Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Shalom Sesame, a twelve-part DVD series offering North American children and families an introduction to Jewish life and culture, won a Hugo Television Award Certificate of Merit: Children’s Program for the episode, “It’s Passover, Grover!”  This marks the first Hugo Television Award for Shalom Sesame, which is co-produced by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Channel HOP!, the leading children’s channel in Israel.

The winning Shalom Sesame episode, “It’s Passover, Grover!” finds the zany blue monster Grover and his friend Anneliese van der Pol (That’s So Raven, Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast) on a visit to Israel and it is almost time to celebrate Passover—only there is no horseradish to be found. Grover and Anneliese, along with Avigail, a beloved Muppet friend from Rechov Sumsum, put their heads together to track down the missing horseradish, exhibiting teamwork and problem solving skills, all while learning about the traditions of Passover. The Shalom Sesame series is designed to introduce Jewish culture and traditions, as well as the diversity of Israeli life, to American children and their families, through storylines drawn from Jewish traditions. The series also celebrates introducing Jewish values and concepts and introduces viewers to the Hebrew language.

The Hugo Television Awards were founded 47 years ago to acknowledge those who keep the television medium vibrant and shape its future. The Hugo TV Awards are presented annually in Chicago by the Chicago International Film Festival.

Shalom Sesame is available on DVD from SISU Home Entertainment, to order visit http://www.sisuent.com/.

“It’s Passover, Grover!” can also be seen on PBS (check local listings). For more information, including materials for parents and educators, please visit http://www.shalomsesame.org/. For clips from the series, visit the Shalom Sesame YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/shalomsesame.

PBS KIDS has launched a series of online videos for preschoolers that combine video shorts with interactive game play.  Available on the PBS KIDS Video Player, the Play-Along Videos feature DINOSAUR TRAIN and SUPER WHY. In each Play-Along Video, kids interact with characters to help them complete tasks, such as matching items of the correct size or finding the right words to complete a sentence.

“We are always looking for ways to make media more engaging by exploring new technology that fosters fun and learning,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS. “Initial research of our Play-Along Videos has been promising, and we are excited about the learning potential for this technology that effectively integrates the power of video and interactive gaming.”

PBSKIDS.org, ranked as the top kids’ site for free videos streamed for the past six months, according to comScore Video Metrix, is often the first internet experience for young children. Play-Along Videos are designed to offer educational content supporting childhood development, including social emotional development, artistic expression, language development, and reading skills. The SUPER WHY Play-Along Video helps children build key literacy skills, including vocabulary and spelling.  In the DINOSAUR TRAIN Play-Along Video, children build their science skills, exploring concepts such as investigation and dinosaur anatomy, while on a fossil excavation.

Innovative Online Content Combines Games with Video to Amp up Fun and Learning.

Earth Days – Visually stunning, vastly entertaining and awe-inspiring, “Earth Days” looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement – from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary bestseller “Silent Spring,” to the first wildly successful 1970 Earth Day celebration and the subsequent firestorm of political action. “Earth Days’” secret weapon is a one-two punch of personal testimony and rare archival media. “Earth Days” is both a poetic meditation on man’s complex relationship with nature and an engaging history of the revolutionary achievements – and missed opportunities – of groundbreaking eco-activism. To watch a preview of this film, click here.

Becoming Green: This set contains four outstanding programs related to environmental awareness.
Car of the Future – What will the car of the future be like? Will it run on hydrogen, batteries, or some as-yet undiscovered technology? Find out as NOVA looks at what’s to come for our transportation.
Solar Energy: Saved by the Sun – In the face of rising oil prices and political turmoil in the Middle East, there’s new urgency to find ways to make solar power more efficient and affordable.
Global Warming: What’s Up With the Weather? – The weather is different now – but why? Find out when NOVA and FRONTLINE join forces to determine what’s up with the weather.
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring – Rachel Carson’s great love of the natural world drove her to write about the chemical industry and its unregulated use of DDT. Though she was viciously attacked,
Silent Spring became an instant bestseller and changed the way we think about the natural world.

