KIDS FIRST! News

Ready to start their year of reviewing films, interviewing actors and filmmakers, and blogging their perceptions, the 2012 KIDS FIRST! Youth Film Critics are here!

With a “Congratulations” to everyone who prepared the written and videotaped review they needed to enter, KIDS FIRST! is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search.

Age 6-8
Morgan Bertsch of Northridge, Calif.
Cheyenne Nguyen of Northridge, Calif.
Alternate: Aira Dani of Atlanta, Ga.

Age 9-10
Casey Chandler of Santa Fe, N.M.
Talia Rashba of Oak Park, Calif.
Alternate: Camille Bajema of Santa Fe, N.M.

Age 11-12
Brianna Beaton of Clermont, Fla.
Julianna Noone of Warwick, N.Y.
Alternate: Julia Chestnut of Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Alternate: Hunter Willow Jones of Kutztown, Penn.

Age 13-15
Victoria Burns of Atlanta, Ga.
Blakes Hawes of Kailua, Hi.
Alternate: Jennifer Huntoon of Bloomington, Ind.
Alternate: Ajay Sharma of Bloomington, Ind.

The focus of the KIDS FIRST! film critics program is teaching children healthy media habits as well as strong critical thinking, writing and public speaking skills that will stay with them for a lifetime. The KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Boot Camp, held annually in Los Angeles, teaches kids the skills to become an entertainment reporter. 

Six celebrity judges selected this year’s winners from 24 finalists who were determined by view voting on WonderworldTV.com/kidsfirst.  This year’s judges were Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures; Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to “Good Morning America”; Thelma Adams, a Yahoo contributing editor and author of the “Thelma Adams on Reel Women” column that runs on AMC filmcritic.com and who was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post; and  George Pennacchio of the ABC7 Eyewitness News team in Los Angeles KABC-TV.

Industry supporters of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Campaign are Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and WonderWorld Entertainment. Campaign support also comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative membership of more than 17 million.

Thank you to all KIDS FIRST! supporters for viewing and voting for our 2012 KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search. Your votes narrowed the field to these 24 finalists, and our panel of industry judges in reviewing their entries now.

While we’re waiting for the judges’ selection of the winners - which will be announced shortly - groove on this video we’ve prepared of all the finalists, taking an excerpt from their entry. A lot of positive energy and enthusiastic kids. Enjoy!

Finalists - 2012 KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search

Alan Albert of Dunwoody, GA
Camille Bajema of Santa Fe, NM
Brianna Beaton of Clermont, FL
Morgan Bertsch of Northridge, CA
Caylee Boman of Fort Collins, CO
Kylah Bullock of Jonesboro, GA
Victoria Burns of Atlanta, GA
Verolyn Campos of Santa Fe, NM
Casey Chandler of Santa Fe, NM
Julia Chestnut of Highlands Ranch, CO
Aira Dani of Atlanta, GA
Delilah Dubois of Santa Fe, NM
Chloe Ford of Marietta, GA
Jared Gragg of Bloomington, IN
Blake Hawes of Kailua, HI
Jennifer Huntoon of Bloomington, IN
Hunter Willow Jones of Kutztown, PA
Cheyenne Nguyen of Northridge, CA
Julianna Noone of Warwick, NY
Kaden Butler of Loveland, CO
Kataya Rain of Santa Fe, NM
Talia Rashba of Oak Park, CA
Ajay Sharma of Bloomington, IN
Alyssa Willis of Bloomington, IN

A Happy 2012 to all our KIDS FIRST! supporters. To the inevitable list of “New Year’s Resolutions,” let us suggest one more: Add your voice to the votes that will help select the eight kids who will be this year’s KIDS FIRST! youth film critics. Voting is open through midnight Jan. 15.

Videoed reviews from kids ages six to 14 are ready for your viewing on our partner site at WonderWorldTV. Last year, our inaugural year for the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search, saw 11 million votes cast in this public voting stage of the contest that will land eight lucky kids theopportunities that include reviewing films before their public release, attending red carpet events and interviewing actors and directors about their projects.

Your vote will help narrow the field to 24 finalists. The eight winners will then be chosen from the finalists by our panel of distinguished judges: Thelma Adams, currently a Yahoo contributing editor and author of the “Thelma Adams on Reel Women” column that runs on AMC Filmcritic.com, and who was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post; Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures; Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to “Good Morning America”; and George Pennacchio, the entertainment reporter for “ABC7 Eyewitness News” and host of ABC7’s “Evening at the Academy Awards” pre-show and post-show, whose career has been studded with three Emmy Awards, the Publicists Guild of America’s Press Award and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, North America’s largest critics group.
 
