About.com Kids Movies / TV

Bad Messages in Good Films

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:30:47 +0000

I loved this recent article on Wired.com "Top 10 Bad Messages From Good Movies". Geek Dad points out some of the underlying questionable messages in popular films. For example, he points out that The Little Mermaid teaches that "It's OK to completely change your physical appearance and way of life for the person you love." It's both fun and fascinating, not to mention important, to really consider what messages movies send to kids.

I was thinking about this very thing when I saw New Moon. Kids are really into the Twilight saga, and lots of them are going to be seeing the movie. What messages does it send to kids? -- Having boys sneak into your room at night is exciting and romantic; if a guy loves you, he says things like, "I will never hurt you" and "You're everything to me" all the time; and breaking up with your boyfriend can send you into a deep depression for months at a time. Anyone remember the book "Madame Bovary"? Young girls could get a pretty warped sense of what love is like from watching these movies.

Yeah, it's just entertainment, but it's up to us to make sure our kids develop good common sense through real world experiences and discussions with us so that all of these messages from the media they are exposed to don't get out of context. For this reason and many more, it's just a matter of fact that monitoring, utilizing, and limiting kids' media exposure is a major component of parenting in this day and age.

Bad Messages in Good Films originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 01:30:47.

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Thanksgiving Road Trip - A Roald Dahl Adventure

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:52:19 +0000

Only a couple of days away from our awesome annual 17-hour road trip with three young kiddos. This year, we are going to have a Roald Dahl adventure. On the way there, we will read Fantastic Mr. Fox, since we'll be taking the kids to see the Fantastic Mr. Fox movie on Thanksgiving day. Also on the way there, we are going to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and then we will watch both versions of the film and eat chocolate bars while we compare and contrast the book with both versions of the movie (chocolate is always a great thing to eat in the car, right?).

On they way home, we'll read James and the Giant Peach. Then, we can contrast all three of the books with each other. Maybe I'll even read a bio of Dahl and have them write their own story with similar characteristics. Oh, and they can illustrate it too (thank goodness for Dramamine). I could drag this Dahl stuff out for a long time.

Hmm... I wonder what we'll do for the at least 10 hours we'll still have to go after we do all of that. Since my almost 2-year-old is suddenly madly in love with "Tinker Bells," I bet we'll throw a Tinker Bell marathon somewhere in there. All of our TV watching rules are out the window on road trips, of course. I'll pretty much do anything to keep them happy -- that means road games, doodle boards, books, music, and a lot of snacks and movies.

Thanksgiving Road Trip - A Roald Dahl Adventure originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 08:52:19.

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Merry Madagascar Airs Tonight

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:25:26 +0000

Shrek the Halls, which aired a couple of years ago, must have been a success, because a new special based on a popular movie franchise will air tonight. Merry Madagascar features our favorite Madagascar friends -- Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) and those famous Penguins of Madagascar -- in a story about how they save Christmas, of course.

The festive film is rated TV-PG, though, which means that the "program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children." So, parents may want to preview the film first if there are any concerns about the content or if young children will be watching. The 30 minute movie will air tonight, November 17, on NBC at 8/7c and again on Saturday, November 28. The movie will also be available on DVD.

(Photo © NBC Universal, Inc.)

Merry Madagascar Airs Tonight originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 13:25:26.

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Do Your Thanksgiving Traditions Include Family Screen Time?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:12:12 +0000

Everyone knows that Thanksgiving celebrations include a feast, and for many, Thanksgiving also brings memories of football games or a family day at the movies. Of course, there's also the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is viewed on TV all over the country by those of us who can't be there to watch it live, and Thanksgiving Day is also the perfect time to break out a favorite Christmas special. With all of that L-tryptophan we put in our bodies, it's no surprise that TV is a popular pass time on turkey day.

I always mean to turn the parade on in the morning on Thanksgiving, but I'm usually too busy preparing for the day and forget about it. Some of our family members are into football, but others, not so much. We've gone to movies on Thanksgiving before, but not every year. So, we don't really have any Turkey Day TV or movie traditions, even though we do celebrate the holiday with the usual activities -- eating and sitting around. This year, we probably will go out to see a movie, but maybe we'll also start a new tradition and incorporate some of family fitness guru Catherine Holecko's ideas for fun and active Thanksgiving activities.

Do Your Thanksgiving Traditions Include Family Screen Time? originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 00:12:12.

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40 Years of Sunny Days!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:47:26 +0000

There's a lot to celebrate on Sesame Street this month. For 40 years the show has been offering preschoolers fun-filled and educational shows that have set the standard for educational programming for children. The beloved characters are still as popular today as they have ever been, and that is quite something. To commemorate the 40-year milestone, a new DVD is available today: Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days (Compare Prices). The DVD features memorable moments on Sesame Street from the past 40 years, featuring stories, songs, Muppets and celebrity segments, and more. The collectible set also includes never-before-seen archival footage and a limited-edition hard covered commemorative book. Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

40 Years of Sunny Days Coloring Page

(Photo © Sesame Workshop)

40 Years of Sunny Days! originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 08:47:26.

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Is Disney's A Christmas Carol Too Scary for Your Kids? -- Plenty of Others to Choose From

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:33:37 +0000

A thrilling Jim Carrey fest in magical 3D, Disney's A Christmas Carol is a fantastic movie with a few flaws here and there. But what parents need to know, is that the movie contains scenes that could be extremely frightening for young children. The fact that the movie is not for 2-5 year-olds is fine. The story was not written for preschoolers, and families with kids ages 8 and up will probably thoroughly enjoy it (it all depends on kids' level of tolerance for scary ghost scenes). If you want to know more about the movie before taking the kiddos, check out a review for parents of Disney's A Christmas Carol, and you can see movie trailers and clips from the movie which feature a couple of the scary scenes.

