NOTE: This is NOT a giveaway to win an iPod. You must already have an iPod to win this contest!

ENTRY RULES:
LI Kids is proud to be giving away five iKids Play Applications for the iPod. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one.

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

Get a Second Entry
You can get a second entry by Twittering about the contest and positng the URL of your twitter message in your comment or sending the twitter message to Dominick or Ashtyn (see their twitter URLs by clicking their names).

You can post the following message in Twitter (as it is 140 chars. or less):

RT: Enter this LI Reviews Contest to Win one of five iKids Play Applications for the iPod http://tinyurl.com/84rebg

(more…)

Written by Janey - Visit Website
---

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Christmas is right around the corner. This year there have been a number of fabulous DVD releases for movies and television. Rather than trying to lump them all together we put our heads together and came up with a list of the top 12 hottest television sets and we did the same for movies, too.

This list is all about the family-friendly cartoons and live-action comedy shows that we know kids and families will be able to enjoy throughout the New Year. Kids should love each of these sets and many adults will enjoy them, too.

We offered a nice mix of some new, popular shows alongside a number of timeless classics that the whole family can enjoy. So, if you’re still on the hunt for some gifts and you don’t know what to buy, sit back and check out our family friendly TV guide. You might just find the perfect gift right under your nose.

1. The Flintstones - The Complete Series: The great thing about The Flintstones is that no matter how old you are you can enjoy this show. This is perfect for kids and adults and would be a fabulous family gift. This amazing set features all of the episodes of the show plus tons of special extras and perks that make it worthwhile.

Classic cartoons do not get much better than this and this new set will be sure to make any cartoon lover happy! At this point most everyone is familiar with Fred and the gang, but on the off chance your little ones are new to the show, this will be the perfect set for them, because once they see an episode they will definitely want to see more!

The Box Set for The Flintstones: The Complete Series can be purchased at Amazon for under $90!

2. Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 3 Collection: This is by far one of the best cartoons (geared towards older kids and teens) to be released in recent years. Not only is it well written, it’s always entertaining, and it comes with a message. It was a sad day when Avatar: The Last Airbender was cancelled and the final episode was aired. Still, this final Book 3 Collection would be a perfect addition to any fan’s DVD library.

This offers the closing of the show and would be a great way to revisit the series, so your kids can remain interested while waiting for the upcoming live action movie. If you know someone is a fan, but doesn’t have all of the sets you might want to seek out a bundle pack or pair this with the first and/or second season of the show.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender - Complete Book Three Collection is available for less than $45 through Amazon.

Also, feel free to check out our Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD Review.

(more…)

Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
---
Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Psychology. She plans to get her Ph.D and work as a therapist in the field of human sexuality. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Unstable Fables: Goldilocks & The Three Bears is being released on December 16, 2008. In anticipation of this entertaining film starring Jamie Lynn Spears, Tom Arnold, and Brooke Shields, the following activity sheet has been released for kids. This printable activity sheet is colorful and fun for younger kids. The goal is to find the differences (there are 12) in the two images.

(more…)

Written by Janey - Visit Website
---

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Calling all WALL-E Fans! If your kids (or you) can’t get enough of this adorable new character, we have compiled a selection of our WALL-E links that will keep any fan happy until they see the movie again.

Concept Art and Behind the Scenes Shots: It looks like the folks had a great time working on WALL-E. Now you can check out all the cool concept art and shots that occurred during the making of the film.

Hidden Things: This is a downloadable PDF that will challenge the entire family into finding things hidden in the movie. Can you find everything on the list before your kids?

WALL-E Press Release: Information and clips about WALL-E finally coming to DVD.

Film Facts: This is another Downloadable PDF that includes a list of film facts that the whole family should enjoy. If your kids love the movie, they will be sure to enjoy these facts.

WALL-E 3-Disc Special Edition Review: If you haven’t seen the movie (or you have and want to leave your 2-cents) our WALL-E review is the page to visit.

