KIDS FIRST! News

This is it! In a few days is the weekend we’ve been looking forward to. Winners of the very first KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search will be announced! And, with your help, we will achieve the million mark in setting a world record of kids and adults watching and reviewing a film — The Velveteen Rabbit — together!

And guess what? That million mark is already part of KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search history  — your phenomenal participation in helping judge the video reviews on WonderWorldTV.com generated 11 MILLION votes for our 87 contestants (a record that may even beat out “American Idol” or “Dancing with the Stars”)!

Your votes brought these 20 KIDS FIRST! film-critic hopefuls to the final round.

The twenty finalists of the popular vote has been whittled down to the winning five by our panel of celebrity judges: actress Brittany Curran (Go Figure, “Men of A Certain Age”); actress Kay Panabaker (Monsters, Inc., “No Ordinary Family”); Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner, actress Jane Seymour (The Velveteen Rabbit, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”), professional film critics Thelma Adams (Us Weekly) and Ben Lyons (resident critic for E! Entertainment Television and former host of “At the Movies”); and Emmy Award®-winning entertainment reporter George Pennacchio (ABC7 Los Angeles).

We cheer everyone who entered as we prepare to congratulate the winning five.

And we take on the final challenge of this inaugural KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search. Parents and kids, after you’ve enjoyed the wonderful film The Velveteen Rabbit together, be sure to post your review — it will count not only for this “one million viewers/reviewers” challenge but as the entry for the $10,000 scholarship from Stepping Stones Entertainment. Once you’ve posted it, don’t forget the final step: Be counted toward our “one million viewers/reviewers” by clicking the ”Be Counted” button on our website.

Thank you for being part of making this exciting KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search such a success!

Elf is a feel-good Christmas movie that brilliantly balances Will Ferrell’s typical silliness with James Caan’s perfectly delivered tough-guy cynicism. Whichever humor is better suited to your personal funny bone, there’s plenty of it to raise a smile or guffaw through to the film’s epilogue.

With a touch of “The Ugly Duckling,” Ferrell’s title character grows up with the elves in Santa’s workshop at the North Pole after having crawled, unseen, from his crib in an orphanage into Santa’s bag of toys one Christmas Eve. The pathos of an orphanage existence is furthered by the scene in a sterile nursery being shot in darkness and shadows, in sharp contrast to the festive ambience of Santa’s North Pole. But rather than open on that dreary note, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man and Iron Man 2) introduces us to the story through a visit with the adoptive elf-father (a pointy-eared Bob Newhart, in his trademark deadpan delivery that imbues the far-fetched tale with an earnest honesty).

“Buddy” (named from the label on the diapers he was wearing on his arrival) grows up with all the positive self-esteem the elves can encourage in him, although it’s obvious to everyone but him that he just doesn’t fit in — literally as well as figuratively, as he spills out of his school desk, squeezes through doorways and nearly smothers Papa Elf when he sits in his lap. But his idyllic existence is shattered when he overhears two elves refer to him as “human.”

So Buddy sets off to find his real father (James Caan as Walter Hobbs), and the snow-globe essence of the scenes changes to real-life when he hits New York City. Misadventures and clumsy emotional overtures follow. Zooey Deschanel provides Ferrell with a sweet love-interest, and Daniel Tay becomes his compatriot as Caan’s other, emotionally starved, son.

There is some mild profanity and discreet sexual innuendo in this 2003, PG-rated, award-winning family film from New Line Cinema, but possibly more disturbing is the reference to unbelievers who think “parents leave the presents under the tree” and eat the cookies put out for Santa — although the film’s resolution affirms that Santa is as real as Christmas spirit.

A REMINDER ABOUT KIDS FIRST! FILM  CRITICS’ SEARCH:
Tomorrow, Oct. 20, is the last day to get those reviews entered in our first annual KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search.

The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com. Check it out — entries are posted there now. And be sure to vote for your choice to win. There are two more weeks, but remember that voting closes Oct. 31. Your vote is important — the popular vote will determine the 20 finalists.

