Thursday, February 14, 2008

CHILDRENS MOVIES

CHILDRENS MOVIES

Ice Age The Meltdown

The animated sequel to Ice Age finds Manny the mammoth Sid the sloth and Diego the sabertoothed tiger peacefully hanging out. until they realize the ice is starting to melt and their home glacier valley will soon be a bowl of cold soup This goodhearted crew warns all of the residents of the valley and starts a caravan to a fabled boat far far away Along the way the trio meets up with Ellie a misguided but lovable mammoth voiced by Queen Latifah Manny is ecstatic to meet Ellie since he worries that he is the last of his kind Unfortunately despite her heft Ellie believes herself to be a possum like the pair of mischievous possums with whom she was raised Ellies brothers Crash and Eddie offer some of the best comedy in the movie constantly engaging in good natured chicanery and general goofiness Regardless of her species she teams up with our heroes in an effort to find safety and dry land Need a little more action The whole Meltdown movie is intercut with sequences in which a prehistoric squirrel attempts to secure an elusive acorn oblivious to the peril surrounding him

Excellent CGI
Like many animated films today both Ice Age movies were computer generated While the artistry may not be as perfect as that in the Pixar films Finding Nemo Toy Story Toy Story 2 and the upcoming Cars the technology was seamless and the imagery was both stunning and amusing

Cast
Mannys voice is performed by Ray Romano Sids by John Leguizamo and Denis Leary lends his tones to Diego The film was directed by Carlos Saldanha who was codirector of the original Ice Age movie

Ice Age The Meltdown A Mothers Review
While many kids movies are too insipid for adults to really enjoy and some family films have so much that is over the childrens heads that they cant really appreciate it Ice Age The Meltdown finds an appropriate balance It kept the kids enthralled while entertaining the adults Unlike Clifford or Heffalump I was not peering into the darkness at my watch waiting for time to pass more quickly best movies,best songs,bollywood movies,buy movies,celebrity movie archive,comedy movies,download free movies,download songs,dvd movies for sale,free movie downloads,free mp3 download,hollywood movies,movie downloads,movie reviews,video clips

The film is wellpaced and snappy with constant fun excitement and humor

Despite the PG rating I took my somewhat timid 4 ½ year old daughter to see The Meltdown in theaters Lest you think I am generally permissive let me assure you that this was her first PG movie After speaking with several friends who had already seen it we decided it was appropriate fare She loved the movie laughing consistently Although she did find some scenes scary nothing was fearsome enough for her to hide her eyes or provoke nightmares or problems later One of her bolder friends later pronounced the whole Ice Age Meltdown movie hysterical and denied that there had even been tensionfilled parts So whether your child is bold or more tentative this is probably appropriate viewing especially if you wait for it to come to DVD
Must See Christmas Movies
MoviesThe holidays offer plenty of mustsee Christmas movies Whether you set aside an evening to watch a couple or you view a number of them over the course of the holidays you have many choices The following five are movies that should be in your Christmas watching repertoire

Elf
Will Ferrell stars as Buddy the Elf who finds out that he is adopted and a human being living in a world of Christmas elves Buddy learns that his real father lives in New York City and is on the naughty list Buddy then leaves the comfort of the North Pole to find his real father in a quest that has him discover the real world fall in love and see how the Christmas spirit isnt alive anymore

This must see Christmas movie is silly and cute at the same time Any age will enjoy Elf because there are all kinds of jokes from oneliners to slapstick to grossouts like an elongated burp

Christmas Movie

If you have to have one classic to watch at Christmas make it A Christmas Story Ralph is a kid with a mission to receive the Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas Everyone is against him offering the proclamation Youll shoot your eye out Ralph narrates the movie as an adult looking back on the time as a coming of age that year He goes against bullies defies his parents and even has to take Santas foot in the face as he tries to make everyone understand that he wont shoot his eye out

This movie is on TV every year and some stations even run a 24hour marathon on certain days in December You should definitely own the special edition DVD with bloopers and commentaries worth watching and listening to

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
This mustsee Christmas movie is probably Chevy Chases most memorable movie He plays Clark Griswold who wants to give his family the best Christmas ever by surprising them with a pool for the summer He was going to use his bonus money from work to buy the pool but his boss decides not to give bonuses Clark also wants the best decorated house and has to deal with a negative family intrusive neighbors one played by Julia LouisDreyfuss and his own clumsy self

