Media Darlings

We’re Just Living In Their “Jurassic World”

2015-06-17T17:18:00.004-04:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
Jurassic World set an all-time box office record by raking in $208,806,270 over its opening weekend, not to mention another six bucks from me the following Tuesday. (That’s the bargain day at my local theater.) Now, I wasn’t a guaranteed audience member. Sure, I saw Jurassic Park back in 1993, and I liked it a lot. But I didn’t see The Lost World sequel in ’97, and even Steven Spielberg didn’t really show up for part III in 2001.

Perhaps feeling nostalgic, I bought a ticket for Jurassic World, even though Spielberg is still on the sidelines (again as executive producer). Anyway, I’m not the key demographic here. Kids love dinosaurs and kids love Chris “Guardians of the Galaxy” Pratt. Put them together and… ka-ching.

The metaphor for everything.

Early on in the film, we meet two brothers—a pre-teen and a teen—who I imagine are here to make the proceedings even more kid-friendly. At first I thought the younger brother, with his bushy 1970s hair and dino View-Master, was a flashback to Pratt’s character as a little boy. Nope, we’re solidly in the present day.

The brothers are sent off on va acation to visit their aunt (Richie Cunningham’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard). She’s an all-business bigwig at the Jurassic World theme park. Pratt’s ex-Navy character is on the island as some sort of Velociraptor Dr. Doolittle.

As we meet the different characters, the first hour or so of the movie just slogs along. (There’s also an evil guy—and we can tell he’s evil because he has a goatee—who wants to weaponize the raptors.) Maybe Spielberg himself could have humanized these people a bit more (or even Bryce Dallas Howard’s dad, or whoever directed Guardians of the Galaxy…), to make us care for them, and thereby liven up the first half of the film. Alas, director Colin Trevorrow is not up to the challenge. Yes, there are dinosaurs in the early going, but we see most of them through the context of a theme park. And watching tourists watch an Apatosaurus is a bit of an Apato-bore-us.

Not for the faint of heart.

Thankfully, Trevorrow revs up the action in the movie’s second half. (Shockingly, something goes wrong with the “Indominus rex” dino they’ve grown in a test tube.) This is where I have to warn parents: Don’t bring very young children to this film. There is a lot of violence—dinosaurs munch people, and there will be blood—and things get pretty scary. That being said, Trevorrow pulls out all the stops action-wise. We get trucks and motorcycles and helicopters and crashing and smashing and shooting and lots of close calls with lots of cool creatures with lots of teeth. At times it feels like a horror film; at others like a classic disaster flick. We get a nod to Hitchcock’s The Birds in a thrilling scene featuring flying Pteranodons. And there are even a couple of genuinely funny bits.

During the mayhem, Bryce Dallas Howard truly steps up her game, becoming someone that young women in the audience can admire—and not just the future MBAs out there.

So, despite its slow start, Jurassic World is ultimately solid summer entertainment. And I think they set up a sequel, so this franchise is far from extinction.

Playing Today: “Tomorrowland”

2015-05-22T14:50:00.001-04:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
If a family trip to Tomorrowland at Disney World or Disneyland isn’t in the cards this Memorial Day weekend, will a visit to Tomorrowland at the multiplex suffice? Well, there is a lot of good stuff in it, but some not-so-good stuff too. I suppose in the end, it will depend on how much your kids appreciate a convoluted storyline.

The film is certainly trying hard (cynically so?) to appeal to the entire family. It’s rated PG, and features two pre-teen characters, one rebellious teen, and—so you parents stay interested—several recognizable adults (George Clooney, country superstar Tim McGraw, the guy from House, etc.).

George Clooney as Frank Walker

As for that title: Perhaps due to the success of Saving Mr. Banks, the Walt Disney Company once again pillages its own history to produce a slightly more grown-up film. Early on, we’re at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, where there actually was an “It’s a Small World” pavilion. In that setting, we meet young Frank, the kid version of Clooney’s character. He’s a bright-eyed kid inventor. Young British Athena (a terrific Raffey Cassidy) notices Frank’s spark and lures him to Tomorrowland, a magical place where goodhearted dreamers focus on the future.

This whole segment was feeling a little too “Disney” for me—just too clean-scrubbed and smiley, and very obviously filmed on a sound stage, etc. The kid playing Frank bears a decent resemblance to Clooney but unfortunately isn’t a very compelling actor. And the special effects and sets in the early going aren’t particularly impressive. (For Disney buffs, there are some aesthetic similarities to the theme-park version of Tomorrowland, and I think I spotted a Monorail.)

But then the movie switches gears to the modern era, and we meet teenage Casey (winningly portrayed by Britt Robertson). Poor Tim McGraw, as her dad, has to sport a very regrettable mustache/hairline combo. Plucky ageless Athena witnesses Casey’s potential too, and whisks her off to Tomorrowland, if only temporarily.

Britt Robertson as Casey Newton

This is where the movie really picks up. Casey tracks down grown-up Frank (the dependably good Clooney) to try to return to Tomorrowland and… I don’t know… save the world or something. Ah, but evil-yet-amusing Men-in-Black-style robot guys are trying to stop them. The action is very entertaining, and some of the three-people-on-a-road-trip exchanges between Athena, Casey, and curmudgeonly Frank are quite funny.

Too bad that when they do get back to the future, the movie slows way down (which is not advisable in a 130-minute-long children’s film) and then gets incredibly confusing. Because… the world is ending? Or only seems like it’s ending? And they can fix it… how? My head was spinning. Oh, the script was co-written by Damon Lindelof, the executive producer of Lost, one of TV’s most baffling shows ever? What a terrible, terrible idea! The one dependable thing about family movies is their straightforward plots. Not this time, friends.

The 1964-65 New York World's Fair as
presented in Tomorrowland

They do deliver the kid-friendly notion that the world is in trouble (climate change, wars, etc.), and we must take genuine action to change that. And that it’s good to be a dreamer, blah-blah-blah. But we also get the very mature concept of contemplating exactly when you’re going to die. (Was this also co-written by an actuary?) And there’s this weird love-connection vibe between Frank and eternally young Athena, which is totally OK when they’re both kids, but a little bit off when he’s 54-year-old George Clooney. Nothing inappropriate happens; it’s just a little… weird.

Hey, maybe your kids will have better luck figuring out Tomorrowland than I did. Just like Whitney, I believe the children are our future.

It’s Sponge-Worthy, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water”

2015-02-24T10:15:00.001-05:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
OK, OK, I was two weeks late seeing this, I apologize, the weather has been rough and maybe, just maybe, I was catching up on grown-up movies from 2014 that weren’t actually released until 2015. (That is totally cheating in my book, and you filmmakers are very lucky that I don’t get a vote in the Academy Awards.)

Now, I grew up way before Mr. SquarePants hit the scene, but as an adult, I’ve always admired the TV show’s sensibility. So much of children’s media talks down to the audience; this is not the case with our yellow absorbent friend. His series has generally been super-smart (even when it’s dumb), proudly weird, and just a little bit subversive in the best possible way. And the creators still managed to work in positive messages without sacrificing any of the goofball humor.

The first SpongeBob SquarePants Movie accomplished all this on a grander scale than ever before. As for the second film, well… it mostly does! Pretty much!

My friend Steve and I saw the first flick together, so we absolutely had to meet up to see this one. I was shocked when Steve told me the original was released in 2004. Had that much time really gone by?

SpongeBob and Patrick hit the beach.

So, in 2015, SpongeBob isn’t nearly the cultural phenomenon he was a decade ago. In the last movie, we were treated to guest voices by Alec Baldwin and Scarlett Johansson. This time we’ve been downgraded to Antonio Banderas and Tim Conway. And the movie begins with some basic background information about all the main characters. Wow, are there really kids out there who don’t know the complex relationships involving Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward, and the rest? I hate to think it, but it’s probably true.

Also, the filmmakers seem to be bowing to modern marketing pressures by featuring a gimmick (an extended live-action sequence) and presenting the movie in 3-D. Neither seems necessary here nor particularly well carried out.

Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick, natch.

And anyway, the live action “hook” has been oversold. You know how in It’s a Wonderful Life, you think that a whole lot of a movie is George Bailey seeing what the world would be like without him? But then when you actually sit down to watch it again, all that Clarence stuff is a pretty short sequence at the end? It’s basically the same deal here. The movie is about 2/3 done before our favorite quadrilateral-slacked sponge finally breaches the ocean’s surface.

Out of water, the characters are done in a sort of Claymation style, but it’s not particularly high quality. The real world they’re plopped into also seems a bit chintzy. There’s some silly superhero stuff—come on Spongey, you’re better than that! And for some reason, the jokes seem to flounder (pun intended) in the live-action scenes. Instead of the truly special something that is our pal SpongeBob, this segment felt like just another kids’ movie.

