Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (DVD)

Bagdasarian, Jr., R., Karman, J. (Producers), Thomas, B. (Director), Vitti, J., Aibel, J., & Berger, G. (Writers). (2010). Alvin and the chipmunks: The squeakquel [DVD]. Beverly Hills, CA: 20th Century Fox Entertainment.

Interest Level: Ages 8 to 14
Rating: PG
Running Time: 89 minutes
Subjects/Themes: Family, Chipmunks, Talking Animals, High School,

Plot: The movie starts with Alvin and the Chipmunks playing at a benefit concert in Paris where Dave, their guardian, gets injured.  Dave is forced to recover in Paris while the Chipmunks go ahead home where Aunt Janice is suppose to take care of them.  Unfortunately Aunt Janice also meets with an accident and her grandson, Toby, ends up taking care of the Chipmunks instead.  The Chipmunks start school for the first time and end up having to deal with some bullies.  Alvin's desire to be popular starts to drive the brothers apart.  Meanwhile the Chipmunks old enemy Ethan signs the Chipettes and wants to use them to get back at the Chipmunks.  The two groups end up falling for one another.  Ethan puts the Chipettes in a cage and plans to force them to perform for him.  Alvin goes to their rescue and the two groups perform together in a musical competition to save the school's music program.

Personal Thoughts: Alright I'm a chipmunk fan from way back.  I think the squeaky remakes of popular songs is awesome rather than annoying.  If you can't stand the squeakiness you probably can't stand this movie.  But for tweens who love talking animals, this is another movie they'll probably enjoy.  The Chipmunks have to deal with bullies and the issue of choosing popularity or choosing to stand by your family.  The fighting between the chipmunks is fighting that you could see among any group of siblings or friends.  Alvin doesn't seem to realize the importance of his family until after he misses the song competition and let's his brothers down.  Learning from his mistakes, Alvin understands what he did and makes up for it.  Some popular songs that are featured in the movie include "All the Single Ladies," "You Spin Me Round (like a record)," and "Shake Your Groove Thing."

Prequel: Alvin and the Chipmunks (2008)

Awards/Recognition:
Kids' Choice Award Winner for Favorite Movie (2010)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (DVD)

Heyman, D. (Producer), Newell, M. (Director), & Kloves, S. (Writer). Harry Potter and the goblet of fire [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video.

Interest Level: Ages 13 to 18
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 157 minutes
Subjects/Themes: Wizards, School, Magic, Competitions, Friendship, Good vs Evil, Fantasy 

Plot: Based on the fourth book of the popular Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.  The story picks up right before the start of the new school year.  Harry is having nightmares about Voldomort and his minions.  Harry attends the World Quidditch Cup with his friends where they set up a campsite with the other spectators.  Death Eaters, Voldomort's followers, attack the camp and destroy everything.  At school, the students are surprised by the announcement of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, which is a competition between three wizarding schools.  Harry's name is chosen by the magical goblet even though a Hogwarts champion was already chosen and Harry is too young to compete.  Harry and the other champions have to face a number of challenges that will test their minds, magic and physical abilities.  These challenges prove to be almost deadly and in the past champions have died.  Eventually Harry and Cedric, the other Hogwarts champion, make it to the final and choose to win the competition together.  This proves deadly as the finish line was a magical booby trap with Voldomort's followers waiting for them and they kill Cedric.  They use Harry's blood as well as other items to create a body for Voldomort.  Harry barely manages to escape with Cedric's body and returns to school to warn everyone that Voldomort has returned.     

Personal Thoughts: The movie is well made and stays close to the main storyline found in the book.  The graphics and special effects are almost flawless and serve to make the Harry's magical world a very believable one.  This volume of the Harry Potter series has a darker tone too it and this is also reflected in the look and feel of the graphics.  Characters are being killed and Voldomort is growing in power.  Harry's relationships with his friends are also getting stress as a result of all the different things going on.  We really start to see the characters grow up in this movie as they deal with more grown up issues in grown up ways.  Unlike the early parts of the Harry Potter series, which to me are beign enough for younger tweens, this is the part in the series where things start to become more violent, dark, and depressing to some degree and you may want to wait to show the rest of the series to til the viewer is a little older.  The previous DVDs inthe series were rated PG.  This is the first in the series that was rated PG-13 so parents should be aware of that and take proper consideration.

