If like me, you fell in love with the art of animation all over again after losing yourself in the artistry of releases like The Book of Life , The Boxtrolls , and the totally-robbed-by-the-award-show-establishment LEGO Movie , then list…
We all know that parenting means giving up sleep, hygiene (admit it), disposable income, and perhaps, the wild New Year's Eve plans of our wonderfully misspent youth. So you can see why I had the best time sitting down with my partners a…
We sat down in the theater to see The Book of Life movie, and as the lights dimmed, my nine-year-old daughter whispered, I have literally been waiting to see this since the day we saw the preview ! And indeed she had. After that many mon…
When the Rio movie ended, I was left with two kids who loved to shake their tail feathers to the samba and a sinking feeling that Type A Blu and fiercely independent Jewel were going to need some relationship counseling. Now, after a whi…
When I first heard from dad and animator Brandon Ray about this alphabet video for toddlers that he created for his own children, Bleu and Violet, I will be honest, I wasn't expecting much. But after watching, I am utterly charmed. The P…
As the cultural discussion continues about building toys for girls and gender specific toy aisles, let me start by saying that my girls have been talking non-stop about The Lego Movie since they first saw a preview for it months ago . Th…
Let me start out this review with a spoiler alert: although Free Birds is a buddy film and the buddies are dudes, the strongest and most intelligent character by far is a girl. And a turkey. And she has a lazy eye. And let me go on to sa…
We don't know about you, but with summer in full swing and later sunsets/later bedtimes a fact of life, we've been indulging in quite a few family movie nights. As we look for some new ideas, it's been super fun digging into our Netflix …
It's an interesting thing, settling into a seat in a theater filled with squirmy, popcorn butter-fingered children for a G-rated movie, knowing that half the references will be to movies like Animal House , Revenge of the Nerds and Back …
On a whim, my children and I wandered into the local theater and plonked down an absurd sum to watch Epic in 3-D, a movie I knew very little of at the time. All I had heard was that there was a strong female lead, a great voice over cast…
Watching The Academy Awards always gets me excited to watch more movies, but maybe not the best movies for kids. In fact I'm sure that 99% of them are way too much for little ones (and, often, me) to handle. But for you lucky New Yorkers…
Schoolhouse Rock for me, is more than just a part of my childhood, it's a part of my family. As a kid, my dad worked at the ad agency with creator David McCall, and the other writers and art directors who brought us this genius education…
I still remember the very first Pixar short film I ever saw, way back in 1986. It was called Luxo Jr. and told the story of two lamps playing with a ball. Such a simple story, from the little start-up animation company that grew big . Fa…
The second my girls saw the very first ad for Hotel Transylvania , they were begging to see it. At 5 and 7, I wasn't quite sure if I should get their hopes up or not--after all, stories about monsters not of the Sesame Street variety gen…
Want to know why we're in love with The Secret World of Arrietty ? Family Movie Night in our house usually means the kids pick an animated-to-the-gills cartoon that tries to make itself relevant to "all ages" with lots of double-entendre…
Long before I had children, I fell in love with the clay stop-motion characters of nerdy inventor Wallace and his lovable dog Gromit. And now that I've succeeded in bringing three more over to Wallace & Gromit fandom, I've found a fun li…
Film fans in the New York area are preparing for the New York International Children's Film Festival and we are too! Over the past 15 years, the NYICFF has become a huge family event, and a great chance to expose our kids to more than 10…
I am absolutely smitten with The Lorax , one of Dr. Seuss' most powerful characters. The book has such a strong environmental message that continues to resonate within me and so many of Dr. Seuss' fans, so I must admit that I had very hi…
This is a message from our sponsor, The Smurfs Movie The Smurfs are back! This time, they come to life in a live-action/computer-animated film that hits theaters nationwide on July 29. But it won't be just your kids who will fall head ov…
This is a message from our sponsor, The Smurfs Movie Every Saturday morning as a kid, you may have watched "The Smurfs," the original 1980s animated series featuring all those little blue guys that taught life lessons and entertained kid…
Having just lived through 80 minutes watching a Shakespearean classic turned into a story involving garden gnomes, I am not exactly itching to head out to see the next 3D "blockbuster" Hollywood has lined up for my kids. But if I can get…
To me the holidays is nothing without our annual viewing of Rudolph. Herbie! The Abominable Snowman! The Isle of Misfit Toys who aren't quite misfits! It's all pure magic. So who's with me in jumping for joy that this year, A four-DVD se…
The list of children's books I've loved to read to my kids is l-o-n-g though I've always had a particular fondness for the books of author and illustrator Mo Willems. Unless you live under a rock, or a pile of newborn diapers, you are pr…
Just when you thought your kids could live on PBS and Nick Jr alone, along comes a whole new TV network designed just for kids. And uh, their TV-loving families. Or as I always say, if it weren't for Elmo, I might never get to take a sho…