Keep your Kleenex handy as you watch My Dog Skip. With a screenplay based on the same-named autobiography of writer and editor William Weaks “Willie” Morris, the award-winning Warner Bros. film from 2000 is a poignant revisit of a period of his childhood growing up in Yazoo City, Miss. Accompanied by his Jack Russell terrier Skip, Will (Frankie Muniz) experiences life lessons of idols fallen and retrieved, bullies, first love and, above all, loyalty and friendship.

The boy-dog partnership almost doesn’t happen, when the puppy Will’s mom gives him for his eighth birthday is taken away by his father. This seeming hard-heartedness is revealed to be anything but, as the stoic dad (in a consummate performance by Kevin Bacon) describes to his wife all the heartache he is trying to protect Will from. Pointing out that Will will face these things eventually, she perseveres, and the story unfolds in multiple layers. As much for adults as children, the film offers gems of insight such as, “Give a man a label and you never need to get to know him.”

It’s fall of 1942, and shy bookworm Will is losing the support he has heretofore relied on when the town athletic hero, Will’s next-door-neighbor and seemingly only friend, is shipped off to fight the Nazis in Europe. Although Dink has been a willing mentor, he’s been more crutch than ladder, and it is Skip who helps Will grow in confidence this pivotal year.

Peopled with believable characters in the adult roles, the film centers much on relationships between Will and other kids in his small town, and their performances are uniformly excellent. And aside from a few inconsistencies (such references to both moonshiners and a six-pack), the period in World War II, pre-integration South is nicely constructed.

A REMINDER ABOUT KIDS FIRST! FILM  CRITICS’ SEARCH:
Tomorrow, Oct. 20, is the last day to get those reviews entered in our first annual KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search.

The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com. Check it out — entries are posted there now. And be sure to vote for your choice to win. There are two more weeks, but remember that voting closes Oct. 31. Your vote is important — the popular vote will determine the 20 finalists.

Eager and anxious, our six- to 15-year-old film critic hopefuls are sending us their video review entries for the inaugural KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search competition. We need your votes to narrow the field to 20 finalists.

Visit WonderWorldTV.com to view and enjoy the video reviews, and then please vote your choice for winner. Public voting closes Oct. 31.

And then the top 20 reviews you’ve helped choose will go to our celebrity judges, who will determine the ultimate five winners. Those five KIDS FIRST! film critics will enjoy 12 months of attending red carpet events and interviewing celebrities — and, of course, reviewing films, often seeing them ahead of their theatrical release, and having the reviews posted on KIDS FIRST! partner sites like WonderWorldTV.

KIDS FIRST! is thrilled to have support from the film community. Professional film critics Thelma Adams (Us Weekly) and Ben Lyons (resident critic for E! Entertainment Television and former host of “At the Movies”), along with Emmy Award®-winning entertainment reporter George Pennacchio (ABC7 Los Angeles) make up half of the celebrity panel of judges. In-front-of-the-camera talent joining them are actress Brittany Curran (Go Figure, “Men of A Certain Age”); actress Kay Panabaker (Monsters, Inc., “No Ordinary Family”); and Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner, actress Jane Seymour (The Velveteen Rabbit, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”).

KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search winners will be announced during Film Critics Weekend, Nov. 12 – 14.

Kids still have until Oct. 20 to enter the contest with a written and video review of one of the KIDS FIRST! selections: Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Secret of Moonacre, Jumping for Joy, Furry Vengeance and The Velveteen Rabbit — which will also be part of the Film Critics Weekend, as the film chosen for our attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film on the same weekend, together with a caring adult.

There is still time. For kids aged six to 15 who love movies — and love to talk about them —this is the chance of a lifetime to be a KIDS FIRST! film critic. Deadline to enter the first annual KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search is Oct. 20, submitting both a written and video review of one of these seven selected films: Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Furry Vengeance, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Secret of Moonacre, Jumping for Joy and The Velveteen Rabbit. The discussion guides we’ve prepared on each film to help our budding reviewers are available on our KIDS FIRST! website.