Movie Note: Part 4 of the Harry Potter Series
Prequel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2007)
Sequel: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Awards/Recognition:

Academy Award for Best Art Direction [Nomination] (2005)

Teen Choice Awards - Choice Movie Drama Winner (2006)

BAFTA Award for Best Production Design Winner (2005)
Kids' Choice Awards - Blimp Award Winner for Favorite Movie (2006)

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (DVD)

Lafferttty, K., Sacks, A. (Producer), & Hoen, P. (Director). (2006). Camp rock 2: The final jam [DVD]. United States: Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

Interest Level: Ages 10 to 18
Rating: G
Running Time: 94 minutes
Subjects/Themes: Friendship, Musical, Summer Camp, Singing, Rock Stars

Plot: The Camp Rockers return to summer camp for another year of sharpening their musical skills.  They learn that Star Camp, run by a rival owner, has opened on the other side of the lake. Some of the campers and camp conselours are lured away by the money and by the luxery of the other camp.  The returning campers volunteer to act as substitute consulors in order to prevent the camp from closing.  The two camps challenge one another to a televised rock performance competition where voters will decide the winner.  It is expected that the losing camp will close forever as a result of the bad publicity.  When Camp Rock loses the competition, they find out instead that campers would rather go to Camp Rock since they know how to have the most fun.

Personal Thoughts: A sequel to Camp Rock, this movie follows much of the same format as the first.  There are a lot of singing and dance scenes.  Mitchie (Demi Lovato) and Shane (Joe Jonas) are struggling to balance learning more about one another and helping out at the camp.  Nate (Nick Jonas) and Dana, the daughter of Camp Star's owner, end up falling in love.  Mitchie ends up trying to run the camp more like a workplace and starts taking the fun out of all the activities.  In the end her friends help her out and the harmony of the camp is restored.  This movie teaches teens to remember to have fun and not stress out so much.  Also the romances in the movie stress the importance of learning about one another's likes and dislikes and searching beyond the surface.  A Must See movie for tweens and teens who enjoyed the first movie.    

Prequel: Camp Rock (2008);

Similar Movies: High School Musical (2006) [My Review]; High School Musical 2 (2007); and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008);

Fruits Basket (Anime Cartoon)

Daichi, A, & Miyazaki, N. (Directors). (2001). Fruits Basket [DVD]. Tokyo, Japan: FUNImation Entertainment.

Takaya, N. (1999). Fruits basket. Los Angeles, CA: Tokyopop. Vol. 1 ISBN: 9781591826033

Interest Level: 10 to 18
Subjects/Themes: Shojo Manga, Anime, Friendship, Orphans, Fantasy, Romance
Running Time: 26 episodes; 21 minutes each
Rating: Unrated

Plot: After her mother's death, Tohru Honda begins living in a tent in the woods in order to stay in school while her grandfather's house is being remodeled.  She also works part-time cleaning office buildings in order to pay for her tuition.  She had promised her mother that she would finish school no matter what.  Yuki Sohma, the most popular guy in her high school, discovers Yuki's living conditions and invites her to live with him and his cousins.  In return for room and board, Tohru cooks and cleans the house.  Unfortunately, the Sohma family is cursed.  As a result of the curse they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac when under extreme stress or when hugged by the opposite sex as Tohru quickly finds out.  Tohru promises to keep their secret.  If Tohru fails in some way, then the head of the Sohma family will demand that her memory and therefore her firendship with the Sohma family be permently erased.      

Personal Thoughts: This anime is extremely uplifting as well as being sweetly sad.  The characters are dealing with inner turmoil and trying to make the best of life.  Tohru is an extremely uplifting personality, without being stupidly naive or fake.  She's mourning her mother's death, struggling to find her identity, and despite everything trying to do what's right.  Throughout the series different themes about self-identity, bullying, standing up for yourself, speaking your mind, and friendship are explored.  The boys in the series are strong academic as well as martial art students.  The Sohma family is full of dark secrets, most of which are only hinted at during the story.

Notes: This review is based mostly on the anime series and not the manga series.  The anime is closely based on the first eight volumes of the manga series.  The manga series has 23 volumes total.

Awards (for Manga version):
Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category (2001)
American Anime Awards "Best Manga" (2007)
Animage Anime Grand Prix Award (2001)

Similar Materials: Sailor Moon cartoon series; Tokyo Mew Mew manga series;

Bee Smart Baby Vocabulary Builder (DVD)

Baby Bumble Bee. (2002). Bee smart baby vocabulary builder: Volume 1 [DVD]. Crystal Beach, FL: Educational Products for Infancy.

