KIDS FIRST! News

Designed to appeal to teenagers, Fun Size contains elements that age is known for starting to pay attention to – a lot of profanity, drinking (scenes show underage drinking) and sexuality – which earned it a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics put their age recommendation a tad younger (10 and 11), and note the very positive message underlying the action: “The message in this movie is family – no matter how annoying your family members are, they are still the people that we care the most about and we will give up anything to be with them,” says Cheyenne Nguyen, age 8. “This movie is about friendships, relationships, life changes, family bonds and growing up,” says Morgan Bertsch, also age 8. Costumes and believable characters get their most positive comments.

Fun Size
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
(See her full review on video.)

Fun Size will make Halloween more fun with teenagers.

This comedy movie is about a senior in high school, named Wren (Victoria Justice), her mom Joy (Chelsea Handler) and her brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll).

A high school senior, Wren is looking forward to college to be away from her family. She also wishes she can be away from her little brat brother. Wren’s mother, Joy, wants her to babysit her little brother, Albert, on Halloween night. The mom wants to go an adult party with her boyfriend. Wren is also invited to the party of the year by her high school crush, so Wren wants to rush her brother home from trick-or-treating and put him to bed so she can go to her own party. However, Albert disappears into the crowd so he doesn’t have to go home. The adventure begins when Wren and her best friend, April, along with Peng and Roosevelt, begin their search for little Albert.

There are so many fun characters in this movie. All the make-up and costumes in this movie are epic. Albert’s Spiderman costume is so original with one arm missing. Wren’s costume is so cute without showing too much skin. Some of the characters in this movie do not need costumes for Halloween — they look naturally scary.

The special effects in this movie are above average. Some of the scenes are so real and scary. There are so many flashback scenes and music that all ages can relate to.
 
All the actors in this movie are so awesome. The boys are true nerds and the girls are so beautiful. This makes it so real.

The setting with the teenage friends, personal and sibling problems are very understandable. I can relate to the same feelings between my brother and me.

The best scene is with Albert at the end. He’s always a little terror but a lovable one.

The message in this movie is family — no matter how annoying your family members are, they are still the people that we care the most about and we will give up anything to be with them. And be careful what you wish for.

My favorite character is Albert. He does not know how to express himself until he is in deep trouble.

I rank this movie five out of five stars  

I recommend this to ages 10 and up.

Fun Size
Reviewed by Morgan Bertsch

Fun Size is a run-around-town teenager movie that presents trouble for our heroine around every corner. The story starts with Wren, played by Victoria Justice, having to change her Halloween plans and babysit her brother because her mother, played by Chelsea Handler, has a date. Albert is a disturbed little boy because his father died a few months before the story takes place and this is the first Halloween that Albert and his father won’t be together. That’s why Wren has to babysit this year.

The challenges start when Albert gets lost in a flood of trick-or-treaters. Wren must find Albert and return home before her mother returns from her party, and that is much more difficult than the group can imagine. Albert has some fun, crazy adventures for a little kid and he loves his pranks.

This movie is about friendships, relationships, life changes, family bonds and growing up. I understand the PG-13 rating, as there are inappropriate parts for us little kids, but I don’t know what they are. There were a couple of times Mom covered my eyes, but I did hear some questionable language and I didn’t think you could drink alcohol until you were 21.

Our foursome of Wren, Peng, April and Roosevelt are continually hounded by the Hulk and Julius Caesar until the showdown at the chicken shack. I know I’m only 7, but even I know that you don’t bring a drumstick to a gun fight.

My favorite part was the end of the movie with Albert. I also really enjoyed the costumes. They were colorful, creative and gave me some great ideas for Halloween this year. So if you’re still undecided about what you are going to do this year, you might accidentally stumble across that next really great costume idea. While you are at it, grab some popcorn and a soda and a couple of Fun Size candy bars, because you preens and teens will enjoy this movie. Little kids and adults probably won’t like this as much.

I think the cast really worked well together and their characters were believable even if all of the situations they are in were not.

The age range is 11 and up.

I give it four out of five twinkling stars.

Fun Size will be in theaters October 26th.

