KIDS FIRST! News

Done in stop-motion animation by the same studio that brought us Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, Aardman Animations, The Pirates! Band of Misfits features some well-known voices in Hugh Grant (as The Pirate Captain), Salma Hayek (as Cutlass Liz) and Jeremy Piven (as Black Bellamy). Seasoned KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Anthony Aranda (age 9) reviews the film for us here, and will be presenting his review in person on next Tuesday’s edition of KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions, streaming live on VoiceAmerica Kids.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Reviewed by Anthony Aranda
(See his full review on video.)

This movie was great. I loved it because it has a ton of action and funny parts. This movie is all about the pirate captain and his crew who are trying to win the pirate captain award, so he goes and tries to steal money from other ships but that doesn’t work out well.

The main characters in the movie are the pirate captain, his crew, Queen Elizabeth, Charles Darwin and Polly. My favorite character is the pirate captain because he is really funny and always, ALWAYS does the opposite thing of what his crew says.

My favorite part in the movie is when the monkey and Charles Darwin are falling down a hole, and when the monkey is falling the cards he is holding make this word, aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.

I would recommend this movie for ages five and up because there are some violent parts that younger kids might not like. Go out and see this in a theater near you on April 27.

Photo: The Pirates! Band of Misfits poster (top), Anthony Aranda (bottom)

It’s unanimous. Both of our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics who reviewed Disneynature’s documentary Chimpanzee (see below) loved the film – and the chimps it depicts. Talia Rashba (age 11) says, “If you aren’t a fan of chimpanzees now, then this film will make you love them!” Brianna Beaton (age 12) calls the film “amazing” and “heartwarming” as she shares, “I absolutely love how it captures the bond between a loving mother (Isha) and her adorable young son (Oscar).” And it’s spiced with humor, thanks to narrator Tim Allen. The film starts its theatrical run on April 20.

Chimpanzee
Reviewed by Brianna Beaton
(See her full review on video.)

This is a very heartwarming and lovable film.

I absolutely love how it captures the bond between a loving mother (Isha) and her adorable young son (Oscar). Tim Allen narrates this amazing, heartwarming film, and boy is he doing it well! I like how he uses humor and is really describing the chimpanzees’ actions. My favorite scene is when Oscar is trying to open a nut with several tree limbs that fail, but then, after much determination, he realizes that the rock is the right tool to use to crack it open. I really enjoy the music; it captures the feeling of what is going on. When it is suspense, the music is suspenseful. When the rival groups are fighting for territory, the music is really dramatic. The cinematography is extremely well-done, with tons of close-ups of nature and Oscar. It gives you a feel of what the forest is like.

Chimpanzee is a documentary set in the deep forests of Africa. It tells the story of Oscar, a young and playful chimpanzee that has a good life with his friends and family. Oscar is curious and wants to learn everything he can. But when separated from his mother Isha, during a fight for territory between their group and a rival group, the learning stops and he has to look out for himself. When everyone else he knows is rejecting him, the one person that you would never expect to take him in does — and changes his life forever.

Alastair Fothergill (African Cats and Earth) and Mark Linfield (Earth) share in directing this nature film. It’s giving you an up-close and personal experience of what the chimpanzee life is all about. During this film, you will see that chimpanzees have needs and feelings just like humans do.

Chimpanzee is great for ages 7 and up. During the battle seen, it may be a little too much for younger ages.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars because of all the touching scenes between Oscar and his fellow chimpanzees. It left me wanting to know more and more about Oscar. 

Chimpanzee is genuinely a great film and I’m sure you will enjoy it as well. It swings into theaters on April 20th, just in time for Earth Day, so please go and check it out.

Chimpanzee
Reviewed by Talia Rashba

This is the best nature movie ever! I had a wild adventure in the beautiful African rainforest, watching a group of chimpanzees live their lives. This movie has no human characters – the real stars of the movie are actual chimps that live in the rainforst off the coast of West Africa.

This film is a documentary, so the story is very real. We meet a little chimp named Oscar, and his mom Isha, who live in the forest with a group of several other chimps. We see their everyday life and how they interact with each other. When they get attacked by a group of rival chimps, Oscar is left all alone until someone comes to help him.

