movies – Page 4 – The Next Kid Thing

Oscar Buzz: The Wizard of Oz Tribute + First Look at Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

At the Oscars tonight, The Wizard of Oz will be honored by Judy Garland’s three children: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft. It’s been 75 years since the classic made its debut, and it’s time for a new generation to be introduced to Dorothy’s picturesque adventure down the yellow brick road.

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz trailer

Perfect timing for new movie buzz, as the trailer for Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is set to debut during the Oscars. The all-star cast to this classic story with the twist includes Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammar, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy and Megan Hilty.

DorothysREturntoOz

In addition to planned Oz themed TV shows, films and Oscar tribute, Roger Stanton Baum’s (L. Frank Baum’s great-grandson) books are the inspiration for this new 3D-animated musical Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, which is set to release on May 9, 2014.

The trailer can be viewed here.

And with a new movie, that must mean new toys!

While at Toy Fair, I actually first heard about Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return while touring the Bandai booth. The pr rep breezed through this part of the tour; however, it was truly one of the most interesting toys they were showcasing. From the toys, especially the dolls, you can really get a feel for Dorothy’s Return. Dorothy’s crew looks more modern, more vibrant and will, no doubt, be more commercial. As much as I love Wizard of Oz, the thought of this new animated feature is starting to growing on me.

Q and A: Jordana Beatty and Megan McDonald of Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

June 10, 2011June 10, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

It’s a likely scenario: most third graders are probably anticipating on having an exciting, adventure-filled summer. (I can’t think of anyone who actually plans on having a boring summer…) With kids counting down the minutes to summer vacation, the Judy Moody movie based on the popular Judy Moody book series by Megan McDonald has an empowering and creative get-out-there and enjoy yourself message that’s relevant for both kids and adults.

In Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, the disheveled red-headed, tomboyish title character is determined to have the best summer ever, and even challenges her besties to a thrill point race. Amid her own expectations and a little brother named Stink (Parris Mosteller,) Judy’s summer adventures are both epic and outrageous, with a little help from Aunt Opal (Heather Graham) and a pal named Frank (Preston Bailey.)

I had the chance to chat with Jordana Beatty, the 12-year old Australian actress who plays the lead, and Megan McDonald, the author/screenwriter of the Judy Moody books and movie. I love the premise behind this movie, almost as much as I appreciate seeing a tomboy tween lead. In my candid Q & A with the effervescent and articulate Jordana, she revealed her most memorable scenes and her own crazy summer adventures. Likened to the Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume of this generation, Megan McDonald shares her inspiration for her characters and how she enjoys spending her own summer days, which just so happens to be my ideal summer.

Beyond the puke scene and how much fun she had filming, find out what Jordana Beatty wants kids to take away from Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, which is out today.

Toy Fair 2011: Hasbro Showroom, Boy Toys

February 18, 2011February 22, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Along with many of my blogging and media colleagues, Toy Fair affords us an opportunity to take a glimpse into toy manufacturers’ lineup of new products for 2011. A few big brands opened their doors for informational tours of booths and showrooms, including #2 toy maker, Hasbro.

I already mentioned a few notables from our tour of Hasbro’s Toy Fair showroom, but Hasbro continues to underscore their success in existing toys and licenses, which includes many of the familiar products that have shows on the new family channel, the Hub, a joint venture with Discovery Communications.

I’m finding it quite difficult to organize everything I saw over the past few weeks, so I’ll try to post them in good-sized chunks to avoid bombarding too much information at once.

Here are just a few of the many new toys for boys from Hasbro:

Hasbro’s new Boys Toys didn’t disappoint. Marvel Super Heroes, once again, have a big presence in Hasbro’s lineup of new toys. With Thor and Captain America hitting the big screen later this year, Hasbro has several new toys, including role play sets, that will have launches coinciding with movie releases.

(above) The Lightning Hammer is a replica of Thor’s signature weapon, and is fully equipped with electronic battle sounds and a launching projectile.

The Captain America Disc Launching Shield fires miniature foam disks and has a diameter of 15 inches.

Because I have a smaller super hero fan, I love the Super Hero Squad 3-Packs. In addition to other popular super heroes, Hasbro will have Thor and Captain America 3-Packs as well. I’m excited to see this segment of Super Heroes go on to expand with more accessories and playsets

Aside from the Marvel Super Heroes, Rescue Bots (Transformers) and Star Wars are joining this chunkier line up for smaller hands.

Partying with Mattel’s Toy Story 3 Action Links

December 14, 2010December 14, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

We’ve been talking a lot about food over here on NKT, but what we haven’t been talking about enough are toys. Well, that’s because I’m doing things differently this holiday season, which I’ll explain in an upcoming post.

In the meantime, we recently gathered some friends together to indulge in the very cool Toy Story 3 Action Links from Mattel. As huge fans of Toy Story 3, when I was invited to apply to host an Action Links party via MomSelect’s Mommyparties, I jumped at the chance.

Undoubtedly, Toy Story 3 has been the most talked about movie in our house this year, so naturally, this, too, would have been an exciting party to take on and share all about. So, when the giant box of toys arrived, you can imagine our excitement!

At our Toy Story Action Links party, we invited some of Jack’s fellow TS3 fans, all of whom are in the 3-4 age group. We played off the TS3 theme and had hot dogs wrapped with Pillsbury Crescents on sticks, veggies, cupcakes and more. Toy Story Action Links was a great reason to get friends and kids together for a fun afternoon.

I first learned about Action Links at Toy Fair earlier this year. But because the movie wasn’t out yet and because the toys recreate key scenes from the story, I could only talk so much about this interesting concept.