There’s something about surfing movies that is always inspirational. The majesty of the ocean, the skill of surfers riding the waves. Add another powerful element – a father-son type of bonding – and the result is a movie that seems to resonate across gender and age. Chasing Mavericks is based on a true story, and comes across as authentic. Says KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Cheyenne Nguyen, age 7, “There are so many awesome footages of the waves and the surfing culture that the audience can really enjoy watching while learning.” Mogan Bertsch, age 7, calls the cinematography “hypnotizing,” and says, “You don’t have to surf to enjoy the movie, but it could open your eyes to a glimpse of what some of these amazing athletes will do for the sport.”

Chasing Mavericks
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
(See her full review on video.)

Today I am reviewing Chasing Mavericks. This movie is based on a true story that will inspire the audience.

Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston) is raised by a single mom (Elisabeth Shue) who is never around. He almost died from drowning when he was younger and Frosty Hesson (the local surfing legend) saved him. Since that day, Jay follows Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler). He notices that Frosty would go out very early in the morning sometimes. One day, Jay follows Frosty to see what he’s doing out so early in the morning. On this trip, Jay discovers the secret place where some local surfer legends surf. Frosty tells him that the biggest wave will come to this spot one day. He asks Frosty to help him train to ride the biggest waves.

During the training process, many life events happen and it ends up that Jay is helping Frosty as much as Frosty is helping him. They build a father-and-son bonding.

This movie has so many different emotions. There are relationship between Jay and his mom, Jay and his first crush, Jay and his best friend and Jay and his father-figure neighbor.

There are so many awesome footages of the waves and the surfing culture that the audience can really enjoy watching while learning.

The music is so perfect with all the scenes, especially with the skateboarders and surfers. The sceneries of the ’80s and a small-town lifestyle are awesome to see.

The special effects in this movie are above average. The big wipe-out captured in this movie is like no other pictures taken.

The message in this movie is never give up. Sometimes it is so much work to achieve your goals, but if you are practicing every day you will be better than yesterday.

My favorite characters are Jay and Frosty. Jay is so friendly and never holds grudges. He always forgives. Frosty is a great surfer with a big heart.

I rank this movie five out of five stars  

I give this an age range of 7 and up.

Chasing Mavericks
Reviewed by Morgan Bertsch

I got to go to the prescreening of Chasing Mavericks.

So the surf is up and we are heading to the ocean for this amazing movie. The movie is based on the real-life experience of Jay Moriarty, played by newcomer Jonny Weston. Jay moves to Santa Cruz, Calif., when he is 9 and learns to surf from a boy he befriends. He is drawn to the waves and the ocean. He counts the seconds between the breakers for fun.

Once he learns to surf and has made a name for himself as a good local surfer, he meets a legendary big-wave surfer named Frosty Hesson, played by Gerard Butler. Small world — he happens to be a neighbor across the street. One night, Jay hears noise and a commotion at Frosty’s house. He looks out his window and his attention is caught when Frosty brings out his bullet. A bullet is an oversized long-board that you need to ride a maverick. A maverick is a huge wave situation created by a storm system. When the conditions are right, you can find places in the world were the surf gets to be 30 or 40 feet high. It is like a four- or five-story building of water looking to squish anything that gets in its way. Yes, hello, that includes surfers, boat, kayakers and nearly any other water craft vehicle known — but for people like Jay, Frosty and the other maverick surfers, it’s what makes up their dreams.

The cinematography is hypnotizing. Some of the shots of the ocean and surfing are more than incredible. Your eyes are glued to the screen from the beginning to the end, and you can make a really strong connection to surfers and surfing as a lifestyle. Some people call it sour surfing, and Jay Moriarty was the youngest and the best.

In the movie, they show the relationship between Jay and Frosty as being only a few weeks of training seasons, but in real life Frosty trained Jay for years before his first attempt at riding a maverick. These waves can be 50 feet high and are very dangerous. There are so many things that can go wrong. Having us believe that all the training happened in one small stretch of weeks would be impossible but that’s just Hollywood telling the story.

Go watch this touching story and bring a friend but leave the boards outside. You don’t have to surf to enjoy the movie, but it could open your eyes to a glimpse of what some of these amazing athletes will do for the sport. Once you see it, you will know why, once you start, the ocean is always calling you to back to play again. I think I would love to learn to surf but I will stick with the small waves.