As for the 3-D, save the surcharge. There is almost no real popping-out-at-you stuff.

Thankfully, the majority of this movie is in glorious two-dimensional animation deep underwater, where SpongeBob clearly belongs. Down there, the jokes are fast, furious, clever, and corny. There are some twisted, very funny bits, including Bikini Bottom turning into a Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic world when the secret formula for Krabby Patties is lost.

All the original voice actors are here. Show creator Stephen Hillenberg co-wrote the story, but unlike the first film, he did not co-write the screenplay or direct. That may account for the slight drop in quality. Still, there are an awful lot of laughs, a solid take-home message regarding teamwork, even with your enemies (and we get a fun teamwork song written by those funny TV females, Garfunkel and Oates), Antonio Banderas dresses up as a pirate, and… aw come on… it’s SpongeBob! I defy anyone in your family not to smile.

All This and Middle Earth, Too—“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”

2014-12-25T20:12:00.002-05:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
First off, kudos to Peter Jackson for getting the word “the” into his movie title three times. That’s only two fewer “the”s than armies!

If you read my review of the first Hobbit movie and the second one, you’ll know that everything I know about Tolkien comes from these movies and the Lord of the Rings films too. (And if you didn’t read those reviews, well, you still know it from reading the previous sentence.) So I’ve had no literary expectations to be met, crushed, or exceeded. I’ve put my faith in Mr. Jackson to tell these stories as he pleases. And thus far I’d been very pleased.

Now the Hobbit trilogy is complete and I’m still pretty pleased. Yes, I’ve heard some grumbling that Jackson added a bunch of stuff that isn’t in the book, and played up some small things. If your kids are devoted Tolkien readers and have seen the first two Hobbit movies, they likely already have a strong opinion on this one way or the other. At the very least, they’re getting a decent enough lesson in comparing books and movies. (Helpful hint: If you really want a movie to be better than the book, read lousy books.)

Martin Freeman as Bilbo

Regardless of one’s Tolkien scholarship, Five Armies felt to me like a very satisfying conclusion to the story. We start smack in the middle of an action sequence featuring Smaug, he of the ridiculously titled second film. That mean old dragon (voiced by the also ridiculously named Benedict Cumberbatch) is attacking the city from above, breathing fire, and it is kind of scary. But the family we’re rooting for is trying to escape in a boat on a canal, so the whole thing is almost like a Disney ride: scary stuff at a safe distance.

Even so, as these children’s film series tend to go, the final installment is the darkest. (I suppose the logic being that as the audience ages, they can handle some slightly more mature content.) Evil and madness are afoot, including a psychedelic sequence. Groovy, baby!

As parents, I wouldn’t be overly concerned, because the main messages here are quite straightforward and kid-friendly. Loyalty to our friends is of utmost important. War is bad. (“I’m not a warrior, I’m a hobbit,” says our hero Bilbo.) Also, money is bad. (“Don’t underestimate the evil of gold,” warns the wizard Gandalf.) And people go to war because of money and that is totally stupid.

It’s all couched in some very cool filmmaking: wild creatures and thrilling action sequences. One bit with Legolas the elf (Orlando Bloom) ascending a crumbling bridge was especially eye-popping.

I only have two real gripes. One, Tauriel the elf (Evangeline Lilly), who was such a dynamic female role model in the second film, doesn’t get very much to do here. Her main purpose seems to be delivering the “love hurts” message.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf

My other complaint: I would’ve ended the movie before its epilogue. I spoke to a friend who is “in the know” and he explained that the ending does match the Hobbit book, but then goes further to connect these events to the Lord of the Rings. I certainly understand Jackson’s reasoning; kids starting with the Hobbit movies are now ready for Frodo and friends. But strictly as a moviegoer, there was a moment that would’ve been a really satisfying cinematic conclusion—emotional oomph, swelling music, roll the credits! But this film keeps going for another scene and a half. Come on, it’s been 2.5 hours after 13 years of Tolkien movies, and some of us have to use the restroom!

The Raccoon's On Our Side: “Guardians of the Galaxy”

2014-07-31T19:12:00.001-04:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
I’ll admit it: I was a little skeptical. Was Marvel scraping the bottom of the barrel, looking for even more superheroes to build a movie franchise around? Who the heck were the “Guardians of the Galaxy”? (Turns out the name has been kicking around the Marvel Universe since 1969, but the current team debuted in a 2008 comic book.) And then there was the stunt-casting: Bradley Cooper as a talking raccoon! Vin Diesel as a… uh… tree! Not to mention that August releases are not always your absolute top-quality films.

Voiced by Bradley Cooper and
Vin Diesel

Then the movie started, and… I was still skeptical. After an incredibly downbeat prologue (featuring a dying mom), the movie radically shifts gears to goofy fun. As I was processing that, the filmmakers began going down their summer-blockbuster checklist: Lots of comic-book-y fighting and shooting and explosions and spaceships. (One segment, in which the good guys must prevent the bad guys’ ships from touching the planet’s EPCOT-looking surface, seems tailor-made for a… yawn… cross-promotional video game.) And there’s the requisite “magical object” that competing forces are struggling to obtain. Oh, and Zoe Saldana is green instead of blue like she was in Avatar. It really felt like a cookie-cutter hero movie, not up to the level of The Avengers or some of the Batman/Spider-Man/Superman films, but decent enough late-summer entertainment for the kids.

But then the strangest thing happened: I realized I was genuinely enjoying the movie. And when all was said and done, I found Guardians of the Galaxy to be thoroughly satisfying, and definitely appropriate for the kids.

Glen Close in a cameo

A lot of this is due to the casting of Chris Pratt as the protagonist, who wishes everyone would call him Star-Lord. You’re likely familiar with Pratt as Andy on Parks and Recreation, and he employs the same dopey, childlike charm here. Pratt is exceedingly likable.

The mood remains fairly light throughout, with a lot of silly laughs. Yes, there are villains and the fate of the galaxy is at stake, but the movie avoids the existential gloom-and-doom that hangs over more “artful” hero offerings. Guardians is rated PG-13—the writers do throw in some “grown-up” gags and references, and as mentioned, there is a lot of cartoonish violence. (Also for the adult audience, in small roles: John C. Reilly and Glenn Close, who wears a ridiculous wig making it look like she was just cut from Hunger Games auditions. And the soundtrack features all your favorite good-time oldies.)

The gang's all here

The real key to the movie, though—and why I think it is a great one for kids—is the huge focus on friendship and teamwork. Characters begin with selfish motives and slowly realize that they can accomplish much more when they work together. And even more importantly, they learn that it feels so good to have friends—people you are loyal to, and who you can count on. Even if those people are raccoons or trees.

Books We Love: “When We Became Three: A Memory Book for the Modern Family” by Jill Caryl Weiner

2014-06-05T20:12:00.003-04:00

Author Interview by Jack Silbert
The old-fashioned memory book is having a hard time keeping up with the 64GB memory on your smartphone. So what is the modern parent to do, when it comes to recording baby’s big moments? Author Jill Caryl Weiner has the answer in her delightful When We Became Three: A Memory Book for the Modern Family. It’s funny, smart, sweet, and truly helpful (not to mention the perfect Father’s Day gift for the new or soon-to-be dad). We spoke to Jill about our 21st-century parenting landscape, oversharing on Facebook, and all those bunnies on standard baby books.

Media Darlings: The modern world has made it easier than ever to track baby’s progress, but there are some new challenges too....
Jill Caryl Weiner: It’s really fantastic how you can track baby’s progress on so many levels. Plus that you can share info—with your spouse, your nanny, whatever, about feedings and naps so everybody knows just what’s going on—is great. My favorite new app now is So Quotable which is great to track clever things your friends say or that you hear on the subway, but it’s also fun to type in those cute things that your baby or toddler is saying.

Author Jill Caryl Weiner

That said, there’s no denying that all this technology can produce some headaches. It’s so easy to snap shots of baby—people have thousands of pix of baby’s first year alone; now what do they do? How do you store them or look through them in a meaningful way? It can be overwhelming. I also think it’s challenging because it can pull parents out of these intimate moments with baby. Instead of cuddling up, you’re snapping shots. You don’t want to be a slave to technology; you’ve got to make it work for you.

MD: You have two kids. Did you make memory books for them?
JCW: When my daughter Willa was born, I received three memory books as presents, but I didn’t like them; and I checked the stores and didn’t like those either. They were too precious, or sweet, or had too many bunnies. Or they were just too demanding. If they were funny, they were more like joke books and not memory books. They didn’t represent what me and my husband wanted our family to be like, and I couldn’t see looking back on them. One of my challenges in becoming a parent was keeping my identity. I wanted a book that was fun and smart; where both parents mattered and that told their story. So, no I didn’t do memory books for them. I wrote in journals and we have photo albums and took videos. But I’m excited about filling this one out for both of my children.