Chevy Chase is known for slapstick comedy and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation utilizes that talent to the fullest The best part which audiences will enjoy is that Clark Griswold is clueless to his ineptness which makes each act even funnier

Jingle All the Way
Next to Kindergarten Cop Jingle All the Way is Arnold Schwarzeneggers other funny movie He plays a mattress company owner whose son wants the hardtofind toy Turboman According to his wife he should have gotten it months before but he forgot and on Christmas Eve he is on a quest to find this toy Of course all the stores are sold out

If youve ever had to search for a most wanted toy for your child for Christmas youd enjoy this movie Youd also like this movie if you have worked in retail because youd understand the motivations of people when they are in desperation Schwarzenegger goes through endless links to locate Turboman He teams up with Sinbad tries to fend off Phil Hartman a oneupper who continually hits on his wife and tries to get his money back from buying a bootleg Turboman from Jim Belushi A great family movie because kids always want a hardtoget toy and you seem to want to get it for him or her

Miracle on 34th Street Modern Version
This remake of the original take the tale and just puts a modern spin on it All of the story elements are left intact especially the plight of Santa Clause Dylan McDermott plays a neighbor to two individuals The first is in charge of finding a new Santa Clause for her department store when her current one is found drunk She happens across the other neighbor and enlists him to do it Come to find out he is touting himself as the real Santa Clause and really only wants to convince very mature first neighbor that he is real He goes to trial and McDermott represents him
Peter Pan
MoviesBased on the novel by J M Barrie the animated story of Peter Pan has delighted children since 1953 Generations of children who dont want to grow up have longed to follow Peter and Tinkerbell in this most wonderful of family movies animated by Disney

Wendy and Nana Banished
The Darlings are preparing to go out for the evening and Mr Darling cannot find his cufflinks He goes into the nursery and is further annoyed by finding that the children are acting out the stories of Peter Pan that the oldest child Wendy has been telling them During the process they have drawn all over his last clean shirtfront and have hidden his cufflinks for gold treasure When Mr Darling trips over the dog Nana and everyone rushes to comfort her instead of him Mr Darling loses his temper and banishes the dog to the back garden and his oldest child to a room of her own Everyone is miserable but Mr Darling is not to be contradicted

Peter Pan Arrives
When the children are all tucked into their beds and the Darlings have gone out Peter Pan comes to the nursery He is looking for his shadow which Nana had snatched from him when he surreptitiously visited some time previously to hear Wendys stories When he hears that Wendy must grow up and move to her own room he talks her into going with him to Neverland Wendy refuses to leave her brothers behind so she John and Michael all join Peter as he teaches them to fly and leads them off to Neverland

Captain Hook Wants Vengeance
In Neverland Captain Hook is having a bad morning He greatly wants revenge because Peter cut off his hand and fed it to a crocodile The crocodile liked the hand so much that it now stalks Hook trying to eat more of him Suddenly one of the mates spies Peter standing with Wendy John and Michael on a cloud When Hook starts shooting the ships cannon at them Peter tells Tinkerbell to take the children back to the camp where the Lost Boys are Tinkerbell is jealous of Wendy and Peters devotion to her so she tricks the boys into firing rocks at Wendy in an attempt to knock her out of the sky Peter is furious and banishes Tinkerbell forever but Wendy intervenes and Peter changes the sentence to a weeks banishment Tinkerbell flies off in high dudgeon

Indian Hostages
John and Michael go with the Lost Boys to see the Indian encampment while Pan takes Wendy to the Mermaid Lagoon But the Indians sneak up and take the boys captive Usually this game ends with the boys being released but this time the Indian chief is furious over the disappearance of Princess Tiger Lily and he tells the boys that if she is not back by sundown he will burn them all at the stake

Peter and Wendy have seen Hooks jollyboat and they set the princess free Hook almost catches Peter but Wendy screams and saves him and then the crocodile arrives and sends Hook racing back to his ship in a panic Peter then takes Tiger Lily back to her father thus saving the Lost Boys and cementing an alliance with the Indians However Peters cavorting with Tiger Lily makes Wendy jealous and she determines to take her brothers and go home the next morning

