Let’s End 2025 With A Big Hurrah!
December 12th, 2025Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The year 2025 has presented unprecedented financial challenges for KIDS FIRST! We began the year with optimism, having secured two federal grants designated to support our Film Festivals in Ukraine, Pakistan, and across the U.S.
Unfortunately, a subsequent change in administration halted the release of federal grants, a dramatic move that impacted countless nonprofits, including ours. This forced us to immediately pivot and seek sustainable, forward-looking sources of revenue.
We responded by doing what we do best: innovating for the future. We successfully formed new alliances to ensure our stability and growth:
- We partnered with a company serving 5,000+ Montessori schools nationwide to host KIDS FIRST! Film Festivals for their families. This generates funds for their schools as well as for us.
- We relaunched our podcast with iHeartMedia, creating the potential for an ongoing ad-sales revenue stream from existing content.
- We established a relationship with three AVOD channels to create a dedicated KIDS FIRST! section, splitting ad revenue 50/50 with the independent filmmakers we champion.
- We launched our ambitious year-end fundraising campaign early, starting in June.
You Are Our Success Story
Your incredible support has made the difference. We successfully reached our first goal of $15,000 at the end of August, and we are now at 98% of our second goal of $30,000!
Your donations are truly keeping KIDS FIRST! alive and well, allowing us to continue our vital work and share our unique insights into youth-focused media with hundreds of thousands of kids and families globally.
We now invite you to help us cross the finish line—and even surpass it!
Will you contribute today? Click the platform link below to make a gift in any form. If you are unable to contribute, please consider forwarding this message to someone who can help us secure our future.
Thank you for your trust and generosity. We send our love and best wishes for the holidays.
Ranny Levy, Founder and President, and the KIDS FIRST! Team
What are the best movies and TV shows for kids and families of 2025? While the year started slowly in cinemas, streamers quickly raised the bar. Kicking off the year were major home releases like Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix) and StuGo (Disney+). Theaters quickly followed with family-friendly hits like Autumn and the Black Jaguar and Universal’s Dog Man.
Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and Camp Half-Blood is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.
I got an early look at the first four episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Season 2 and it is incredible. The season picks up right where the previous season left off and each episode is filled with action, adventure, humor, and it kept me on the edge of my seat.
Aryan Simhadri reprises his role as Grover, adding both comic relief and loyalty that make him a fan favorite. New characters are introduced this season, including Daniel Diemer as Tyson, the lovable Cyclops, who is also Percy’s paternal half-brother, the son of Poseidon.
This series is about courage, friendship, and staying true to yourself even when the odds are stacked against you.
The Merchants of Joy is a 2025 documentary following five New York City families who dominate the lucrative, competitive Christmas tree business, showing their year-round hustles, family dynamics, and gritty realities behind the festive holiday tradition, as they battle for prime locations and face challenges from each other and a mysterious rival, blending heartwarming holiday spirit with the tough business of making a living from the season.
Merchants of Joy is an inspiring film about a Christmas tree lot owner’s journey through the Christmas season. I love this film because it depicts a real life situation. It shows how hard the seemingly easy things can be. I also like that it shows how your past doesn’t make you who you are today.
This is a wonderful film, although it did take me a while to get into the story. There is such a diverse cast. Each tree lot owner is very different from the others. Some of these owners have criminal records; while others have been in the business for as long as 50 years. My favorite part is the end when I realized that selling a Christmas tree is more than just selling a tree – it is selling joyful moments in time. My favorite company is NYC Tree Lady, run by Heather Neville. Heather is a very straightforward person. The reason I enjoyed watching her so much is because she tells you not to dwell on the past. She has a criminal record and still looks to the future and to whom she is today. Heather always looks to the future and encourages the viewer to do the same. She will flat out tell you what to do but then ask what she can do for you. Greg’s Trees, another company, owned by a guy named Greg, who may look alright but he is not.
Little Greg is a high school drop out and is finding time to spend with his father because he doesn’t know when his last Christmas will be. He is also beginning to take over the business for his father.
Set six years after the events at Camp Cretaceous, members of “The Nublar Six” are struggling to find their footing off the islands, navigating a world now filled with dinosaurs and people who want to hurt them. Reunited in the wake of a tragedy, the group comes together only to find themselves on the run and catapulted into a global adventure to unravel a conspiracy that threatens dinosaur and humankind alike and finally learn the truth about what happened to one of their own.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is a fresh take on the world of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. This animated TV series keeps the sleek animation style that has made the Jurassic World story so fun to watch for eight seasons (five in Camp Cretaceous and four in Chaos Theory).
While Jurassic World: Chaos Theory often shines, it sometimes feels like it stretches the story a little too far. For example, the inclusion of weaponized, assassin dinosaurs feels unnecessary. Dinosaurs are already scary enough when they hunt anything in front of them! The acting is funny and lively, though a few one-liners feel over-the-top and break the suspense, like in episode four, when the team reaches what they think is the data center and everyone piles on with a joke. Still, the story is strong, packed with humor, great animation, and filled with exciting moments. The animation especially stands out, with awesome rendering, realistic water and light effects, and incredible dinosaur designs. The music plays a big part in the series’ tension and energy. It builds suspense and makes the chase scenes even more thrilling. The bond between the characters is one of the best parts, and watching it grow over eight seasons brings a new generation into the Jurassic Park universe.
The latest season of Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is possibly the greatest season of an animated show I’ve seen. As complicated character dynamics are mixed in with action-packed adventures, its excellence is undeniable.
I was hooked from the first episode, binge-watched the entire season, and couldn’t stop thinking about the plot days after I had finished it. The writers really put their hearts and souls into this season. Clearly, they know that children can understand more complex stories, and it gave them the freedom to create Chaos Theory. If you’ve been watching the show since Season 1, you will probably be surprised by what is about to go down. I’ve become attached to the Nublar Six to the point where, for a moment, it felt like they were my friends. One of this season’s strengths is the characters’ relationships. They become happier once they settle their disputes. They work better together when they are not cautious of each other. For all the fans of action out there, don’t worry, Chaos Theory has a perfect amount of content for you as well. The mission is dangerous and the odds are against the team. This season is great at balancing action with emotions. I didn’t feel like I was being bombarded with one chase after another, nor did I feel like I was watching a soap opera. An interesting detail about the design of the Nublar Six: I enjoyed spotting all the little changes in their appearances as time has passed. The animated characters look more like real people.