MD: What are some types of memories that your book prompts parents to record that aren’t in those standard baby books?
JCW: First, you get the quick story of how the parents met, kind of in Mad Libs format, and a few fun details about that first meeting: It was fireworks, or castanets (we really clicked), or an earthquake (a real disaster), or a soft drizzling rain (really comfortable). Then, which of the seven pregnant dwarves mom was: sleepy, happy, moody, hungry, queasy, etc. Arguments about baby we’ve had, like baby names or which team’s miniature jersey baby would wear. There’s the feelings both mom and dad had when they first held baby, and also the Baby Olympics: Does baby win the gold for marathon sleeping—never wants to wake up—or speed sleeping—as soon as she puts her head down, she pops up again. Plus Marathon Nursing; Olympic Crying; Long Distance Spit-up.

It records parents’ big moments and feelings as well as baby’s: baby’s first real word and parents’ first baby words. And my book includes the dad in everything, so it fosters communication between parents—and they can talk and laugh about this stuff together. It asks both parents what they love about being parents. There are easy checklists so parents don’t really have to think that much, but they still create this meaningful book. It captures beautiful transformative moments like the first time they realized their partner would make a great mom or dad, and the qualities of their partner they want baby to have. Even if parents don’t remember the dates, they’ll remember their thoughts and feelings from those moments.

MD: How did you decide what you include? Your own experiences, talking with other parents, etc.?
JCW: I wanted to include all the big milestone moments and more, so I used a lot of resources: baby books, other parents, doctors, videos, my knowledge from writing about parenting and lots of my own experience. I also used my imagination to pull away from the drama of the moment to make it something fun: Like, if you were a baby animal, you would be: a piranha—always eating and sniping at Mom; a koala—cuddly and always snoozing, a puppy—joyous and mischievous; or a howler monkey—constantly wailing. I even included a few firsts you’d want to forget!

MD: Your writing background is mostly in journalism. What prompted you to begin this different sort of project?
JCW: Well, when my kids were born I started writing about parenting—so I could do telephone interviews and not worry about baby waking up from a nap and people being bent out of shape. So I had a body of knowledge—like, I’ve written three pieces about breastfeeding—and I know lots of subtleties about this time period.

When I decided to break into books, I wanted to fill a gap, and I knew what it was right away. I thought a funny, romantic memory book—that included dads and that dads would also appreciate—would help ease the transition to parenting, make people happy, and give them a really great keepsake. There was nothing like this out there. Something that would give them perspective and let them realize that sure, there are bumps in the road and challenges, but all that will pass and you’ve got this wonderful little new person. Plus, I’m an optimist and my personality is to see the humor in things. I was really excited to write a thoughtful, romantic, funny, yet meaningful book.

MD: Aside from technology, what other differences in family dynamics have you been noticing?
JCW: I think it used to be that men had to get their pride from their jobs and their families were secondary. Now dads are so much more involved, dads are blogging, dads get so much pride and no longer just have to hide behind their jobs for their identity. It’s great. Plus family can be more fluid: Some moms or dads work from home, sometimes both have office jobs but want to spend time with kids. Some grandparents are around and others are spread out. It all changes the way a family runs.

MD: On the social-media front: I’ve noticed that some parents… overshare. Is there a way to know when your friends don’t want to see any more pictures of your kids?
JCW: So, before a friend pulls you aside and says, “Can I speak to you about…” something you might not want to hear, consider an iCloud photostream. You can just send those photos to grandparents or aunts or cousins privately and not post them on your newsfeed. Or possibly reach out and create another online community of likeminded over-sharers who want to send photos to each other every other second. You don’t want to be the last person to know you’re over-sharing or get hidden from your friends’ newsfeeds so that you’re entirely hidden from their lives.

MD: Do you look back at a lot of photos of your own childhood? Are you a #ThrowbackThursday sort of person?
JCW: I do love those old photos of my childhood—and not just of me but of my parents, or my brothers, or people who have passed. That’s another reason why When We Became Three has the parents’ story too, because kids cherish that stuff. But I’m not really the #TBT kind. I find it fun when people post pix of themselves, but generally I’m more private, and don’t think that anyone other than my kids would really be interested!

You can connect with When We Became Three on Facebook, or visit Jill’s website. Those in New York City can meet Jill at two book events: Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble, 82nd and Broadway, or Saturday, June 14, at 11 a.m. at the Apple Store, 67th and Broadway.

Not Too Big to Fail: Disney’s “Maleficent”

2014-05-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

This film is aptly named. You get a whole lot of the character Maleficent in the film of the same name. Directed by near-legendary special effects man but first-time director Robert Stromberg, we meet the title character as a charming, giggly winged forest fairy-child. Maleficent has got a pair of curly horns, a rather literal interpretation of what I figured for an elaborate hat on the animated Maleficent in the 1959 classic, Sleeping Beauty. Young Maleficent meets a human boy in the forest who just happens to be named Stefan and a friendship forms. For fans of the original animated tale, that’s a touchstone we can appreciate. We’re off to the races.

Jolie as Maleficent visits the baby
princess Aurora

But therein also lies the problem. Maleficent is a re-telling of a Disney film that was itself a reinterpretation of a story first told by Charles Perrault and then by the Brothers Grimm. In Maleficent, the Disney-fied tale is deconstructed and put back together into a largely unrecognizable narrative. If it wasn’t for the horns/headdress, I’d hardly recognize Maleficent.

Angelina Jolie plays the grown-up Maleficent. Heard of her, have you? Her cheekbones are enhanced here to the degree that the makeup effect merited its own article in The New York Times. What you may or may not know about Jolie is that she is a master of controlling her own image in the media. She fiercely shields herself from paparazzi, but travels (virtually everywhere) with her own professional photographers. She then chooses images and offers them to the press—for a price. Didn’t you ever notice that Jolie always looks fabulous in informal shots? That’s why. Now, the greater point I make is that if you stopped the film Maleficent at any point, you would find that Jolie always looks fabulous. I don’t think there’s a frame of the film where she isn’t absolutely stunning. The problem is that makes her character awfully one-dimensional. I get it. She’s gorgeous. But doesn’t Maleficent have any other colors? Doesn’t she ever slouch a bit in her complicated life? Pull an unattractive face? Look vulnerable? Not according to Robert Stromberg, she doesn’t. And that makes her ultimately uninteresting.

Elle Fanning as Aurora

The further problem arises when no other character is developed as well as Maleficent; not even the adorable Princess Aurora, played here by Elle Fanning. Fanning does a fine job with what she’s given, but she frankly doesn’t fill enough screen time for anyone to truly come to care for her; likewise Prince Philip; likewise the three good fairies, here reinterpreted as incompetent, mercurial fools. For die-hard fans, that’s the unkindest cut of all. Not to mention that the three good fairies are created by digitally grafting the heads of actresses Leslie Manville, Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple onto itty-bitty flitty fairy bodies in what’s ultimately a fairly creepy effect. Less creepy is Sam Riley as sidekick Diaval who starts as a crow saved from a savage beating by Maleficent (Isn’t she swell to everyone?). Maleficent turns the crow into a young man (then into other creatures) and Diaval acts as her conscience as well as her servant.

Copley as King Stefan

South African actor Sharlto Copley plays the grownup Stefan who allows his ambition to overshadow his love for Maleficent. They’ve been sweet on each other since they were kids. Maleficent reveals to peasant boy Stefan that iron is her weakness: it burns her like fire. Don’t you just know that this vulnerability will be used against her later? As adults, Maleficent is the protector of the forest while Stefan rarely visits anymore as his ambition leads him to the court of King Henry (Kenneth Cranham). The king is determined to do battle with the creatures of the enchanted moors for reasons that are not made clear. Maleficent leads the fairies and fearsome tree spirits into a battle that all but routs Henry and his men. On his deathbed, Henry promises that whomever vanquishes Maleficent will be named his successor; and a light goes on above Stefan’s head.

Sam Riley as the shape-shifting crow

Stefan crawls to Maleficent and convinces her to take him back, only to drug her then cut off her wings. He takes the wings to Henry as Maleficent awakens, betrayed, the ultimate woman scorned. Crow Diaval acts as her wings, spying on now King Stefan and his new life (and wife, though she gets little screen time; what are the chances?). Diaval brings the news of a new baby and Maleficent arrives at the christening in a scene that seems to do homage to the original film. Maleficent’s updated motivation for cursing the child is her own broken heart. When the baby is taken away to “safety” by the three good fairies (here called Flittle, Knotgrass, and Thistletwit) the baby is immediately endangered owing to their incompetence. Maleficent—watching from a distance—immediately shows pity on the child and secretly intervenes, feeding the child, then watching over her carefully over the years. So much for an evil Maleficent. She even tries to reverse the curse she put on the girl!

