KIDS FIRST! News

A 26-year-old film about space exploration is bound to have technical aspects that haven’t aged well, but Space Camp delivers on several other levels. “Even though this movie is a little outdated, being made in 1986, I still found myself at the end of my chair wondering what was going to happen next!” says KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Jennifer Huntoon, age 14. The film about a miscellaneous group of kids at space camp who find themselves launched in to space for real was nominated in 1987 for the Young Artist Award for Exceptional Feature Film – Family Entertainment – Drama. “I love all the characters,” says KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Camille Bajema, age 10, who shares that what strikes her most is when “the kids are put into an adult situation and have to work as a team.” And 11-year-old KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Talia Rashba shares another positive – the humor. “The jokes are funny and easy to understand,” she says.

Space Camp, airing throughout September, is one of the many movies brought to your home by HDNet Movies kidScene, a daily programming block specifically for kids and families from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET and every Friday night at 7 p.m.

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

I thought this movie pretty good. It was entertaining, filled with drama, and there is a lot of good information about space presented in the film.

Space Camp is about a group of kids who come to a camp at the NASA headquarters to learn all about space. Each of the kids is assigned a position in the space shuttle by an astronaut named Andie. When the group goes with Andie to the space shuttle for a simulation, they accidentally get launched up into space, and they have to figure out how to get back home before they run out of oxygen.

Andie (Kate Capshaw) is a famous astronaut who teaches the kids about operating the space shuttle. She is an encouraging and helpful teacher who pushes each one of them to work to the best of their ability. Kathryn (Lea Thompson) is one of the kids attending the space camp. She is very smart and knows a lot about space. She is assigned the position of the pilot and she is expected to do everything right. Tish (Kelly Preston) is another teenage girl at the space camp. She is friendly, pretty, girly and actually smarter then she acts. Rudy (Larry B. Scott) is an older camper who loves science but he thinks he is terrible at it. He is nice, funny and very friendly. He ends up studying very hard and becomes a really good scientist. Max (Joaquin Phoenix, credited as Leaf Phoenix) is the youngest kid in the group, and he actually wasn’t even supposed to be in the camp because of his age. All he ever wanted to do in life is go up in space. When the group gets introduced to a space robot named Jinx, Max steals it and forms a close friendship with it. And lastly, Kevin (Tate Donovan) is a bad teenage boy who doesn’t care about space camp at all. He doesn’t even want to be there, but he has no choice.

What is not that great in Space Camp are the special effects and animation. When the characters go up into space, it almost looks like they are a cut-out picture. Nothing looks very realistic to me at all. I know that technology has come a long way since 1986, so that is why these things don’t look that professional.

What is good in the movie is the humor. The jokes are funny and easy to understand. The characters are also a good part of the movie. You really get to know them and enjoy their performances.

This movie is rated PG, but it does have some bad language in it and some pretty intense scenes. Because of this, I think this movie would only be good for kids who are 10 years old up until 14 years. Since this is a classic movie, the family may enjoy sitting down and watching it together. I am giving Space Camp a three out of five stars. My overall impression is that it is worth a look.

Space Camp
Reviewed by Camille Bajema
(See her full review on video.)

Many parts of this film are very suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat!

This film is about five kids — Kevin, Kathryn, Tish, Rudy and Max played by Tate Donovan, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Larry B. Scott and Leaf Phoenix — who go to a camp to train like astronauts. The director of the camp is a strict astronaut named Andie, played by Kate Capshaw. Things get really exciting when they actually explore a real spaceship. A mechanical creature that NASA creates hears Max say that he wishes he could really go up in space, so he controls the spaceship to take off while the kids and Andie are still inside! This is my favorite scene in the movie because the kids are put into an adult situation and have to work as a team. Many exciting, suspenseful things happen while they’re in space!

I love all of the characters. Kevin is a teenage boy who is always on the lookout for cute girls; Kathryn is a very determined young woman who wants to become the first woman shuttle commander; Tish is a girlie girl, yet very smart; Rudy is a super smart and energetic teenage boy; and Max is the youngest of the group, yet very determined to show Andie how grown-up he is. My favorite character would have to be Tish. I like her best because although she’s super girlie, she’s super smart. It shows that girls who are pretty can also be smart, too!

This movie is written by Clifford Green and Casey Mitchell and directed by Harry Winer.

