KIDS FIRST! News

The sixth film of Walmart’s Family Movie Night collection, Field of Vision includes a compelling character for both sexes – and a wide range of ages – to identify with. It offers a lot of food for thought and family discussion, as KIDS FIRST! film critics Sam Connan, Raven Sky Devanney and Gabriella Chu describe in their reviews below (and on YouTube). Among the themes they recognize:
Being understanding of other people (Connan explains that, when a new boy at a high school shows skill on the football field, “some people at his new school take that to mean that he is trying to make them look bad, which is not his intention at all”).
Standing up for the truth (Devanny, describing the lead girl character, says, “It is inspiring that she stays with what she knows is true”).
Redemption (Chu says of the high school guidance teacher, “Now that she sees a struggling student, Corey, she won’t let the opportunity pass to help him out” — spurred by regrets about not having supported a student years ago who needed help).

Bullying is another big theme in Field of Vision, a topic that has been getting more and more attention as the incidence of it – among boys and girls even as young as first grade – becomes more pervasive thanks to the Internet.

Field of Vision
Reviewed by Sam Connan (age 13)

I just finished watching Field of Vision, and I thought it was a really good movie. It’s about an orphan boy who is moved around from foster home to foster home and from school to school, and he’s really a smart guy and he’s really good on the football field. However, some people at his new school take that to mean that he is trying to make them look bad, which is not his intention at all.

I think the acting in this was just phenomenal, especially Joe Adler who plays Corey, the orphan boy. I hope I see this guy in another film because he was quite good.

I think that this would be appropriate for ages 10 and up because it probably wouldn’t hold the attention of younger kids. There’s a lot of talking and there aren’t many bright, flashy colors or movement or that kind of thing. It’s more psychological than anything else.

All in all, I’d give this movie a two out of three.

Field of Vision
Reviewed by Raven Sky Devanney (age 13)

Field of Vision is a great movie about standing up for the truth and always pushing towards your goals.

This movie is very enjoyable; however, the cinematography and visual aspects aren’t very impressive because the colors are dull and simple.

My favorite character is Lucy, played by Alyssa Shafer, because she does an excellent job and the character is so caring and always backs up her belief of the “magic” camera even when she is doubted. It is inspiring that she stays with what she knows is true.

My favorite scene would have to be when Corey, played by Joseph Adler, and Lucy exchange books for the first time, because her compassion towards him is very sweet. The scene is also important because Lucy becomes very involved in Corey’s life later in the film.

This movie is for ages 10 and up because younger children will lose interest in the storyline and plot quickly. Also, younger children may not quite get some of the more mature situations. This is a wonderful family film, as it gives families a chance to talk about the important issue of bullying.

Overall, I give Field of Vision a thumbs up!

Field of Vision
Reviewed by Gabriella Chu (age 14)

Field of Vision tells the story of a new kid named Corey who transfers to a different high school. He joins the football team there and is bullied by a few of the guys, which causes him to not want to play football anymore. However, the captain of the football team, Tyler, still needs Corey because he is a good player. In order to try to get Corey back on the team, he has to confront the bullies who are also his best friends — since 4th grade! Will Corey decide to go back on the team? Find out for yourself.

This movie is very inspiring. Tyler learned that it is important to do the right thing, even when it means sacrificing your relationship with your best friends.

Tyler’s mother, Jody, learned that it is always helpful to support someone in need. Jody is the guidance counselor of the high school, but she used to be a teacher who taught Corey’s mother! She regrets that she did not help his mother, who was pregnant when she was only 18. Now that she sees a struggling student, Corey, she won’t let the opportunity pass to help him out. She learned that it is always nice to give a helping hand. If you’re wondering how Jody helped Tyler out, watch out for the surprise ending of the movie!

I would recommend this movie to kids ages nine and up. It is a great family movie, but younger kids might not understand the complications between the characters and the drama that occurs.  

