children’s movie

Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men VeggieTales Review

March 5, 2012 By Momstart 11 Comments

By Summer

I love the stories of Robin Hood; sure, the legends retold today expand the actual story of his life. There should be one of those disclaimers on Robin Hood movies “inspired by actual events”! But maybe that’s a stretch considering people know little of Robin of Locksley’s true “rebel life”, which is where his Merry Men come into play. Robin “the good Samaritan” and great archer hide out in the forest, but historians believe there were copycats acting in Robin Hood’s name. Anyways, as you may know cowardly Prince John had taken over England and was taxing people while his brother King Richard the Lionhearted was on crusade to Jerusalem. Well, Veggie Tales takes the name of Robin Hood and changes Robin’s name and story; Robin Hood was known for “stealing from the rich to give to the poor” but Robin Good fundraises in this Veggie Tales feature cartoon …

Bonus Short – Lenny and the Lost Birthday – It is a good little story about being special. My boys were not excited to watch it as they wanted to watch Robin Good. But it was a cute little story about a boy whose family and friends forget his birthday on March 1. Or did they? This little asparagus just wasn’t informed that it was a Leap Year! The Lesson: Remember how much God loves us.

The Silly Song with Larry – Bubble Wrap – When it’s moving day, you must wrap and unwrap! So why not rap about bubble wrap … what kid (or adult) doesn’t love popping those little plastic bubbles?!?

Feature – Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men – Robin Good fundraises for the rich to give to the poor. Prince John has a food tax and is greedy about his pork and won’t share with the citizens of Bethling-HAM. The Merry Men become not so merry and changed their ways from fundraising to stealing from Prince John. SPOILER ALERT: Prince John blames Robin for the missing hams, but when Robin escapes his guards Price John locks up the Sheriff in the dungeon of despair. The Merry Men also get locked up for being caught with the hams. Once Robin saves the Sheriff with a reminder of God’s love and the Merry Men repent, a giant breaks into the kingdom. With no help from cowering Prince John, Robin and the Merry Men save everyone. The Sheriff is declared the guardian of the city until King Richard returns. The Lesson: There is no hurt that is too big for God.

Verse of the Day – Psalm 55:22 – Give your burdens to God, and He will take care of you.

50 minutes long

My Mom Start Review Grade of Veggie Tales Robin Good on DVD: B+

Veggie Tales are worth purchasing. On Seattle TV, I know there used to be a channel that hosted their cartoons, but I can’t find it any more. I love the messages my children get from these Christian values cartoons. I like buying them and having them for at home viewing, but mostly for travel. When we travel our screen time rules go out the door (during the actual travel time in the car or plane), so having episodes is better for us than lots of long, non-educational movies. I enjoyed Robin Good and so did my sons (5YO and 2YO). I hope you like it too! This is a must add to your DVD library.

Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men is coming out Tuesday, March 6! If you want your own copy then preorder from Amazon for only $10.49, a 30% savings.

If you’re a Veggie Tales fan you can connect with them on Facebook.

A Sample was received.

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm.

Disney Junior Mickey Mouse ClubHouse Space Adventure Review

November 18, 2011 By Momstart 112 Comments

The star of one of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s newly released movies needs no introduction. He is an icon, the symbol of everything Disney, and the most beloved cartoon character of all time: Mickey Mouse! He has fans throughout the world and of all ages; even my youngest daughter before turning one, wanted her first birthday to be all about Mickey. So if you’ve never heard of Mickey Mouse, then you must be living on Mars!

And Mars is just where Mickey and his friends are off to in Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s newly released movie Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure. This 45 minute, full-length intergalactic adventure takes the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Daisy – into outer space to search for the ultimate space treasure. Geared for kids 2 to 5 years of age, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure invites young viewers to discover outer space and use their problem- solving skills while they watch. In this specific adventure, Mickey and pals head to space where they tour the Moon, Mars and the Rings of Saturn as well as meet new alien friends while on the hunt for a unique space treasure.

My daughters couldn’t wait to get the chance to watch this video when it arrived. My youngest daughter, now two and a half, watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Channel daily. This movie did not disappoint her one bit. It stays true to the television show’s objective which is intended to help children use specific age-appropriate problem solving skills, such as identifying shapes, counting, and memory in an entertaining way.

My older daughter, the kindergartner, is a huge Disney fan and has enjoyed just about every Disney movie she has seen. Well, maybe not the ones with scary parts, but that wasn’t an issue with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure. Space Pirate Pete is the only character up to no good, but before you know it even he becomes friends with the rest of the gang.

Both my daughters loved the special “treats” included with this DVD: a surprise, never-before-seen “Goofy’s Thinking Cap” episode and fun, glow-in-the-dark space-themed stickers! It’s an out-of-this-world package the kids won’t want to miss!

