Movie Info:
Writer: Charles M. Schulz
Directors: Bill Melendez
Cast: Chad Webber, Robin Kohn, Stephen Shea, Hilary Momberge, Todd Barbee, Linda Ercoli, Bill Melendez
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video

Release Info:
Original Release: October 29, 1972
DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $13.99

Yet another Charlie Brown special is being released. It’s safe to say that 2008 is the year of the Charlie Brown DVD. With recent releases of It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and The Charlie Brown Holiday Collection, it only seems fitting that You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown should be Warner Home Video’s latest release. It is an election year, after all. What better way to celebrate that then with Charlie Brown and the gang?

We’re a Charlie Brown family. I don’t think any of us have ever seen You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown though. We own all of the holiday specials, so this is a nice addition to our collection. I think you’ll find that while this isn’t as spectacular as your favorite holiday special (such as Christmas or Thanksgiving), this does have a typical Peanuts formula, making it more than enjoyable for the entire family. This is probably because You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown was made back in 1972. I’ve found I much prefer the older Peanuts animated features to the newly made ones. That’s just my personal preference.

With the election so crucial this year, I believe it is important for children to understand the election process. This month, we’ve been offering plenty of presidential themed units, DVD time for president-friendly titles, such as the John Adams Chronicles, and worksheets to help our son better understand the election process during his daily homeschool (our son is autistic - which is part of why we homeschool him). You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown is just another way to teach him about elections, with the Peanuts gang there to guide our entire family through the class election for president, which Linus has entered.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: David Joyner, Greg Proops, Finty Williams, Judi Dench, Michael Angelis, Martin Clunes, Jane Horrocks
Rating: G
Studio: Lionsgate

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $8.49

As Halloween approaches, it will be the goal of parents to offer their kids some good Halloween themed television shows and movies to watch to get them in the mood. As a child, the quintessential Halloween movie was It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. As an adult that has not changed one bit, but there are some other shows out there that are worth watching.

Halloween Spooktacular is a collection of animated shorts from seven television shows. Kids will get to enjoy episodes of Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Kipper, and Fifi and the Flowertots. Five of these shows are labeled as an actual part of the DVD and two of them are listed as special features. You can hear more about my thoughts on that in the sections below.

The benefit to a DVD like this is that most kids know some or all of these shows already. It also appears that Lionsgate made an effort to see that both girls and boys would have shows that they prefer. So, if you only have a son you might skip through some of these, then again, he might like all of the shows. Ultimately it will just depend on your child and their likes and interests.

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Movie Info:
Rating: G
Studio: Hit Entertainment

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $17.99

For the last twenty or so years, one of the most popular kids shows has been Thomas & Friends. While Thomas can be a hit or miss with parents, most adults seem to be able to at least tolerate it and the kids all seem to really enjoy it. It’s surprising that this is the first full length movie to come out of the show since it has been on the air.

While the show has had a couple of narrators in its day, this time around the narrator is Pierce Brosnan. This may not be that impressive to the kids, but parents should appreciate the big name, talented celebrity. He also does a pretty good job here, which will add to the pleasing nature of the film.

The animation here is a little different than the average cartoons of today. It’s live action-ish animation. You can see the trains moving more than anything, but the people rarely move. It is the sharp writing and witty storytelling that will please children more than anything. It’s also this very thing that will help adults watch the show without getting the boredom effect that sometimes happens with other shows.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Nancy Cartwright, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker
Rating: G
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $

Part of the beauty of children’s television is capitalizing off current pop culture in hopes of creating something that the whole family can enjoy. Whether or not this is done accurately in Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom really depends on your interpretation of The Chipmunks and whether or not you find them appealing at all.

The “Go to the Movies” series of Chipmunk shorts was created to parody popular movies at the time. In the past, we have reviewed the Chipmunks At the Movies parodies of Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Big and Back to the Future. This time around Indiana Jones is parodied along with a few other popular movies from the 80s. Some might think that this DVD release is perfect timing with Crystal Skull being released on DVD next month. Whatever you might think, this is a DVD that is probably going to be more suitable to kids and not the adults that grew up watching the Chipmunks.