Photos, top to bottom: Field of Vision poster, Sam Connan, Raven Sky Devanney, Gabriella Chu
Check out the Field of Vision trailer to get a taste of the film yourself.
The film has also received a lot of attention for dealing with cyber bullying. View Miami Dolphins’ Ronnie Brown discussing the issue of kids bullying other kids – and bringing the discussion to a Field of Vision Generation Next event.

As a KIDS FIRST! film critic, 14-year-old Gabriella Chu had the enviable opportunity to meet in person with Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer star Jordana Beatty and with Judy Moody‘s creator, author Megan McDonald, when they were recently in New York. “I like the character herself because she’s so independent and she’s a leader. She never cares what anyone else thinks,” Beatty told Chu. And that, McDonald told Chu a short time later, is a big part of what she wants Judy Moody’s fans to take away: “I think in real life we have a lot of moods and a lot of disappointments, but Judy always finds a creative way, and I think she always kind of meets those obstacles with a sense of humor. I would like kids to know [to] just keep a sense of humor about it. Everything doesn’t always go perfectly in life, but I think Judy is kind of an inspiration that way.”

Read both interviews in full below, and view them on YouTube.

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer
Talent interviews by Gabriella Chu

I was so excited to interview Jordana Beatty and Ms. Megan McDonald on the upcoming film: Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer! I left school early on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, to make sure I would be at the press meeting and interview on time. At about 4:00, both stars came in. I was so elated to have the opportunity to chat with them for a bit.

INTERVIEW WITH JORDANA BEATTY
(Photo: Jordana Beatty, left, with Gabriella Chu)

Gabriella Chu: What do you do with other actors when you’re not working on set?
Jordana Beatty: I love to play games with them a lot, like Uno. We also just hang out and chat, and we still do school work together.

Chu: Do you still keep in touch with them?
Beatty: Yeah. I e-mail them because we are obviously in different countries and I can’t wait to see them!

Chu: What is something that you hope kids watching the movie will learn from you?
Beatty: I hope that it will teach them to go out and have the best summer ever. Don’t just stick around at home in front of the computer all day, but actually go out and do something.

Chu: So what does that mean to you? What is a fun summer to you?
Beatty: I think for me it’s doing the things I like best, so: going to the beach a lot, surfing, baking and reading.

Chu: Cool! I know you’re Australian. Have you ever been to New York before?
Beatty: I’ve been before but only for a very short time, so I’m excited to be back.

Chu: Do you like it?
Beatty: I love it!

Chu: Is it very different from Australia?
Beatty: Yes, definitely. The weather is a lot different and there are so many buildings and I definitely don’t know my way around.

Chu: What advice do you have for kids who want to be actors?
Beatty: I think if you don’t get something the first time, then keep trying — because that’s what I did and it worked.

Chu: Do you identify with your character in the movie?
Beatty: Yeah, in a couple of ways. We both have the same color hair, we both have a great imagination, and we both get in lots of moods.

Chu: What do you think is the most fun aspect of playing Judy Moody?
Beatty: That’s a hard one. I like everything. I like the character herself because she’s so independent and she’s a leader. She never cares what anyone else thinks. I like her qualities and her family and I love her bedroom.

Chu: Are you a lot like her in real life?
Beatty: I think so, but we are very different in a few ways as well.

Chu: How?
Beatty: We are both different because we come from very different families and we’re from different sides of the planet. She also has a little brother, of course, and I have no siblings. Just cousins. So that’s a big difference as well. And she has different friends, obviously, and we definitely don’t dress alike. She’s very mismatched.

Chu: If she was a real person, do you think you would be good friends with her?
Beatty: Yes, definitely. She is very fun-loving and she’s great at heart.

Chu: It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Jordana. I like the movie a lot.

This has been an interview by Gabriella Chu for KIDS FIRST! You should go out and see Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer coming out on June 10!

