Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

Hold onto your lasagna! Everyone’s favorite morning-loathing, Odie-taunting, tart-tongued tabby is back for a slew of hilarious new antics in Garfield’s Fun Fest, his newest full-length computer animated feature film. Written by creator Jim Davis — Garfield, Odie, Jon, Arlene and the rest of the gang – yes, Nermal, too – are gearing up for the town’s annual talent show, Fun Fest. Having won every year, Garfield is convinced he can’t loose, especially with his long-time sidekick Arlene in tow. But when Arlene steps out with another partner, Garfield – not one for solo performances – sets out with Odie on a quest to regain his lost humor mojo and get the funny back before show time.

Now celebrating his 30th Anniversary, Garfield is one of the most beloved and enduring icons with the most widely syndicated comic strips in the world – 263 million readers and counting.

Synopsis: Garfield, long-running champion of the Fun Fest talent show, believes he can’t lose. Problem is, his sidekick (and girlfriend) Arlene wants to change the act. When Garfield refuses, Arlene hooks up with a suave, narcissistic newcomer, Ramon, for a show-stopping Tango. Not one for solo performances, Garfield loses his humor mojo! With hours ticking away till showtime, Garfield, with pal Odie in tow, sets out to find the Holy Grail of Guffaws — the magic pond of funny water within the Mystical Forest he read about in a fairy tale storybook. On a journey filled with riddles, jokes, quirky characters and a comedy guru (Freddy the Frog, the very first funny…anything!), can Garfield learn the lessons of true comedy and make it back in time to capture first prize and win Arlene back?

DVD Includes: Exclusive Comic Booklet By Jim Davis; DVD-Rom games “Destination Fun Fest” and “Tango Toss.”

Enter the world of elephants, zebras, giraffes and hyenas, as baby animals experience a variety of firsts and find their way in Animal Planet: Growing Up Safari, debuting on DVD August 5 from Genius Products and Animal Planet. Featuring four episodes from the top-rated Animal Planet series, “Growing Up Rhino,” “Growing Up Zebra,” “Growing Up Giraffe” and “Growing Up Hyenas” each provides a heartwarming look as these babies learn valuable lessons and overcome challenges with the help of professional caregivers. From a rhinoceros mud bath, to an up-close look at the early lives of a group of intelligent and underestimated hyenas, Animal Planet: Growing Up Safari unveils their amazing stories as they embark on thrilling journeys into adulthood.

Synopses:
“Growing Up Rhino”Orphaned baby rhinos Tunzi and Tandi grow up in the safety of Pretoria’s Wildcare Africa Trust. Tunzi takes his first mud bath while caregivers go to great lengths to save Tandi when she contracts a mysterious illness.
“Growing Up Zebra” Sanwild Animal Sanctuary founder Louise Joubert raises three baby zebras. Cassidy, a badly injured foal, grows into a mischievous rascal. He and his two cohorts, Shadow and Sky, experience joys, adventures, and adversity in their journey back to the wild.
“Growing Up Giraffe”An orphaned giraffe is placed in the care of two keepers at a northern California wildlife sanctuary. Keepers Kim and Sheri fill Kulula the giraffe’s tragic life with hope and devotion as they prepare her to join the sanctuary’s herd.
“Growing Up Hyenas” The hyena is often relegated to the role of skulking scavenger – always the villain and never the hero. But one man is committed to showing the world that hyenas are intelligent, strong and fearless predators – to be respected and not maligned.

Sesame Street invites toddlers and preschoolers to get their thinking game on in Sesame Street: Count On Sports, arriving on DVD July 22nd from Genius Products and Sesame Workshop. Integrating essential concepts into each of the memorable sports segments, this math-tastic presentation is full of numbers, shapes and spatial relations such as short/tall, over/under and forward/backward. With Ernie reporting from ESSN – Ernie’s Sports Show News (a parody of ESPN’s “Sport’s Center”) – tiny tikes won’t miss a moment of the DVD’s amazing athletic adventures such as The Count racing in the Transylvania 300; Prairie Dawn flipping for Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes; Grover shooting hoops with New Jersey Nets basketball star Vince Carter and Elmo serving up a game of imaginary tennis with champion Venus Williams. Includes 

New York Jets players Ben Graham, Laveranues Coles, Chad Pennington, and coach Eric Mangini telling Sesame Street’s Elmo about the importance of practice while teaching him a few things about football.