I recommend this film for ages 11 and up because there is some inappropriate language. Also, this film is almost two hours long and might be hard for a younger child to sit through.

I give this film four out of five stars because at some points it gets a little boring and, because it’s an older movie, the special effects are really cheesy! Look for this classic family film on HDNet movies, kidScene throughout September!

Space Camp
Reviewed by Jennifer Huntoon
(See her full review on video.)

I just finished watching the movie Space Camp. In this movie, we follow a group of kids that cannot work together who attend space camp! But when they are accidentally launched into space, they are forced to settle their differences so they can return to Earth. The campers we follow are Kathryn Fairly (Lea Thompson), Tish Ambrosei (Kelly Preston), Rudy Tyler (Larry B. Scott), Max (Joaquin Phoenix, credited as Leaf Phoenix) and Kevin Donaldson (Tate Donovan).

Even though this movie is a little outdated, being made in 1986, I still found myself at the end of my chair wondering what was going to happen next! This suspense was delivered from good acting, cool scenes and intense music. There are several scenes that I can’t get out of my head, but these two were my favorite: My first favorite is when Max has to go out in space and help Andie get oxygen. I love this scene because Max is the youngest kid out of his group and he goes out in space all by himself! My other favorite scene is when Kathryn has to fly the shuttle into “white sand” to land and return to Earth.

I would give Space Camp three stars out of five and recommend it to kids around the age 7. I think adults would also enjoy this film with their families. This is an HDNet movie so watch for it with your family all September long on kidScene!

Photo: Space Camp poster

A little dog wants to be a real boy. That premise behind the story of Teacher’s Pet, an animated film that Disney released in 2004, may parallel an animated feature from Disney’s earlier day: the 1940 classic Pinocchio. In fact, KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Morgan Bertsch, age 7, points it out: “Our story begins with the little dog Spot and his crazy idea that he wants to be a real boy. Shameless plug of Pinocchio on the TV while Spot is singing is very creative.” Cheyenne Nguyen, age 8, shares one element that makes this movie special: “I love the catchy songs they have in this movie, especially the one that has all 50 states in alphabetical order and tells you something about each state.”

Teacher’s Pet, which will air in the morning on Aug. 4, 10 and 16, is one of the many movies brought to your home by HDNet Movies kidScene, a daily programming block specifically for kids and families from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET every Friday night at 7 p.m.

Teacher’s Pet
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen  
(See her full review on video.)

Disney’s Teacher’s Pet is a cleverly scripted animation that both children and adults will enjoy.

Spot Helperman (voiced by Nathan Lane) is a canine dog that wants to be a human as a boy. To make his dreams come true, the dog puts his ears in a beanie and puts on a pair of glasses and pants. Spot becomes Scott and follows Leonard to school during the day.

On the last day of school, they learn that there’s a mad scientist named Ivan Krank (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) who can turn animals into humans. He lives in Florida, and it just happens that Leonard’s mom, who is his 4th grade teacher, is nominated to go to Florida to compete as a finalist in a teacher contest.

Spot has to go through a lot of twists and turns to travel to Florida with Leonard and his mother to fulfill his destiny as a boy with Dr. Krank.

I love the catchy songs they have in this movie, especially the one that has all 50 states in alphabetical order and tells you something about each state.

This animated movie is flashy and has a lot of fun colors. It’s very funny when they make references to other Disney animation classics.
My favorite character is the cat because he is so cute and talks like he has braces.

The message from this movie is to accept who you are and happiness will follow. Being someone else does not guarantee happiness.

I would like to see some of the other pets in this movie be featured more, especially the house bird.

I rank this movie 4 out of 5 stars, for an age range of 5-10.

Look for this classic family film on HDNet Movies kidScene this month!

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

Teacher’s Pet is another great Disney animated creation! Teacher’s Pet is playing all month long on HDNet Movies kidScene.

Our story begins with the little dog Spot and his crazy idea that he wants to be a real boy. Shameless plug of Pinocchio on the TV while Spot is singing is very creative. Spot is voiced by Nathan Lane. His voice gives a great feel to the character of Spot.

Spot is a dog that can talk and read, so he gets this crazy idea to dress up as a boy and go to school with his owner, Leonard (voiced by Shaun Fleming). While at school, Spot sees his opportunity to change into a real boy in Florida.