Winners will be announced later this month.

Campaign support comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative 17+ million members, and the National Education Association. And our thanks also to our industry supporters: Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Feature Films for Families, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and WonderWorld Entertainment.  

Yes, there’s still time - and it’s fun and easy to enter. KIDS FIRST! is looking for eight kids aged six to 14 who love movies and love to talk about them to be the KIDS FIRST! youth film critics for 2012. You’ve been reading, all this year, reviews and interviews by the 2011 KIDS FIRST! youth film critics - and seeing their enthusiasm shine through in the video versions. That’s the experience KIDS FIRST! is now offering to a new roster of KIDS FIRST! youth film critics.

Choose one of these titles: Happy Feet; Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer; Glee, Season 2; Spy Kids: All the Time in the World; and Barbie: A Perfect Christmas.

Watch the movie, write a review of it and create a video of yourself reviewing it, and submit your entry by midnight, Dec. 31. Post your video on our partner site WonderWorldTV for public voting. The new voting deadline is Jan. 15.

The guidelines and the tips we’ve put together for you on our website are full of suggestions to help you.

Finalists will be chosen by public voting, so tell your friends to be sure to visit www.wonderworldtv.com/kidsfirst often to vote their favorite. EVERYONE IS WELCOMED TO VOTE – VISIT OFTEN TO SEE THE LATEST ENTRIES. Last year’s contest generated 11 million votes! Then, in late January, we’ll announce the winners.  

The eight KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search winners will experience life as a film critic for 12 months — being among the first to view new theatrical releases and writing blogs and reviews for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners, and even attending red carpet events and interviewing the celebrities there. Wow! And not only is it a blast, it’s educationally sound – we don’t expect everyone who enters to pursue a career as a film critic, but the skills the child learns simply by entering the campaign are useful. And the winners are coached by leading professionals who help them develop skills that will last them a lifetime.

In the final selection, the eight winners will be chosen from the finalists by our panel of distinguished judges: Thelma Adams, who was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post and whose debut novel, Playdate, was an O Magazine pick; Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures; Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to “Good Morning America”; and George Pennacchio, the entertainment reporter for “ABC7 Eyewitness News” and host of ABC7’s “Evening at the Academy Awards” pre-show and post-show, whose career has been studded with three Emmy Awards, the Publicists Guild of America’s Press Award and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, North America’s largest critics group.

Campaign support comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative 17+ million members, and the National Education Association. And our thanks also to our industry supporters: Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Feature Films for Families, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and WonderWorld Entertainment.

As a KIDS FIRST! youth film critic, nine-year-old Anthony Aranda has had a heady year. Recently returned from a trip to Pixar Studios in the Bay Area of California - where he interviewed Cars 2 writer/director John Lasseter - Anthony shares his review of the animated film that is now available from Disney on DVD and Blu-ray. In one word, he says it’s “amazing” - but he gives a lot more than one word to describe the story, the humor, the special effects … And his views are published online for a global audience and he even appears on a Web-streamed radio show as a regular contributor!

All that is part of the experience of being a KIDS FIRST! youth film critic, and the KF Film Critics Search is on now to give eight lucky kids ges six to 14 a chance to spend a year as a film critic, reviewing films before they’re released, attending red carpet events and interacting with film talent. The program is based on educationally sound principles that foster an ever-more-critical visual literacy, and it’s also an amazingly fun and exciting opportunity of a lifetime. Entering is easy, and we’ve got a lot of tips and guidelines to help you out. Check it out here. And remember – finalists are chosen by popular vote, so get your entry in early to build up those votes!

Cars 2
Reviewed by Anthony Aranda

Hello, everyone. My name is Anthony Aranda from KIDS FIRST! I just got finished watching an amazing movie called Cars 2! Race car Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater travel to compete in the World Grand Prix. Cars 2 brings back our favorite car friends in this excellent adventure movie!

My favorite characters are Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and Finn McMissile (Michael Caine). I like Lightning McQueen because he is really fast and he is really friendly. I like Mater because he is a really funny character and he doesn’t always know what’s going on. But even if he doesn’t know what’s going on, he is always the best friend McQueen could ever have. I like Finn McMissile because he is a great spy car and he helps Mater to see who he really is. Mater realizes that he is perfect just the way he is.

My favorite part of this movie is when Mater is being a spy and gets into a fire fight with the bad cars, but not on purpose! He says, “Dag Gum,” and then a gun pops out of his truck. Then he says, “Oh shoot,” and then the gun starts shooting! And then he says, “Not that kind of shoot,” and then a parachute pops out of his truck and he starts to fly away. It is sooo funny!

