For a while, penguins were the adorable go-to, in movies from “Madagascar” to “Surf’s Up” to the record-breaking documentary “March of the Penguins.” But this summer, the cutest creatures in animated movies seem to be…snails. The trailers for “Epic,” “Monsters University,” and “Turbo” feature snail characters. Indeed, in “Turbo,” the lead is a racing snail voiced by Ryan Reynolds. And Chris O’Dowd’s snail and his slug sidekick voiced by Aziz Ansari are the comic highlight of the film.
The Best Family Movie of All Time: The Wizard of Oz (and Other Versions)
Posted on March 5, 2013 at 3:52 pm
This week’s release of the prequel, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is a good reason to take another look at what may be the greatest family movie of all time, the classic MGM musical version of “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton, and Frank Morgan. The Making of the Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM tells the remarkable story of how the film was made, including four different directors and a failed attempt to borrow Shirley Temple to play Dorothy.
It wasn’t until well into production that they realized they had something very special that could be an enduring classic. That was when they decided to drop a musical number that was timely when filming but would soon be out of date.
This was not by any means the first or only attempt to film L. Frank Baum’s classic story. A very early silent version was made in 1910, just a decade after the book was first published.
Fifteen years later, silent star Larry Semon appeared in another version, with a Laurel-less Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodman.
A sequel with Fairuza Balk was too creepy for kids, but is something of a cult classic.
“The Wiz” was a popular Broadway musical and a less popular movie, with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. “Wicked” is another Broadway musical, based on a book that tells the story from the witchs’s perspective.
Coming later this year is “Dorothy of Oz,” an animated film starring Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammar, Hugh Dancy, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Megan Hilty (“Smash”), Spongebob’s Tom Kenny, and Lea Michele, and based on a continuation of the story by Baum’s great-grandson.
Be careful what you wish for! Having her dog taken away by an uptight landlord was heartbreaking for Laura (Elisa Donovan of “Clueless”). Willing to try anything to transform her life – and get her dog back – Laura follows her best friend’s suggestion and sets up a session with a quirky life coach named Noelle. The life coach gives Laura 12 wishes for a positive change in her life. Skepticism turns to joy however when Laura realizes she can wish for anything and the wish will come true! But before long Laura realizes that her wishes are sparking unforeseen circumstances and she must act quickly to get her life – and her dog – back before Christmas. The cast includes Michael Gross (“Family Ties”), Gabrielle Carteris (“90210”), and Fred Willard (“Best in Show”), and it is Dove-approved and family-friendly.
I have a copy to give away! Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “12” in the subject line and tell me your silliest Christmas wish. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only.) I’ll pick a winner at random on December 6. Good luck!
If there’s anything cuter than the Santa Buddies, it is the sequel, the new DVD/Blu-Ray pick of the week, “Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups.” The puppies stow away on Mrs. Claus’ trip to a Christmas-loving town and have a lot of fun granting wishes until something goes wrong and Christmas itself starts to disappear. Who can save the day?
It was a lot of fun to catch up with Kaitlyn Maher, who returns for the sequel. “Santa is at his workshop and he needs a new child ambassador and he sends Mrs. Claus to go and find one. She meets the Reynolds family. Their town used to have the best city with the most Christmas spirit but the Santa pups decided that they were going to come and they took something without asking. Somebody wished for Christmas to go away and it happened. Mrs. Claus and my character have to help save Christmas, but I’m not going to say the ending,” she told me. The puppies were “so sweet and cuddly and cute,” she said, “and even sweeter when there was a dog treat around.” She said the trainers used “lots and lots of treats” and little toys and breaks, too, “if a puppy was being finicky or something, they would always have a new dog waiting. They were very professional.” The biggest challenge was that “there was a train that would go by six times every single day. We would have to stop recording, even if it was the best take we had done. We would have to stop until the train circled around the whole track.” She loved the set for Santa’s workshop. “I asked the producer where all the toys were going to be going.” When no one had an answer, Kaitlyn said, “Can I please donate them? I’d love to pick a few charities in Vancouver.” She became charity coordinator and the toys went to four different charities. “It was a great way to get the whole cast involved in sharing the joy of Christmas.” Her favorite prop in the workshop was a big bell. She thought it was funny when the elf fell off the bell in the first movie. Kaitlyn is home schooled and “I love that my mom teaches me.” She likes the American Girl books and Nancy Drew and loves to read about ancient history. And she likes movies that have a message. “The Sound of Music” is one of her favorites and she also likes mysteries. She says the buddies movies are popular because “the movies are fun and have a good message. The writers bring that message through magical and wonderful things that you could not imagine. Everyone works together and they’re family-friendly. People really feel blessed by them.” She loves to sing and her favorite scene in the movie was when she got to sing “O Holy Night.” She especially loves to write songs and will work on a new CD next year. “I like to make songs that are inspiring and encouraging. I like to make people smile.” And she is looking forward to Christmas with her family and spreading the joy of Christmas to everyone. “I think it is very, very important that people have the love they need on Christmas.”
For a while, penguins were the adorable go-to, in movies from “Madagascar” to “Surf’s Up” to the record-breaking documentary “March of the Penguins.” But this summer, the cutest creatures in animated movies seem to be…snails. The trailers for “Epic,” “Monsters University,” and “Turbo” feature snail characters. Indeed, in “Turbo,” the lead is a racing snail voiced by Ryan Reynolds. And Chris O’Dowd’s snail and his slug sidekick voiced by Aziz Ansari are the comic highlight of the film.
tells the remarkable story of how the film was made, including four different directors and a failed attempt to borrow Shirley Temple to play Dorothy.
(by Baum and, later, two other authors) continue to be popular. There is a theory that the original book was