KIDS FIRST! News

“Drawing With Mark: Happy Tails and Ice Cream” & “A Day With The Dinosaurs and Reach For The Stars”  – These two DVDs feature former Disney illustrator, Mark Marderosian as host to this award-winning series teaching kids how to draw. Each DVD contains two separate episodes. As Stacy B says, “You can have fun with the tips he gives you which may lead you to become and artist or to illustrate books.” Valdi, adds, “I recommend this show to anyone that loves to draw to express their feelings, or to just have fun.” See the full reviews by these two KIDS FIRST! Film Critics below. Additionally, here’s a link to a video review by Cheyenne N. and another video review from Adam C. 

“Drawing with Mark: A Day With The Dinosaurs and Reach For The Stars”
Reviewed by Stacy-Love Belizaire
Video Review available here.

“Drawing with Mark” is a great show to learn tips about how to draw and/or improve your drawing. Mark is really helpful and easy to understand. In “A Day with the Dinosaurs” I learned how to draw a pterodactyl and a T-rex. Mark visits the Museum of Boston and speaks with an expert to learn more about them and to get an idea of how the dinosaurs lived, what they ate and how long they lived. I learned that sometimes they call dinosaurs very large lizards.

In the other episode, “Reach for the Stars,” I learned how to draw an astronaut and the planet Saturn, the planet with the rings around it. At the Museum of Boston, he speaks with another expert about the stars, the galaxy, the astronauts and of course, Saturn. I also learned how far we are from the stars. I thought that the stars were probably about 270 miles from us, but they are actually millions of miles from us. That’s really far! You can see the stars look kind of close, but they are so far away!!

Mark taught me that a drawing takes time and you don’t need to rush. Always draw the stick figure, the foundation, before you start adding details and other special little things. You need to draw the outline and just sketch it, don’t hold your pencil too hard; sketch lightly and softly.

I recommend this show to anyone who loves to draw and wants to improve their drawing. You can have fun with the tips he gives you which may lead you to become and artist or to illustrate books. I give the show 5 stars out of 5 and recommend it to all ages because, it’s never too late to learn to draw. “Drawing with Mark” is a really fun, artistic and colorful program that will be open a new world to future artists around the world.

“Drawing With Mark: Happy Tails and Ice Cream”
Reviewed by Valdi Belizaire
Video Review available here.

If you love drawing like me, then you’ll love “Drawing with Mark.” This show teaches kids how to draw while also teaching them their shapes and some history about the things they draw.  Kids also learn three or four fun facts about what they are drawing.

The “Happy Tails” part of this show is about cats and dogs and how to draw them.  He also talks about how much responsibility it is to have a dog. You have to groom it, take care of it, bring it to the vet and feed it. In the “Ice Cream” episode, Mark goes to the ice cream shop and learns about children’s favorite ice cream flavors and you’ll never guess – it’s cake batter flavor! When I heard this I thought that it was funny because I would never think that they would make a cake batter flavored ice cream.

I like that this show helped me be a better artist and I learned how to draw a dog and a cat better than I already did. I also learned how to draw an ice cream truck and a man holding an ice cream cone. I love watching this because I learned a lot and it made me understand the fundamentals of drawing. I also like that they included a live-action human with animated characters. I also like it when they went into the ice cream shop and saw Crystal Cat in the toppings section. It was funny because they were talking about all of the toppings that the kids pick every time they come in and Crystal Cat was right there so they started laughing. There is no underlying message in this story, because it’s about drawing except maybe that no matter how old you are, you can draw big things.

I recommend this show to anyone that loves to draw to express their feelings, or to just have fun. I recommend this for people ages six and older because anyone can draw if they want to. I would give this DVD four out of five because overall I liked it but I wish that it had more music.

You may submit your films, DVDs, Audio Recording, Games and Apps now through October 15 for a KIDS FIRST! Endorsement and now through October 30 for Film Festival entries. Screenplays may be submitted at any time. For more info or to enter, go here.

KIDS FIRST! has been supporting quality children’s media for 22 years and is the most highly respected media endorsement program in the country. Unlike an awards program which limits the number of winners, every title that meets our criteria and is approved by our kids’ juries receives an endorsement. Our base-line criteria includes:

• NO gratuitous violence or abuse
• NO inappropriate sexual behavior
• NO bias in terms of race, gender, culture or religion
• NO condescension toward children
• NO replicable unsafe behavior