Interest Level: 3 & under
Subjects/Themes: Phonics, Sign Language, Foreign Languages, Vehicles, Animals, Anatomy, Everyday Items 
Running Time: 30 minutes + 6 minute Sign Langauge Lesson
Price: $25 (individual DVD) or $130 for the full set with flashcards

Plot:  Children are introduced to different items through a series of pictures, video, text and sound.  Different words that relate items that a baby would come in contact with are introduced such as vehicles, animals, body parts, and everyday items.  The same DVD can be played in English, German, Spanish, French, or Japanese.  Also included is a 6 minute Sign Langauge lesson that introduces some everyday concepts.   

Personal Thoughts:  The DVD is meant for use as a digital lapsit tool with the parent or caregiver present during viewing.  Explained during the opening credits, this so that children can pick up on a parent's enthusiasm and mimic their actions.  One bonus feature includes an animal sound identification game.  Well made graphics and video combined with developmentally appropriate concepts make this DVD a good digital learning resource.  Unfortunately the DVD set price is extremely high for a family with a new baby.  I suggest you make your own flashcards (which is really the extra item your paying for) and borrowing a copy from your local library like I did. 

Company Website: Baby Bumble Bee Website

Baby Einstein Series (DVD)

Walt Disney Home Entertainment. (2007). Baby Einstein: My first signs, see and sign with baby [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

Interest Level: 5 & under
Subjects/Themes: Word Recognition, Everyday Items, Sign Language, Opposites
Running Time: 30 minutes
Price: $12 to $16

Plot:  Join special guest Marlee Matlin and the Baby Einstein puppets as they learn 20 common phrases and words in a combination of American Sign Language (ASL) and Conceptually Accurate Signed English.  New signs are introduced in a way that relates to the baby’s everyday surroundings for example signs that relate to family, eating, and playing.  The words for each item is both spoken, signed, and written on the screen.   

Personal Thoughts:  Check out your local library for a copy of this DVD because it is an exceptional digital learning tool for young children.  Transitions from one concept to the next is smoothly accomplished.  The puppets, people, and graphics in the movie are all happy and entertaining to watch.  There is several bonus features that go over the different signs that were introduced in the DVD, such as an opposites feature.  A great tool for use by children alone or with a parent. 

Awards:
NAPPA Gold Award (2007)
National Parenting Center Seal of Approval Award (2007)

Company Website: Baby Einstein Website

Baby Road Trip Series (DVD)

Blue Mountain Arts. (2006). Baby road trip: Circus [DVD]. New York, NY: Baby Road Trip.

Interest Level: 3 & under
Subjects/Themes: Word Recognition, Shapes, Colors, Circus,
Running Time: 30 minutes
Price: $8 to $15

Plot:  Children join Scout the Dog and Road Trip Ryan as they learn about the circus.  Children are introduced to the different people, animals, and things that children would see at the circus.  Shapes, with the names written on the screen, are introduced to with circues animals.  The images are composed of a stream of graphics, clay animation, and live videos that all relate to the circus theme.  A portion of the profits from DVD sales are donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Personal Thoughts:  I borrowed this DVD from my local library (always a good resource for learning DVDs).  The strength of this DVD is the live video representations of the circus concepts, such as acrobats and trapeze artists, which can be hard for children to understand using picture books.  A good alternative to taking a child to the circus or in preparation to go to one.  The weakness of this DVD is the lack of audio pronunciation accompanying the shapes names which would go a long way to helping children with word recognition.  There is a bonus feature that shows a picture of each concept with its name written and spoken which almost serves as a better learning device then the movie itself.  Not one of my favorite learning DVDs but still useful as a circus learning tool.

Awards:
Parenting Magazine's Pick of the Month (July 2004)
Dr. Toy Award
NAPPA Award
iParenting Media Award
Creative Child Award

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (DVD)

produced by Leslie, E., Donner, L., (Producers), Weitz, P. (Director & Writer), & Helgeland, B. (Writer). (2010). Cirque du freak: The vampire's assistant [DVD]. Universal City, CA: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Interest Level: Ages 13 to 18
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 109 minutes
Subjects/Themes: Friendship, Vampires, Freaks, Horror

Plot: Darren and Steve go to a freak show where they meet Larten, a vampire.  Steve begs Larten to make him one of them but Larten refuses.  Meanwhile, Darren steals Larten's poisonous spider, Octa.  After Octa bites Steve, Darren becomes Larten's apprentice, a half vampire, in order to get an antidote for Steve.  This means that Darren must fake his death and leave his family in order to learn how to control his powers.  Mr. Tiny finds the grieving Steve and turns him into a different kind of vampire, the kind that kills to feed.  Mr. Tiny sets events in motion to start a war between the two kinds of vampires by pitting the two friends against one another.