My favorite part is when Spot the dog has to sneak his way onto the Florida vacation past Leonard’s mom, who doesn’t know Leonard can talk. She thinks she left Spot at home. Leonard’s mom is voiced by Debra Jo Rupp.

In Florida, Spot meets the wacko scientist Dr. Ivan Krank (voiced by Kelsey Grammer). The wacko claims he can turn any animal into a real person. That’s very confusing and really weird but just the thing Spot is looking to do.
It’s a catchy musical with fun characters that’s enjoyable and animated. The songs are wonderful and educational. Some of them stuck in my head for days and I just love to sing along with them. If you want your kids to lean their states in alphabetical order, then this movie gets bonus points.

I give it 5 twinkling stars, for ages 5 and up.

Photos: Teacher’s Pet poster (top), Cheyenne Nguyen (middle), Morgan Bertsch (bottom)

Like The Dark Crystal, which we reviewed in last week’s newsletter, Labyrinth was a creative experiment for Jim Hensen, trying to go beyond the more typical puppet milieu of his popular Muppets. HDNet Movies kidScene brings this 1986 classic to your home Aug. 24 and 25.

As our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics’ views demonstrate, response varied. While 14-year-old Victoria Burns sees the film appealing to much younger audiences (ages 3-6) on the basis of the puppetry alone, 11-year-old Hunter Willow Jones recommends it for ages 8 and up because the characters and situations might be scary for the very young. Hunter makes note of another special element of this movie: “The best part of the movie is the music by David Bowie. It is cool to use a famous rock star and rock music to create a different mood in the film,” and lauds the film’s creativity.

The film did pick up some award nominations in a variety of categories: Saturn Award for Best Costumes from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Labyrinth
Reviewed by Hunter Willow Jones
(See her full review on video.)

I love how creative this movie is!

It is the story of Sara (Jennifer Connelly), who is sick of having to watch her infant half-brother, Toby. She wishes that the goblin king would come and take him away and, unbelievably, her wish comes true. The Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie) arrives at her house and tells her she has thirteen hours to get Toby back, but she has to go through a massive labyrinth. If she fails to do so, Jareth will keep Toby forever and turn him into a goblin. Sara regrets her wish, so she decides she must go through the labyrinth. Throughout her journey she meets many friends and has many near-death experiences. She also learns not to take things for granted.

I really like how the movie is creative. I think having puppets as main characters is really cool. Jim Henson, the creator of Kermit the Frog, wrote, directed and did the puppetry. I also like the setting a lot. It goes with the storyline and makes the movie feel mystical. The set has so many cool ideas. When Sara first comes into the labyrinth, a worm tells her to go through the wall and take a chance. It looks like there is no way to get through, but when she decides to go through she finds that there are more ways for her to go. The best part of the movie is the music by David Bowie. It is cool to use a famous rock star and rock music to create a different mood in the film.

The storyline could be more creative because the concept is too close to Alice in Wonderland.

Jennifer Connelly’s acting is a little weak. She only uses one facial expression the whole time. She doesn’t show much range to her emotion.

I give Labyrinth 4 out of 5 stars and feel that it is better for kids who are 8 and over because the puppets can be a little scary for little kids.

Labyrinth was originally released in 1986 and it will be playing all month on HDNet Movies kidScene!

Labyrinth
Reviewed by Victoria Burns  

I just watched Labyrinth and, from a teen perspective, I would recommend this movie for ages 3-6. I found myself becoming bored and trying to find the point of the storyline. I was looking for more backstory on the main character. There was lots of puppetry that I liked and think would capture the attention of younger audiences.

In this movie, Sarah (portrayed by Jennifer Connelly) asks the Goblin King (portrayed by David Bowie) to take away her little brother Toby (portrayed by Toby Froud). Sarah didn’t actually believe that the goblin king would take away her brother. But he does, and she does everything she can to get him back in a deadline of 13 hours while making friends along the way.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars because the story didn’t draw me in. This is a great movie to watch with small children.

Photos: Labyrinth poster (top), Hunter Willow Jones (middle), Victoria Burns (bottom)

PBS KIDS is hitting the right note for both kids and their moms, according to the latest Nielsen NPower national program ratings. In February, PBS KIDS‘ weekday block of preschool programming took four of the top spots for kids ages two to five, with “Curious George” at number one, “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That!” and “Super Why!” tied for second place and “Dinosaur Train” placing fourth. Online viewing was also at a record high; in fact, February marked the first time PBSKIDS.org was the number one kids site for both unique viewers and videos viewed.

