Movie Info:
Writer: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus
Director: Andrew Adamson
Cast: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis
Rating: PG
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: December 2, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

Every now and then, a movie comes along and completely takes me by surprise. This year one of those movies was Prince Caspian, the sequel to the huge family hit, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is one of those rare movies that will work for every member of the family. Caspian offers a good dose of romance, plenty of action, and it is based on a blockbuster classic book series. The funny thing is I originally only put this in the player because I had to review it and because my son wanted to see it. Now, I’m glad that he wanted to and I had to, because otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the time to watch it. I didn’t see the first one, but now it’s in my Netflix queue and I’m looking to catch up on what I missed out on.

If you didn’t see the first one you will be able to watch this with little problem. I didn’t have to see the first one to understand the second one. I would love to see it though because I am sure that it will add so many little things that I missed out on without seeing it. Still, it works well independently, which was a smart move on the part of the filmmakers. This ensured that the movie, which some people feel should be relegated to older children, works for a broader audience and does not rut itself with only those that have seen the first movie.

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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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Starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell And Carol Burnett Too Two-Disc Special Edition, Single Disc, Digital Copy And Blu-ray Arrives December 9th, Just In Time For Holiday

Pached’ With Extras Including Exclusive Featurettes But Wait, There’s More, the Fun Doesn’t Stop Yet The All-New Ice Age Short “Surviving Sid” And Other Great Bonuses, Entertaining Families and Kids

CENTURY CITY, CALIF. – Escape to the Jungle of Nool with the loveable and 100 percent faithful Horton the elephant as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) releases the animated, $294 million worldwide box office hit Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! as a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD) including Digital Copy December 9. One of Dr. Seuss’ all-time classic children’s books, Horton Hears A Who (1954), comes to life with the help of an all-star voice cast including Golden Globe® winner Jim Carrey* (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Bruce Almighty), Golden Globe® winner Steve Carell** (“The Office,” Get Smart), and six-time Emmy® Award winner Carol Burnett*** (“The Carol Burnett Show”). “Razzle-dazzling and artful” (Claudia Puig, USA Today) and “more faithful in spirit to the source material” (Lou Lumenick, New York Post), Dr. Seuss’ whimsical tale imparts to children and adults alike the meaning of compassion, forgiveness and faith.

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Written by Janey - Visit Website
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Movie Info:
Writer: Laura Phillips
Director: Eric Till
Cast: Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Camille Bonora, Brian Henson, Rob Mills, Nikki Tilroe, Marsha Moreau, Zachary Bennett
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Hit Entertainment/Lyons

Release Info:
Original Release Date: December 6, 1986
DVD Release Date: November 4, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $8.99

I hate to say that I’m disappointed with Hit Entertainment’s release of Jim Henson’s The Christmas Toy on DVD. While the actual movie is excellent and well worth watching, it is inaccurate to put Jim Henson’s name on it. This isn’t his completed masterpiece. Scenes, particularly those with Kermit the Frog (the ultimate Jim Henson character) in them, have been cut out. While this is probably due to copyright laws, it still stinks for fans who remember the original movie with Kermit introducing and ending the movie.

That being said, that actual movie, The Christmas Toy is excellent. This movie is bound to become a Christmas classic. Released for a new generation of children to enjoy, this was one of those excellent Jim Henson Christmas specials that has the feel of other Muppet inspired specials. Adults familiar with The Muppet Show, Muppet movies and Fraggle Rock will recognize most of the voices for the characters in The Christmas Toy. That’s because any Henson production used the same, trusted actors, who could make that special worthwhile and enjoyable.

I loved Fraggle Rock as a kid. It was one of the shows I never missed. I’ve also been a huge fan of the Muppets, for as long as I can remember. It’s no big surprise that I enjoyed this, though, of course I would have loved to have seen Kermit. It doesn’t truly seem like a Muppet special without at least one of the recognizable Muppets, so I can see why many fans of the original, unedited version of this movie have complaints with it.

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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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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.

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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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Movie Info:
Cast: Andrew McMahon, Norm MacDonald, Emma Roberts, Carly Baker, Patrick Fitzsymons, Morgan Jones, Susan Slott, Alan Stanford, Paul Tylack, Susan Zelouf
Rating: G
Studio: Weinstein Company

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: October 25, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $10.99

Going into a movie knowing that parents were complaining about it made me somewhat wary when I popped The Flight Before Christmas into my DVD player. I’m not one to listen to the crowd, but everywhere I looked on the web, I was warned. DO NOT LET YOUR YOUNG CHILD WATCH THIS. I’m always intrigued by what parents consider inappropriate for their kids. Apparently, most parents think The Flight Before Christmas is one movie young kids shouldn’t watch.

Well, after watching this, I can’t exactly agree. Seriously. The issue for most parents is that The Flight Before Christmas contains a theme in it that might make young kids cry. Apparently, a group of cartoon wolves want to eat Santa, take over Christmas and then eat little children when they visit their houses in Santa’s place. The latter part (you know, about eating children) doesn’t seem to be the troubling part. Parents think their young kids will cry because the wolves want to eat Santa.

