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.

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.

(more…)

Race to Witch Mountain

Posted on August 4, 2009 at 8:00 am

After an enormous train crash/explosion, a line of dialog reassures us that the engineer (played in a quick cameo by Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook) was not hurt. This is, reassuringly, a Disney movie. The entire planet may be at risk in the storyline but the latest in the Witch Mountain saga is more exciting than scary. The 1968 novel by Alexander Key about two kids with paranormal powers became the the cheesy-but beloved Disney 1970’s “Escape from Witch Mountain” and its sequel, “Return to Witch Mountain” and made-for TV follow-up “Beyond Witch Mountain.” The story has now been “re-imagined” for the 21st century with Duane “The Rock” Johnson as a Las Vegas cab driver whose mysterious teenage passengers have special powers. It may be high tech and big budget this time around, but it unabashedly retains its essential cheesiness.

Johnson plays Jack Bruno, a guy who is trying to stay out of trouble, which means keeping out of the way of some thugs who want him to work for them as he delivers costumed fanboys and an expert in extraterrestrials to a UFO convention. At first he thinks the blonde teenagers with the stiff demeanor and robotic speech patterns are just another pair of nutty nerds. And at first when he is chased by ominous black vehicles he thinks it is just the same thugs he keeps turning down. But he discovers that these are a different kind of thug — they are from one of those mysterious government agencies that act like big bullies all the time. There is also a Terminator-like armored stalker-sort of guy who is after the kids, too. And when you are being chased by bad guys from two different planets, it helps to have a former WWF champion around to open up a can of whup-, um, butt (I said it was a Disney movie).

Johnson is the always-appealing heart of the movie, whether he is making a self-deprecatory or skeptical wisecrack or throwing a punch. The kids’ roles are unfortunately all robotic delivery and special effects wizardry, which doesn’t give them much of a personality. I don’t know why it is that movie aliens, whether they look like humans or giant insects, whether they are super-smart or super-scary, never seem to have emotions or senses of humor. It would make them much more interesting and involving as characters. The very talented Carla Gugino does her best with the under-written role of the scientist who researches extra-terrestrial life and Garry Marshall has fun as her nemesis, who never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t adopt, expand, and write a book about and who lines the windows of his RV with aluminum foil. Fans of the original films will enjoy seeing its child actors, Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards, appearing as a sympathetic sheriff and a waitress. Johnson’s warmth and star power and some cool effects are fun even when the storyline drags a bit, if not enough to make the suggestion for a sequel at the end especially welcome.

Disney Scavenger Sweepstakes!

Posted on July 12, 2009 at 10:19 pm

Is your family madly searching the Disney channel to find an orange life vest, a bottle of blue dye, and a blood pressure cuff?
Then you must be participating in the very popular Disney Scavenger Sweepstakes!
The list of required items is here. Good luck!

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Television

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

Posted on June 30, 2009 at 8:00 am

Jonas Brothers fans will feel like they are on stage with Joe, Nick, and Kevin in this immersive 3D concert film from the recent “Burning Up” tour. Brief backstage glimpses of the JoBros waking up, having breakfast, filming a music video in Central Park, visiting a record store for the release of their new CD, and, in a brief tribute to A Hard Day’s Night, running from their fans, punctuate performances in New York and Los Angeles, in cavernous arenas filled with ecstatic fans waving glowsticks.

Seasoned pros at 21, 19, and 16, the brothers started performing as children, with Nick and Joe appearing on Broadway as children and their first tour as a group in 2005. They are natural showmen, obviously having fun on stage, with an appealing easy athleticism and infectious enjoyment. Parents can feel comfortable with their strictly G-rated lyrics and resolutely G-rated off-stage personas. Their father is a is a former Assembly of God pastor and they are open about their commitment to their faith. A shirt may (briefly) be off, but their purity rings stay on.

The concert benefits from guest appearances by fellow teen pop-stars Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift (whose brief romance with Joe Jonas inspired her new break-up song “Forever and Always”). Both young women sing female empowerment anthems that add a bit of balance. But even when they are on stage, the brothers are always at the forefront, the guest stars another in a series of precisely timed show-boosters that include fireworks, cartwheels, lifting the boys on pedestals, spraying the fans with firehoses, and — this is a 3D movie after all — a number of objects being thrown at the audience including guitar picks and drumsticks.

The shots of the fans — hyperventilating, weeping, smiling so widely their braces seem to take over the entire screen, jumping over police barricades — may be there to promote the Jonas Brothers brand but they will also be reassuringly validating to the movie’s primary audience. They may come to enjoy the music and the behind-the-scenes glimpses of the teen idols, but they will appreciate the sense of community and good spirits as well.

Parents should know that this is a G-rated film with no bad language, sex, or violence. One of the boys briefly has his shirt off and the brothers spray their fans with firehoses in a manner some may find suggestive.

Family discussion: What is it that makes the Jonas Brothers so popular? Which one is your favorite and why?

If you like this, try: Camp Rock, Burning Up: On Tour with the Jonas Brothers, and Music from the 3D Concert Experience

Related Tags:

3D Documentary Musical