The background art seems to
pay homage to the original
animated film

King Stefan grows in the opposite direction, becoming more paranoid and bitter as the years go by. When Aurora arrives at his palace two days before her sixteenth birthday, Stefan is furious with her and orders her locked away until her birthday passes. Nice to see you, too, dad. Ultimately, the story borrows its climax from the movie Frozen, but since that’s owned by Disney as well, I suppose it can’t be considered stealing. Ultimately, it’s sisters before misters as Maleficent gets to save everyone from everything (except boredom). It’s no great thrill to see Aurora saved if we were never really given a chance to care for her in the first place. Prince Philip hardly matters here and occupies about forty-five seconds of total screen time. This feels like an odd vanity project for Jolie. On the one hand, I can appreciate the feminist twist given to this reinterpretation; but on the other hand, one-dimensional filmmaking is still one-dimensional, with all its 3D bravado and effects.

I’m figuring Maleficent as fare for the die-hard Disney fan, especially those who love Sleeping Beauty so much that any iteration is worth exploring. You want it? It’s yours. At 97 minutes, Maleficent seemed long. It nearly put its own sleeping spell on me. Some violent battle scenes put the 13 in its PG13 rating. Better luck next time, all.

Cozy Up To a Good Book

2014-05-23T10:17:00.000-04:00

I’m in heaven. My pal Cynthia introduced me to a marvelous series of board books that foster earliest literacy while planting a seed that will bloom years later. I’m talking about Cozy Classics. This series reinterprets the titans of literature—Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, Les Misérables, War and Peace, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—as simple sight words (twelve words in all) juxtaposed against twelve stunningly crafted and photographed illustrations. The illustrations feature the art of felting to create characters that are placed in miniature environments. The sumptuous photographs of these tableaus invite children to enter the worlds of the stories.

From the Cozy Classics
version of Jane Eyre

Now, as I mentioned, these are not story books so much as storytelling books, the storyteller being YOU. Choose your favorite (I’m looking at you, English majors!) and share the story with your child as you introduce the youngest pre-readers to simple sight words, clearly presented, easy to master.

The book series is the creation of twin brothers Jack and Holman Wang who grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and have been writing and illustrating books as a team since third grade. Jack has a PhD in English (what are the chances?) and is an associate professor at Ithaca College. Holman is an artist and former middle school teacher. They have two children a piece, both under five years old (the perfect age for Cozy Classics).

The real charm of the books for me is the stupendous needle felted characters. If you’re the least bit “crafty,” the sight of them will make you want to take up the needle yourself. The super-clear photography allows you to truly appreciate the texture of these precious wee folk. Taken as a whole, the Cozy Classics are just about the most beautifully realized set of sight-word books you will ever see, period.

I love the natural lighting used
in this Cozy Classics version
of Pride and Prejudice

If your child is a pre-reader, these books will introduce them to the experience of recognizing the written word while it opens their lives to stories that may very well enrich their lives forever. Big doings, I’d say. The great ideas are essentially simple ones. I love the idea of sharing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with a pre-reader. Twelve sight words later, the door is opened. Hello, Huck. I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Julia. Please stay a while. Please stay forever.

How Much For the Arm? "Million Dollar Arm"

2014-05-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
There’s no baseball fan quite like a young baseball fan, poring over rosters, statistics, and transactions, living and breathing the game. I feel like that’s who Million Dollar Arm is squarely aimed at. Unless your kids have really been hankering to see Don Draper in a kinder, gentler setting.

And I’m not just talking about kids who “kind of” like baseball. You know, they go out and play catch now and then, maybe watch the occasional game. That will not cut it for Million Dollar Arm. Go watch The Bad News Bears, or Angels in the Outfield, or 42 instead.

But for those devoted fan kids, this may truly hit the sweet spot. It’s officially approved by Major League Baseball. And it’s the rare film that gets the game right — except that a lot of it is from the business side of things. Which may not excite all kids. (Don’t worry, Spider-Man 2 is still at the multiplex, and Godzilla just arrived.)

Great form! Madhur Mittal shows
off his style.

Jon Hamm plays a struggling sports agent. Yes, he does look, talk, and behave sort of like Don Draper, maybe with a little more pent-up rage. He gets a crazy idea to save his agency: Find major-league-quality pitchers in that untapped market, India. So there is a strong multicultural component to this film — Indian culture is not just given lip service or played for comedy. There are subtitles and everything!

Hamm brings two top prospects back to the United States, so brace yourselves for some fish-out-of-water antics. (Indeed, the biggest laugh from the kids in my screening audience was when one of the Indian players admits his new fondness for pizza. And that is Papa John’s pizza, you product-placement watchdogs.)

Marhur Hittal, Pitobash, Jon Hamm
and Suraj Sharma in a heated
rhubarb.

The screenwriter is Tom McCarthy, who has previously made the fine grown-up fare The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Win Win, and on the kids’ front, wrote the huge hit Up. Here, he avoids the standard Disney template — the early-going is actually surprisingly slow-paced. But they do squeeze in a love story (Hamm and the charming Lake Bell), tack on a not-quite convincing “fun is more important than business” message, and it all leads up to this film’s equivalent of the “big game,” a tryout for major league scouts. One minor gripe: I didn’t mind the boilerplate inspirational pep talk, but based on the characters involved, it is inexplicably delivered in English.

And definitely mention to your children that this is based on a true story — I think that adds some real substance to the movie’s “don’t give up on your far-fetched dreams” message. (And stay for the end credits, which feature photos of the real-life people.) It doesn’t matter if you’re too small, too tall, in the wrong neighborhood, or in the wrong country: Keep pursuing your passions. Million Dollar Arm reminds us that even when the odds are one in a million, you might just be that one.

#BringBackOurGirls

2014-05-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

This image was created by Micah Player, author and illustrator of Lately Lily and Chloe, Instead. Micah created it in response to the kidnapping of hundreds of girls from their school in Nigeria, and the online awareness campaign #BringBackOurGirls. I personally thank Micah and Chronicle Books for sharing this art with us.

First Visit! My Trip To Disney World

2014-04-08T19:07:00.001-04:00

CHAPTER 1, Meeting the Princesses
Yes, I am a middle-aged parent and I just took my first trip to a Disney resort (Disney World, to be exact). I’ve always been a bit intimidated by the sheer size of the resort, but a motivator to take the plunge was that my own little girl is in what I’d describe as her “Disney princess sweet spot,” which is a nice way of saying she’s obsessed. Since she’s been old enough to care about Halloween, she’s portrayed (in order) Aurora from Sleeping Beauty; Merida from Brave; and Ariel from The Little Mermaid; and if she could portray two princesses at once, she would. (Note to self: new product line?) At age five, she is old enough to appreciate and participate in nearly all the fun and activities an amusement park offers. So we took our trip. And simply put, anyone in search of all things princess will find heaven itself at Disney World. The princesses “themselves” will meet, greet, dine with, sign autographs for, and pose with any park-goer who asks. And the princesses do not disappoint. They are beautiful, lovely, gracious, kind, and patient; the perfect embodiments of animated characters “magically” brought to life. There’s no eye rolling, winking at the camera, irony or even fatigue here. These princesses take their roles as seriously as their fans do, which is saying a lot.

I appreciated that during a meet-and-greet, there was no rushing the kids through the line. Not to get off topic here, but I remember accompanying a younger cousin who wanted to meet Santa at a major department store. We waited in a very long, tiresome line; then met a rather exhausted Santa who barked, “You want a picture?” by which he meant did she want to pay for a photo with Santa. I still remember the look of disappointment bordering on disgust on my cousin’s face. I’m happy to report that there were no such sloppy, tired cast members at Disney World. Just the opposite: this crew was among the most dedicated I’ve ever encountered in virtually any theatrical experience. You don’t have to be a kid to appreciate the magic; and as an adult, I can only admire their dedication to their craft and their sense of ownership in ensuring that the kids have a great experience. Obviously, the expectation of excellence comes part-and-parcel with the management-employee contract here, as the quality level was superior across the board. And at the end of the day, anyone who treats my kid this well is more than okay in my books.

My daughter's admiration for Elsa
from Frozen is pretty clear.

Lucky for me, my cousin is a Glass Slipper Concierge. That’s a person who knows all the parks inside and out and has undergone special training to help people plan the perfect Disney experience. And boy, did she. It helps to work with someone (cousin or not) who has experienced all that the parks offer and can help you make informed choices, as there are so many choices at any given moment, there’s always the fear that you’re missing the “must” ride, show, or meet-and-greet. Plus, if you’re like me (read: intimidated), a concierge can help you make sure you get what you want from your trip. You can actually contact my cousin (Mary) directly at mbs5021@gmail.com and she will help you plan the perfect Disney vacation.