As an adult I am still a fan of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. They can be innocent, rambunctious, and certainly made for children but they are funny in all of the right (and nostalgic) ways. However, the one thing I was never fond of was the Go to the Movies parodies. I am not sure if it’s because it always felt like the creators were trying to make a cheap buck or it is something else. Whatever it is, these parodies end up being mildly funny to children and totally useless to adults, as much as it pains me to say such things about my favorite woodland creatures.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Arish Fyzee
Director: Tom Martin
Cast: Drake Bell, Danny Glover, Vivica A. Fox, Keke Palmer, Jay Leno, Nolan North, Chris Elwood, Jenni Pulos, Steve Wilcox
Rating: G
Studio: Weinstein

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon

I am usually up for a good animated feature. I am an 80s child so that translates to popular cartoons such as The Smurfs, The Wuzzles, and The Transformers. It also means that I am a sucker for anything Muppets or Jim Henson oriented. So, it was with much delight that I was able to watch and review Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare.

Unstable Fables are a fun idea because you’re working off of a basis that everyone is familiar with. Most everyone knows about The Tortoise and the Hare. Offering that look into the future to show what happened years after the race is incredibly entertaining to watch and being that it’s a Jim Henson gig certainly doesn’t hurt. His production team serves his name well. This feature is funny, entertaining, and is definitely something that you could see Henson’s name attached to.

One of the best things about this film is that it’s suitable for the entire family. Parents tend to get stuck watching the cartoons of today, which can at times be monotonous and boring. However, this will take parents back just a bit while providing an excellent time for the kids, as well.

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TV Show Info:
Writers: Greg Weisman, Kevin Hopps, Matt Wayne
Directors: Victor Cook, Troy Adomitis, Dave Bullock
Cast: Josh Keaton, Dee Bradley Baker, Irene Bedard, Jeff Bennett, Clancy Brown, Lacey Chabert, Keith David, Grey DeLisle, John Di Maggio, Ben Diskin, Robert Englund, Brian George, James Arnold Taylor, Deborah Strang, Kath Soucie
Rating: N/a
Studio: Sony Pictures

Release Info:
Original Air Dates: March 1, 2008-March 15, 2008
Season Air Dates: March 1, 2008-June 14, 2008
DVD Box Set Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $14.99
Episodes: Season One - Episodes #1, #2, and #3

I’m a huge fan of comic based television shows. I’m into all the Batman, Justice League, X-Men, and Superman cartoons. I just have never been a fan of Spiderman. So, when The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard fell into my lap for review, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Spidey just isn’t my guy. Give me a good old Dark Knight cartoon and I’ll be entertained thoroughly (as long as the story is good, of course!). I just don’t get the thrill of a guy who looks and acts like a spider. What’s so cool about spiders, anyway?

When The Spectacular Spider-Man started airing on the CW4Kids network, I didn’t watch it. My son is more into the 4KidsTV lineup, so he never saw this show either. Our family’s first exposure to this series was in the form of The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard. Ok, now I know that cartoons are a bit fast paced these days, but they were fast paced back in the 80s when I was a kid. If you can’t keep up with a cartoon you shouldn’t be trying to review it!

I really liked The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard. I recommended it to Ashtyn. I recommended it to my son, who isn’t a huge Spidey fan either. I recommended it to my nephew and all the other kids in my neighborhood. I don’t get why some reviewers think The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard was choppy. Had I not known this was the first three episodes of the series, which started airing on television in March of 2008, I’d have thought this was meant to be a full length feature.

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LI Kids is proud to be giving away two copies of Doodlebops: We Love our Friends on DVD. 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.

To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three weeks, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

We will begin emailing winners for this the week of September 21, 2008, which means you have until September 20, 2008 at 11:59 to enter.

From the Press Release:
This September, as older siblings head back to school, preschoolers can get a first-class education on friendship with their favorite rockin’ trio as Lionsgate and Cookie Jar Entertainment bring to DVD, Doodlebops: We Love Our Friends. The release includes four new to DVD musical adventures starring Deedee, Rooney and Moe Doodle as they sing, dance and play along with their friends! This new DVD is packed with bonus