Building on February’s momentum, PBS KIDS presented a special “Cat in the Hat-A-Thon” in March in celebration of Dr. Seuss’s 108th birthday, which also scored high ratings: More than 2.2 million kids from age 2 on up to pre-teen 11-year-olds tuned in to PBS stations across the country for a two-hour marathon of the hit program “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That!”  Interest seemed to be running high, as unique visits to “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That!” website rose 80 percent during the 10-day period leading up to the marathon. Video streams also spiked: From February 21 to March 2, there were more than 12 million video streams for the program online and on the PBS KIDS Video App, available free on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

“In addition to our success with the preschool audience, PBS KIDS was also number one among moms in February, with six shows in the top 10.  “Curious George,” “Sesame Street,” “Super Why!,” “Thomas & Friends” and “Dinosaur Train” took the top five slots and “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That!” placed seventh,” says Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president of Children’s Media at PBS.

The high ratings, online and mobile content usage attest to PBS KIDS’ focus on serving children wherever they live, learn, and play – whether on TV, online, through mobile devices, in the classroom, and with a new line of educational toys. And PBS KIDS also offers a lot of coloring activities parents can download for their child, built around their favorite PBS KIDS series.

Photo: PBS KIDS

The inspiring tale of the little guys fighting powerful moguls, Newsies is built around the timeless and always popular theme of fairness for the everyman versus corporate greed. Setting it up as a musical gives it additional punch. In fact, KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Hunter Willow (age 11) says in her review (below), “It was the singing and dancing that kept me watching.” And Brianna Beaton (age 12), another KIDS FIRST! youth film critic who reviewed the film (also below), says, “I love the music because it’s giving you a feeling of what’s going on at that particular moment.” Brianna also credits the costuming for helping define the characters. Newsies is one of the classic films being screened on HDNet Movies kidScene several times throughout the month of April.

Newsies
Reviewed by Hunter Willow
(See her full review on video.)

Newsies is fun-filled with lively music and dancing, which I LOVE!

It’s 1899, and Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World newspaper, and William Randolph Hurst, publisher of the New York Journal, decide to raise the prices of the distribution cost for the newsboys. Already poor, the newsboys won’t stand for it and they decide to strike.

Jack Kelly (Christian Bale — Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) leads the strike with David Jacobs (David Moscow), Jack’s best friend and the brains behind the strike. Gabriel Damon is Spot Conlon, the leader of the Brooklyn boys. It takes newspaper boys from all the boroughs of New York to come together to make a difference. Bryan Denton (Bill Pullman), a reporter for the Sun, who is writing about the strike in a competing paper and trying to help the boys by making sure people know what is happening.

I love musicals! It was the singing and dancing that kept me watching, but I only rate the movie a 3 out of 5 stars. Technically, the film is top-notch; however, the story is hard to follow at times and I had to ask what things meant. I think this movie is better for teens and adults, but it’s definitely worthwhile for younger kids who like musicals, like me!

All this month you can see Newsies on HDNet Movies kidScene! It’s been 20 years since the original release of Newsies. Finally, Disney is taking the movie to the stage! Newsies is now on Broadway for a limited run March 15 to June 10!

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

Newsies is one of the best musicals I have ever seen.

I really like this film – it has a little touch of what New York is like, including the strong accents of the actors. I love the music because it’s giving you a feel of what’s going on at that particular moment. I must mention the choreography – it is absolutely outstanding, with tons of energy and precision.

Jack Kelly (Christian Bale) plays a young newspaper seller who tries to stand up for his fellow paper sellers, the “newsies.” Their boss has a little trouble making money and figures that since the newsies pay for their own stock before selling, he could raise the amount they pay for it. But they aren’t exactly happy with this decision and decide to stand up for what they want.

Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) directed this great film in 1992. It also stars David Moscow, playing David Jacobs.

The costumes are on point for this specific time period, late 1800s to early 1900s. You can tell who the characters are just by the costumes they are wearing.

This film sends a great message to stand up for what you want and is made for the music lovers at heart.
I recommend this film for ages 10 to adults.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars.

Look for this classic film on HDNet Movies kidScene, sit back and enjoy the music!

Photos: Newsies poster (top), Hunter Willow (middle), Brianna Beaton (bottom)