The age range is 9 and up, but really the photography in the movie will keep anybody entertained.

I give it four-and-a-half out of five twinkling stars.

KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Julia Chestnut, age 12, not only got to attend a pre-release screening of Here Comes the Boom (which she reviews below) but attended the film’s red carpet event. Check out the video of her red carpet interviews with Bas Rutten (who plays Niko) sharing his long friendship with Kevin James, and with Kevin James, star of this film, who opens up about playing a fighter in this movie and working with friends who are fighters. “Here Comes the Boom is jam-packed in every scene with a funny part,” Julia says in her review, and gets Rutten and James to talk about that comedy in her interviews.

Here Comes the Boom
Reviewed by Julia Chestnut
(See her full review on video.)

I love this movie; it is so hilarious! It is the funniest movie I have ever seen. The lead in this movie is Kevin James, who plays Scott Voss, and of course he is what makes the film the comedy it is.

This film is about how an apathetic high school biology teacher, Scott Voss, decides to find a way to raise money for his school to keep the music program going. He quickly figures out that mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighters get large sums of money, even if they lose the fight. Even though everyone thinks he is crazy, Voss goes on the risky adventure of being an MMA fighter.

Scott is a bored biology teacher who turns the failing high school around as he becomes the tough and daring MMA fighter. Boy, does he take a beating! Yet he never gives up as he becomes inspired by the music teacher and his students.

Salma Hayek plays Bella Flores in this movie. Bella is the school nurse and is sweet and helpful, and always gives Scott a hard time. When Scott gets hurt in a fight, she is there for him, but in a not-so-nice way.

Henry Winkler plays Marty Streb in this film. He is also hilarious. Marty is the school music teacher who believes “without music … life would be a mistake.” Marty is there for every fight and nervously cheers Scott on.

Here Comes the Boom is jam-packed in every scene with a funny part. The one I like the most is at the end when Scott is fighting someone who does this move that is slow and can hurt his opponent really badly. Suddenly, the opponent is picked up by Scott, and his face is so funny. His face goes from fierce and competitive to terrified of Scott.

This movie is hilarious! I would give it five out of five stars because it inspires everyone to follow your dreams and never give up! I would recommend it for ages 9 all the way to adults because it can get violent on the fighting scenes.

Here Comes the Boom comes out in theaters Oct. 12 and is rated PG. You don’t want to miss this movie!

Laughs is what sets this “misfit saves the day” singing movie apart from other teen and/or singing movies. Laughs and a satiric wit ably presented by an engaging cast. KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Victoria Burns, age 14, calls it “surprisingly really funny” and says she intends to watch it over again – which is also surprisingly as she shares that this type of movie is not usually one that’s for her.

Pitch Perfect
Reviewed by Victoria Burns

I went to see Pitch Perfect and it is surprisingly really funny. I do not usually like musical types of movies, but this one was one of the best.

At first I thought that this movie would be one of the ones with random outbreaks of  song, but this movie has a nice storyline and it is funny. The singing is amazing. Plus, since the movie is about an a capella group, it is interesting and kind of impressive to see the actors make the track to the music with their voices.

This movie is about Beca (Anna Kendrick), a girl who wants more than anything to be a music producer but her dad makes her go to college first. Finally, her dad says that if she goes to college for a year, joins a club and really tries her best, he will let her drop out and go to California. This gives her some incentive to do well in school and join the Barden Bellas, the school’s all-girl a capella group.

The Bellas’ arch rival is the all-boys group, the Trebles. Beca starts to fall for a member of the Trebles, Jesse (Skylar Astin), which is forbidden by the Bellas’ uptight leader, Aubrey (played by Anna Camp). The Bellas are old-fashioned and Beca is tired of it so she quits, then she rejoins and makes the Bellas better than ever, new, and ready to win. Whether they win against the Trebles is a mystery that you’ll have to watch to find out.

I love this movie, and the characters are very eclectic to say the least. My favorite character is Fat Amy because she’s hilarious and says whatever is on her mind, and it shows because she calls herself “Fat” Amy. I absolutely love this movie and will definitely be watching it repeatedly.