We met Aurora from Sleeping Beauty
at a wonderful princess luncheon
hosted by Belle.

In our case, that meant helping us decide what to “Fast Pass”; that’s the Disney method for reserving popular attractions to avoid time waiting in line. And on a crowded day, those wait times can add up. Forty-five minutes here, forty-five minutes there, and your day of fun can slip through your fingers. As it stands, park-goers can reserve up to three attractions per day. A concierge can steer you in the right direction so that you don’t waste a Fast Pass on an attraction that doesn’t get long wait times (such as rides that are constantly moving like the “It’s a Small World After All” ride). And they’ll steer you to experiences that will enhance your goal. Who knew that the Peter Pan Ride is always crowded and therefore worth a Fast Pass? Not me. But my concierge knew. Worth it? Totally. Also worth noting is that often, the lines themselves are filled with visual interest and hints of things to come on the rides themselves, not to mention the happiest, most “up” customers I’ve ever seen. This ain’t the line at the D.M.V. My favorite “line” moment? A family played a lively game of charades aided by the smart phone app, “Heads Up.” I immediately downloaded the app myself and it’s awesome.

What do you wear to meet Rapunzel
from Tangled? It's obvious.

For my family, meeting princesses was our theme, so we had plenty of reservations that involved special interactions with princesses, like the popular “Storytime with Belle” (from Beauty and the Beast) and “Meeting Ariel in her Grotto” (from The Little Mermaid.) Some princess events can’t be reserved as I write, like the extremely popular meet-and-greet with the stars of Frozen, Elsa and Anna. That’s when advice from a Disney expert can really pay off. Currently, the place to meet Elsa and Anna is at Epcot Center in the Norway exhibition. The savvy park-goer lines up a bit before the park opens; then a member of your party (that would be me) sprints for the Ann-Elsa line. While my husband, daughter, and cousins had breakfast, I held the place in line for just over an hour. And that was the longest line-wait of our trip. And then: magic. It’s hard to describe the sheer thrill in the life of a little girl as she meets a princess she JUST saw at the movies. Rumor has it that you’ll soon be able to meet Anna and Elsa in The Magic Kingdom, but as I write, Epcot is still the only place where they appear.

Snow White likes warm hugs as
much as Olaf.

There are similar meet-and-greets scheduled throughout the day and a great way to keep organized is through the app “My Disney Experience” where you can actually track characters appearing at all four parks. You’ll get their schedules and meeting places. Then you wait your turn; you meet your princess. This is how we met Tiana from The Princess and the Frog and Jasmine from Aladin as well as Dug and Russell from my favorite film, Up. If you’re on the lookout for a particular character, it helps to know there’s a method to the organization of appearances as Disney tries to make a strong connection between the character and their location. For instance, Dug and Russell only appear at the Animal Kingdom Park where they’re associated with their own version of the Wilderness Explorer’s Club. Animal Kingdom is also the only park where you can meet Pocahontas. Want to meet Mulan? You’ll find her in China at Epcot Center. And while you can meet many princesses at The Magic Kingdom, you may also run into a princess in her “country” at Epcot. You can find Aurora or Belle in France and Snow White at the wishing well in Germany. You’ll find Jasmine in Morocco, Alice and Mary Poppins in the United Kingdom, and I already mentioned that Anna and Elsa can be found in Norway. Makes sense, right?

Meeting Anastasia from Cinderella
was a high point.

But my favorite place to meet a princess has got to be at the special princess meals. (You can choose breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.) As you and your family enjoy a meal, a number of characters (generally four) circulate the room, talk with patrons, sign autographs, pose for photos, and enjoy quality time with the kids. At a princess lunch at Epcot hosted by Belle, we met Snow White, Aurora, and Ariel. And my favorite: at a Cinderella-themed dinner at the Disney resort The Grand Floridian, we met Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother, and sisters Anastasia and Drizella (who were hilarious; a real high-point of the trip.) What I love about these events is that when you’re not con-fabbing with royalty, you’re enjoying your family and meeting a few new friends to boot.

Did I mention that there’s a tradition where kids dress up as their favorite characters on a daily basis at every park? It’s adorable. Dressing up at Disney is for kids only (except at Halloween). I suppose the park doesn’t want any confusion with an unofficial, grown-up Cinderella walking about; but I did see one clever young woman who did her own version of a Snow White costume: bright blue t-shirt, yellow clam-diggers, bright red sneakers, and a red head band. Yes—the love of the princesses runs deep at Disney, and if you bring your princess-lover to Disney World, nobody will be disappointed. This is the place to revel in the fun and fantasy of being a princess. And in a country with no actual aristocracy, it’s all good, clean fun.

Merida from Brave rides a giant bagpipe in the
Festival of Fantasy parade.

Another new and frankly astounding way to enjoy the princess experience is the “Festival of Fantasy” parade in The Magic Kingdom, presented every day at 3 p.m. Each princess is given her own float, with Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Alice, and Mickey’s crew thrown in for good measure. It’s outrageously over-the-top. Want to see Princess Merida from Brave riding a giant bag-pipe? You got it. How about Rapunzel from Tangled riding a float that’s a tribute to The Snuggly Duckling Tavern interpreted as giant swinging weapons? You got it. You’ll spy Eugene/Flynn Rider swinging on one of the axes. There’s Ariel in a giant clam shell. And you won’t want to miss the sight of the giant steam-punk-inspired mechanical dragon, a.k.a. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. (Should we just start calling the dragon Angelina right now?) She even spits fire. With this parade, you’re seeing Disney in a nutshell: it’s the place where designers dream big and those dreams come to life in all their extravagant glory. It’s impossible to be cynical when everything is so well realized.

In my next installment I’ll look at something Disney World does very well: move people from place to place. Stay tuned!

Reasons To Be Cheerful

2014-04-03T11:23:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite author/illustrators, Alex Latimer (The Boy Who Cried Ninja; Penguin's Hidden Talent; and Lion Vs. Rabbit) just created this wonderful panel cartoon. According to Alex, “Sometimes you've drawn enough walruses for the week. Sometimes you just need to draw something else. The result is Captain Koala Rescues a Sock. This is water-coloured, which is unusual for me since I lack the patience for real world painting. That said, Captain Koala Rescues a Sock is certainly no A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” At Media Darlings, we say ENJOY.

No Strings Attached: “Muppets Most Wanted”

2014-03-26T10:43:00.003-04:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
When I saw the recent trailer for Mr. Peabody & Sherman, it broke my heart just a little. The original segments on Jay Ward’s 1960s Bullwinkle TV show were so smart, so clever. And here we were in 2014 with fart and butt jokes, and worst of all, what appeared to be yet another run-of-the-mill lowest common denominator kids’ movie.

No such concerns with Muppets Most Wanted. The 2011 series re-boot (oh god how I hate that word) was true to the original: sweet and funny and non-pandering and equally appealing to children and parents. And with most of the creative team back for the sequel, they have succeeded once again.

Ricky Gervais as Badguy with the gang.

If anything, the previous Muppets film leaned too much on humans, with its Jason Segel/Amy Adams subplot (though Segel was terrific). This time around, the Muppets run the show, with real people only around for comedic flavoring—and adult appeal. Ricky Gervais is solid as a second-in-command bad guy named Dominic Badguy. Tina Fey is quite charming as Nadya the gulag warden. (Her well-cast humorous prisoners include Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo, and Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords.) Ty Burrell is amusing enough as an Interpol agent; kids likely won’t realize that he’s doing a poor imitation of Steve Martin’s take on Inspector Clouseau.

There are also several fun cameos that I won’t spoil here, except that many kids will enjoy spotting Ross Lynch from Disney Channel’s Austin & Ally.

The best character, though, is Constantine, Kermit’s evil lookalike. I think kids will get a real kick out of him—I know I did. His Russian-accented bad attempts to impersonate our favorite frog had me laughing out loud.

Tina Fey as Nadya.

Director and co-writer James Bobin (also a Flight of the Conchords alum) keeps the action easy-to-follow for kids, and the laughs come at a steady pace (with several “in-jokes” for us older folks). There are some very strong and rather funny musical numbers, once again composed by Bret McKenzie of, yes, Flight of the Conchords.

The movie drags a bit in the middle, but I don’t think kids will notice too much. And things do pick up later for a very satisfying conclusion. Because this is a children’s movie, we do get a lesson spelled out for us at the end, but it’s an important one: Don’t forget to tell the good people in your life that you appreciate them. I appreciate that the Muppets appear to be in very capable hands—figuratively and literally.