The animation and special effects in this movie are really cool. The bright lights and colors in the cars are amazing. The opening scene where Crabby is coming through the ocean is really cool. They had to use a lot of computer graphics in order to make the water actually look like it is waves. And of course the explosions are super cool.

I would recommend this movie for ages three and up. This movie does have some violence but it isn’t really scary or noticeable to younger kids. All in all, this is a great family movie that shows friendship and teamwork. Go out and buy this movie when it comes out on Disney DVD and Blu-ray.

Photos: Cars 2 DVD box art (top), Anthony Aranda (bottom)

KIDS FIRST! has just launched the Film Critics Search for eight lucky kids who will be 2012’s KIDS FIRST! youth film critics. You’ve been reading, all this year, reviews and interviews by last year’s winners - and seeing their enthusiasm shine through on the video versions. That experience is now open to a new roster of KIDS FIRST! youth film critics.

Kids aged six to 14 who love movies and love to talk about them - universal attributes, right, parent? - have the chance of a lifetime as KIDS FIRST! opens our second annual Film Critics Search on Oct. 25.

Choose one of these titles: Happy Feet; Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer; GLEE, Season 2; Spy Kids: All the Time in the World; and Barbie: A Perfect Christmas.

Watch the movie, write a review of the movie and create a video of yourself reveiwing the movie, and submit your entry by midnight, Dec. 31. We’ll post the video on our partner site at WonderWorldTV.

The guidelines and the tips we’ve put together for you on our website are full of suggestions to help you.

Finalists will be chosen by public voting, so tell your friends to be sure to visit www.wonderworldtv.com/kidsfirst often to vote their favorite. Last year’s contest generated 11 million votes! Then, on or about Jan. 11, we’ll announce the winners.  

The eight KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Search winners will experience life as a film critic for 12 months — being among the first to view new theatrical releases and writing blogs and reviews for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners, and even attending red carpet events and interviewing the celebrities there. Wow! And not only is it a blast, it’s educationally sound – we don’t expect everyone who enters to pursue a career as a film critic, but the skills the child learns simply by entering the campaign are useful. And the winners are coached by leading professionals who help them develop skills that will last them a lifetime.

In the final selection, the eight winners will be chosen from the finalists by our panel of distinguished judges: Thelma Adams, who was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post and whose debut novel, Playdate, was an O Magazine pick; Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures; Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to “Good Morning America”; and George Pennacchio, the entertainment reporter for “ABC7 Eyewitness News” and host of ABC7’s “Evening at the Academy Awards” pre-show and post-show, whose career has been studded with three Emmy Awards, the Publicists Guild of America’s Press Award and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, North America’s largest critics group.

Campaign support comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative 17+ million members, and the National Education Association. And our thanks also to our industry supporters: Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Feature Films for Families, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and WonderWorld Entertainment.

GLEE invites everyone across America to lend their voices - and their votes - for their favorite videos in the GLEE “Give a Note” campaign to help save music and arts programs in public schools.

One dollar for every GLEE Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD sold goes toward the $1 million guaranteed commitment. The GLEE “Give a Note” campaign was creatd by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment in partnership with the National Association for Music Education to help save music and arts programs in public schools. With more than 300 public schools nationwide submitting videos for grant consideration, your vote will be critical in determining the outcome.

After a month-long submission phase this past September, each video entry is up on http://www.gleegiveanote.org/ - and now you can cast your vote to decide the finalists. Visit http://www.gleegiveanote.org/ to view videos and vote once per day until voting ends on November 8, 2011, at midnight. The schools receiving the most votes will move on to a final selection made by the National Association for Music Education, which ranks among the world’s largest arts education organizations and marked its centennial in 2007 as the only association that addresses all aspects of music education, from preschool through graduate school. In December, the winning schools will be announced, with three grand prizes of $50,000 each, 10 first prizes of $25,000 each, and 60 second prizes of $10,000 each.
 
For more information, including official rules, visit http://www.gleegiveanote.com/. GLEE Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD is now available in stores everywhere.

This year’s chance to win the coveted National Parenting Publications Awards has been extended to Aug. 15 for DVDs in the Children’s Products Competition. Recognized for 20 years as a valued “seal of approval” by parents seeking quality children’s products, a NAPPA win conveys merit – and gains the product tremendous exposure in coverage that is both free and easily accessible to consumers. Gold Winners are prominently featured in the special NAPPA Winners November/December Issues of over 30 parenting publications in the top metro markets across the United States and as well as online on parenting websites and mom blogs. Gold and Honors winners are guaranteed a full year of ongoing online coverage on the NAPPA pages of Parenthood.com, the most content-rich site for parents on the Web.