INTERVIEW WITH MEGAN MCDONALD
(Photo: Megan McDonald, left, with Gabriella Chu)

Chu: When I was a bit younger, I used to read the Judy Moody series. I’m a fan. What inspired you to write the books?
Megan McDonald: Well, originally, the books were based on my own life a little bit because I have four older sisters. So you can imagine that with lots of siblings a lot of funny things happen. I kind of make the same things happen to Judy and Stink in the books.

Chu: Yesterday, I just watched the movie. I like it a lot! Especially how Judy Moody and Aunt Opal are always coming up with such creative ways to have fun. Was it hard thinking of those ideas?
McDonald: We had tons of ideas and we didn’t get to use them all in the film. But it wasn’t really hard because I think that’s really a part of Judy’s character. She’s so creative, so even if hard or difficult things happen to her, she always finds a creative solution. I also wanted it to be like the simple things that we like to do when we were kids, like having a club with your friends or riding a rollercoaster.

Chu: How involved were you in the creation of the movie?
McDonald: I am so lucky, because a lot of writers don’t have anything to do with [it] when the book goes to film, but I got to co-write the screenplay so I got to dream up what the whole story of the movie would be and write it. The producer also asked me if I would come on set, so I got to go every day when they were filming and be kind of in a consulting role to make sure that everything was very authentic to Judy Moody’s world.

Chu: So do you think the movie is a good interpretation of your books?
McDonald: I think it is, because it really captures Judy Moody’s character. She is a big sister to her little brother Stink, but also her kind of kooky kind of fun-loving aunt comes to stay, and so she has this wonderful new relationship with her aunt, who’s kind of like a grown-up Judy Moody. That’s a little different from the books because she is a new character, but there is so much that’s part of Judy Moody’s world in the movie — like her mood ring, her cat named Mouse, her magic 8 ball, and all of the things that readers will know and love about Judy. The Toad Pee Club with her friends is also in the movie, so I think it sticks very closely to the spirit of Judy Moody and the books.

Chu: What message are you trying to get across in your books?
McDonald: In the books, I don’t really sit down and consciously think of the message. It’s more like I hope kids will be inspired by Judy’s character and the person she is. I think she’s very independent, knows her own mind, has strong opinions and [is] very outspoken. I also hope that from the film, [they get] she wants to have the best summer ever and a lot of things go wrong. I think in real life we have a lot of moods and a lot of disappointments, but Judy always finds a creative way, and I think she always kind of meets those obstacles with a sense of humor. I would like kids to know [to] just keep a sense of humor about it. Everything doesn’t always go perfectly in life, but I think Judy is kind of an inspiration in that way.

Chu: What particular age group do you think the movie is suited for, for most kids?
McDonald: If I had to pick an age group, the core age group is 7- to 10-year-olds. But when we did some preliminary screenings, my niece came, who is three years old, and sat through the whole 90-minute movie and was just wide-eyed on the edge of her seat. So even really little kids enjoy Judy Moody. I’ve also had 18-year-olds who read Judy Moody when they were that age. They take their friends and come, so I think even if you’ve known Judy Moody when you were a kid, you will still enjoy it. I think grown-ups enjoy it because it’s very funny and makes you laugh out loud.

Chu: Do you think we’ll be seeing more of Judy Moody in the future?
McDonald: I certainly hope so. I would love for there to be a sequel some day. I know Jordana would love to play Judy Moody again. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope that will happen someday!

Chu: I hope so too! These are all the questions I have today. Thank you so much for your time Ms. McDonald.

This has been an interview from Gabriella Chu for KIDS FIRST! You should go out and see Judy Moody. It’s coming out in theaters June 10!

Your opinion (and your kids’) matter, so we invite you to join the KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club. Get the DVD and host an exclusive screening for your family and your friends’ families. Then share your feedback with us – from the kids and the adults. It’s as easy as popping popcorn, and there’s no charge to be a member or participate.

We’re kicking off the KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club with a new film entitled “Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie,” which E One Entertainment released on DVD May 31. The first 100 people to sign up will get a free DVD of the film for their home screening.

