Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

Posted on September 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Preschool
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Mild comic peril
Diversity Issues:	Different species of vegetable
Date Released to Theaters:	2002
Date Released to DVD:	2002
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00007M5J1

“Jonah’s” production company, Big Idea, promises “Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun,” and in my opinion they have more than delivered on both, with a series of videos that are right up there with the best in entertainment and humor and unsurpassed in communicating with kids about honesty, compassion, sharing, and kindness. Some of the videos are based on Bible stories and some are original, but all star computer-animated vegetables and all have gentle morals that create opportunities for families to talk to kids about the issues that matter most. Though Christian in origin, the values in the videos are universal. The references to God are explicit but non-denominational. However, crucifix imagery does feature in the film.

In their first theatrical release, Bob the Tomato and his friend are driving three veggie children to a concert when they meet up with perennial veggie favorites, the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. The Pirates tell the story of Jonah, a messenger who enjoyed delivering messages from God until God asked him to deliver one to a place he didn’t want to go to. So, he ended up swallowed by a whale. Fortunately, God believes in second chances, so Jonah ends up just fine and a little wiser, too.

The movie may be a little long for the youngest fans of the videos, who are used to a brisk 30 minutes, but kids five and up will be delighted with the fast, funny, and touching story. Parents even may find that it goes by quickly, because it has some of the funniest jokes of any movie this year, including those intended for adults.

Parents should know that the moments of peril are handled with such a light touch that they are unlikely to scare children. Jonah may be tossed into the water, but he is wearing a very reassuring ducky lifesaver ring, and the credits explain that no vegetables were hurt in the making of the movie.

Families who see the movie should talk about when we must be obedient and when we think for ourselves. Some parents may be uncomfortable with the references to God and the Bible, but they should use the opportunity to talk about their own spiritual views – and ask children about theirs.

Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy the Veggie Tales company’s latest creation, 3-2-1 Penguins, in Trouble on Planet Wait Your Turn and The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka. They may also want to try my favorite Veggie Tales video, The End of Silliness.

If the World Were a Village

Posted on September 8, 2009 at 7:31 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Very mild references to poverty
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	2009
Date Released to DVD:	September 8, 2009
Amazon.com ASIN:	1604800828

Based on David J. Smith’s best-selling and award-winning book If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People, this is an animated story about global culture that helps families understand our differences, our commonality, and our connections.

It asks us to imagine that the whole world had just 100 people. And then it tells us how many of that 100 would speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Bengali, how many would have running water, how many would be children and how many would be elderly, how many would have enough money for toys or food, how many would be able to read, and how many would be Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or Animist.

It may be difficult for young children to process all of the information, but this film is an excellent way to begin important discussions with children about how we fit into the world and how our lives compare with others. It is available in English, Spanish, and French, and now, because I have watched the film, I know which five other languages it would have to come in to be able to be understood by half the world.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Posted on September 7, 2009 at 8:00 am

Based on the book by based on the book by Mary Norton (also the author of The Borrowers,” Bedknobs and Broomsticks is the story of three Cockney children evacuated from London during WWII, who are placed with Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury), though she is reluctant to take them and insists it can only be temporary.
Miss Price is completing a correspondence course in witchcraft and has reached the level of “apprentice witch,” permitting her to fly on a broomstick. When she takes it out for a spin, the children see her, and, threatening to expose her, persuade her to let them into the magic. She then enchants the bedknob so that when it is twisted, it will take them wherever they want to go. When she receives word that the correspondence course has been canceled, she and the children go off together in search of the teacher, Professor Brown (David Tomlinson). He joins them, as they travel on the bed, first undersea and then to an island in another dimension, where the inhabitants are talking animals. On the island, they find the necklace containing the secret magic words they need for a spell to make intimate objects behave as though they were alive. Home again, they use that spell to fight off Nazi invaders. Afterward, Miss Price retires from witchcraft and Professor Brown joins the army, but it is clear they have become a family.

Many of the people behind “Mary Poppins” worked on this movie. While it does not have the same magic as “Mary Poppins,” there are some delightful moments, especially as Miss Price struggles to master basic witchcraft skills. The animated scenes on the island are done with a great deal of verve and imagination, especially the fast-moving slapstick of a soccer game featuring animal athletes, including an ostrich who sticks his head into the field whenever trouble approaches. The movie is long and episodic, and so lends itself well to viewing in shorter segments for restless younger children.

Pete’s Dragon

Posted on August 18, 2009 at 5:47 pm

“Pete’s Dragon,” a warm-hearted Disney musical fantasy combining live action and animation, is out on DVD today. It stars Helen Reddy (singing the Oscar-nominated song, “Candle on the Water”), Mickey Rooney, and Jim Dale (narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks). The first person who sends me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Dragon” in the subject line will win a DVD.

Hannah Montana — The Movie

Posted on August 17, 2009 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Mild comic violence, pratfalls
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 9, 2009
Date Released to DVD:	August 18, 2009
Amazon.com ASIN:	B002BIULQ2

Think of it this way. Hannah Montana is to Miley Stewart what Superman is to Clark Kent. Audiences of all ages but especially children and teenagers are always taken by stories of secret identities and hidden sources of power and mastery. It is a way of organizing their thoughts about themselves as unsure but constantly developing citizens of a world run by adults who have a power and ability that they look forward to. It is also a world they can feel themselves getting closer to, so it gives them a way to calibrate and understand their own changes and their progress. And it gives them a chance to think about the kind of adults they want to be.
So when Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus) said she wanted the “best of both worlds,” to be a singer and a “normal kid,” the way to do it was to create a separate identity. With the wig and sparkles she is Hannah Montana, superstar. Without it, she is just plain Miley, who knows that her friends like her for who she is and not because she is famous. And many of the television show’s episodes focus on the challenges of keeping these worlds separate.

But as this movie begins, it is not just the logistics that are colliding. Miley Stuart is becoming a bit of a diva. After an hilarious brawl with uber-diva Tyra Banks over a pair of expensive shoes, Miley’s father (real-life dad Billy Ray Cyrus of “Achy Breaky Heart” and mullet fame) decides it is time for Miley and Hannah to have a reality check. He takes her to their home in Tennessee and tells her that after two weeks he will let her know whether it is time for Hannah to retire.

Miley is not yet an actress. She is so relentlessly sunny that she can’t quite manage the brief scenes where she is supposed to be pensive or unhappy. But she has an immediately engaging presence on screen and is so clearly enjoying herself that it impossible not to enjoy her, too. The script wisely plays to her strengths, giving her lots of chances to sing both as Miley and as Hannah and lots of chances to show off her high spirits and gift for physical comedy.
She is ably supported by Emily Osment as her best friend, Margo Martindale as her warm but shrewd grandmother, and Lucas Till as a handsome young cowpoke. Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts show up for some musical numbers. Cyrus has a sweet duet with her dad and a cute hoedown dance.
The story may not have many surprises, but it will help kids think a little bit about growing up and dream a little bit about all the possibilities before them. Best of all, the movie will satisfy Cyrus fans and give their families a sense of why they love her so much.

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