(more…)

Written by Janey - Visit Website
---

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Movie Info:
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, MacInTalk, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver
Rating: G
Studio: Disney/Pixar

Release Info:
Theatrical Release Date: June 27, 2008
DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $22.99

I have officially seen the most adorable movie of the year. I don’t normally use words like adorable, nor do I tend to like movies that are adorable. Maybe I should rephrase by saying the “most awesome” movie. That might just sum up my feelings about WALL-E. It’s hard not to fall in love with the little guy. He is just that darn adorable (oops! I used that word again!). I wasn’t as interested as I should have been in seeing this movie, merely because I’d just seen Tinker Bell and was disappointed, but WALL-E was all that a Disney movie should live up to being and more!

I first heard about WALL-E during a screening for a Disney movie I reviewed a while back. I can’t remember which one. It might have been Meet the Robinsons. I recall the “intro to WALL-E” said something about, Joe Ranft. one of the men who helped create Toy Story amongst other Pixar titles. Joe helped to come up with the idea for WALL-E. In fact, it was one of the last ideas he helped develop for Pixar before he died in a car crash. The staff and Pixar decided to go with it and they worked tirelessly to do the story justice.

Leading up to the release of WALL-E, Disney/Pixar pumped it up to the point where I wasn’t sure if it could live up to my expectations. Well, I was thoroughly surprised and delighted to learn that this movie was excellent. It wasn’t just excellent. It was downright amazing. I loved every minute of it and I can’t wait to watch this movie again. WALL-E is a movie everyone should see regardless of age, gender, or whether they like Disney movies or not. Pixar really went all out for this and they deserve as much praise as I can give. I don’t always enjoy Disney/Pixar movies, but this one is definitely a keeper.

(more…)

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
---
Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Movie Info:
Writer: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Director: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Cast: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan , Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim
Rating: PG
Studio: Dreamworks

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: June 6, 2008
DVD Release Date: November 8, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $20.99

I’m going to start this review off with a warning. If you have young kids, you may want to sit them down *before* watching Kung Fu Panda and have a discussion about what is a movie. Our four year old nephew, Lil B, saw Kung Fu Panda. He’d been talking about seeing it non-stop. After checking it out at the movie theater, he proclaimed, one day, that he wanted to show his aunt, Ashtyn, his Kung Fu moves. He then proceeded to kick her, full on, in the knee. When asked where he learned such moves, he said he learned them because he was the “Kung Fu” panda.

That being said, it’s not that I think that you should ban your child from watching this movie. You just need to remember that young kids like to emulate what they see. We now have a “no Kung Fu in the house or on other people” rule enforced. So far, we’ve had no trouble with said rule being upheld. With all that in mind, I have to say that Kung Fu Panda really is a good movie. If you can avoid having your child practice their ‘Kung Fu moves’ on you, then you should really be able to enjoy this as a family.

While Kung Fu Panda is a traditional “believe in yourself” kind of heartwarming movie, you should find plenty of humorous moments and quirky lines to amuse and entertain throughout the movie. It really is kind of funny to think of a tubby panda as the “master” of Kung Fu, but with Po (portrayed fabulously by Jack Black) you can pretty much believe anything. While probably not the most realistic animation out there (it is a cartoon - so disbelief suspension is required!), this film has a lot of heart and a nice, moral lesson to go with it.

(more…)

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
---
Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Movie Info:
Writers: Henry Gilroy, George Lucas
Director: Dave Filoni
Cast: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman, Ian Abercrombie, Corey Burton, Catherine Taber, Matthew Wood, Kevin Michael Richardson, David Acord, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee
Rating: PG
Studio: Warner Home Video

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 15, 2008
DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $23.99

I love Star Wars. I was born in 1980. I remember watching Star Wars since I was really little. I even had two pairs of Star Wars themed, thermal pajamas. One of them was for Return of the Jedi. This pair had R2D2 and C3P0 on them. I also had a pair with Ewoks on them. I loved my Star Wars pajamas. I also loved the entire Star Wars franchise. The toys, the movies, the whole shebang. As you might have guessed, I find all of the new Star Wars movies, animated specials, and what not, to be interesting. Well…at least until I actually check them out.

