Its time to watch Elf

Are you feeling a bit grinchy today?  I am.  I have a terrible sinus headache and its been raining all day.  I think the only cure for my current mood is a seriously funny Christmas movie, and I'm going with Elf.  Bob Newhart plays papa elf and is a perfect straight man for larger than life Will Farrell.  I wonder if maple syrup would taste as good on popcorn?
Buddy is an Elf, well he's really a human, but he was raised by elves.  He decides to journey from the North Pole to New York City to find his parents after he discovers he's really a human.  He finds his father and tries to fit into his family, but his quirky elf-like behavior makes life difficult for all until...wait for it....he saves Christmas!  I knew you'd be surprised by that ending.

Rated PG
Best coke chugging, 2 minute burp ever
Metacritic score: 61/100

Tis the season…for Christmas Movies!

Oh my, it is that time of year again isn’t it.  Dust off the kids Advent calendars’ and hang em up because tis December!   We can now spend a whole month telling our kids.

“No, today’s not Christmas, but its coming soon”

My plan to make it through this season is going to be distraction. 
“No, Santa isn’t arriving for 3 weeks, but tonight is the night we watch Elf, Yay!”

So, I’ll kick off the month of December with my favorite Christmas movie. Who knows, maybe I’ll come up with 25 of them.  It beats trying to get to the mall.

A Christmas Story – It doesn’t feel like Christmas to me until somebody tells Ralphie

“You’ll shoot your eye out kid.”

I adore this movie and though some moments may not be appropriate for 6 and under (the soft glow of electric sex comes to mind) I still think it’s a hilarious movie and my older child likes it (especially the lamp).  As with most movies that I treasure from my childhood, my kids to not find this movie to be nearly as interesting as I do.  Don’t expect your kids to have your tastes, but its also important to have traditions, right?  Midnight mass, Uncle Ernie’s curiously strong eggnog, or caroling could be yours.  Mine is A Christmas Story.

If you’ve never seen a Christmas story (my mother never had until a few years ago – where she was while I watched it I have no idea) Ralphie is a young boy who decides that what he really wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder bee bee gun.  He goes to great trouble to try and convince his parents and then Santa to get him one for Christmas, but every adult he tells his wish to tells him he’ll shoot his eye out.  The movie is set in the 1940’s and is beautifully narrated by Jean Sheppard.

Rated PG

Metacritic score 77/100

Great Movies for Cat Lovers

Writing my review for Puss in Boots made me think of our personal collection of cat movies.  My oldest child is a crazy cat lady in training.  So, as you can imagine, we have a nice collection of films starring felines.  You laugh now, but I bet your kids will like some of these too!

My Neighbor Totoro – This is probably the classiest movie on the list and the only movie with actual significance.  Totoro is a mythical cat and a beloved character in Japan.

The Aristocats – Part of the Disney post WWII rebuild, this is a movie that was put together on a shoestring budget using xerography.  The real fun is in the Jazz music.

Garfield – In the movie Zombieland, Bill Murray says his greatest regret is “I don’t know…Garfield?” then dies.  Which makes me laugh every time my kids pull this one out.  To them, its comedic gold…make that platinum. 

The Cat From Outer Space – Seriously, my oldest child’s favorite subjects of conversation have, for a long time, been cats and space.  So this movie is literally Nirvana for him.  What makes it even scarier is that this Disney flick was one of my favorites as a kid.  Yup, the nerdy apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Kiki’s Delivery Service – Oh Jiji, you are so wise!  Another Anime classic on my list, Kiki is a delivery witch with a rather sarcastic cat named Jiji.  Voiced for American audiences by Phil Hartman, it is an absolute treasure.

Shrek 2 – Forget Shrek, this movie was all about the feuding sidekicks!  In this goofy family’s opinion, Puss in Boots stole the show.  That adorable, big-eyed, kitty is not to be denied…you must see him!

Bolt – Bolt is cute enough in this, but Mittens is Awesome.  She is the smart, sarcastic, know it all kitty, and we love her.

If you have a cat kid in your family with a movie that I didn’t list, let me know!  We could use some new material for sure.  Don’t worry dog people; I’ll get to you soon.

Puss in Boots – In theaters now

If you fell in love with the big-eyed cat in Shrek 2 then this movie may have caught your eye.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that my kids have a thing for cats.  So, when they saw this trailer I knew I was going to be stuck seeing this one.  

We did see Puss in Boots.  I did manage to muscle past my complete exhaustion of interest in all things Shrek and give this an honest chance.  Despite the adorable main character, the hilarious comedic supporting cast (Zach Ga-la-func-i-whats his name, and Amy Sedaris), and the velvety voices of Antonio and Salma, this movie was long, convoluted, and at times dragging.   It was a weird stew of Puss in Boots, Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and the Beanstalk.   My favorite part was Humpty’s golden disguise; the sound effects to go with it were priceless.

Rated PG

Some crude language, violence, and litterbox humor.

Ages 6 and up

Metacritic score of 65/100

Ten Significant Family Films

     1.)  Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story was the first ever fully 3D Animated feature film.  3D Animation for special effects and shorts had been used for a while, but Pixar was the first to attempt an entire movie.  In total, the entire film required 800,000 machine hours and 114,240 frames of animation, with 2–15 hours spent per frame

2.)  Finding Nemo (2003)

Until Toy Story 3 Finding Nemo was the highest grossing G rated film of all time.  It won the Academy Award for best Animated Film.  It was not only a box office success, but also a success with critics and has won of the highest critic ratings for any animated movie.