I give it five out of five stars because I like that the actors can sing well, and the way that they make the music track with their voices is amazing. I recommend this movie for anyone who likes music and comedy, because together it is a great combination. I like that the movie is not just about the singing and that it has a good storyline as well. I recommend this movie for ages mature 12 and up because the movie has some foul language but overall is a good movie.

A Halloween movie that is “heartwarming and hilarious” (KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Talia Rashba, age 11) AND “will have your hair stand up while watching the movie” (KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Cheyenne Nguyen, 8 years old) – Disney’s Frankenweenie impressed all our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics as a great family entertainment. It does, after all, have director Tim Burton’s singular touch of superb storytelling and a laudable moral with an uncanny use of the macabre.

The craft and dedication that went into making the film also impressed our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics. Describing the stop-motion animation, Morgan Bertsch, age 7, shares, “All the puppets took 24 movements to just capture 1 second of film. That’s crazy!” And, says Anthony Aranda, age 10, “The 3-D is awesome because it makes everything pop out.”

Frankenweenie
Reviewed by Talia Rashba
(See her full review on video.)

I absolutely LOVE this movie! It is a heartwarming and hilarious movie that I thoroughly enjoyed viewing.

Frankenweenie is a touching story about a boy named Victor and his dog Sparky. When Victor sadly loses his dog in an accident, he is heartbroken, but then he becomes determined to bring his dog back to life with the power of science. He has to hide his creation from everyone because people would freak out if they knew he had brought his dead dog back to life. But when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town have to stop the monstrous destruction of the town.

Victor (Charlie Tahan) is a smart and clever 10-year-old boy who loves science, making films and inventing things in his attic. He lives with his parents and his dog Sparky in the town of New Holland.

Sparky is a fun-loving and playful dog who loves his owner Victor very much. He loves chasing after balls and being the star of Victor’s homemade movies.

Mr. Frankenstein (Martin Short) is Victor’s dad, a friendly talent agent who is very outgoing and who likes to give advice to his son. He is proud of Victor’s accomplishments, but he is concerned he doesn’t have any friends besides Sparky. He would prefer his son to be more social and he encourages him to join the baseball team.

Victor’s mom, Mrs. Frankenstein (Catherine O’Hara), is a loving and supportive mother who encourages her son to do what he loves most, which is science. She loves her family, reading books and watching movies with her husband.

All of the actors’ performances are fantastic, including Atticus Shaffer, who plays Brick on the sitcom “The Middle,” film star Winona Ryder and Oscar-winner Martin Landau.

The thing I love the most about this movie is that it is a stop-motion picture. Stop-motion means that each character is a puppet and the animator must stop and position the puppet and take a picture each time, and once that is all put together, it creates filmed action. I think the stop-motion animation in this movie came out great. What’s really interesting is that all of the characters from Frankenweenie are based on Tim Burton’s very own drawings.

This movie is very funny, heartfelt and packed with action. To make it even better, this movie is in 3-D. Even though it is rated PG, there are some parts that are a little scary and, honestly, a little creepy! I really think Frankenweenie will appeal to adults because of the relatable humor. I recommend this movie for anyone from the age of 6 to 70 years old. I am giving this movie five out of five stars!

You can see Frankenweenie in theaters October 5th. Trust me, you don’t want to miss seeing this movie.

Frankenweenie
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
(See her full review on video.)

This scary stop-motion animated movie will have your hair stand up while watching this movie.

Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) is a bookworm who loves science. He lives in a small town name New Holland. His only real friend is his dog Sparky. Victor’s Mom (Catherine O’Hara) and dad (Martin Short) are both very supportive of his hobbies, which is making movies. However, his dad wants him to be outside more and play a sport. He is able to convince Victor to play baseball. This is where Victor loses his best friend, Sparky.

My favorite part of this movie is to see how Victor is surrounded by his classmates and teachers. They are Elsa (Winona Ryder); Toshiaki (James Hiroyuki Liao); Edgar (Atticus Shaffer); and Weird Girl (Dee Bradley Baker), who believes that her cat poops can predict the future. However, Victor’s favorite person is his new science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau).

Mr. Rzyskruski’s science lecture gives Victor the idea of using lightning to bring back life, and Victor is able to bring back Sparky. However, his classmates copy his formula and create “Mad Science.”