If Disney's A Christmas Carol is too much for your child, there are some other options for young kids to get in on the Christmas Carol fun. Several kids' versions of A Christmas Carol have been released over the years. This year, Dora came out with her own version of the classic story. In Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure, Swiper the Fox travels to Christmas past, present and future and gets a chance to mend his thieving ways. Last year, Barbie in A Christmas Carol was released, enchanting little girls with the story of a beautiful young woman who has a big lesson to learn about being charitable. Our personal favorite is Disney's other attempt at retelling the timeless Dickens story -- Mickey's A Christmas Carol. Mickey never goes out of style, and he is a wonderfully charming actor.

Disney's A Christmas Carol was number one at the box office over the weekend. Did your family see the movie? What did you think?

Is Disney's A Christmas Carol Too Scary for Your Kids? -- Plenty of Others to Choose From originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 09:33:37.

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How Much TV Do Kids Watch?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:21:09 +0000

According to a recent Nielsen report, kids ages 2-5 are spending more than 32 hours a week on average in front of a TV screen. At first glance, the number seems impossible. How could kids that young possibly be watching so much? A closer look reveals that the report includes time watching TV and/or playing video games, but the hours of reported TV watching alone are still staggering.

With so many different forms of kids' entertainment involving screen time, it's easy to see how the hours can add up. Kids, and their parents, may feel like they're engaging in different activities as they move from watching TV, to playing on the computer, to watching a DVD, to playing a video game...but all of these activities add up to a ton of screen time. Even if the screen time is high quality or educational (a whole new study needs to be done on that), the numbers from Nielsen are disturbing.

All of the articles on the study have got me wondering about our family's screen time numbers. As an adult who works on the computer, I don't even want to know how much time I spend in front of a screen. But I do want to know what the numbers look like for my kids. We generally keep TV viewing to one hour a day or less; however, we have Friday movie night quite often, and I never really add up the hours they spend playing American Idol on Xbox or playing Disney Fairies on the computer (they really don't have time to play those much, so it didn't seem necessary to have a rule). Then there's the educational reading program they play for school -- it's a great program, but still involves sedentary time in front of a screen. I think I'll track the screen time they put in this week, just to see how it comes out. I do think there is a difference when the program or game is educational or school-related, but there is still a point where it goes overboard. I estimate that my kids put in an average of 10-12 hours total screen time in a normal week. We'll see how close my guess is.

How much screen time do you guess your kids get in one week?

How Much TV Do Kids Watch? originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 01:21:09.

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Up Bonus Feature "Global Guardian Badge Game" - Best Movie Game Ever

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:53:39 +0000

Our family is now on a great geography quest thanks to the bonus feature "Global Guardian Badge Game" on the Up Blu-ray (disc 2). In the game, players try to locate countries, states and capitals around the globe on a map. So for example, if you choose the United States, you see a map of the US and the game asks you to locate the states one at a time in random order. You just move the little arrow hanging on a balloon to the correct state and hit "enter." Or, you can choose a continent and attempt to locate the countries in random order.

My 7-year-old loves the game and determined right away that she was going to learn all of the states so she can 100%. My husband and I were shocked at how poorly we did locating the countries in Africa and Asia. So, we had to make a pact with the kids. We are going to help them learn the states, and then we are going to tackle all of the continents one by one as a family until we know them all. We promised the kids that every time they master a country or continent, they can purchase a stuffed animal that represents that geographical area. Some kids may find the game boring, as it is kind of like an interactive quiz, but the novelty of being able to locate the countries on maps on the TV is working for our kids so far, and we're going to run with it. The game has more layers that test players' knowledge of capitals, but we are sticking to the "easy" level for now! Thanks, Disney/Pixar, for giving us such an educational opportunity!

(Photo � Disney/Pixar)

Up Bonus Feature "Global Guardian Badge Game" - Best Movie Game Ever originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 03:53:39.

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Flavorful Music from The Princess and the Frog

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:35:12 +0000

One of elements that has propelled the success of animated Disney films since Snow White is the incredible music and the part that music plays in moving the stories forward. Set in the great city of New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog features the flavorful sounds of Jazz, Zydeco, Blues, Gospel and more. Will the tunes of this groundbreaking new Disney classic be as memorable as songs like "Part of Your World" or "Beauty and the Beast"?

You can check out snippets from the Princess and the Frog soundtrack on the Disney website and see what you think. The soundtrack will be available for purchase on November 23, and Ne-Yo's "Never Knew I Needed," the pop theme song for the movie, is already available for download on iTunes.

Take a listen to the new soundtrack, and let us know what you think using the "comments" link below.

(Photo � Disney)

Flavorful Music from The Princess and the Frog originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 08:35:12.

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Christmas is Just Around the Corner

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:19:03 +0000

Halloween is over, and if you need some help getting into the spirit of the next season, Disney will be here to help. Disney's A Christmas Carol opens in theaters this Friday, November 6. The film will be released in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D, and features performance capture animation.

So, how will Disney take a story that has been told over and over again and make it new and exciting? That remains to be seen, but here is an interesting clip from the movie that shows one scene with a few elements that are unique to the Disney version:

Visited by Three Ghosts: Disney's A Christmas Carol Movie Clip

Will your family be going to see Disney's A Christmas Carol next weekend?

Christmas is Just Around the Corner originally appeared on About.com Kids Movies / TV on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 11:19:03.

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