates?

Which brings me to another reason why I'm first aboard the pirate party bandwagon. The pirate theme is fun for everyone, even Cap'n Mom, who gets to deliver an exciting day of pillaging, plundering and loads of shiny treasures. So, when that inevitable request comes, I'm already a step ahead of them with my secret stash of loot (otherwise known as the bag of eye patches and pirate tattoos I found on clearance at the craft store), some DIY party supply ideas and a plan for a party to make the little mateys very merry.

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(Photo © Christine Gauvreau )