Personal Thoughts: This movie is based on the first two books in the Cirque du Freak Series by Darren Shan.  The movie is rated PG-13 for the violent actions scenes, disturbing images (in one scene Darren has his neck snapped in order to fake his death), and some language.  Possibly a good vampire movie for those who wanted more action and less of a love story than what was found in the Twilight movies.  The movie has a dark and deadly feel throughout, full of shadows and mist.  There are themes of friendship and not judging people by what they look like.  Suggested for older tweens and teens.  If they like the movie then they'll probably be reaching for the next book in the series to see what happens next.  While there was a lot going on in the movie, there was still a lot of unfinished business.  No wonder though since there are ten more books that follow the first two.  

 

Author's Website: Darren Shan Website

High School Musical (DVD)

Schain, D. (Producer), Ortega, K. (Director), & Barsocchini, P. (Writer). (2006). High school musical [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

Interest Level: Ages 8 to 18
Rating: G
Running Time: 98 minutes
Subjects/Themes: High School, Friendship, Cliques, Athletes, Musical,

Plot: Troy, a high school basketball star, and Gabriella, an academic genius, meet on New Year's Eve and perform a karaoke duet.  A week later they meet again at school where Gabriella is new.  The friendship that they started on New Year's Eve continues and they end up auditioning for the school musical to the shock of all their friends.  Their friends want don't want either of them wasting their time on the musical and try and sabotage their relationship.  Meanwhile Sharpay and Ryan, the top drama students, are also out to stop them. 

Personal Thoughts: This is a corny but great movie.  The acting is way over the top.  The characters and cliques are exaggerated.  And yet it totally works.  Which is probably why there are two sequels.  The songs are cute and catchy.  There are also some good themes relating to friendship, expectations, and peer pressure.  I really liked the "status quo" song about not doing only what everyone expects of you.  Troy and Gabriella start a revolution in their school by being the first to do the unexpected and what they love to do.  A Must See Movie for tweens and teens of all ages.     

Sequel: High School Musical 2 (2007); and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008);

Cats & Dogs (DVD)

Lazar, A., DeFaria, C., Zide, W., Perry, C. (Producers), Guterman, L. (Director), Requa, J., & Ficarra, G. (Writers). (2001). Cats & Dogs [DVD]. United States: Warner Home Video.

Interest Level: Ages 6 to 13
Rating: PG
Running Time: 87 minutes
Subjects/Themes: Secret Agents, Scientists, Action/Adventure, Comedy, Family, Pets

Plot: The secret war between cats and dogs is explained.  Professor Brody is trying to create a cure to his dog allergy.  Cats, in an attempt to take over the world, are trying to steal the formula.  Mr. Tinkles, the leader of the cats, plans on changing the serum in order to make all humans allergic to dogs.  Lou, a beagle puppy, accidentally takes the place of a trained dog agent as the Brody families new pet.  Now its up to Lou with the help of some trained agents to protect the family and the serum from Mr. Tinkles and his evil cats.

Personal Thoughts: The movie was given a rating of 5.2 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database. I personally liked this as a movie to watch at home with the family, but I don't think I would of been as happy to pay to watch it in the theater.  It was funny enough for adults and of course talking animal movies are usually a hit with most children.  The addition of secret agent devices and action scenes with a hint of comedy keeps the movie interesting.  The movie has some good themes about friendship, family, and choosing to do the right thing.  I expect some renewed interest in this title as the sequel was just released in July 2010.     

Sequel: Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)

Winnie the Pooh's ABCs: Discovering letters and words (DVD)

Walt Disney Home Entertainment. (2004). Winnie the Pooh, ABC's: Discovering letters and words [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

Interest Level: 5 & under
Subjects/Themes: Rhyming Sounds, Word Recognition, Upper & Lowercase Letter Writing
Running Time: 30 minutes
Price: $15

Plot: Winnie the Pooh learns that a song can be the same a rhymes.  Christopher Robin teaches Pooh what rhymes are while Pooh picks out the different rhyming sounds.  Pooh wants to share Christopher Robin's book of rhymes with the rest of his friends but the pages accidentally get scattered in the wind.  Follow Winnie the Pooh and friends as they put the book of rhymes back together.   