Oscar is a fun, playful and adorable little chimp who always stays by his mother’s side. When you first look at little Oscar, you will instantly fall in love with him. He sometimes gets confused, especially when he is searching for food. This makes for some very laughable moments.

Isha, Oscar’s mother, is a very loving and protective parent who will do anything to keep her son safe. Freddie is the leader of the troop and is very dependable and strong. He protects and guards the group and he knows how to do everything that they need.

Chimpanzee is narrated by actor Tim Allen. You might recognize him as the voice of Buzz Lightyear from all three Toy Story movies. He definitely adds a lot of humor to the film and he helps explain a lot of what is happening with the animals.

There are SO MANY amazing parts to this movie. The rainforest is absolutely gorgeous, and the way they get close-ups of tiny creatures and plants is outstanding. Just the way they capture raindrops falling onto a leaf or a mushroom blew my mind. The directors of this movie are the same ones who made the award-winning film Earth, and I think they did an excellent job with this movie as well.
Chimpanzee is rated G, and I think that it is a great film for children and adults from ages four to 100. There are, however, some scenes that may be too intense for very young children.

If you aren’t a fan of chimpanzees now, then this film will make you love them! You will see just how smart they are and how much they are really like us. I thought this movie was so terrific that I am giving it a 5 out of 5 stars! This film will teach you so much about the life of a chimpanzee.

You can see this incredible film in theaters April 20th! An extra bonus is that if you see this movie during opening week, Disneynature will make a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute, an organization that helps save chimpanzees all over the world. You DO NOT want to miss seeing this movie!

Photos: Chimpanzee poster (top), Brianna Beaton (middle), Talia Rashba (bottom) 

Relativity Media gives us a new view of Snow White’s adventures in Mirror Mirror, released to theaters nationwide last Friday. In fact, the movie’s longer name – by which it was released in the United Kingdom – is Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White. To help differentiate it from the classic, the seven dwarfs have new names. Don’t look for Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc or any of the other familiar characters; Mirror Mirror introduces us to Half Pint, Chuckles and Grub, to name a few. Julia Roberts is well-cast as the evil queen, and Lily Collins (who played Collins Tuohy in The Blind Side) and Armie Hammer (whose most recent film role was in J. Edgar) give us an appealing Snow White and Prince Alcott. KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Anthony Aranda (age 9) finds Mirror Mirror “has a lot more action than the classic Snow White and there are a lot more cool parts.”

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

I am reviewing a really funny and family-friendly movie called Mirror Mirror. This movie is about Snow White and the seven dwarfs. I really like this movie because it has a lot more action than the classic Snow White and there are a lot more cool parts.  

This movie is all about a girl named Snow White whose evil stepmother mistreats her and the people who live in the kingdom. Snow White gets help from seven unusual dwarfs to take back her kingdom and help her people.    

Some of the main characters in the movie are Snow White, the seven dwarfs, the evil queen and Prince Alcott. My favorite character is Prince Alcott because he is a really funny character. He drinks a potion that gives him puppy love and he does some really funny things. When The Queen throws a book out the window, the prince runs down all the stairs to try and fetch it. It is really funny! 

My favorite part in the movie is when the evil queen gets help from black magic and two puppets on strings go to where the seven dwarfs live to try and hurt Snow White. These puppets are dancing around trying to get the dwarfs while Snow White is running to help them. Snow White gets a sword and cuts the strings and the puppets fall down. Another really cool part of the movie is when The Queen goes into her mirror. She walks right though it and comes out of the water into a place out in the middle of nowhere where she does her black magic. That is really cool.

I would recommend this movie for ages 5 and up because there are some sword-fighting scenes and a few parts that might scare little kids. Kids older than 5 would enjoy this movie especially if they know the classic Snow White story. Go out and see this movie in theaters now!

