HOMELESS: THE MOTEL KIDS OF ORANGE COUNTY

HOMELESS: THE MOTEL KIDS OF ORANGE COUNTY, premiering this Monday, July 26th explores the world of children who reside in discounted motels within walking distance of Disneyland, living in limbo as their families struggle to survive in one of the wealthiest regions of America. The parents of motel kids are often hard workers who don’t earn enough to own or rent homes. As a result, they continue to live week-to-week in motels, hoping against hope for an opportunity that might allow them to move up in the O.C.

For more information on the show: http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/homeless-the-motel-kids-of-orange-county

Shrek Forever After - The final Chapter

What happens when you cross every ones favorite Ogre with It's a wonderful life....You Get Shrek Forever After.

The final installment of the Shrek franchise finds our green friend in an alternate version of Far Far Away when Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking deal maker, Rumpelstiltskin. A place where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona have never met.

Can't wait to see it neither can I especially in 3D

Click here to get tickets

Review of Hotel for Dogs

Tonight I went to the theatre to see Hotel for Dogs with my daughter and niece, both 4. They really enjoyed it. I found it okay but a little sappy and predictable.
Synopsis: The story tells the story of a brother and sister who live with various foster parents being shuffled from home to home but never having a family. Their situation drawing parallels to the stray dogs they take in. The Hotel for Dogs is a safe haven for all the strays in the city who would otherwise be taken to the pound. The Hotel is ingenious with Bruce the young brother creating a series of inventions to automate taking care of the hotel guests.

There is a bit of toilet humor but humor nonetheless. There is a part of the movie where the dogs are scheduled to be euthanized and this created some anxiety for my daughter and niece. There is also some teen and canine romance (not teens with canines). The movie's ending is somewhat predictable.

Bottom Line: The dogs are the stars the movie has enough laughs to make it enjoyable but the dialog and story is weak.

Caution: Viewing this movie with your children will most likely result in them asking for a dog if you do not have one already.

Kidzense Review of The Tale of Despereaux

Despereaux is a small mouse (small for a mouse) but in his head he is a giant. Different than the other mice he does not scurry or cower. Despereaux is a brave little mouse a hero that will lift the dark cloud that hangs over the kingdom of Dor. Despereaux is born shortly after a tragic accident causes the Queen to cease living (A rat falls in her soup) the king is grief stricken and outlaws soup and rats. The kings actions have grave repercussions and the kingdom falls into darkness. This movie is remarkable in that it will appeal to adults as well as children and speaks to them on a different level. Unlike some other animated films that seem to intentionally throw in some trendy, nostalgic or "clever" dialog aimed at adults audiences, Despereaux has many levels of complexity. On the surface it is cute and funny with adventure and a fairy tale based story line. Beneath it cute exterior is a movie that examines how one event can trigger another and that a act by one can affect the lives of many in profound ways (both positive and negative).

We went to see The tale of Despereaux with kids ages 4,10,13, and 15 this is truly a family movie.

I would not take children below 3 years of age to see Despereaux. There are a few scenes that are scary and where Despereaux is in peril.

Tip: Go to a matinee (before 4:00 PM) for a reduced ticket price

A review of Madagascar Escape 2 Africa

We went to see Madagascar Escape 2 Africa tonight.
Overview:
The movie opens with Alex as a young lion cub. He is abducted by poachers and his Dad Zuba tries to save him but the Crate young Alex is in floats away, all the way to NYC where Alex becomes the charismatic Lion we know from the first Madagascar. The story then moves to Madagascar where the first movie ended. The crew is ready for takeoff on Air Penguin, final destination NYC. (or so they think) The plane goes down in the vast plains of Africa – where the zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly find the differences between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa. Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming members of the pride, Africa seems like a great place The friends go their separate ways living with there own herds and pride, but learn that even though they are different they are a better together and have a special bond that makes them a family. Can they pull it together and save the African Plains from a drought?.
Review:
I have yet to pan a movie in my reviews and Madagascar Return 2 Africa is no exception. This movie borrows liberally from the Lion King story Line but is big on the laughs. My daughter and I laughed out loud throughout the movie.
Details:
The movie is rated PG due to mild crude humor, and with the exception of some tension in the beginning of the movie I think it is suitable for kids four and older. It has a run time of about an hour and a half.
Bottom Line: This movie is Laugh out Loud Funny.
Although it is PG it is Suitable for Toddlers and older.
The Penguins Steal most of the scenes they are in.
The soundtrack is worked into the movie well with the Penguins popping in various 8 track's containing songs from Boston, Abba, and Barry Manilow during their Hi jinx