KIDS FIRST! Endorsed Titles Receive

• The right to use the KIDS FIRST! endorsement seal and rating on all promotional and packaging materials..
• A unique title landing page on the KIDS FIRST! website
• featuring reviews by our jurors, your trailer or sample clip, cover art and link to your website to purchase.
• Consideration for a KIDS FIRST! Best Award
• Coverage on the KIDS FIRST! Radio Show, KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions (100,000 listeners/month)
• Promoted in KIDS FIRST! News (45,000 readers/mo)
• Promoted on KIDS FIRST! Social media (450,000 reach)

KIDS FIRST! recently announced their new partnership with John Wood who joins us as a judge for audio recordings. John brings his considerable experience of decades as a children’s audio reviewer and awards judge to the re-launch of our CD endorsement program.  Children’s recording artists, specializing in both music and spoken word, know the name of John Wood whose kidzmusic.com website is revered by anyone interested in great music and recordings for children. Parents concerned about the lyrics in current pop music and curious enough to venture beyond the blockbuster releases found at any box store know that kidzmusic offers great CDs for their kids.

With John Wood joining KIDS FIRST!, the prestigious KIDS FIRST! endorsement gives musicians and spoken word artists an opportunity to take advantage of the branding power that KIDS FIRST! offers them. What a great combination. The judging period runs September 1 to October 15, 2013. To submit your  music or spoken word recordings, go here.

KIDS FIRST! has supported quality children’s media since 1991 and is the most highly respected media endorsement program in the country. Unlike awards’ programs which limit the number of winners, every title that meets the KIDS FIRST! criteria and is approved by the judges, receives an endorsement. Once a title is endorsed, it receives its own unique landing page on the KIDS FIRST! website, with a review, a music or spoken word clip, the cover art and a link to purchase. Additionally, the reviews of endorsed media are promoted to the KIDS FIRST! media network throughout the year where they reach an audience of 3+ million.

KIDS FIRST! is a project of the 22-year-old, national nonprofit, Coalition for Quality Children’s Media whose mission is to teach children critical thinking skills so they can become informed media users and to promote quality children’s media to the general public.

KIDS FIRST! is supported by major entertainment companies including Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, AOL Kids, HDNet Movies, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal and Sony as well as Grand Magazine, Working Mother, National Association of Parenting Publications and Voice America Radio Network.

To submit a title, go to  http://www.kidsfirst.org/submit-a-title/kf-what-endorsement.html
For more information about John Wood go to http://www.kidsfirst.org/about-us/Board_Staff_Bios_John.Wood.html

“The Watsons Go to Birmingham” is an original movie presented by Walmart and P&G for Walden Family Theater premiering September 20 on Hallmark Channel. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Keefer B loves the acting in this film and the moral: “You can’t live your life in fear and live a good life.” His full review is below.

The Watsons go to Birmingham
by Keefer B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 13
Video review available here:

This powerful, historical fiction takes place in 1963. The plot follows our protagonist Kenny (Bryce Clyde Jenkins) and his African American family from their house in Flint, Michigan to their family home in Birmingham, Alabama. While in Alabama, Kenny and his siblings are introduced to segregation and all its inhumanity.  In Michigan they lived free from sequestration except for what they experienced on TV. This film is seeded with real life situations and old black and white clips that are sewn together quite skillfully.

What I love about the film is the outstanding acting. The kids couldn’t be better. The characters go through so much they’re able to express a lot of emotion and does it show! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there have been a lot of films about segregation this year; 42, Lee Daniels The Butler and more to come. What makes this film stand out is that the story is from 10-year-old Kenny’s perspective. When we view the world through a black adult’s eyes, we know they’ve probably experienced segregation. From a child’s level, we see they can’t comprehend why they’re treated poorly because of their skin color. That’s what makes it more powerful.

My favorite character is Kenny. I relate to him because he’s sort of a nerd, kindhearted and in this film, confused. I like to see how he deals with the different situations he’s placed in. Jenkins does a tremendous job portraying this character.

My favorite scene is when Kenny almost drowns. Kenny is swimming in the lake and gets sucked down into a whirlpool. Luckily, his brother Byron (Harrison Knight) saves him. This scene is intense and I got a little teary-eyed when Byron embraces Kenny and won’t let go.

The moral is, “You can’t live your life in fear and live a good life.” After the drowning incident Kenny thinks the whirlpool (Whir Poo) is out to get him so he magnifies emotional situations to the point of over-whelming dread.

I give this 5 out of 5 stars and recommend this for 9-year-olds and up. I think this film is very educational. It’s a perfect film to show younger audiences and it has that family element to it that makes it entertaining.

Based on the best selling series “Dear Dumb Diary” by Jim Benton, this made for TV movie airs September 6 on the Hallmark Channel. “You might think it is a girl’s movie but I enjoyed it and so did my twelve year old brother,” comments KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Adam C, age 8. Adam’s full review follows along with Jailene’s video review. Check them out!