3.)  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Snow White was the first Full-length animated film created by Walt Disney.  It won Walt Disney an Honorary Academy Award.  He was presented with a full size statue and seven miniature statues at the 1937 Academy Awards.

4.)  The Lion King (1994)

Record Breaking grosses and Academy Awards went to this movie, which is considered the best of Disney’s 2D Animated films during the Disney Renaissance.  It is the highest grossing hand drawn film of all time and won two Academy awards for its music.

5.)  Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella is so much a part of the American Vernacular that I consider it required viewing.  Yeah, not the best message for girls, so use it to jump start a conversation about relationships.  The movie restarted the Disney film business after WWII and received 3 Academy Award nominations.

6.)  The Wizard of Oz (1939)

If we are going to have required viewing, this is another I consider a must see.  The Wizard of Oz was the first full color feature film.  Nominated for 3 Academy Awards, this movie was not a success early on because of the years other major film, Gone With the Wind.

7.)  March of the Penguins (2005)

The difficulty of filming this French documentary on the south pole and the amazing story that it tells make this a great experience for kids and families.  What greater way to introduce the genre of documentaries to your kids than this Oscar winner.

8.)  My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

If you only see one Japanese Animated film, then I suggest this one.  Totoro is the Mickey Mouse of Japan.  Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki have created some of the most amazing 2D Animations to ever hit the big screen and have been a giant influence on the work at Disney and especially Pixar. 

9.)  101 Dalmations (1961)

The Invention of xerography made making 2D animation cells much faster and more economical.   Disney had to change after the flop of Sleeping Beauty and this is how they became a more efficient studio. Before, each cell frame was hand drawn at 24 frames per second of film, now they could copy by machine.  You will notice that the line work is very different in 101 Dalmations.  It is heavier and vibrates a bit.  I feel like lends to the story and the hideousness of Cruella in particular.

10.)   Shrek (2001)

This movie was 6-7 years in the making and pretty disastrously managed.  The movie is significant in the development of some amazing technology and facial animation techniques regardless of Jeffery Katzenberg.  One significant technique developed was Facial Phoneme Blending.  It made Shrek capable of enunciating syllables in a lifelike and highly exaggerated fashion.   Movies and videogames all use this method for facial animation now, but this was where it started. Shrek won the first ever Academy Award for Animated Feature film.

The Muppets – In Theaters now

So, I don’t love taking my kids to the theater.  It’s hard work and I think 6 is really when kids start to enjoy a movie theater, which is still about 2 years away for my youngest.  Still, there are certain movies I’m willing to make the effort for.  

When we began making plans for this Thanksgiving I decided part of the fun should be seeing the new Muppet film.  I admit, I doubt my kids were as excited as us “grownups”.  But Muppets have always been such a fun for the whole family type of entertainment, I was sure we would all enjoy ourselves.

The Muppets reunite to put on a show and save their theater and home.  So, the plot is thin, but wonderfully executed.  They have some great new songs. “Man or Muppet” and a version of Cee-lo Green’s “Forget You” sung by Gonzo’s Chickens had everyone laughing (I downloaded them too and were still laughing at the chickens).  Plus, they threw Kermit in a boat and did “Rainbows” for all us old saps. 

My kids had fun.  We adults were happy.  Mission Accomplished. 

Rated G

Suitable for all ages!

Metacritic score 76/100

DVD releases for Christmas 2011

The top two DVD releases so far for Christmas 2011 are Cars 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2.  Both are strong visual second films from both Pixar and Dreamworks.  I took my kids to see both of these movies over the summer and they enjoyed them both. 

Cars 2 - I don't happen to like the original Cars very much, I may just be completely sick of it because its been viewed by my kids a billion times.  Which may also be the case for the creators.  Cars 2 focuses more on the beloved side kick Mater from the original film.  It is a 007 - esque movie with a World Cup race that is going to be sabotaged if Mater and his new secret agent team can't put a stop to it.  Boys will love the new cars and lucky for you, they have lots of toys out to get them screaming in the aisles at Target.  

The theme of the original film (slow down and smell the roses) seems to have been thrown out and replaced with a new one, which I think was go fast, but don't forget about your friends.  No wait, maybe its: accept your friends for who they are?  In the original film the focus on the Americana and love of vehicles gave the visuals great depth and I hate that they scrapped that.  Nonetheless, the movie is beautiful to look at. 

This movie has a lot of guns and explosions.  It also has a lot of toilet humor and a scene in a Japanese bathroom that, well, your going to have to explain on the way home.

Rated G

Warning, not all G movies should be G.  Pixar seems to get away with this more than anyone.  When I have to explain 6 times in a movie if a car “died” or not to my four year old – it’s too violent for a G in my book.

Best for boys age 4 - 7

Metacritic score 57/100

Kung Fu Panda 2 – I went in to this movie not expecting a whole lot and was pleasantly surprised.  It is a darker, richer, and deeper movie than the original.  The visuals are so amazing I think my husband and I agreed it would be worth owning on Blue-Ray (not too many of those at our house, trust me). 

In the movie, Po and company learn that the murderous Lord Shen of Gongman City is creating a fearsome new weapon (large gun or canon) that could mean the end of kung fu. They attempt to stop him, but the Po crippled by fear and memories linked to this villain. Po must learn what really happened to his parents and find true inner peace.

Lots of Violence and the bad guy is making a super weapon.  Not a whole lot of crude humor, some hard themes for young children.  Adoption and Orphan discussions are very thoughtful in this film. 

Rated PG

Best for ages 6 and up  (Must admit I took my 4 year old, but he’s never liked anything age appropriate, so use your best judgment)

Metacritic score 72/100