NBA star LeBron James teams with Nickelodeon’s The Big Green Help campaign this summer in a new online mini-game, LeBron James: Worldwide Big Green Bike-a-thon! The game asks players to help the bike-riding James (an avatar version of him at any rate) deliver green tips around the world to earn points and make their way to the next level. Available at http://www.biggreenhelp.com/ , the game will also be featured in public service announcements airing on the network this summer.

The show premieres on Nickelodeon on April 22, 2008, on the same day as Earth Day. The show focuses on how the world can be a better place to live on by recycling and reusing recyclables. Kids can get information about the show and/or sign up to participate at the show’s website. In addition, Kids can upload and send in their videos on how to help the environment.

Stated at the 2008 Kids’ Choice Awards, Cameron Diaz wants the kids to make the world a better place to live on. Diaz informs the kids that they will change the future of the Earth, so it can be a better place to live on. Diaz is taken part of helping the environment to make it a better place for the kids to live on.

Some sample issues are:
Big Green Help Theme #1: Grow It Green

What Your Family Can Do:

Make friends with your environment by spending time outside with your child. Help her take photos of the things you each find interesting, and then look at the pictures together and discuss them.

What to Say to Kids:

What kinds of animals do you think could live in these places? What kinds of plants?

It’s a good idea to keep these outside places clean so they will be safe and comfortable for plants and animals to live and grow.

What Your Family Can Do:

Visit an aquarium, wildlife preserve, or zoo in your area and make a point of checking out the environmentally themed exhibits with your child.

What to Say to Kids:

The people who take care of wild animals have to know everything about what they need in order to live. What kinds of things do you think different animals need?

Why do people care about making sure places like forests or ponds stay clean?

What Your Family Can Do:

Take a walk around the neighborhood with your child and collect fallen leaves and flowers that you can identify when you get home with the use of field guides or online resources. (Remind your child not to touch plants without your or another adult’s permission.)

What to Say to Kids:

Do you think these plants (or flowers or trees) were planted by people or grew wild?

Plants and trees in the neighborhood are pretty, and some can be shady in summer. Which ones do you think are pretty? Do you think any birds, animals, or bugs eat the plants and leaves? Do you think any of them might be used for a home?

What Your Family Can Do:

Does your child have a favorite vegetable or flower? Create a special garden patch either outside or on a windowsill where you can plan a small garden for your child to tend. This is an opportunity to talk about the needs of growing plants and observe the growing process.

What to Say to Kids:

We care for our flower garden just like we try to care for the world around us, everywhere.

You water your plants because they must have water in order to live and grow. What do we drink?

What Your Family Can Do:

As a family you can find Earth Day activities to participate in, such as park clean-ups and tree and flower bulb plantings.

What to Say to Kids:

We’re helping keep the park clean so everyone can enjoy it.

We’re planting bulbs so in the spring there will be flowers growing here.

Ask kids how they think planting a tree helps the earth. Preschoolers can come up with their own answers, and you can suggest others, such as: trees are homes for birds and other animals; trees give us shade in the summer; people use trees to make things like paper, so it’s good to plant new trees to replace the ones we use.

If Your Child Asks: Why are we helping to clean the park?

You Can Answer: We’re helping keep the park clean so everyone can enjoy it.

If Your Child Asks: Why is it good to plant trees and other things?

You Can Answer: Trees are homes for birds and other animals, and trees give us shade. Flowers and plants are pretty and help keep the air clean.

For more ideas, go to http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/parenting_features/big-green-help/big-green-talk/earth-day-family-guide.jhtml