When you send us your review of the DVD, you will be entered into a drawing for one of the two HD TVs that we are giving away.

Then, we’ll continue every month with a drawing to give away a prize to someone who sends in their feedback – written reviews, videotaped reviews, comments from your audience and/or photos of your event. The prize will vary from a HD camera to an HD TV.

The screenings are very limited, so your chances to win are very good!

A little about Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie:
If your kids are into rubber band bracelets, it’s no stretch to imagine they’ll be into Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie. Five specialty shaped rubber bands are carelessly left behind on a deserted stretch of desert highway after the box they are in is jostled off the delivery truck. Attempting to “follow that truck” and get back on track to the toy store that’s expecting them, they get run over by a speeding car which turns out to be a good thing, as they happily roll along, stuck to the spinning tire as it unknowingly carries them where they wanted to go. Runtime 50 minutes. Ages 4-8.

KIDS FIRST! Home Screening Club

Po, that immensely huggable martial arts hero, is back. Kung Fu Panda 2 is directed by Jennifer Yuh, who stepped to the helm here after being storyboard artist for the original Kung Fu Panda. Jack Black’s voice is again perfectly cast as the ungainly panda, joined by a host of other actors whose names and faces are as well-known as their voices, among them Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen and martial arts master himself, Jackie Chan.

“This movie is so awesome. All the characters from the first movie are back, along with some new faces. The animation is phenomenal and Jack Black does an exceptional job as the voice of Po!” says KIDS FIRST! film critic Raven Devanney (age 13). And fellow KIDS FIRST! film critic Gabriella Chu (age 14) shares, “Watching this movie in 3-D felt so life-like, espcially thte action scenes. There are so many action sequences and they all are very intense.”

Check out Raven‘s and Gabriella‘s reviews on YouTube, and read their full reviews below:

‘Kung Fu Panda 2’
Reviewed by Raven Devanney

The lovable yet ferocious panda is back in Kung fu Panda 2. Po and the Furious Five are here to save China, and things get a little crazy!

This movie is so awesome. All the characters from the first movie are back, along with some new faces. The animation is phenomenal and Jack Black does an exceptional job as the voice of Po!

My favorite character is Tigress, played by the brilliant Angelina Jolie, because you get to experience the softer side of Tigress.

All the battles in this film are amazing because they are not only action-packed, but are also hilarious. This movie should be viewed by ages 5 and up because this movie is a lot more emotional and sad than the first film and there is a little bit more death.

Overall, I give Kung Fu Panda 2 two thumbs up!! 

‘Kung Fu Panda 2’
Reviewed by Gabriella Chu

The Kung Fu Panda is back with more adventure! This movie is an irresistible action comedy that’s pure fun. In case you have not watched the first Kung Fu Panda before, the protagonist, Po, is a panda who transforms from noodle-shop employee to kung fu master, joining the Furious Seven (a group of heroes who fight villains). In this sequel, Po finds himself conflicted with his past. He starts to question where he has come from and why his father is a goose instead of the panda. He also has to defeat evil Lord Shen, a peacock who plans to use a secret weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Will Po be able to defeat Lord Shen even when conflicted with this past? You will have to watch this movie for yourself!

Watching this movie in 3-D felt so life-like, especially the action scenes. There are so many action sequences and they all are very intense. My favorite sequence is the one where Po finds his inner peace because the movie is in slow motion and incorporates scenes of his past as well as scenes from Master Shifu’s technique of inner peace. The slow motion emphasized Po’s technique, and made the scene much more interesting. I also thought the humorous voice of Po, Jack Black, is perfect for his role as a lively and entertaining panda. The movie also has inspiring messages, such as: Look to the future instead of the past, and discover who you are. However, I did not think this movie was as good as the first one. I did not find the story as touching and upbeat. I also didn’t find the voices of the characters recognizable, except for Po and the Tigress’s voice. In addition, the colors of the movie were not very vibrant. They did not fit the comical mood of the movie so much.