Photos: Mirror Mirror poster (top), Anthony Aranda (bottom)

If an Earthling goes to Mars, who’s the alien? Civil War veteran John Carter has amazing powers in an environment inhabited by creatures twice his size when he’s transported to that distant planet. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ theatrical release brings to the screen another epic adventure from the same creative imagination that gave us the well-beloved Tarzan series, Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is based on Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars, which predated Tarzan in publication by mere months but has taken much longer to make it to the screen. KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Gabriella Chu, age 15, shares insights on both the story and the film adaptation.

John Carter
Reviewed by Gabriella Chu
(See her full review on video.)

From Disney’s latest $250-million-film comes the exhilarating 3-D adventure of John Carter. This movie is based on the first of 11 novels of the series series A Princess of Mars, written about a century ago by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In this film, John Carter is a Civil War veteran who finds a medallion that teleports him to Mars. There, he makes allies and foes with the aliens he encounters and falls in love with the princess of Helium. At the same time, massive war is occurring between the aliens, so Mars is in a chaotic state, and there is also an antagonist who tries to use schemes to put Carter back on Earth. Can John Carter manage to stay with his princess despite these obstacles?

Writer and director Andrew Stanton wrote the magnificent screenplays for Toy Story 1, 2 and 3; Wall-E; and Finding Nemo; but John Carter is not one of his best works. Some parts are not well rendered and a bit corny, but I did enjoy the ending of the film because it is interesting and unpredictable, and I am sure this movie will become very popular. I also liked the main theme of the movie regarding to cultural differences. The movie shows how different the norms and appearances are for aliens on Mars compared to people on Earth, yet it is universal for both life forms to have good intentions.

The CGI animation is also impressive, for it details even on the smallest of aspects. Its vividness combined with the 3-D makes the movie pop to life, particularly during the action scenes. The CGI animation is very compatible with movies such as Avatar and Planet of the Apes. The cinematography is also beautiful since the landscape of the film is set in the desert, which makes the movie more interesting to me since I rarely see action scenes occur in such an isolated, dry and hot place.

As for the actors, all of them performed their roles well, but I think Taylor Kitsch was especially well suited to his heroic character John Carter.

I recommend this movie to teens 13 and older because there are a few violent scenes. The movie is a great family film, especially for tweens and some teens. Overall, the movie is an entertaining cinematic experience. There is a myriad of action scenes and the entire film is in 3-D, which adds a lot of depth and makes the movie seem realistic. You will definitely be thrilled if you’re into science fiction movies and video games. Watch John Carter, as it is out in theaters now!

“There is so much action in the movie that people might love,” says KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Anthony Aranda (age 9) in his review (below). But this anime film from Studio Ghibli in Japan (released theatrically in the U.S. by Walt Disney Studios) has even more to recommend it: the quiet and slow-paced moments that lend the film greater persuasion as it captures the honest details of life all around us. Not to mention its impact of juxtaposing the miniature world of Arrietty’s family with the “normal” world of the family whose house they inhabit, all built with recognizable, real items we see (or overlook) in our homes every day. Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, David Henrie and Amy Poehler are some of the voices that bring life to this screenplay co-written by Hayao Miyazaki from Mary Norton’s novel, The Borrowers.

The Secret World of Arrietty
Reviewed by Anthony Aranda
(See his full review on video.)

Hello everyone. My name is Anthony Aranda from Kids First!  and I am reviewing a movie called The Secret World of Arrietty. This movie is amazing — there is so much action in the movie that people might love.

This movie is all about a kid visiting his grandma’s house and she says there are living people in the house who are as tiny as a mouse. That’s where Arrietty comes in, along with her mom, dad and a friend of hers named Spiller. Spiller saw Arrietty’s dad was hurt so he brought him back home. But they have to move because the boy who came saw Arrietty — and they can never be seen by the big people, who might look for all of them and capture them.

Some of the main characters in the movie are Arrietty, her dad and mom, the boy and his grandma. My favorite character is Arrietty’s mom because she’s so funny. I like Arrietty, also, because she wants to be a borrower just like her dad but she messes up and the boy sees her so they have to move.

I would recommend this movie for all ages because it’s really good for everyone. There are not any scary parts and the adults might know the story from when they were a kid (The Borrowers). Go out and see this movie in theaters today.

Photos: The Secret World of Arrietty poster (top), Anthony Aranda (bottom)