Trailer: A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting
Posted on September 25, 2020 at 1:51 pm
Well, this looks like a lot of Halloween fun! Maybe a combination of “Labyrinth” and “Spy Kids” with a bit of “Goosebumps!”
The Babysitters Club
Posted on July 9, 2020 at 9:11 am
A-| Lowest Recommended Age: | 4th - 6th Grade |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | None |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Various health-related issues including diabetes and stroke |
| Diversity Issues: | Diverse characters |
| Date Released to Theaters: | July 7, 2020 |
The series cleverly maintains some of the books’ beloved traditions, including the landline in the colorful bedroom of one of the girls, Claudia Kishi (adorable Momona Tamada, rocking a high-fashion look that would be a challenge for a less confident performer of any age). And no one girl controls the narrative. We see the stories from different perspectives in each chapter, narratively illuminating and a good way to spark some conversations about empathy and points of view.
7th grader Kristy (Sophie Grace) comes up with the idea for the Babysitters Club, a one-stop or one-call service that provides sitters for local families after her mother (Silverstone) complains about how hard it is to find someone. The first girls to join are her shy best friend Mary Ann (Malia Baker), who lives with her very strict father, a widower (Jackson), a new girl just arrived from New York named Stacy (Shay Rudolph), who is great at math and who is concealing her Type 1 diabetes, and Claudia, a gifted artist who struggles with schoolwork and with her demanding parents and chilly sister but is very close to her grandmother (Takayo Fischer), who loves her the way she is. Later on they are joined by another new girl, the warm-hearted, justice-seeking Dawn (Xochitl Gomez), who arrives with her newly divorced mother.
Various clashes occur about the business, both internally and externally, when some older girls start their own babysitting service to compete. And various clashes occur with parents (and sadness over parents who are not there). But the girls are always committed to finding a way through, even if that sometimes takes a little while. And it is a pleasure to see each of them learn to speak up, especially Mary Ann, who discovers that her father is more vulnerable than she thought, that she can find her voice if it is on behalf of someone else, and that theater gives her an opportunity to be her best. There are also some nifty lessons about running a business, including what to do when your success leads to competition.
It is truly a delight to see these characters brought to life with such care and understanding and I cannot wait for the next season.
Parents should know that this series addresses in an age-appropriate way issues of puberty, trans children, sexual orientation, illness and disability, parental abandonment, death of a parent, bullying, blended families, and class/economic issues.
Family discussion: Can you think of a time when you were upset about something other than what it seemed you were upset about? Who was right, Dawn or Meanie? How did the girls learn to talk about their conflicts? Which one is most like you?
If you like this, try: the 1995 movie and the books, now published as graphic novels
The Willoughbys
Posted on April 22, 2020 at 4:00 pm
B +| Lowest Recommended Age: | Kindergarten - 3rd Grade |
| MPAA Rating: | Not rated |
| Profanity: | Some schoolyard language |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | None |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Peril, no one hurt |
| Diversity Issues: | None |
| Date Released to Theaters: | April 20, 2020 |
There are oh so many stories for children about orphans and about people who are sent to live in creepy, mysterious old houses. The Willoughbys, based on the book by Lois Lowry, tweaks those and some of the other conventions of children’s stories, and turns some of them upside down. But one key element remains the same: children have an adventure. They are brave, they solve problems, they stick together, and they end up better off than they started. And all of that happens in a movie that is a a delight for the eyes, with wildly imaginative settings and clever details. There’s even a candy factory that’s half Willy Wonka and half Pac-Man.
Deliciously gruesome (but not quite as much as A Series of Unfortunate Events), it is the story of four red-headed siblings who live in a gothic mansion squeezed between skyscrapers, with acid narration from a nearby cat (Rickey Gervais).
The Willoughbys have lived there for generations and their history hangs heavily over them. Literally. There are huge portraits of ancestors, all sporting the thick yarn hair scowling down at today’s Willoughbys.
Also scowling, when they bother to notice them, are the Willoughby parents (Martin Short and Jane Krakowski), who devote all of their affection and attention to each other and can barely be bothered to notice that they have children, much less talk to them or feed them. The oldest is Tim (Will Forte, who worked with director Kris Pearns on “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2”). Then there’s his sister Jane who loves to sing (Canadian pop star Alessia Cara). By the time the twin boys were born, the Willoughby parents couldn’t be bothered to think of two names or provide them with two sweaters. So they are both called Barnaby and share one sweater between them.
In a conventional story of an intolerable home, you might expect the children to run away. But this is a story that likes to turn things upside down. Tim likes the house and is determined to uphold the grandeur he associates with the ancestors and the Willoughby name. He and Jane come up with an idea: their parents should run away from home. So they arrange an extended trip for their parents, a trip that just might include some dangerous activities.
What they don’t expect is that their parents might send a nanny (Maya Rudolph, delightfully whacky). Never having been treated with kindness, Tim does not trust her at first. Also, there is an orphan baby left on their front stoop. The children drop her off at a candy factory run by a a man who looks a little foreboding but also like he’s made of candy named Commander Melanoff (Terry Crews).
And so the Willoughby children end up going on an adventure that is colorful, funny, exciting, and satisfyingly heartwarming. The government’s child protective services are unnecessarily demonized but the message of resilience that we can create the families we want if nature gets it wrong the first time is very welcome.
Parents should know that this movie includes comic peril and violence (no one hurt) and humorously portrayed child neglect and abandonment themes.
Family discussion: How do Tim and Jane have different ideas about the way to solve their problems? Did you ever misunderstand someone’s words as Tim did with the nanny?
If you like this, try: “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
Trailer: The Willoughbys, Coming to Netflix
Posted on March 23, 2020 at 10:40 am
Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Séan Cullen and Ricky Gervais provide the voices for “The Willoughbys,” a new animated film based on the book by Lois Lowry, coming to Netflix.
Babies: Coming to Netflix
Posted on February 18, 2020 at 8:00 am
Available this Friday on Netflix: Babies is a landmark series that explores the miracle of the first full year of life through the pioneering work of leading scientists from across the globe. It’s an in-depth look at the first year of life — the science behind babies’ developments, from sleeping, to eating, crawling to walking and everything in between! The series follows several new parents as they go on this new journey as well as 30+ of the top scientists from around the globe.
Episodes:
LOVE – The birth of a baby is a life changing event. It triggers a deep emotional bond that is not only vital for a babies’ development – but is fundamental to what makes us human. But how does this happen? How do we learn to love and care for our babies? In this episode, we follow three scientists who are decoding the biological mysteries of this powerful connection.
FIRST FOOD – A baby’s first food is a big moment – they’re not just embarking on a lifetime of pleasure through food – what they eat matters for the development of the body and the mind. In this episode we meet three scientists who investigate how breast milk and food are more than just fuel.
CRAWLING – A baby’s entire world opens up when they learn to crawl. We follow scientists who study how a baby’s relationship with their surroundings change as they learn to move.
FIRST WORDS – Over the course of the first year of life babies embark on a journey towards language – allowing them to enter a world that would be unobtainable without it. We follow three scientists who study how babies use sophisticated techniques to decode the language they hear around them.
SLEEP – For new parents, babies lack of a sleep pattern is a frustrating mystery. But scientists are realizing that a baby’s sleep is packed full of learning and is fundamental for a baby’s development.
FIRST STEPS – A baby’s first steps mark their first moment of independence. In this episode we unpack the extraordinary science involved in learning to walk.