I’ve found that the newer Star Wars offerings are either hit or miss. I liked parts of Episodes 1-3, but they just can’t compare to the original trilogy. So, I wasn’t sure if I would like Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I went into this review with an open mind and hoping to find a cartoon that both new and old audiences could enjoy. This was only partly true. While I’m certain younger, newer audiences will be able to get into the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series airing on television, as well as this movie, older audiences, especially old fans of Star Wars, will most likely find this series boring.

It’s not that Star Wars: The Clone Wars is necessarily bad. Yes, I was kind of peeved over the fact that Anakin suddenly has a Padawan (though I’m sure they’ll have to discuss what happened to said Padawan between Episodes 2 and 3. Yes, I was kind of grumpy about the new voice actors, especially the lack of Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman. However, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is bad for me, merely because it is obviously geared towards a younger, more juvenile audience. Throw in the wine because this one is full of cheese.

(more…)

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
---
Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Movie Info:
Writers: Gary Trousdale, Sean Bishop, Theresa Cullen, Bill Riling, William Steig
Director: Gary Trousdale
Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Cody Cameron, Susan Fitzer, Christopher Knights, Gary Trousdale, Conrad Vernon
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Original Air Date: November 28, 2007
DVD Release Date: November 4, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $11.99

When I initially heard about Shrek the Halls, I had to groan. I figured this was just another movie to profit off a series that was dying with each and every film that was made in it. Don’t get me wrong, the original movie was brilliant. Two and three weren’t that bad either, but after three, it felt like it was about time for the story to be over. Apparently not, considering all of the original cast members came back to reprise their roles for this exciting, holiday special.

While Shrek the Halls is set sometime after the ending of Shrek the Third (the Shrek babies are still little), I actually think that this is actually better than Shrek the Third. I can’t imagine how the next two Shrek films are going to turn out. I had thought that this holiday movie would be boring and trite, merely because the third film was a declining version of the original two in the series. If four and five return to the humor level of one and two, they could be good. Shrek the Halls has given me hope of that, but, if for some reason they don’t, it will be just another wasted series of movies, made just to gain a profit.

The thing I like about Shrek the Halls is that it had humor, even some dirty humor (dirty diapers), but it wasn’t all stupid humor. The movie also had a lot of heart. Shrek reminded me of the lovable yet disgusting ogre he was in the first film. Shrek is a gross, nasty ogre with a bad temper who smells bad and likes anything completely disgusting. Shrek is incredibly likable despite these flaws. I didn’t feel that the third movie accurately captured Shrek in all his glory. Since this pretty much sums up Shrek in Shrek the Halls, I feel this movie should be more of an extension of the first two movies (though pertinent information from the third movie is helpful to understand how Shrek got all those ogre babies).

(more…)

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
---
Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

In anticipation for the upcoming release of Disney’s newest movie we have posted several Wall-E Clips for your enjoyment. Wall-E will be released on November 18, 2008 in standard definition editions and in Blu-Ray. This is sure to be one of the hottest DVD gifts this holiday for kids so you’ll want to make sure to get a copy when it’s released! In the meantime, enjoy the clips.

Treasures & Trinkets

Elbows (Bonus)

Notes on a Score (Bonus)

(more…)

Written by Janey - Visit Website
---

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Walt Disney Treasures Wave VII is being released with November 11, 2008 releases of The Mickey Mouse Club Presents: Annette, The Chronological Donald: Volume Four, and Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Check out the clips below to see some of what you will be in store for with these fabulous DVD releases.

Paying the Piper (Mickey Mouse Club bonus)

Trouble Shooter (Chronological Donald bonus)

(more…)

Written by Janey - Visit Website
---

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!