The message in this movie is science is neither good nor bad. It’s what you make of it. It can be bad if you have bad intention. It can be very good if you heart is in the right place. Science comes from the head to the heart.

The quality of the stop-motion animation is unbelievable. Each character is made out of clay and the filmmakers are able to make them come to life.

There’s awesome cinematography – the light and shadows create a very spooky, scary, horror, black-and-white movie.

The only part I did not like is when Sparky is hurt. It is too hard to watch your best friend hit by a car.

My favorite character is Weird Girl. She is so funny with her cat poops.
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I rank this movie four out of five stars (due to some scary parts). 

I give this an age range of 8 and up.

Frankenweenie  
Reviewed by Morgan Bertsch 
(See her full review on video.)

This is a great movie if you want a little Halloween fright and scare.

This was Director Tim Burton’s debut for Disney, and I must say I really enjoyed this movie but it is kind of creepy. This is a stop-motion animation, black-and-white, 3-D movie. This was originally a short that Tim Burton did in 1984. It took him 27 years to bring this to the big screen in a full-length motion picture format.

The dog Sparky is my favorite character. The way the puppeteers brought him to life and acting like a real dog is amazing. Especially when you think that the original Sparky is only four inches tall and all of the rest of the set was built around him. All the puppets took 24 movements to just capture 1 second of film. That’s crazy!

Martin Landau plays the science teacher and he does a great job. The way he describes lightning is hysterical. He is Victor’s mentor.

Catherine O’Hare, Martin Short and Winona Ryder bring the voices of the characters to life. The voices are all very believable.

This movie is about a boy, Victor, and his dog Sparky. Sparky acts like a real dog and his favorite thing to do is to chase balls. However, he does have a crush on the dog next door.

Victor Frankenstein, who is heartbroken for having caused Sparky’s mishap, decides he must see Sparky again. Once you get to know Sparky, you will see that the name totally fits him.

My least favorite character is Mr. Whiskers as vampire-cat. He is way too creepy and tries to kill Sparky.

Don’t you just hate it when people copy-cat you? Wait till you see what Victory’s classmates do. Edgar “E” Gore and Weird Girl are my favorite kids.

I enjoy how other monsters get mixed into the story. I love the whole disaster of characters, from Mummies and Godzilla to vampires, sea monkeys, rats, gremlins and all the monsters. The monster rampage through the festival is tons of fun. You’ll recognize many of your favorite monsters, too.

I give it four-and-a-half twinkling stars.

The age range is 7 and up. Anybody younger could find this a little too scary and it might make them cry.

Frankenweenie
Reviewed by Anthony Aranda
(See his full review on video.)

I think this movie is awesome because it has lots of action and it was really funny, too. It was even cooler because it was done in 3-D and it was also pretty neat that the whole movie was in black-and-white.

This movie is all about a kid named Victor who has a dog named Sparky, and Sparky is Victor’s best friend. Sadly, Victor’s dog Sparky gets hit by a car and Victor is really sad. One day in science class, his teacher gives him an idea on how he can bring his dog back to life. So he goes home to try it and it works!

The 3-D is awesome because it makes everything pop out. My favorite part in 3-D is when Victor brings Sparky back to life, because the thunder comes straight at me. But I wish there was more 3-D because I always feel like they don’t put enough 3-D in the movie.

The main characters in the movie are Victor, Sparky, Mrs. and Mr. Frankenstein, Bob, Weird Girl, Edgar and Mr. Burgemeister. My favorite character in the movie is Victor because he cares so much about his dog and he goes through a huge adventure to save him. He is also a really smart and funny character.

My favorite part is when the bullies and some other people use Victor’s idea and make dead things of their own come alive. Of course, the things they try to bring back from the dead don’t turn out right because they didn’t make them out of love like Victor did. The next thing you know, there’s a 70-foot turtle, a bat cat, a weird thing I can’t explain, and sea monkeys that can come on land. It is really crazy.

I would recommend this movie for ages 4 and up because my sister saw it and she thought it was a good movie. There are some scary parts that kids under 4 might not like. Overall, it is a great film and I would highly recommend this movie for you. Go out and see this in theaters on October 5th.