Overall, though, I think this is a great animated family comedy. I would recommend it to children ages 8 and up because younger kids might not be able to follow the storyline. You should definitely go see this if you are into adventure!

Photos: Kung Fu Panda 2 poster (top), Raven Devanney (middle), Gabriella Chu (bottom)

An Australian high schooler dreams of making his life in music. In fact, Tommy daydreams in music, mentally creating orchestral performances out of the sounds that surround him – such unlikely noises as post-hole diggers in the rugged Outback and construction site clamor. As Broken Hill enacts these imaginings, we experience the artistic beauty that inspires Tommy.

Reviews by KIDS FIRST! film critics Gabriella Chu (age 14) and Raven Sky Devanney (age 13) share how well Broken Hill connects with its audience. “I love this movie because it is very creative. I never heard someone play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” so authentically until I heard Tommy and the inmates improvise with the song and make it sound so awesome by using all kinds of instruments – from buckets to violins. The final piece Tommy’s band plays is also excellent,” says Gabriella. Below are the full reviews from both teens. 

‘Broken Hill’
by Gabriella Chu

Broken Hill is a wonderful movie. The first few minutes of the movie instantly capture my attention! It tells the story of a teenage boy named Tommy (played by Luke Arnold) who dreams of starting a band to get into music school but is distracted from his goal because he likes a girl in his class named Kat (played by Alexa Vega), and he is also discouraged by his father. Tommy and Kat end up doing community service at a jail after they pull a juvenile prank and get caught by the police. The two do not get along initially, but they gradually become friends and form an original band with the prison inmates. Is Tommy’s band good enough to get him into the Sydney Conservatory music school? You have to watch this movie for yourself!

I love this movie because it is very creative. I never heard someone play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” so authentically until I heard Tommy and the inmates improvise with the song and make it sound so awesome by using all kinds of instruments — from buckets to violins. The final piece Tommy’s band plays is also excellent. I think the original music by Christopher Brady and the orchestrator David Long are fantastic! I also like how director Dagen Merrill shows how Tommy hears music everywhere. Just by listening to things in nature such as grasshoppers, the wind, and rivers, in the middle of the Australian desert, Tommy can replace these normal noises with the sounds of instruments to compose a beautiful symphony in his mind. I am impressed at the way the director made this comparison.
 
It is difficult for me to hear everything the actors are saying because most of them have an Australian accent. Other than that, I think this is a great movie. I would recommend it to children ages 11 and up because the movie contains some deep messages that may be hard for younger kids to understand, such as music can be found everywhere and music can lift anyone’s spirits. This movie will suit most viewers, especially those who are interested in music. 

For Tommy, the prison band seems his last chance to put together the audition performance he needs to get into the prestigious music conservatory, though he keeps his goal a secret from everyone but his private music maestro. The prisoners are not so enthusiastic at first about the band, but are persuaded to participate by another inmate, Kalai, who seemingly feels he owes Tommy for an earlier act of kindness. There are many strands of relationships that develop around Tommy, as KIDS FIRST! film critic Raven Sky Devanney shares:

‘Broken Hill’
By Raven Sky Devanney

Broken Hill is an amazing movie about a boy from Australia who wants to become a composer but his father disapproves, so he makes a band with local prisoners.

I really really like this film. It is funny and touching and super great! The cinematography was nice and it is pretty funny in the beginning when Tommy is imagining the orchestra.

I really enjoyed watching the relationship grow between Kat and Tommy throughout the film. My favorite character is the drumming prisoner because he was clueless and hilarious.

I was really shocked, in the end, after Kalai escaped and there was no closure between him and Tommy. It left me wanting more.

This film is for ages 12 and up because it is a little mature for younger kids. Broken Hill is a great movie for teens. I give this film a thumbs up!

Released for home viewing by E One Entertainment, Broken Hill is available on DVD May 17.

Photos, from top to bottom: Broken Hill, Gabriella Chu, Raven Sky Devanney