You know what? I’d let my four year old nephew watch this. I don’t think he’d cry. In fact, since you can safely assume (this is a kids movie) that no Santa was eaten in this movie, it’s about as harmless as watching Wile E. Coyote try to capture and eat the Roadrunner. Look at all the hunters who try to catch/eat Bugs Bunny. He’s a pretty lovable yet kids realize that the bad guys probably aren’t going to catch Bugs. It’s just common sense. So, I don’t know why the prospect of cartoon wolves eating Santa is absolutely terrifying, since it’s pretty much the same concept.

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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Joe Sichta
Director: Joe Sichta
Cast: Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle
Rating: G
Studio: Warner Bros.

Release Info:
Original Air Dates: Direct to DVD
DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $13.99

As a kid I loved Scooby Doo. In fact, every kid that I knew loved that show. It always followed the same format, but it was a great show. It managed to incorporate pop culture, so older kids and adults would like it, and the characters were more than enough to keep kids satisfied. To this day, if that show is still on and I pass it on the television, I will stop to watch.

In the last few years, Joe Sichta has begun working on the franchise, making direct to DVD movies. We’ve reviewed one of his movies in the past. The last movie, Chill Out, Scooby Doo lacked originality. It just felt wrong to have the distinguished Scooby Doo name on that movie. Chill out Scooby Doo is similar to The Goblin King because it is a mish-mash of numerous cartoon ideas including many of the things that make Scooby Doo great. However, when you add all these ideas together with no regard for order or respect to the original series, you end up with a whole lot of wasted DVD space.

There are some big name voice talents, both familiar to the show and for this show only, but that really doesn’t help anything. These characters might look and sound like we expect them to, but it’s obvious that they are different. I am sure that the option of having another Halloween themed special was a good idea, but they could have easily dug up a selection of original shows and made a DVD that was way more pleasing than this. Kids would have loved it and adults would have, too.

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Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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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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Kassidy received her degree in Journalism in 2002. She lives in the Midwest with her husband of six years, Jason, their two little girls, Madison (6) and Emma (3), and four month old, Little J (Jason Jr.) . The couple is very excited to welcome their first son. Passions in life for Kassidy include painting, writing, being a Mommy, watching romantic comedies, and dancing.

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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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Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Robert Reece, Evan Spiliotopoulus
Director: Peggy Holmes
Cast: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Sally Field, Jim Cummings, Parker Goris, Tara Strong, Kari Wahlgren, Grey DeLisle
Rating: G
Studio: Walt Disney Video

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: N/a
DVD Release Date: August 26, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $19.99

If I had to choose my favorite Disney movies, The Little Mermaid would certainly rank as one of the higher movies. Ariel is a likable character that is surrounded by comical and adorable creatures that work together to accomplish whatever their interests might be. I have yet to meet a little girl that didn’t love Ariel and the role that she plays in the princess category of Disney movies.

So, it was with some mild apprehension that I approached Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning. After seeing the direct to DVD release of Jungle Book 2 I was worried that The Little Mermaid would suffer the same lackluster fate. I am happy to report that I was wrong for thinking that and while The Little Mermaid is not exactly the same the second time around it certainly is fun and befitting of the Disney name.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning Plot
Ariel (Jodi Benson) is the youngest of seven daughters by her father, King Triton and her mother, Queen Athena. Her parents are incredibly in love and they rule the kingdom with compassion, happiness, music, and joy. The family and other mermaids often spend time at a hidden lagoon where they can relax and enjoy the sun above the water. However, one day a pirate ship comes along and ruins everything when Queen Athena is unable to escape.

She goes back for a music box that Triton just gave her and ends up meeting her end in the process. As he is unable to cope with the loss of his wife and his best friend Triton changes from the happy, loving father he was to a colder, more mechanical king. He becomes a mere shell of a man compared to what he was and he ends up banning music from Atlantica.

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Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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Movie Info:
Writer: Garth Jennings
Director: Garth Jennings
Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Bill Milner, Jessica Hynes, Anna Wing, Will Poulter, Tallulah Evans, Jules Sitruk, Sam Kubrick-Finney, James Clarke, Zofia Brooks
Rating:
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: January 22, 2007 (Sundance)
DVD Release Date: August 26, 2008

I could very well have been one of the kids in the movie Son of Rambow…Except I’m not British, nor am I old enough to have been in any movies in 1983. Still, I was old enough in the mid to late 80s and I appreciate all of the 80s throwbacks, such as the VHS camcorder (I think I used one of those that looked quite similar during my Make-a-Wish trip to California in 1990). For being seven years later, the camcorder looks remarkably similar!

I’ve heard it said that those not born in the 80s cannot appreciate this film. That those who are young can appreciate it because they “get” the 80s. I’ve heard adults won’t like it or they will. I’ve heard kids won’t like it, or they will. The comments keep rolling in about Son of Rambow. While most of the early critics loved this movie, the general census has been the film is either awesome or stupid. I just happen to think its awesome. Not only that, but this movie is also a lot of fun.

From the very first time I saw the trailer for Son of Rambow I wanted to see this movie. There’s just something absolutely hilarious about two little boys trying to make the sequel to the first Rambo movie, First Blood. Add in the fact that one of these kids is from a freaky, over-religious family that doesn’t even allow him to watch television or listen to music (the boy, Will, becomes obsessed with First Blood) and you have a very interesting story.

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Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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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.

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