Dear Dumb Diary
Video Review by Jailene A. here.
Reviewed by Adam C., Age 8, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic
Video review available here.

If you enjoy comedy mixed with great musical numbers then you will love “Dear Dumb Diary.”  “Dear Dumb Diary” is about a girl named Jamie Kelly who attends Mackeral Middle School and dreams of being popular and of having the boy of her dreams, Hudson, love her.  She writes all of her secrets and dreams in her diary.  She is jealous of a beautiful girl named Angeline who she feels gets more attention from Hudson than Jamie feels she deserves.

My favorite character in the movie is Jamie Kelly (Emily Alyn Lind).  She is easy to relate to as most teenagers have insecurities and lots of dreams of how their life could be better.  Jamie keeps her room really messy and only cleans it when she wants to find her missing diary. She is funny and has a great sense of humor.  Emily is a very talented girl and does a wonderful job of acting, singing and dancing in this movie.

The musical numbers in “Dear Dumb Diary” are well choreographed and very entertaining.  They add a great deal to the movie because it keeps the viewer’s attention and adds an extra dimension to this already excellent movie.

My favorite part of the movie is actually a musical number.  It is the musical number where Jamie sings that there are too many beautiful people in the world and they need to leave to give the ordinary people a chance to shine.  The ordinary people put all of the beautiful people on a small yellow school bus and send them away.

The film has many positive messages that can apply to all age ranges.  The first is “do not judge a book by its cover.”  Angeline, who Jamie feels is mean in the movie because she is so beautiful, actually covers for her and returns her diary without reading a single word of it.  Jamie, even though she wants to shine and be the winner in the Jump-A-Thon, helps Angeline who doesn’t know how to jump.

Jamie and her best friend Isabella do this because Angeline has many sponsors and will enable the school to hire the art teacher back and provide many extracurricular activities for the school. Isabella and Jamie show maturity in putting the greater good of the school before their own personal glory.   Jamie’s best friend Isabella collects for a fake charity so she can get money to buy herself contacts.  In the end, Jamie and Isabella start a charity that helps less fortunate children to get glasses. Throughout the movie, Jamie is learning the lesson that inner beauty is very important.

I give this movie five out of five stars.  It’s a great family movie appropriate for ages 7 to 18. You might think it is a girl’s movie but I enjoyed it and so did my twelve year old brother. I feel the music and dancing help this movie appeal to a wider audience range.  It is airing on the Hallmark Channel on September 6 and will also be available for purchase at Wal-Mart on September 10.

New to DVD/Blu-ray this week is Blue Sky Studios’ animated feature film “Epic.” If you like fairy tales, then you will love this film. A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world — and ours. Rated PG, it’s the perfect film to share with your whole family.

13-year-old KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Brianna B says, “I absolutely love this film. It has a great plot, and some really great characters. I like how the visuals are outstanding, and flawless.” KIDS FIRST! Film Critics also discuss Epic on the KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions Radio Show. See Brianna’s full review below.

“Epic”
Reviewed by Brianna B.
Full video review here.

This is a great animation with a wonderful plot that is full of twists and turns.
Mary Katherine (M.K.) (Amanda Seyfried-Voice) accidently finds herself in a world where tiny people exist. Once she is turned into one of them she tries to help their home, the forest, become whole again. Along the way she meets some very interesting characters. Will she get back home, or will she permanently have to live in the forest?

I absolutely love this film. It has a great plot, and some really great characters. I like how the visuals are outstanding and flawless. The 3-D animation is so wonderful that it makes this film 100 times better in making the forest come alive. The costumes really relate to where the characters are in the forest. The background music is very fitting with the rest of the film. The actors do a remarkable job portraying their characters.

I am surprised about how much I love this film. I think everything about this film is great. My favorite character is M.K., because she is very much like me, not in her situation, but the way she acts about everything. I can see myself easily relating to her. My favorite scene is when M.K. is talking to her Dad about how he is not normal and all she wants him to do is be her Dad without all the gadgets and gizmos. This scene is very touching, and teaches us that once in a while you need to be there for your loved ones, but you should also do your own thing.

Director Chris Wedge directs a fantastic animated film. Also Writers James V. Hart and William Joyce, along with others, do a good job writing the screenplay. Other great voice-over talents in this film are Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson and Beyoncé Knowles.
A couple of messages that are in this film are: 1) Everything happens for a reason and 2) Do not take what you have for granted. Be thankful for everything that you have.

I recommend “Epic” for ages 5 to 16. It is really one of those films that everyone can watch and enjoy together. There is no content that is inappropriate for younger viewers. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars. It is truly a wonderful film with amazing animation and great characters. I will definitely look forward to seeing it again.