MINI-REVIEW: Party Central
More bang for your multiplex buck, as Muppets Most Wanted is preceded by a new Monsters University short, Party Central. (Disney owns Monsters Inc., the Muppets franchise, and… well… everything.) Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) return in a slight comic adventure, a mini-Revenge of the Nerds for the little ones. Except the feature-length Monsters University was also a Revenge of the Nerds for the little ones but had a lot more going for it. Still, kids will be happy to see Mike, Sulley, and the Oozma Kappa gang, there is fast-paced action, cool animation, and enough silly laughs, and then you get your feature presentation. Party on, monsters.

You Take the Dragon; I’ll Take the Elf: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

2013-12-18T09:32:00.000-05:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
Finally—a nasty dragon! Between the Shrek series and How To Train Your Dragon—even going back to Pete’s Dragon and magical Puff—I’m worried that recent generations of kids don’t have the proper awe and respect for those fire-breathing baddies. Well, enter Smaug (who is not to be confused with Godzilla’s old foe, the Smog Monster).

As with most children’s sequels, you probably already have a pretty good sense whether this is appropriate for your kids. Did they handle the first Hobbit movie? Then buy your tickets for this one.

Martin Freeman returns as Bilbo

And, if your children have watched the Unexpected Journey DVD 4,000 times, they likely won’t need to brush up on the events of the first film. For the rest of us, Desolation of Smaug opens with a handy flashback scene: Gandalf the wizard (played by Ian McKellen) tells Thorin (Richard Armitage)—the dwarf who would be king—that bad guys are on his tail so he needs to snag a special stone, reunite the seven dwarf families (no, really!), defeat the villains, and reclaim his rightful throne.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf

Then we are thrust right back into the quest to Lonely Mountain, where Smaug the dragon guards that mysterious stone. But before we get there, the dwarves and good ol’ Bilbo (Martin Freeman) have many thrilling challenges to face. Some people complained that Part I started off way too slow. Part II is packed with action sequences almost beginning to end: a dude who changes into a bear, some scary giant spiders (who am I kidding, I’m even scared of regular-size spiders), whitewater rapids, ugly Orcs, swords, Orcs beheaded with swords, arrows, Orcs shot by arrows, and the aforementioned Smaug, who is both erudite and totally terrifying. When he utters, “I am fire. I am death,” it is chilling. No wonder: he’s voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Playing fire and death has become something of a specialty for this formidable actor.

Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel

But the real revelation is Tauriel, perfectly portrayed by Evangeline Lilly. She is truly exhilarating from the moment she appears onscreen. What an excellent character for your daughters to emulate (minus the deadly archery acumen), and for your sons to reassess how they view women in the movies. She’s smart, tough, independent, and never “in distress.” Evangeline Lilly is completely beautiful here without being sexualized. And Tauriel never defers to Legolas (Orlando Bloom once again behaving Elvish princely).

We also get a little humor (there is an unfortunately out-of-place “what’s in your trousers” joke) and romance, a contextual definition of “desolation,” along with lessons in loyalty, acceptance of others (dwarves and elves and humans), and the burden of family history. Can we live up to the past? Can we transcend it?

Sure, it may feel like we’ve seen it all before … and before … and before: The good guys on an epic quest to obtain a mystical object while simultaneously, a slowly-gaining-strength embodiment of Pure Evil is forming a massive, ominous army. But we must remember that, for a lot of this stuff, Tolkien was there first, and director Peter Jackson expertly presents and expertly paces the very rich source material. Even after two hours and forty minutes, I wish I didn’t have to wait a full year for Part III.

Women and Children First: “Saving Mr. Banks”

2013-12-13T23:43:00.001-05:00

Movie Review by Jack Silbert
If you have a well-worn Mary Poppins DVD at home, and chapter-book-reading kids, Saving Mr. Banks may be the perfect movie for your family. Familiarity with the material and a certain maturity level will certainly come in handy. If that’s not quite the case with your children, you may want to hire a sitter—ideally one with a flying umbrella—and check it out yourselves.

The film’s PG-13 rating really fits, as it won’t be of interest to the littlest kids, but also might not be compelling for adults seeking a very sophisticated time at the movies. In classic Disney fashion (and it actually sometimes feels as if this was made in an earlier, more innocent era), Saving Mr. Banks features clear, straightforward storytelling and crisp, clean visuals. That’s all terrific for this film’s middle-grade sweet spot.

Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers

The early going is on the slow side and may bore some younger viewers. (Likewise, later scenes delving into psychological motivations will likely go over their heads.) We meet P.L. Travers, uptight and extremely protective author of the Mary Poppins books, which Walt Disney had doggedly attempted to adapt into a film for two decades. As Travers, Emma Thompson gets her most prominent role in years and doesn’t squander the opportunity, even if the script keeps her Grinch-like a little too long before (spoiler alert!) her heart grows three sizes. That there’s more than a touch of late-period Julie Andrews in Thompson is a nice bonus here.

Thankfully for kids not so interested in the machinations of obtaining movie rights, there are frequent flashbacks to Travers’s youth in Australia, and her poignant relationship with her dad. He is played with gusto by Colin Farrell, whose waist seems to have grown three sizes as well.

Tom Hanks as Walt Disney

Back in the present (well, 1961), Tom Hanks really anchors Saving Private Ryan, whoops, I mean Mr. Hanks, wait, no, it’s Mr. Banks. If you’re hoping for an exposé of Walt Disney, look elsewhere. This is a Walt Disney Pictures production, after all. Hanks plays the public persona of Uncle Walt—kindly, supportive, surprisingly down-to-earth—and Hanks is absolutely perfect in the role.

Very strong casting keeps this film from getting too saccharine or simplistic. It says a lot that Paul Giamatti is playing a limo driver. Also adding a lot of zest is Jason Schwartzman as one half of the Poppins Sherman brothers songwriting team, with The Office’s B.J. Novak. The pair also provides a convenient way to get a lot of fun music into the movie, as we witness familiar songs being written and reworked.

B.J. Novak (left) and Jason Schwartzman
as the Sherman brothers

How accurate is it all? We can all read the Travers biography if we really want to know. (The kids, meanwhile, might be interested in Travers’s original Poppins books.) It’s kind of “meta” in Saving Mr. Banks that Travers rails against Walt for white-washing stories, inside a movie that might be doing a bit of the same. But when all is said and done, it’s a very satisfying film with a lot of heart, some truly affecting scenes, and much unbridled joy. So do we really mind if they added a spoonful of sugar?

You’ll Warm to Disney’s “Frozen”

2013-11-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

I know. It’s been months since I’ve posted a story. I’ve been too busy being a mom to be a mom blogger, but Disney’s Frozen is worth coming out of semi-retirement. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Snow Queen," you shouldn’t be too terribly surprised to hear that it bears almost no resemblance to the original tale, but what animated Disney feature ever has? That’s not why we go to the Disney version of a classic tale. We go for what Disney does so well: gorgeous animation; memorable characters; a lively plot; and the reinforcement of simple, beautiful values like the importance and downright power of love. Check; check; and double check.

Elsa in her palace of ice.

This telling has a wonderful feminist sensibility, with two powerful lead characters in the sisters Elsa, the older princess who will one day be queen; and younger sister, Princess Anna. This Scandinavian royal family lives in fear that their bizarre secret may become known: that young Elsa was born with the power of winter. She can freeze objects with a touch and can conjure snow at will. Younger sister Anna delights in her powers, as Elsa creates an indoor winter-wonderland for the princesses.

When Elsa accidentally injures young Anna, her parents take steps to isolate Elsa from the world and from her sister. They live as veritable hermits in their castle, with Elsa practically a prisoner in her own room. This is open to any number of interpretations, the most obvious one being that a harsh and sexist society encourages girls and women to hide their talent under a bushel basket and to loathe themselves for what make them unique.

Kristoff helps Anna find her sister.

Years pass, and her parents are killed in a shipwreck. Elsa (voiced as a grown-up by Idina Menzel) comes of age and it is time for her coronation. Sister Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) is a virtual stranger to her and has no idea why Elsa “froze” her out for so many years. When Elsa is unable to conceal her icy powers at her coronation ball, she flees for the hills and hides away in an icy palace that she conjures into existence. It’s up to Anna to rescue her sister. Along the way, she falls for dreamboat Prince Hans (Santino Fontana), but her head is turned by nice-guy Kristoff (Jonathan Groff).

Elsa can create snow at will.

At its essence, this film sticks up for the idea of “sisters before misters” and elevates the importance of the idea that being a loving person is something we learn at home. Maybe Elsa and Anna’s parents didn’t know how to love; but their daughters learn that it’s the only true magic in the universe. This is a musical, and the songs by husband and wife team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are nearly as witty as the Alan Menken golden age. My favorites? “For the First Time in Forever” sung by Anna; and “Fixer Upper” sung by a chorus of trolls. Voice performances are all excellent, but the stand-out performance has got to be Josh Gad, lately of Broadway’s The Book of Mormon as snowman Olaf. He likes warm hugs. He’s the side-kick who isn’t afraid to tell you the truth and will support you through thick and thin; in short, the perfect best friend.