KIDS FIRST!’s own Ranny Levy is a judge for the DVD category. Like Ranny, all the judges are experts in their fields, and the DVDs are also tested by parents and children. So when parents see the NAPPA-winning seal, they know they are getting a great quality product of high educational and entertainment value.

Winners come from major companies as well as small independents, and NAPPA’s website is populated with their testimonials to the power of the exposure, brand recognition and credibility, and increased opportunities in addition to bottom-line sales.

Enter your DVD by Aug. 15 in this competition that could win you print coverage that reaches more than 4 million parents and Web coverage that gets a quarter-million unique visitors each month.

Please email nappa@parenthood.com or call 818.846.0400, ext. 122 for more information.

Your opinion (and your kids’) matter, so we invite you to join the KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club. Get the DVD and host an exclusive screening for your family and your friends’ families. Then share your feedback with us - from the kids and the adults. It’s as easy as popping popcorn, and there’s no charge to be a member or participate.

We’re kicking off the KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club with a new film entitled “Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie,” which E One Entertainment released on DVD May 31. The first 100 people to sign up will get a free DVD of the film for their home screening.

When you send us your review of the DVD, you will be entered into a drawing for one of the two HD TVs that we are giving away.

Then, we’ll continue every month with a drawing to give away a prize to someone who sends in their feedback - written reviews, videotaped reviews, comments from your audience and/or photos of your event. The prize will vary from a HD camera to an HD TV.

The screenings are very limited, so your chances to win are very good!

A little about Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie:
If your kids are into rubber band bracelets, it’s no stretch to imagine they’ll be into Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie. Five specialty shaped rubber bands are carelessly left behind on a deserted stretch of desert highway after the box they are in is jostled off the delivery truck. Attempting to “follow that truck” and get back on track to the toy store that’s expecting them, they get run over by a speeding car which turns out to be a good thing, as they happily roll along, stuck to the spinning tire as it unknowingly carries them where they wanted to go. Runtime 50 minutes. Ages 4-8.

KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club

The first-ever KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search has culminated with the announcement of five talented kids as official KIDS FIRST! film critics. We received 87 wonderful entries, from which the popular vote — which topped 11 million — narrowed the field to 20 finalists and our celebrity judges selected the ultimate winners. The five official 2010-2011 KIDS FIRST! Film Critics are Ny’Asia Bel (7) from Decatur, Ga.; Anthony Aranda (8) from San Diego, Calif.; Lauren Boxer (12) from Los Angeles, Calif.; Sam Connan (12) from Santa Fe, N.M.; and Gabriella Chu (14) from Flushing, N.Y. Three alternates have also been chosen: Makai W. Colvin (9) from Santa Fe, N.M.; Raven Devanney (13) from Boulder, Colo.; and Phoenix Diller (15) from Lafayette, Colo.

The official KIDS FIRST! film critics will attend red carpet events and advance film screenings in their local markets, where they will review new family films, interview celebrities and blog about upcoming films.

“The entire campaign was a huge success. Everyone from our organization was overwhelmed by the 11 million votes cast and the positive response from both media and consumers,” says KIDS FIRST! founder and president Ranny Levy. “We were extremely impressed with the quality of work from all of the contestants. Their entries were creative, well-thought out, and very fun. I’m so impressed with our winners and look forward to working with them over the next year.”

Adds Jay Reinbold, KIDS FIRST! board member, “What I love about this contest is how it ties directly into KIDS FIRST!’s core mission, which is to educate children to become critical media users and to engage them in a meaningful way with entertainment properties by reviewing it for their peers.”

The celebrity panel of jurors included Us Weekly film critic Thelma Adams; actress Brittany Curran (Go Figure, “Men of A Certain Age”); E! Film Critic and “Good Morning America” contributor Ben Lyons; actress Kay Panabaker (Fame, “No Ordinary Family”); Emmy Award® winning entertainment reporter George Pennacchio (ABC7 Los Angeles); and Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winning actress Jane Seymour (The Velveteen Rabbit, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”).

Many thanks also to our sponsors, who helped make it all possible: Feature Films for Families, who will present a $10,000 scholarship to the best review of their film, The Velveteen Rabbit; Starz Kids & Family Channel, which played The Velveteen Rabbit throughout the campaign as well as during the Finale Weekend; Stepping Stone Media, which donated a percentage of The Velveteen Rabbit DVD sales to KIDS FIRST!; Toys“R”Us and Amazon.com; for making DVDs available for all the qualifying titles; national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, Reel Fathers, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative membership of more than 17 million; and, of course, WonderWorldTV, which posted all the video reviews on its website.