The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com — and, in fact, the first entries are posted there now.

Be sure to visit the site and vote on the reviews; the popular vote will determine the 20 finalists.

A panel of celebrity judges will then choose the five winners who 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 fun, it’s educationally sound: Visual media is a pervasive element of contemporary life, and we’ve developed our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics program to encourage an active rather than passive response — a vital visual literacy whereby kids learn to critique as well as write reviews about media they enjoy.

Winners will be announced during Film Critics Weekend (November 12 – 14). This KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search grand finale will include a KIDS FIRST! first as we attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film — The Velveteen Rabbit — on the same weekend, together with a caring adult.

Offering enthusiastic support are our sponsors: Feature Films for Families will present a $10,000 scholarship to the best review of their film, The Velveteen Rabbit. Starz Kids & Family Channel will be playing The Velveteen Rabbit throughout the campaign as well as during the Finale Weekend. DVDs of all the search titles are available at Toys”R”Us and online at Amazon.com. Campaign support also comes from 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 17+ million members. Stepping Stone Media is donating a percentage of The Velveteen Rabbit DVD sales to KIDS FIRST! and to any nonprofit organization that becomes an affiliate of the campaign.

Visit the KIDS FIRST! website for more information about the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Campaign and discussion guides for each of the seven entry choices. Also find information on fundraising opportunities for organizations through the KIDS FIRST! affiliate program.

Just like the Velveteen Rabbit himself, the movie version directed by Michael Landon Jr. of this beloved children’s book has two incarnations: the theatrical version and the director’s cut. They’re both the “reel” Velveteen Rabbit, and there’s something extra special about them: a $10,000 college scholarship opportunity provided by Stepping Stones Entertainment.

Kids aged six to 15 are invited to submit a written review (1,000 words or less) by Nov. 30. (View scholarship rules.) Check out the KIDS FIRST! discussion guide if you need help getting started. The winner will be announced in December. One scholarship will be awarded, but WonderWorld Entertainment is making every entrant a winner by giving each reviewer a free membership to WonderWorldCity.com.

You may view The Velveteen Rabbit director’s cut at your school or library (and let them know they can sign up for a free screening) or on Starz Kids & Family. If you’d like a copy for your own home collection, you can purchase the DVD from Stepping Stones.com — and Stepping Stones Entertainment will donate a percentage of the sales to KIDS FIRST!  — or Amazon.com, Toys“R”Us, or other retail outlets.

Note that the director’s cut is not the same version of The Velveteen Rabbit that is one of the selections for our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search competition (winners of which will have been announced the weekend of Nov. 12 – 14), but a review of either version is eligible for the scholarship competition.

And we have the same wonderful sponsors to thank for this scholarship competition as for the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search: Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Entertainment One, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Starz Kids & Family Channel, Stepping Stones Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, Toys“R”Us, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, and WonderWorld Entertainment, along with 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.

Walt Disney’s beloved fairy Tinker Bell flits off to a new adventure in Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Streeting on DVD next month, September 21, the movie will have a special advance screening on the big screen this weekend, August 21 and 22. KIDS FIRST! and Walt Disney Home Entertainment are bringing Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue to theaters in select cities across the United States. Visit kidsfirst.org/filmfestival/TinkerBellScreening for a list of locations and to print the KIDS FIRST! passes. Screenings are free, but please plan to be early as seating is strictly first come, first served.

Cooperation is key as Tinker Bell must team up with a rival fairy to keep humans from finding out they exist. Mae Whitman as the voice of Tinker Bell reprises her role from last year’s Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and the previous year’s Tinker Bell, along with Kristin Chenoweth and Lucy Liu as Rosetta and Silvermist, respectively. Michael Sheen (who voiced the White Rabbit in Disney’s recent theatrical release Alice in Wonderland) adds a new voice to the animated cast as Dr. Griffith.

