Make Sure Your Kids are BRAVE before Venturing to See this Movie

Movie Review
I went to see the sneak preview of Brave in early June, so I've had a little time to think and reflect on it. The best way to describe this film is: Breathtaking, lifelike animation with a decent story that might be scary for small kids.

I went to see it with my husband, son, 8, and daughter, 5, and  didn't know a whole lot about the story.  From beginning to end, this film outdid itself with the animation. It was so lush, so gorgeous, so lifelike, parts felt like it was a non-animated film. It's really visually stunning.

But, because of that, parts of the film, in my opinion, might be scary for smaller kids, especially the large, growling, teeth-baring, paw-swiping bears featured prominently in the film.

The film follows the story of princess Merida, a  curly, red-haired girl who loves archery and horse riding and has no interest in doing things typically associated with princesses. Her father, King Fergus, lost his leg to a bear attack (said attack is the opening scene of the film; we do not see King Fergus' leg ripped off, thankfully). Since the "bear incident"--as I like to call it--the king loves hunting bears. Fergus would particularly like to finish off the bear who took his appendage. Queen Elinor, Merida's mother, wants Merida to marry a prince from one of the nearby tribes, in order to keep peace in the Kingdom.

Merida refuses, and during the resulting fight, the princess slashes a tapestry depicting the royal family, leaving her mother's depiction separated from the family's image. Merida then goes into the woods, where she meets a witch and asks the old hag for a formula to change her mother. Without even asking what the formula--tucked into a pastry--will do, Merida returns home and feeds the pastry to her mother.  Queen Elinor promptly turns into a bear. This is not good, given the King's hatred of bears.

Merida and her mother escape the castle, and try to find the witch. They learn through a message the witch left behind that Merida must "mend" what she has broken in order to return her mother to human form. If she can't complete the mend by the next sunrise, Elinor will remain a bear forever. Assuming she must mend the tapestry, Merida, with her mother in tow, returns to the castle to try to get the tapestry and reverse the spell.

Will it work? Well, it's a Disney Pixar flick, so I'm sure you can figure out the answer. Overall, the film is entertaining, but my 5-year-old was not particularly happy when the mother turned into a bear; she also looked quite disturbed when the bear queen turned on her daughter, growling menacingly at her (though this was a temporary thing; the bear queen quickly seemed to regain her senses).  There are also a couple of intense moments in the film. At one point, King Fergus tries to kill his wife -- refusing to believe his daughter's assertion that the bear is really queen Elinor. Also the queen bear fights with another of her grisly brethren (the near-rabid one who amputated Fergus) in a well-illustrated, very realistic battle scene.

In terms of just a movie-going experience for your average adult; this is a nice film. But, if going as a family, determine first if this kind of stuff will frighten your children before setting off to see BRAVE.

-Hyattsville Mom

P.S. Mick LaSalle from at the San Francisco wrote a review of BRAVE that somewhat captured some of the misgivings I felt when leaving the film. He notes: "Indeed, what are we to make of a movie about a teenage girl who poisons her mother? That's really what we're talking about here: The daughter gives her mother a poisoned cake that turns Mom into a bear. Furthermore, what are the unconscious impulses behind a story about a daughter, having committing this crime against Mom, then turning around and becoming Mom's greatest defender - even to the point of protecting Mom when Dad unknowingly wants to kill her?" Here's the link to the review: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2012%2F06%2F21%2FDDE11P4EPR.DTL

It Might be Worth Paddling to Madagascar to See this Flick!

Movie Review

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a great film for everyone in the family to see. It's funny, charming, entertaining and feel good, and I can't rave enough about it.

The movie finds our heroes trapped somewhere in Africa (we're assuming Algeria or Tunisia, otherwise what happens next doesn't make a lot of sense). The Penguins--those dear flightless birds--have flown away in their plane to Monte Carlo, with the plan of making some money gambling. The penguins are supposed to return with untold riches and fly our motley crew (Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo) to New York City.

Well, Alex fears the penguins aren't coming back and convinces the crew to swim--yes swim-- to Monte Carlo to find them (again, let's hope they swam from Northern Africa). That's where our fun begins. Our heroes and their penguin friends get caught in the crosshairs of an animal policewoman named Capt. Chantel DuBois. For some reason, Mme. DuBois is given free reign to hunt animals. In order to escape DuBois, Alex and the gang hide in a circus car.

The circus animals can't perform worth a hoot, but they have a chance to go to New York city if they can impress some bigwig when they perform their London show--just two stops away. So, as one would expect, Alex, Marty and the gang endeavor to help them get better, and succeed.