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Those Crazy Penguins are back along with all your favorites from the Original Madagascar. This time they have landed in Africa and if they are going to survive they will need to tap into their wild side.
Here is a trailer for Madagascar Escape 2 Africa it looks funny I am planning on seeing it Friday and should have a review this weekend.

Movie Review: I G O R

We went to see Igor today it is rated PG so you may not want to take really young children. There are a few scenes that could be scary for them, but overall we laughed a lot. There are also some scenes that are not suitable for young children due to their subject matter.
For instance Scamper (Steve Buscemi) is a cynical rabbit like creature that is immortal, but has lost his desire to live. Throughout the movie he makes quite a few attempts to end his life. Brain (Sean Hayes) aka Brian (because he wrote his name wrong on his jar with permanent marker) is a dim-witted and laughable character with a good heart. Eva (Molly Shannon), the "Monster" does not turn out quite as planned because her evil bone was never activated, instead she is a sweet creature who couldn't hurt a fly.

Synopsis: Igor (John Cusack) is one of many Igor's (a name bestowed on all hunchbacks of Malaria). Igors are the sidekicks to Evil Scientists with a job description that consists mainly of pulling the switch!
Malaria used to be a beautiful Sunny farming village until it became covered by a perpetual dark clouds.
King Malbern (Jay Leno), devised a plan to resuscitate the village by fostering a race of Evil Scientists. Every year they have an Evil science fair to determine the most devastating creation with which to Blackmail the world. The winner of the Science fair for all the past years has been Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard). He is somewhat modeled after Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show (minus the sexuality)


Bottom Line: This is a lighthearted and kid friendly movie in the style of The Nightmare before Christmas, The movie sits somewhere between the G and PG rating.
I would not recommend Igor for really young children. Not so much because it is scary but because of some of the topics such as: Suicide, Stealing, Mild Violence, and Issues with Parental relationships.
The movie is probably appropriate for children seven or older.
My four year old really liked it but I did wish some scenes were not being viewed by her.
To help you decide if this movie is appropriate for your child checkout:
http://www.igor-movie.com/
I personally really enjoyed Igor and laughed quite a bit. The Animation is what we have come to expect of computer animated features from a Pixar or Dreamworks although this movie was made by Independent production Company Exodus.
Overall I would recommend Igor as a family (especially with older kids) or Date movie.

Wall * E a review

Wall*E is a funny and touching film with a message to deliver. Wall-e takes some of his design queues from Johhny 5 and ET (The flower from E.T. is replaced with a plant) Wall-e has an endearing personality that is unique to this character and makes him a hit with the audience (young and old). Wall-e's Job (Directive) is to clean up earth's trash that we left behind while we float around in space for 700 hundred years, all the while consuming more, moving less, and expanding our waistlines while waiting for the earth to be made inhabitable again. Wall-e spends his days cleaning our world by gathering and stacking up trash cubes into creations that model the sky scrapers around him. Wall-e passes his idle time watching movies and listening to music on his ipod excellent product placement for apple. (The lack of soft drink placement is refreshing) and building his collection of various human objects (much like Ariel in The Little Mermaid)
All of this changes When Eva comes to earth her directive is to find a plant (proof of Photosynthesis and Life on Earth). Wall-e falls in love with Eva who is not easily wooed by Wall-e and almost blasts him away. Soon though Wall-e's charm captures her heart (or microprocessors as the case may be) and as the movie progresses she finds herself falling deeper for Wall-e.