Personal Thoughts:  For those children who love Disney characters and those parents who would like them to have a little education with their entertainment.  I would say this DVD is about 60% entertainment and only 40% educational.  Children learn about rhyming sounds, are encouraged to write things down so that they can be shared or remembered later, and how to write certain letters.  A nice feature which help strengthen word recognition is when Christopher Robin's finger going from word to word as the book of rhymes is being read as well as rhyming words being highlighted as Pooh identifies them.  There is a bonus feature available that teaches children how to write each letter of the alphabet in both upper and lower case forms. The animation is of the high quality typical of Disney animation.

Leap Frog (DVD) - Talking Words Factory 2. Code word caper

Johnson, B., Gleason, T., Ross, M. (Producers), Smith, R. (Director), & Young, M. (Writer). (2004). Talking Words Factory 2. Code word caper [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video.

Interest Level: 5 & under
Subjects/Themes: Word Building, Silent 'E', Letter & Word Sounds, Emergent Reading
Running Time: 35 minutes
Price: $12 to $15

Plot: Follow three frog/child-like characters as they explore the “complex word complex” and solve word puzzles in order to get Mr. Weberly his voice back.  Children learn how to use a silent ‘E,’ how to recognize long vowel sounds, how to blend consonants, and how to blend vowels. Children also learn to build words using the sounds as well as to read words by sounding them out.

Personal Thoughts: Leap Frog has become a popular name brand for educational children's toys, but this is my first experience with any of their items. I checked out the Leap Frog DVDs for free at my local library. If yours doesn't have them, then definitely suggest it to them as it will make an educational and entertaining addition to the collection.  The animation is bright and of high quality.  Short songs can be found throughout the cartoon that help children learn word building rules.  My favorite was “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking” to help children remember that you use long E when sounding out the word “team” while the ‘A’ stays silent.  I recommend this DVD as a tool to help children develop their early literacy skills.

Company Website: http://shop.leapfrog.com/leapfrog/

Zooper Phonics (DVD)

Babyscapes. (2004). ZOOper phonics: Teaching your child letter sounds [DVD]. Las Vegas, NV.

Interest Level: Ages 3 & under
Genre: DVD
Subjects/Themes: Letter Sounds, Animal Names, Word Recognition, Phonics

DVD Content: Children go through the letters of the alphabet one at a time learning their sounds.  For each letter an animal is presented that can be associated with the letter, such as 'a' and 'alligator.'  Each letter and animal pair is present for a minute each where the letter, sound and animal name is being repeated.

Personal Thoughts: This is a very very simple DVD.  The packaging says for 2 to 5 years olds, but I would suggest the material is more appropriate for children ages 3 and under.  The DVD runs more like a screensaver and could probably do well playing in the background as a child is playing with other toys.  On its own the repeatativeness and animation do not do much to hold a child's attention.  The 3D computer generated animals are cute and tend to wander about without direction or purpose.  Not one of my favorite children's DVDs for learning letters, I would suggest taking a look at Disney's Learning Adventures series or the Leap Frog DVD series 3 to 5 year olds instead. 

Bear Snores On! (Book & DVD)

Wilson, K. (2002). Bear snores on. New York, NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Lee, L. (Executive Producer), Gagne, P., Hirsch, K., Page, M., Schindel, M. (Producers), Cohen, S., Corra, L., Reilly, M. (Producer/directors), & Tercek, K. (Director). (2005). Bear snores on: and more stories to celebrate the seasons [DVD]. New York, NY: Weston Woods studio.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Bears, Hibernation, Seasons,

Plot: Bear sleeps soundly in his cave while one by one different animals crawl in from the snow and throw a party. Everyone is having fun until Bear unexpectedly wakes up and is upset that they were having a party without him. Bear finally joins the party and stays awake until dawn and finds that all of his friends have fallen asleep.

Personal Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books to tell at storytime. The rhyming text is wonderfully suited for reading aloud and offers a variety of opportunities to mimic the different animal’s voices. The acrylic painting illustrations wonderfully depict the softness of the animals, the cold snow outside, and the warmth inside. Children love to gnarl, snarl, roar and snore with the bear.

You can also find this book on DVD. The DVD is wonderfully read in a nice slow tempo by the author Karma Wilson. The same types of illustrations are used from the book mixed with a small amount of stop and go animation. The DVD also contains the stories: Waiting for wings by Lois Ehlert; Come on, rain! by Karen Hesse; Snow cat by Dayal Kaur Khalsa; and Time of wonder by Robert McCloskey.

Other Books in the Series: Bear wants more (2003); Bear feels scared (2008); Bear feels sick (2007); Bear stays up for Christmas (2004); & Bear’s new friend (2006).

Author’s Website: http://www.karmawilson.com/