Secrets Beneath the Ice: Does Antarctica’s climate past offer clues to what may happen to our warming planet? To gather crucial evidence, NOVA follows an ambitious Antarctic investigation utilizing a state-of-the-art drilling probe known as ANDRILL. Drilling deep beneath the Antarctic ice, down through the sea and three-fourths of a mile into the seafloor, ANDRILL recovers rock cores that reveal intimate details of climate and fauna from a time in the distant past when the Earth was just a few degrees warmer than it is today. As researchers grapple with the harshest conditions on the planet, they discover astonishing new clues — not only about Antarctica’s past, but also Earth’s future. Streets 3/22/11

Word Girl: Earth Day Girl: When the Birthday Girl learns that the Earth is having a special celebration (on her birthday!) she decides to teach the Earth a lesson. Will WordGirl find a way to stop the Birthday Girl and save Earth Day?

The Big Energy Gamble: A vast majority of Americans believe we are facing a global climate crisis, but we don’t know how the various energy solutions we hear about can help. NOVA looks at everything California – an oasis of energy conservation – is doing, from conservation and efficiency to the development of new sources of carbon-free power, to find out how the rest of the country can join in their aggressive pursuit of a sustainable energy future.
 

Warner Home Video (WHV) is set to release the sixth and final season of the hilarious family sitcom that launched the acting career of superstar Will Smith.  The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Complete Sixth Season, will be available on DVD April 19, 2011.  This release will feature 24 episodes on three discs.

Will Smith and the rest of the cast take their final bows on the sixth and final season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. A lot has happened since Will originally showed up on the Banks’ Bel-Air doorstep and the final season keeps the fun rolling to the very end with hip comedy style, phat one-liners, and a not-to-be-missed blooper episode.

During the last season of the show, Will dates the ugly sister of an upcoming comedian played by Chris Rock. Carlton decides to run away prior to his interview with a representative from Princeton. Will and Carlton go to Las Vegas to celebrate Carlton’s 21st birthday. Hillary decides she wants to have a baby. Phil and Vivian break up after Phil becomes wrapped up in politics but everyone else tries to get them back together. Geoffrey’s long lost son visits. Hillary’s show moves to New York and Phil puts the house up for sale.

Season six guest stars include William Shatner, B.B. King, Dick Clark, Richard Roundtree, Wayne Newton and Chris Rock.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had a remarkable run on television and it also gave us a tremendously gifted actor with Will Smith,” said Rosemary Markson, WHV Vice President, TV and Special Interest Marketing. She added, “This show had an enormous impact on viewers. It drew a big audience and built a loyal, dedicated fan base that remains devoted to this day. We are delighted to have released all six seasons of this extraordinary family comedy.”

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air originally aired for six seasons, from 1990 to 1996, and became a big hit for NBC. The show focuses on Will Smith, whom, as a teenager from inner city Philadelphia is sent to California to live with his wealthy relatives. The sixth season of the show aired from September 1995 to May 1996.  Since its original broadcast, the series has enjoyed numerous runs in syndication both on cable and broadcast channels. The first five seasons of the program are currently available on DVD.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, an all-new movie on Blu-ray and DVD, stars Ashley Tisdale reprising her role as Disney Channel’s global sensation “High School Musical” drama queen character Sharpay Evans. A full three minute sneak peek of the movie is available for fans to get a glimpse of this hilarious fish out water tale about a small town Diva and her dog’s adventures in New York City at http://www.youtube.com/disneymovies.

After a talent scout spots her performing with her dog Boi at a charity gala, Sharpay Evans (Tisdale) sets off for the bright lights of NYC, convinced instant fame and fortune are in the bag (designer bag, that is). But theatre’s a dog-eat-dog world, as she and Boi discover when they encounter the devious owner of a pampered pooch named “Countess” and a scheming Broadway starlet who will do anything to crush the competition. Fortunately, Sharpay also meets Peyton (Austin Butler), a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.

Fox’s “Million Moments” campaign, a yearlong event featuring seasonal Blu-ray Disc and DVD releases grouped by month, celebrates the studio’s catalog of films. The Easter collection contains hours of family moments with favorites like Ice Age, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown and Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Horton Hears a Who, Pink Panther 2, and Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.  Here are highlights from the April releases:  

Ice Age
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Horton Hears a Who
Pink Panther 2
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (BD only)
All Dogs Go To Heaven (BD only)
Igor (BD only)
Secret of Nimh (BD only)
Fat Cat Double Pack: Garfield 1 & 2 (BD only)
Garfield The Movie (DVD only)
Garfield A Tale of Two Kitties (DVD only)
Robots (DVD only)

Debuting on Blu-ray Disc:
All Dogs Go To Heaven
All Dogs Go To Heaven 2
Anastasia
Because of Winn Dixie
Dr. Doolittle
Flicka
The Bible
The Greatest Story Ever Told