Wall-e goes back with Eva to the Axiom (Mother Ship) and there the adventure begins. Battling robots who do not want to go to earth and waking the humans from their half asleep state.

Both me and my 4 year old enjoyed Wall-e but the movie may be a little long for smaller children and there is a few moments of peril for Wall-e and Eva. This is a sweet movie that touches the heart. It also subtly and effectively delivers it's message that was made clear as we were leaving the theater and placed our box of garbage into the overflowing trash bins at the theatre exit.

Kung Foo Panda - Review

Kung Foo Panda - I had read mixed reviews of this movie but after seeing it with my 4 year old this weekend we give it 2 thumbs up. We (and by we I mean the audience in the theatre) Laughed at all the intended spots. The fight scenes were exciting and choreographed as well as any Kung foo movie but tempered with humor and cartoon like sensibility (i.e. Looney Tunes) The scenery for the movie sets a beautiful artistic backdrop for the action in it's creation of The Valley of Peace, the ancient Jade Palace towering overhead, The Peach tree on the cliffs edge with its Blowing Blossom petals and the imposing Chor Ghom prison that holds Tai Lung (The Movies Villain) The Movie is rated PG but except for one or 2 segments (The word Suck is used and some of the fight scenes are violent at times) I think it could have a G rating

Nim's Island Review

Based on Wendy Orr's popular children's novel, Nim's Island is an engaging, family-friendly adventure with a charming performance by Abigail Breslin (from Little Miss Sunshine) and a surprisingly comedic performance from Jodie Foster as a "Borderline agoraphobe" who must get past her fears to get to Nim. (She also has an alter ego Alex Rover-Adventure Hero who she funny interactions with)
The animals in the Story are very entertaining and keep kids busting out with laughter for the hour and 35 minutes. There are some intense scenes (Like when Nim Climbs the Volcano) That can create some anxiety for the little ones but these are short and quickly resolved. There is a few underlying messages in this movie (Environmental responsibility and overcoming your fears)
Prior to seeing this movie I wasn't sure that we get through the whole show. (We generally go to animated features previous visits to the theatre for Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Water Horse were cut short)
Story
Story
Nim (Abigail Breslin) and her dad, Jack (Gerard Butler), have been tucked away on their own private tropical island since Nim's mom died. They live in a treehouse complete with electricity provided by solar panels, hang out with sea lions and marine iguanas, and only communicate with the rest of the world via email and satellite phone (of course they have a computer). Everything is fine until Jack heads out for a short research expedition and gets stranded by a nasty tropical storm, leaving Nim to fend for herself. At first she takes it in stride, (Nim is a very self-sufficient 11 year old and stayed behind to save some turtle hatchlings) but eventually, worried and lonely, she confesses some of her fears to adventure novelist Alex Rover (Who she has been communicating with because she is doing research on a volcanic Island for her upcoming book) --never guessing that the intrepid hero she's imagined is really a neurotic, scaredy-cat woman (Jodie Foster). When tourists threaten the island, Nim asks Alex for help, challenging the writer to overcome her fears and become "the hero of her own story."

Final Verdict: Go See it with Kids around 4 and over.
Z-girls Favorite part was the flying Lizzards

Horton Hears a Who

In case you are wondering Horton is not like the past two theatrical adaptations of Dr. Suess classics. The most obvious difference is that Horton unlike The Grinch and the Cat and the Hat is Animated. Secondly Horton stays close to the actual story and limits the topical references (although there is a Japanamation/Pokemon Segment [I found it quite funny]).

The Whos characters are a little more developed than in the story. Overall we really enjoyed the movie and it held my 3 and 1/2 year olds attention the whole time.

Rated: G Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genres: Kids/Family, Animation and Adaptation

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