Recess Monkey: Great Music for Kids and Their Families

Posted on July 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Seattle-based teachers-turned-music group Recess Monkey came to Washington DC to play at XM Radio and Jammin’ Java this week and I was lucky enough to see them perform before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of very excited kids and very happy parents.

Jack Forman, Andrew Holloway, and Daron Henry are three elementary school teachers who write songs based of their everyday interaction with kids and their equal passions for children and for tuneful pop. They know what kids care about most — when they will get a pet, when that tooth will fall out, what kind of backpack they need, and, of course, how many very, very silly jokes they can tell. One song is about a “Knocktopus,” an octopus who tells knock-knock jokes that are real groaners. The music is tuneful and catchy and the lyrics are witty and reassuring. Highly recommended!

Happy Birthday SpongeBob!

Posted on July 14, 2009 at 10:21 am

VH1 has a 10th birthday tribute to SpongeBob Suqarepants that premieres tonight.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

I like this tribute to SpongeBob’s innocence and sincerity. The Washington Post has an article about SpongeBob and the tribute.

So just how does a wide-eyed sponge who refuses to be snarky or cynical or topical win over the cable-wired world? How does it happen that, in Thompson’s words, the global “territory that had once been dominated by Mickey Mouse was now being rehabitated by SpongeBob SquarePants”?

Hillenburg — whose Nickelodeon office sign has read: “Have Fun or You’re Fired” — believes the success is anchored by SpongeBob’s sincerity and purity. Some businesses tout their Commitment to Excellence; Hillenburg and his creative team insist upon a Commitment to Innocence. “He’s an innocent who’s an oddball,” the creator says.

Partly, “I think ‘SpongeBob’ is born out of my love of Laurel and Hardy shorts,” says Hillenburg, citing the kidlike relationship between SpongeBob and sidekick Patrick the starfish as the show’s comedic core. “You’ve got that kind of idiot-buddy situation — that was a huge influence. SpongeBob was inspired by that kind of character: the Innocent — a la Stan Laurel.

This weekend, SpongeBob’s home network, Nickelodeon, will be running a 50-hour SpongeBob marathon, including the feature film and a top 10 list selected by the fans.

PBS Resource on Media for Parents

Posted on May 23, 2009 at 3:58 pm

PBS has an excellent online resource for parents about the way that media shapes children’s views of the world, with separate sections for preschoolers, grade schoolers, pre-teens and teens, with tips for each age to help children understand media and think about it more critically. It even has a parent guide to texting acronyms like G2G (got to go). Kids are not the only ones who can use some help with media!

Yo Gabba Gabba: New Friends

Posted on April 13, 2009 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Preschool
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	None

Has there ever been a more adorable television series than Yo Gabba Gabba? This week’s DVD pick of the Week is their latest release, “New Friends,” featuring guest star Jack Black. DJ Lance Rock, four friendly monsters and one robot play and sing in a colorful land full of music and laughter.

I have copies to give away to the first two people to send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Yo Gabba Gabba” in the subject line. Good luck!

Why is SpongeBob in a Sexy Commercial?

Posted on April 7, 2009 at 10:31 pm

What were they thinking? The latest Burger King ad for a Kids Meal featuring a SpongeBob Squarepants toy is a booty-shaking adaptation of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s famous musical salute to ladies’ rear ends. This is what the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has to say:

Nickelodeon and Burger King have reached a new low. They’ve partnered to produce a new, highly sexualized, ad for a Burger King SpongeBob SquarePants Kids Meal. The commercial, which ran during the men’s NCAA basketball championship last night, features The King singing a remix of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 1990’s hit song, “Baby Got Back” with the new lyrics, “I like square butts and I cannot lie.” The ad shows images of The King singing in front of women shaking their behinds for the camera intercut with images of SpongeBob dancing along. The King even measures the behind of one of the woman who has stuffed a phonebook under her dress. After the King informs children about the free SpongeBob toy they get with the purchase of a Burger King Kids Meal, the ad ends with Sir Mix-A-Lot, lounging on a couch with two female admirers, saying, “Booty is booty.”

It’s harmful enough when a beloved media icon advertises junk food to children, but it’s utterly reprehensible when SpongeBob simultaneously promotes the objectification of women through sexualized imagery.

If you find this ad campaign directed at children offensive, the easiest way to express your views is by sending an email to Nickelodeon and Burger King via CCFC’s website.