And the wait is over for Furry Vengeance — the DVD streets today. Especially appropriate for kids aged five to 12, Furry Vengeance is one of the seven titles in the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search competition. The fur flies in this film as the forest creatures prove more than a match for a real estate developer (Brendan Fraser) looking to turn their habitat into a housing development.

We’ll soon be adding the discussion guide for Furry Vengeance to our website, to enhance your after-viewing discussions and to help your child prepare his or her entry for the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search. Five fortunate film-loving kids (age six to 15) will ultimately be chosen a KIDS FIRST! film critic for one year, to attend previews and red carpet events and write reviews for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners. The first step is to submit a written review (of Furry Vengeance or one of the other six titles) by October 10. Entrants will then be invited to submit a videotaped review by October 20 – and we’ll send you instructions on how to create the video.

Winners will be announced the weekend of Nov. 12 – 14, as the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search culminates with a unique event: We will attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same movie (The Velveteen Rabbit) at the same time. Mark your calendar now to take part in this special occasion. And watch the WonderWorld website, where you and your friends can view the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search video entries and cast your vote for the winner.

DVDs of KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search selections are standing pretty at Toys”R”Us. The retail giant for children’s clothing, furniture and more, a sponsor of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search Campaign this inaugural year, is helping spread the word to eligible kids by giving the display prominent position on their new release endcap display. Four of the contest titles are readily available now to add to your family collection: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Furry Vengeance and The Velveteen Rabbit. And watch for the Toys”R”Us emailed circular this weekend —  promoting a 25 percent savings on these DVDs when purchased in the store. Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes will be available on August 24th.

Amazon is adding its punch to the program with promotion of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search Campaign as part of its Kids & Family page and in its blog and Facebook page.

This is all helping to bring us closer to the knock-out conclusion we’re planning for the final weekend of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search, Nov. 12 – 14. That’s the weekend we will announce the names of the five kids chosen to be KIDS FIRST! Film Critics for one year, attending special events (including red carpet premieres for movies), interviewing the stars and writing reviews of the films for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners. It is during that weekend we will attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film on the same weekend by encouraging kids and a caring adult to enjoy The Velveteen Rabbit together.

The competition is ongoing right now. Kids ages six to 15 have until October 10 to submit a written review, and until October 20 to submit their videotaped review. The video reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com, where the public will vote on the reviews and narrow the field to 20 finalists. The five winners will then be chosen by a panel of celebrity judges.

And parents — this is not only a fun activity to share with your child, but it’s educationally sound. With visual media such a pervasive element of contemporary life, we’ve developed our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Campaign to encourage an active rather than passive response — a vital visual literacy whereby kids learn to critique as well as write reviews about media they enjoy. Use our discussion guides (we’ve prepared one specifically for each of the competition’s selected films) to enhance your child’s appreciation of the film as well as to help her or him work up an insightful review. Just click on the DVD title on the right side of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search page, and it will take you to the film’s information page and discussion guide.

You can support KIDS FIRST! directly by purchasing the Director’s Cut of The Velveteen Rabbit directly from SteppingStones.com. A portion of your purchase will be donated to KIDS FIRST!, supporting the Film Critics’ Campaign.

If The Secret of Moonacre is the film you’ve chosen to review for the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search competition – or if you just want to enjoy it on the big screen before buying the DVD for your home collection – you may be in luck. On Aug. 12, Screenvision is presenting it in select theaters throughout the United States. The special screening is currently planned for 150 markets, with more possibly coming online.

For a complete list of locations and to order tickets, please visit www.screenvision.com/s/showing/SecretOfMoonacre.

The film, adapted from Elizabeth Goudge’s novel The Little White Horse, follows the fantastical adventures of a newly orphaned 13-year-old who discovers a magical, moonlit world when she goes to live with her eccentric uncle at his aptly named Moonacre Manor. The mysterious environs are a huge change from the luxury she’d known in London, but Maria Merryweather (played by Dakota Blue Richards, The Golden Compass) suffers a bigger shock when she learns that the task of saving Moonacre Manor from an ancient curse rests on her young shoulders.