And you’ll want to see the 3D version of this film for no other reason than it will increase your chances of seeing the warm-up short, Get a Horse!, a new 3D short that combines vintage footage (along with the original recording of Walt Disney's voice as Mickey) with new, screen-busting special effects that are nothing short of amazing. It is hands-down the cleverest 3D Disney short to date. Period. The power of 3D is essential and core to the story. This won't translate in a non-3D format, so pounce.

We're Part of the July Extreme Cash Giveaway!

2013-07-15T23:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the July Extreme Cash Giveaway! I’ve teamed up with some rockstar bloggers to bring you the chance to win $200 cash!

The July Extreme Cash Giveaway will rock for four weeks which means you’ll have lots of time to complete any entries that you choose to do. Remember, all entries are OPTIONAL. As always, there will be daily entries that you can do as well, so bookmark this page and come back everyday for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apps We Love: Word Monster

2013-07-10T19:20:00.000-04:00

Review by Joseph Broda
Word Monster by OtherWise Games is a challenging word puzzle game for older kids. It's fun, easy-to-learn and you can't beat the price — it's free. The interface and graphics are geared to kids but adults will enjoy playing this game, too. I did!

Play begins by selecting a Monster "World" with a selection of word puzzles. Each puzzle consists of clue words on the left and a letter grid (4 x 4 or 5 x 5) on the right. To solve the puzzle, you find the words in the letter grid that will fill in the blanks to form common words and phrases. Select words by clicking or dragging letters in a path, with each letter connecting to the next either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally (similar to tic-tac-toe). Once a word has been selected, press "Submit Word" to enter it as an answer, or press "X" to clear the word. When a correct answer is submitted, the answer phrase will be filled in and the used letters will be removed from the grid. When all of the letters have been removed, the puzzle is solved. The "Options & Info" button allows you to make the puzzles more challenging and/or to give hints if you're stumped.

Once you've solved all the puzzles in a "world", you will unlock the bigger Monster Puzzle, which has a 6 x 6 letter grid. Solve that puzzle and capture a monster! Word Monster will challenge and entertain your child (and you) for hours on end. It's great for long car rides or just game time at home.

The initial app is free and comes with the Frost-Biter World, which includes 40 puzzles and 1 Monster Puzzle. Nine other "worlds" are available as in-app purchases for $0.99 each, and each one comes with 50 new puzzles and 1 Monster Puzzle. Forest Grump and Dune Bugger are two new puzzle worlds available in Version 1.8. I found the user experience more satisfying on the iPad's larger screen, but this app is no less fun and performs equally well on the iPhone.

The Word Monster home screen also has a Facebook button that takes you to the OtherWise Games Facebook page (internet connection required) and a "More Games" button which takes you to the App Store where you can purchase more OtherWise games like MovieCat! and FilmWise Invisibles.

REVIEW SUMMARY:
App Name: Word Monster
Category: Games
Age Level: 10+
Updated: April 30, 2013
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Joseph Broda is an all-around techie, freelance graphic designer, and writer from Hoboken, N.J. For more information: www.bojoda.com

Barely Necessary, But Fun: Disney’s “The Jungle Book”

2013-07-05T12:18:00.000-04:00

Disney’s Nineteenth Animated Feature – 1967

Verna Felton

The Jungle Book is a fun and lively feature, loosely adapted from the stories about “man cub” Mowgli from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. This film was the last one for Walt Disney himself, who passed away during its production. It also marks the swan song of voice artist Verna Felton, who provided the voice of Hathi the Elephant’s wife. Felton, who voiced Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, Flora in Sleeping Beauty, Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, and the Queen of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland, died shortly before the film’s release.

But as one light goes out, another candle is lit, because this film marks the first film featuring the voice of Phil Harris, who gives a memorable, often improvised performance as Baloo the Bear, predating the improvisations of Robin Williams in Aladdin. Harris would go on to loom large in Disney’s next two features, as O’Malley in The Artistocats and Little John in Robin Hood, providing his own safe, virtually patented version of cool.

These mop-topped, British vultures
just miss suggesting The Beatles.

Disney met Harris at a party and decided he’d be a great fit for his films. And he wasn’t wrong; he was just painfully outdated. Phil Harris had been plugging away since the forties as a performer on The Jack Benny Program (on both radio and television) as the “hipster” voice. He used to call Benny “Jackson” and use jazz slang like “solid” and “that’s real gone, man.” That character is transferred whole cloth to Baloo the Bear and while charming, it positions Disney as the last bastion against the counter-culture, refusing to acknowledge that the era of the jazz hipster and the beatnik was over. In The Jungle Book, characters use outdated slang, dance the jitterbug, and a quartet of mop-topped vultures ALMOST channel The Beatles if they didn’t sing barbershop style.

King Louis (voiced by Louis Prima)
swings with Mowgli.

That said, the film is not without its charms. The “man cub” Mowgli is found (one assumes) abandoned in the jungle by the panther Bagheera nicely voiced by Sebastian Cabot, whose proper English accent creates a nice foil for hipster Harris/Baloo. Bagheera decides to take pity on the baby and brings him to a family of wolves to be raised. Young Mowgli seems to be living an idyllic existence in the jungle, but the reappearance of tiger Shere Khan voiced with an expected sinister sneer by George Sanders convinces Bagheera that it’s time for Mowgli to leave for the human village for his own safety. It seems Shere Khan hates human beings that he sees as hunters. He won’t wait for Mowgli to grow up and turn into one. Mowgli doesn’t want to go to the “man village” and Bagheera challenges him to make it on his own. Enter Baloo the Bear, who takes an instant liking to the boy, promising to teach him everything he knows and save him from the man village. Baloo/Harris famously sings, “The Bare Necessities” which becomes a duet with Mowgli, charmingly voiced by Bruce Reitherman, who just so happened to be the son of the film’s director, Wolfgang Reitherman.

Mowgli meets his fate.

“Bare Necessities” is one of two memorable songs from this film; the other is “I Wan'na Be Like You” which is sung by another former hipster, Louis Prima as King Louis the orangutan. When Harris and Prima join forces in a scat challenge, it may as well be 1950 and you know for sure this film is happy being happily out of date. The final scene where Mowgli is charmed into the man village by an adorable young girl is reminiscent of the flirting scenes in Bambi. The little girl merely has to bat her eyes at Mowgli and he’s hooked. He even carries her water jug for her, shrugging his shoulders at his old pals Baloo and Bagheera as he starts his new life among the humans. Baloo and Bagheera don’t brood over it; they dance off into the forest, which provides their bare necessities and much more. This is a sweet film; a solid good/very good. And for grown-up students of animated film, it’s a “solid” peek at the last gasps of the fight against the counter-culture.

We Deliver the Goods: “Delivery Man” Trailer Exclusive!

2013-07-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Media Darlings is very proud to be one of only 533 bloggers to present the first peek at the trailer for Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn. In this film, Vaughn plays an affable underachiever looking for his purpose in life, when he finds out he’s fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them want to meet their biological father.

Delivery Man opens in theatres everywhere on November 22nd. Take a look at the trailer here:

Win “The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends Stickerbook” App!

2013-06-25T23:18:00.001-04:00

If you’re a fan of this site, you know we love the stickerbook app version of Eric Carle’s classic book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You can read our rave review here. Night & Day Studios has generously agreed to give us several copies of the app The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends Stickerbook for our readers. To win, just leave a comment to this post with a way to reach you (email preferred) by Friday, July 5, 5pm EST. And good luck!

The Old College Try: Disney-Pixar's “Monsters University”

2013-06-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

Disney-Pixar’s Fourteenth Animated Feature – 2013
Movie Review by Jack Silbert. Let me get a little continuity issue out of the way. Back in 2001’s Monsters, Inc., green one-eyed Mike Wazowski tells blue, furry James P. Sullivan, “You’ve been jealous of my good looks since the fourth grade, pal.” Now, in the all-new Monsters University, we’re told that Mike and Sulley met in college. It’s revisionist history!

I doubt that will bother the kids too much, as this is another highly entertaining offering from the Pixar team. While it may lack the sheer inventiveness of the original film, Monsters University makes up for it with manic energy, new silly characters, and stunning animation. Additional good news: I feel this one is a little more palatable for the adults in the audience.

Billy Crystal voices Mike Wazowski
(left) and John Goodman is back as
the voice of "Sulley" Sullivan.