The movie is really funny and heartwarming. There's a hilarious side plot involving King Julien (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen) falling in love with the circus bear. And there's a great scary movie spoof in there that adults will totally adore, though it might sail over the kids' heads.  

Overall, this is a great flick. Nothing was particularly scary or frightening, so feel free to take the whole fam.

That's it for today. Have a great weekend!

-Hyattsville Mom

Book Tuesday: Poppleton & Friends

It's book Tuesday!

This is where I talk about books. No rules, except that I like it.  It can be adult or kid or new or old.

Today, it's one of my favorite books: Poppleton and Friends by Cynthia Rylant.  First of all, let me say, I don't think you can go wrong with a book written by Rylant. Her children's books are wonderful. I particularly love the Poppleton series.

It's a picture book, divided into three chapters. It's good for kids who have learned to read but aren't reading long chapter books. It's also great for parents to read to really young children.  Poppleton is an entire series, with Poppleton & Friends being the second book in the series.

I picked this book because it's the first Rylant book I ever read to one of my children. I just remember laughing hysterically while reading it and enjoying it so much, and having my son enjoy it so much.  Rylant's specialty is a perfect mix of heart warming and funny.

Like all Poppleton books, the chapters don't follow. They can be read as thee separate stories if you want. This is particularly good at bedtime, because you can just read one section and you're done, especially if it's already late and you don't have a lot of time left for story. The three chapters are: the Shore Day, Dry Skin and the Grapefruit.

Dry Skin is my favorite for funniness because it plays on so many things that adults get, but kids don't.  This story centers on Poppleton having dry skin. He calls his neighbor Cherry Sue for advice, and she says to put on some honey.  The next day, he calls her back and says the honey didn't help; it just made him want biscuits. Now,  of course, kids don't get that honey and biscuits are a Southern tradition, but I bust a gut at that. And the way the story ends, is just very funny, as it plays on a cartoon drawing custom that most people ignore. However, it's highlighted in such a funny way, it's delightful.

This is definitely a great book for kids, and the parents who read to them.  The only downside is she does not explain character relationships in this book. The first book explains Cherry Sue is Poppleton's neighbor and Hudson is his good friend. But, those can be overlooked, because it's so wonderful.

-Hyattsville Mom

Dolphin Tale Review and other weekend stuff

This is why, when I worked at a newspaper, all my headline suggestions were rejected! Uninspiring for a headline, but hey, something's gotta go there.

This weekend, there are lots of new movies coming out, including Dolphin Tale. I was able to see this and highly recommend it for families.

The film is the tale of Winter, a dolphin swimming near Florida's shores who gets tangled up in fishing ropes and nets. One of the ropes wraps around her, just above her tail, and eventually the tale has to be amputated. Eventually, with the help of Sawyer, the young boy who found her stranded on the beach, and a military prosthetic maker, Winter gets a new tail.

Clearly, this story is supposed to be heartwarming. And it is. The thing I liked most about the movie is it is sweet and heartwarming and touching without any gimmicks or things thrown in to make it super syrupy or forced. The two main human characters are the kids--Sawyer and Hazel--are both being raised by single parents. In sappier, crappier movies, filmmakers would try to force a love story between these adults. Doesn't happen in Dolphin Tale.  In the film, Sawyer finds out about the prosthetic maker when his favorite cousin returns wounded from Afghanistan. Now, a sappier, crappier movie might have made the cousin an amputee victim, but this one didn't. The guy was injured, but he still had all his limbs. However, he could relate to Winter.

The movie is based on a true story, and I think what makes it work is they kept true to that story instead of trying to Hollywood it up with gimmicks. This is a great story wonderfully acted and I think your whole family will enjoy it. The only warning I would offer is people with small children should go to the site http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ to see if there is anything they think might bother their child about the movie. It's a wonderful site that breaks down every possible scary or even mildly could-possibly-be disturbing thing. My 4-year-old loved the movie, but she was concerned a lot about the rope around the tail and how that caused the tail to "fall off." [I didn't really have the heart to correct her and tell her they cut it off.] So, definitely read that site's take on the movie, and make a decision if you have young or sensitive children.

As to other things, the Hyattsville Arts Festival is this weekend. That should be lots of fun if it's not too rainy. Other happenings are on the calendar.

That's about all for me. On Monday, I'll give you my take on the last week of All My Children. Feel free to share yours with me, if you like.

Have a great weekend!

-Hyattsville Mom

p.s. I just thought of another headline: Dolphin Tale: Not Sappy or Crappy?  What do you think?