Movies to Celebrate the Life and Work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on January 13, 2011 at 3:56 pm

This weekend we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King and every family should take time to talk about this great American leader and hero of the Civil Rights Movement. There are outstanding films for all ages.

Every family should watch the magnificent movie Boycott, starring Jeffrey Wright as Dr. King, and should study the history of the Montgomery bus boycott that changed the world. This website has video interviews with the people who were there. This newspaper article describes Dr. King’s meeting with the bus line officials. It is important to note that he was not asking for complete desegregation; that seemed too unrealistic a goal. And this website has assembled teaching materials, including the modest reminder to the boycotters once segregation had been ruled unconstitutional that they should “demonstrate calm dignity,” “pray for guidance,” and refrain from boasting or bragging. Families should also read They Walked To Freedom 1955-1956: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Paul Winfield has the lead in King, a brilliant and meticulously researched NBC miniseries co-starring Cecily Tyson that covers King’s entire career.

The Long Walk Home, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek, makes clear that the boycott was a reminder to black and white women of their rights and opportunities — and risk of change.

Citizen King is a PBS documentary with archival footage of Dr. King and his colleagues. Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have a Dream has his famous speech in full, still one of the most powerful moments in the history of oratory and one of the most meaningful moments in the history of freedom.

For children, Our Friend, Martin and Martin’s Big Words are a good introduction to Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement.

Change of Plans — Family Movie Night on FOX

Posted on January 6, 2011 at 8:00 am

The latest in the WalMart and P&G-sponsored Family Movie Night series is “Change of Plans,” starring “American Idol’s” Brooke White as a free-spirited singer married to an engineer and pilot (Joe Flanigan of “Stargate Atlantis”). When her one-time best friend, a Peace Corps volunteer, is killed, the couple find themselves guardians for her four children. They agree to suspend their casual lifestyle temporarily while a permanent home is found for them, but, well, there’s a change of plans.
White has a natural ease and sparkle on screen and the show gives her a chance to sing as well. The saga of children thrust upon carefree characters and a relationship that evolves from thinking of them as an inconvenience to thinking of them as family is a well-established one, but there are some nice moments and I especially liked the interactions with the children, three adopted from Guatemala, Uganda, and China. They bring their own cultures to the story (“football” means something different everywhere but America and African drums can work well in a pop song). Jayme Lynn Evans, who plays the oldest of the children, has some lovely moments as she moves from resentful caretaker of the younger kids to acknowledge her own vulnerability and sense of loss.
I really appreciate the commitment to movies that families can watch together and look forward to more.
Watch the trailer here and be entered to win a big-screen TV.

Change of Plans

Follow that Bird

Posted on December 26, 2010 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	1985
Date Released to DVD:	2009
Amazon.com ASIN:	B001MYIQMW

Celebrate the birthday of Caroll Spinney, the man behind (or, I should say, inside) Big Bird. 1985’s “Follow That Bird,” features all of the show’s favorite characters and an array of guest stars but focuses more on gentle humor and lessons of tolerance than letters and numbers.

A well-meaning social worker decides that Big Bird needs to be with “his own kind’ and packs him off to live with the Dodo family. But while they may have feathers and wings, they are not really “his own kind,” and he feels lost and alone. He decides to go back home where he can be with the friends who are his real family and has adventures along the way, including an encounter with the Sleaze Brothers, who want to paint him blue and put him on stage as the “Blue Bird of Happiness.” But all ends happily as he is reunited with the people who love him, who are truly “his own kind.”

Families who see this movie will want to talk about the many ways that families are created and about how we decide what “our own kind” really means.

Gulliver’s Travels: the Animated Feature

Posted on December 22, 2010 at 1:16 pm

In the early days of animation, Disney’s biggest rival was the studio run by the Fleischer brothers, whose Betty Boop, Popeye, and Out of the Inkwell cartoons were very popular. Their first feature, released in 1939, was “Gulliver’s Travels.” While it was not as innovative or successful as Disney’s “Snow White,” which came out two years earlier, it is still a charming and delightful film with comedy, romance, drama, and music. The release this week of the new Gulliver film starring Jack Black, has prompted a new DVD release of the film in An Ultimate Gulliver Collection.

In the book, Jonathan Swift’s satiric take on the political squabbles had his tiny characters fighting over the best way to crack an egg. In this version, the plans of the rulers of the adjoining kingdoms to untie their children and their lands in marriage is disrupted because of an equally silly dispute. Which of the two countries’ national anthems will play at the wedding?

“Gulliver’s Travels” is available online. I also have one copy of the new Ultimate Gulliver Collection DVD release to give away and it is truly special because it includes not only Fleischer’s Gulliver and seven more Fleischer studio cartoons but also the early anime film, “Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon” and the adorable four-minute Gulliver movie from George Melies, the magician who invented movie special effects back in the early days of the silent era. Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Gulliver” in the title, and I will pick a random winner on Boxing Day (that’s December 26).

The Night Before Christmas…and More Classic Holiday Tales

Posted on December 13, 2010 at 6:00 pm

My very favorite DVD series for families has a wonderful holiday treat: The Night Before Christmas…and More Classic Holiday Tales. Twelve beloved family classics come to life, including the Christmas stories “The Night Before Christmas,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “The Clown of God,” and “Great Joy.” The collection also features the Hannukah story, “In the Month of Kislev,” and a saga of the African American holiday, “Seven Candles for Kwanzaa.” As always with Scholastic, every story is beautifully animated and narrated. This is a true treasure. And I have one to give away to the first person who emails me at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Scholastic” in the subject line and tell me your favorite holiday song. Don’t forget your address!