Monsters, Inc. had a pretty genius conceit: That power for the monsters’ world was provided by the screams of children. Writing that out, it sounds pretty macabre, but of course Pixar pulled it off with a cutesiness and good humor that charmed even the youngest kids. If one was a curmudgeonly film critic, you might even say it was a wee bit on the babyish side. For Monsters University, while we’re still solidly in a G-rated world, things feel just slightly more grown-up.

And why not? The original target audience of Monsters, Inc. is off at college themselves these days. (Or rather, on summer break, when they can take their young cousins to the multiplex to revisit old pals Mike and Sulley.) In this prequel, our fearsome friends end up in the “School of Scaring” at that proud institution, Monsters University. (I’d gripe about the Monsters, Inc. corporate branding at the school, but I guess we’re pretty close to that in real life, aren’t we?) Anyone who has been to college will feel a real tug of familiarity as (ahem) wide-eyed Mike shows up for orientation: the gorgeous campus, activities everywhere, moving into a dorm, etc. Am pretty sure I saw some beasts playing hacky sack on the quad.

Steve Buscemi is the voice of Randy
(at left) in a rival frat, of course.

In fact, the plot is not too far off from every college comedy you’ve ever seen, from Animal House to Revenge of the Nerds to the collected works of young John Cusack. Mike and Sulley get kicked out of the scaring program, and have to win the big frat contest to restore their honor. You know, whatever. We get a bunch of zany competitions (including a visually hilarious race through prickly obstacles that cause you to puff up). Joining Billy Crystal and John Goodman (and Steve Buscemi back in nerdy-sidekick mode as a pre-evil Randy) is some fun new voice talent: Helen Mirren, Sean Hayes, Bobby Moynihan, Charlie “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Day, and more.

There are a lot of goofy laughs and positive messages. (You can achieve whatever you set your mind to: check. It’s OK to be different: check. Friends are important: check, check, check.) Things even get a little bit dark and scary. Not too scary, mind you—it’s your old fun-loving buddies Mike and Sulley after all.

All art ©Disney-Pixar. Not for reuse.

Books (and Authors) We Love: “Clementine and the Spring Trip” by Sara Pennypacker

2013-06-20T00:02:00.000-04:00

Guest Post by Sara Pennypacker
One of the problems with/great things about blogs is that you get drawn into conversations. The past couple of weeks I’ve been visiting lots of them to get ready for my blog tour, and one post I can’t stop thinking about was titled “Can You teach Empathy?” This seems like the right place to have a say about that, and a Clementine post seems the right occasion, since Clementine herself is known for her empathy, so...

No, I don’t think empathy can be taught. But - a HUGE but - empathy can be learned...through experience and practice. And there is nothing on the planet better for practicing empathy than a novel. All media forms connect us to other humans: photos, news articles, paintings, music, TV shows, films – these can be tremendously moving, and are responsible for untold good in the world. But a long piece of fiction, which asks a reader to feel what someone else feels, for substantial stretches of time, is the ultimate empathy practice.

I try to remember this about the power of books: A book connects a reader to the rest of his tribe, through time and space. The first time this happens for a child can be a transformative experience: You are not the only one! a book says. And there are other paths possible.

Author Sara Pennypacker

A book is a safe place for a young reader to try on other personas, and this safety allows them to risk real feelings and connections. The most powerful example of what this can empathetic connection accomplish that I know is Patty McCormick’s SOLD. For those who don’t know it: Patty wanted to write something about the issue of child sex trafficking. It’s an enormous problem – 250,000 little girls are in the sex trade in Calcutta alone, I once heard. I think our hearts are so overwhelmed by numbers this big we close down...what can we do about a problem so overwhelming? So Patty reduced the situation to one girl – she told Lakshmi’s story, and made readers see that they’re connected, that they could easily have been this young girl. And the result? Millions of teens in America have read the book, empathized with Lakshmi and said, in effect, What can we do? Because this isn’t going to happen on our watch.

And now, segue to Clementine! Whenever anyone describes her, “empathetic” is the adjective I hear most right after funny and creative. Some backstory: Clementine is modeled after my son Caleb, who as a kid struggled with attention issues (which, okay fine, he got from me...) What I cherished about him, and came to learn is true about a lot of kids with attention issues, was that he was artistic, a creative thinker, and extremely empathetic, so these are the traits that shine in Clementine.

The books are funny – I find Clementine’s world-view hilarious, and the adults in her life navigate the challenges she brings with great humor. But at the heart of each is some serious issue children are likely to encounter - insecurity about their place in the family, or being accepted by friends; the loss of a pet; additions to the family; etc. – and Clementine makes plenty of mistakes. It’s been my experience that humor helps young readers connect with characters who are messing up – that when we’re laughing, it’s much easier to admit, Me too. I’m like that, too, the realization at the core of empathy.

In this newest book in the series, CLEMENTINE AND THE SPRING TRIP, Clementine’s empathy expands to animals. In it, she has an encounter with a chicken which challenges her sense of justice – people eat animals! – and decides she must become a vegetarian. As with all the books, I had a blast writing the funny scenes, and at the same time, I’m just so proud of this little girl.

Sara Pennypacker was a painter before becoming a writer, and has two absolutely fabulous children who are now grown. She has written several books, including the Clementine series, all illustrated by Marla Frazee, The Amazing World of Stuart, Sparrow Girl, and Summer of the Gypsy Moths. She grew up in Massachusetts and splits her time between Cape Cod and Florida.

Win "Jack the Giant Slayer" Blu-Ray Combo Pack!

2013-06-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

Warner Bros. is proud to announce the arrival of Jack the Giant Slayer released on DVD & Blu-ray on June 18! Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of this life to stop them and rescue the princess! To win the Blu-Ray Combo Pack (that includes the Blu-Ray + DVD + Ultraviolet versions), just leave a comment to this story below. Be sure to include a way to reach you (email preferred) by Friday, July 5th, 5pm EST. And good luck!

Books We Love: “My Dad is Big and Strong, But …,” “Inside Outside,” “Flight 1-2-3,” and “Extreme Oceans”

2013-06-13T15:33:00.000-04:00

It’s June! School is winding down. My daughter has finished preschool for summer. It’s time for fresh air, sunshine, and our annual trip to the beach. And you can bet we’ll pack a selection of books just right for the season. For starters, while you’re helping your child pick out a father’s day gift, how about choosing a special book that would make a wonderful “backwards” gift, from dad to child?

This year, we’re giving our little girl My Dad is Big and Strong, But … A Bedtime Story by Coralie Saudo, illustrated by Kris DiGiacomo. In Saudo’s story, it’s dad who doesn’t want to go to bed and the son must convince dad to call it a night. The writing is clever. Every child (especially mine) will be able to recognize themselves in dad’s antics. And the illustrations are wonderfully child-centric, with collaged elements and hand-lettered type that make this book look like a clever kid’s art project. It’s definitely a “read to me” book, as some of the words are sophisticated, but rightly so. This is a book to be shared, parent to child, a real and heart-felt story and every family’s inside joke. It’s by Enchanted Lion Books, a very special press.

It’s time to take the party outdoors, and a great choice to bring along on a trip to the park is Inside Outside, conceived and illustrated by Lizi Boyd. Inside Outside is a wordless picture book, beautifully illustrated with clever cut-outs and flaps that show the interior and exterior view of different rooms in a house, all through the seasons. The story begins and ends in winter and makes its way through all the seasons, with clever overlaps from one environment to the next. It’s a perfect opportunity for your child to “read” to you, explaining the clever connections between the inside and outside scenes, as well as identifying the clues to seasons and different seasonal activities. It’s by Chronicle Books, another of my favorite children’s presses.

Will air travel figure into your summer plans? If so, another adorable Chronicle title, Flight 1-2-3 will make the special event that is a trip to the airport even more special for your child. It’s written and illustrated by Maria van Lieshout in the style of iconic airport graphics. As van Lieshout acknowledges, without modern airport graphics “mostly designed by AIGA artists Seyour Chwast, Roger Cook, and Don Shanosky, we wouldn’t arrive on time or at the right destination.” This book invites young readers to identify all the essential elements of an airport like luggage carts, check-in desks, and gates. Air travel, especially that first trip to an airport, is momentous to say the least. Flight 1-2-3 captures the excitement of the airport while making the entire event a teachable and knowable one.

Going to the beach this summer? Take along another great Chronicle book, Seymour Simon’s Extreme Oceans. This is part of Simon’s terrific Extreme Earth series. Extreme Oceans makes a good “read to me” choice but an even better young reader selection. It’s filled with fascinating and intriguing facts about the oceans, their eco-systems, and life on land near the sea. And this book has a conscience: it explains in accessible terms man’s positive and negative impact on the environment, raising the next generation of ecologically aware citizens. Extreme Oceans is illustrated with spectacular color photographs of jaw-dropping beauty and drama.