The story offers a safe context for parents to discuss with their children (8-12 is the ideal age for this film) several topics that may otherwise be too hard or scary to express: Who would take care of you if something happened to your parents? What would you do if, instead of your family taking care of you, you found it was you who had to save your family? And in the story, Maria’s uncle (played by the wonderful Ioan Gruffudd, whose film credits include Fantastic Four) treats her dreadfully – opening up the question of why a tragedy can affect someone’s behavior. These are among the talking points developed in the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Discussion Guide.

KIDS FIRST! has developed a specific discussion guide for each of the seven films that are part of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search for kids aged six to 15. The first step to enter is to send in a written review by October 10, and KIDS FIRST! will send the applicants instructions for creating a videotaped review that will then be posted on WonderWorldTV.com for public vote. We encourage everyone to vote!

Winners of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search will be announced the weekend of Nov. 12 – 14, with festivities that will include the excitement of KIDS FIRST!’s attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” a single film (The Velveteen Rabbit) with a caring adult.

With Fox Home Entertainment’s release Aug. 3 of Diary of a Wimpy Kid on Blu-ray and DVD, you can welcome gangly pre-teen Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) into your home for a dose of survival techniques ala middle school. The 92-minute family comedy is based on the best-selling illustrated novel of the same name by Jeff Kinney, and brings to life Greg’s thoughts — his hopes as well as his version of schoolyard drama at “the dumbest idea ever invented” (middle school) and tribulations at home — as he recorded them in his journal.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is especially suited to eight- to 12-year-olds. It is one of the seven titles on the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search, which invites kids aged six to 15 compete for a chance to be a recognized film critic for 12 months – attending red carpet events and interviewing stars as well as reviewing new films ahead of their theatrical release for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners. Written reviews will be accepted for the contest up to October 10, and upon acceptance, KIDS FIRST! will send the applicants instructions on creating a videotaped review that will be posted on WonderWorldTV.com for public vote. And the excitement culminates on the Nov. 12 – 14 weekend, when KIDS FIRST! will attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film (The Velveteen Rabbit) on the same weekend, together with a caring adult.

KIDS FIRST! has developed a discussion guide for Diary of a Wimpy Kid  (and for each of the seven titles – just click on the title where it’s listed on the right side of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Campaign page) to assist our budding reviewers — as well as to facilitate parent-child conversation about key topics touched upon in the film. The guide includes paragraphs that describe specific scenes, to help you recall the particular situation and to help define the scope of the discussion, followed by talking points that put the experience into a personal context for the viewer/reviewer:
  Description: The tag line for this movie is “I’ll be famous one day, but for now I’m stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons.” Greg considers junior high school a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are wedgies, swirlies, bullies and lunchtime banishment of the cafeteria floor. His diary — or “journal” — chronicles his thoughts, tales of family trials and tribulations, and (would be) schoolyard triumphs.
  Discuss: Can you relate to the theme of this movie? If you haven’t started middle school yet, what are your thoughts and concerns about it? If you are already in middle school — talk about your most memorable adventure.

The word on Diary of a Wimpy Kid from kid juror Lauren Boxer (age 11) is:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid shows us wimpy is cool and in style. You may say, “No it isn’t,” but you are wrong. It shows us the ups and downs of middle school, and trust me, it is all in there. One thing I was disappointed about before I saw it was it wasn’t animation. But now, I am standing corrected. Zachary Gordon is actually what I would imagine Greg Heffley would be in real life. This is a movie I definitely recommend, and Thor Freundenthal (director), Jackie & Jeff Filgo (screenwriters), and, last but not least, Jeff Kinney (the book’s author and executive producer) all did a great job.

And check out all the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search titles now available on DVD at Amazon.com.