Released November 8, 2011 as a 2-Disc (DVD + Digital Copy) Combo Pack. Available online and at your favorite retail store. Suggested retail price $19.99 U.S./$24.99 Canada.

Disclosure – This product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, BusyWorkingMama.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

About Emily:

Emily is also very active in the local MOMS CLUB. She raises chickens and has 2 shih tzus. Her daughter Caitlyn attends Montessori school and she hates housecleaning, loves wine and enjoys dining out. She would love to find a cure for the depression and anxiety she has dealt with on and off over the past 10 years, just like me. She is an amazing mom and friend.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Children's DVD, children's movie, Disney Junior, DVD, giveaway, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure

The Littlest Angel Review

November 16, 2011 By Momstart 54 Comments

The Little Angel by Charles Tazewell has come out on DVD. Anchor Bay revamped this timeless classic just in time for Christmas buyers, but I don’t feel this DVD lives up to what Tazewell had in mind. Half the movie takes place on Earth and is based around The Littlest Angel preforming good deeds and around a circus; both of these areas didn’t seem to fit. I didn’t enjoy the movie, but I hadn’t read the book. After the watching The Littlest Angel I read Tazewell’s book and I really questioned the movie’s added storylines and actually ended up liking the movie less.

This Christmas, angel, “Christian”, heaven movie didn’t work for me because:

· Anger in Heaven – The Littlest Angel angers his teacher in heaven. There are other anger scenes in heaven in The Littlest Angel movie. They just don’t fit into heaven for me and don’t really have a place in Tazewell’s original short story. Though the short story includes sadness, which isn’t in heaven; somehow sadness and homesickness are “easier to swallow” than anger and frustration. Though I don’t agree with any of these emotions in heaven.

· Doing Good Deeds – In the movie, all angels have to preform 3 good deeds on Earth as an angel to get their official angel wings. Since good deeds don’t get people into heaven I didn’t think it fit for this angel story. These deeds stray from the Tazewell story and from Christianity.

· Talking Angel Animals – The movie offers The Littlest Angel a sidekick talking dog named Halo. I feel this was added to the movie to give children a fun animal to adore. My thought then is why the creators didn’t also add songs. The dog was another out of place character for me, as were all of the talking animals in the movie.

· Magic of the Halo – All angels seem to have this “super power” of controlling the visibility of their wings and controlling their halo. These props enabled The Littlest Angel to get out of the tight situations he found himself in on Earth retrieving his box.

· Logan, the Dumbest Angel – Why does this movie have to have this character? The one who is big and strong and defined as good looking. The humor wasn’t understood by my children and the teacher angel as snide and mean to him. Simply uncalled for.

Other than these three-fourths of the movie, I liked it. It is strange; all the portions of the movie I liked were the parts that kept true to Tazewell’s story. After not feeling right about the movie I had to hunt down the book at my local library as I wanted to find the similarities and differences to give an objective review. Spoiler Alert: The best part of The Littlest Angel movie is the same as the book, that God chooses the simple box full of simple treasurers from a humble boy from Earth and of man to be a heavenly gift to Jesus on his birth day.

My Mom Start Review Grade of The Littlest Angel DVD: D

If you’re interested on learning more about The Littlest Angel on DVD you can check out the movie’s site. The site offers Littlest Angel Coloring Sheets, and a Bible Study Littlest Angel Student Activity Guide and Leader’s Plans.

If you’re interested in owning The Littlest Angel on DVD you can buy it or we have a copy to giveaway, so enter below:

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Costana Hornbaker.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: children's movie, Click, giveaway, Littlest Angel, movie

NCircle Entertainment Chloe’s Closet Chloe’s Winter Wonderland

November 12, 2011 By Momstart 6 Comments

For us, it’s Winter (we skip fall) which means every day is movie day. Ok, we try really hard to not watch anything but with the rain and cold outside it’s really hard to feel like anything else. It’s just fun to put on a movie, get a cup of hot cocoa and watch something seasonal. NCircle has put out two fantastic wintery treats for us to watch as we come into the winter season. The first one was The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That Told from the Cold. The second one is Chloe’s Closet, Chloe’s Winter Wonderland. Just the box is enough to send Zoe into excited shrieks.

About Chloe’s Winter Wonderland

Meet Chloe, an adorable little girl with a great big imagination! Chloe discovers magical new worlds while playing dress-up. With each new costume she tries on, she goes on a fantastical journey with her best friends! Join them as they visit the land of ice and snow and embark on an anything-can-happen winter wonderland adventure!

Run Time: Approx. 35 minutes

We received samples that we are going to donate to The 2011 Seattle Tweet Drive.

Filed Under: Movie review, review Tagged With: children's movie, Chloe's Closet, Chloe's Winter Wonderland