Wendy Shanghaied
The pirates discover that Peter has banished Tinkerbell and Hook determines to use this to his advantage He sends Smee to kidnap her and tricks her into revealing Peters hideout And then Hook throws Tinkerbell into a glass lantern and leaves her caged there while he goes to wreak vengeance on Peter Pan At the hideout Wendy has convinced the Lost Boys to go home with her but Peter refuses to go As they leave the pirates snatch them and take them to the pirate ship Hook leaves a bomb for Peter who is sulking in a back room and does not see who leaves the beautifully wrapped gift

Hook Defeated By Peter Pan
Back at the ship Hook is insisting that the boys join his crew and Wendy tells the boys to wait for Peter will save them Hook laughs and tells Wendy of his plot Tinkerbell overhears and manages to escape from her cage in her panic to save her beloved Peter She arrives just in time to snatch the bomb out of his hands as it explodes Peter Pan searches for Tinkerbell in the wreckage of the hideout while Hook having heard the explosion sends Wendy to walk the plank There is shock when Wendy walks off the end of the plank and there is no following splash Peter appears and he and Hook engage in a swordfight which ends with Hook falling headlong into the sea where the crocodile is waiting for him He swims away in a panic never to menace the Lost Boys or Peter again
Movie Reviews for Cinderella
MoviesYou could be hardpressed to find a movie review for Cinderella that didnt praise Disneys ragstoriches story There are a few out there but most of us just get wrapped up in the tale of fairy godmothers magic and handsome princes that all work together to rescue us from the dull and even harsh realities of what life has left us after childhoods last embers burn out

The Cinderella Story
The original story was crafted in 1950 but Cinderella has been rereleased a few times since There have also been spinoffs of the story but the core fairy tale remains unchanged Cinderellas loving father passed away leaving her to take care of the whims of her selfish stepmother and two ugly wicked stepsisters

Viewer Comments Find Movie Reviews for Cinderella
Movie reviews for Cinderella range from sweet classic story to bull In reality its probably somewhere in the middle and quite honestly depends upon the viewers mindset at the time it is watched What you take away is all in what you sat down with to begin with and we dont mean popcorn and soda

Grade A
The optimists in some of us like to see this as a nice girl finishing first as one Yahoo reviewer put it In a ratrace world where everyone seems to have their own agenda whats wrong with a dream of a fairy godmother coming out of the woodwork to help us find our prince

Grade F
Yahoo coms movie critics were especially disgusted by the movie Overall it got a B grade but viewers tended to be put off by the lack of realism and gumption in it Why didnt Cinderella just get up and leave to start a life of her own Why did she depend on her dreams to appease her and her fairy godmother and a few mice to help her out of her predicament

From a Parents Perspective
Since its rated G kids wont be hearing any bad words or seeing any nudity or alcohol drug use Its recommended for ages six and up but honestly if a fouryearold will sit still long enough to watch they should be fine in the audience as well There may be some issues to discuss once the movie is over Here are a few ideas

Blended families and what they mean they arent all bad
Getting yourself out of a bad situation instead of waiting for someone to rescue you aka a fairy godmother
Marriage and what it means for the people involved the key to life is not always to find a rich man and expect that to make you live happily ever after
The wishes the child would grant or want granted if a fairy godmother were real
Good and evil people arent always what you think they are based on their outward appearances
Even a fairy tale can be educational whether you see the lessons in the movie as right or wrong

At the End of the Day
At the end of the day when the clock strikes midnight and youre done devouring the movie there are definite pros and cons to consider Its still a lovely story that inspires hope gives us a little magic and a brief escape and touches our hearts Little girls can see that when things get tough theres a light at the end of the tunnel or in this case a glass slipper at the end of the night

However the ideas that pretty equals good and ugly equals wicked could go without being reinforced as could the negative vibe about blended families becoming the equivalent of unhappiness Also the old story doesnt ring as true as it probably did before modern audiences probably do wonder frequently Why didnt she just leave get an apartment a job a puppy And why is she teaching our girls to sit and dream instead of taking control of the future Is finding a significant other really the only way to happiness

If youre debating on whether to show your children the movie youll have to decide for yourself the morals and ideas to take away from it What will your children learn in the end If theyre old enough you could sit down with them and discuss the outcomes from hope and dreams to the fortitude that removes you from a bad situation

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