When we first opened the Action Links sets, my husband and I were reminded of the Rube Goldberg concepts, much like that game, Mousetrap. Remember that?

Action Links embodied that same Rube Goldberg concept, where each interlinking set created a chain reaction, complete with Toy Story 3 figures.

‘Tangled’ to Unravel at Theaters on November 24

November 12, 2010November 17, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

In more movie news, maybe you’ve heard about another Disney flick that’s slated to hit screens in just a few weeks? Y’know, the one that’s touting hair-raising adventures and quite literally, a lot of hair? As in, 70 feet of golden hair.

Tangled, which is poised to be another Disney classic, is set to be released on November 24th, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Tangled follows the misadventures of Rapunzel, voiced by the dynamic Mandy Moore, and her “prince charming,” or rather, her unsuspecting hostage, Flynn Ryder, who is voiced by Zachary Levi, the handsome geek of NBC’s Chuck (one of my favorite shows.)

As an all-around Disney fan, I can’t wait to check Tangled out! I’m looking forward to seeing the modern-day interpretation of Rapunzel, as I’m sure many of you guys are too! I will be hitting a screening of the movie next week, so be on the look out for my thoughts and reviews, and maybe a surprise, too.

Speaking of which, Disney is spreading the Tangled excitement with a giveaway!

First Look: the New Muppets Movie

November 10, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Walt Disney Studios are whetting our appetites with some new Muppets awesomeness. The studios released this teaser and promotional image for the upcoming Muppets movie, which How I Met Your Mother star, Jason Segel co-wrote and is also the star.

What I love most about this image is the action and emotion that’s going on—all at once. (They’re Muppets, I know.) The teaser image is sort of Da Vinci-like with its storytelling, yet so indicative of the creativity and eclecticism of the Jim Henson Studios. The guy holding the iPhone is my favorite.

The working title of the new Muppets movie is called, “The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time.” The way Segal and co-writer, Nick Stoller, made us laugh in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and with the new Muppets’ movie’s interesting storyline, plus all of the rumored cameos, will this new Muppets Movie live up to its title?

Here’s a cool quote from Stoller that first appeared in an interview elsewhere:

Basically, we’re gonna do an old school Muppet movie, where the Muppets have to put on a show to save the studio. It’s very simple. A big part of the movie is rounding up all the Muppets from around the world, because they’ve all been separated. So it’s collecting them and bringing them together to put on this big show. It should hearken back to Great Muppet Caper and Muppets Take Manhattan and those kinds of Muppet movies. Jason and I are having a lot of fun writing it. We want to get as many cameos and guest stars as possible. Jason will play a human ventriloquist, and his puppet is alive and wants to be a Muppet.

The Muppets are coming to a theater near you, but unfortunately, we’ll have to wait another year.. The beloved Muppets are set to release this new film during the 2011 holiday season.

Credit: Muppetwiki

Toy Story 3 Features Hidden Easter Eggs

November 4, 2010November 4, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The highest grossing animated film of all time and one of our family’s favorite movies of the year (and maybe yours too?), Toy Story 3, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray earlier this week. We, of course, were first in line to grab our copies.

Since picking up our copy of TS3, it’s no surprise that we’ve watched it no less than four times already. Each time, I’ve found myself searching for even more quirky surprises that I missed before. Pixar is well known for hiding easter eggs in their films, so I thought I’d repost the link to a great site that shares many of those hidden gems of Woody, Buzz and the gang.

Slash Film did a great job dissecting some of the most important scenes in the film that were chock full of interesting tidbits, many of which reference other Pixar films and characters, with quite a few nods to next year’s Cars 2. One easter egg that I found interesting was the significance of the number of A113 found in several other Pixar flicks, just like TS3.

The Wizard of Oz Turns 71

August 12, 2010August 12, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Today marks The Wizard of Oz’s 71st anniversary, and a variety of sites are celebrating this milestone with fun facts, features and more.

Did you see Google today? The Google Doodle of the day is an image of Dorothy and the gang embarking down the yellow brick road, with Oz in the distance, and letters that spell out ‘Google’ subtly placed.

The Wizard of Oz was based on a children’s novel written by Frank Baum, which was originally named The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The book-turned-groundbreaking film has touched generations of children with its whimsical story and the magic of ‘dreaming’ in Technicolor.

Toy Story 3 Hits Theaters Today

June 18, 2010June 18, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Well, the day has finally arrived! After years of preparation and months of anticipation, Toy Story 3 officially hits the big screen today.

As Andy heads to college, Buzz, Woody and the gang find themselves in a precarious predicament after mom mixes up the trash and the “keep” pile. The toys find themselves at a daycare where they befriend new pals in an eclectic lineup of other toys from the daycare.

The third film in the wildly popular Toy Story series, TS3, like the earlier installments, is expected to break the bank, and be one of the biggest tickets of the summer. The original Toy Story earned $191 million with its original release and $363 million worldwide. As evidenced by the plethora of licenses for towels, shoes, cereal bowls, Pull Up diapers, bread and more, TS3 is quite the hot commodity in children’s gear. And I’ll be the first to admit that our toy box has been filling up with our own respective gear in anticipation of the film!

Why is this flick so popular? Well, for many reasons. In part, what started 15 years ago as a collaboration between Disney and Pixar, has turned into a fleeting success. Since their initial partnership, the studio has gone on to develop a laundry list of computer animated classics, with the original Toy Story as its springboard. The story, cast of characters, exceptional graphics and more have kept audiences engaged for well over a decade. Now, the original audience’s kids, nieces, nephews and perhaps grandkids, are just as excited for the toys’ shenanigans as we were 15 years ago.

Fifteen years ago, I was still in school. [Let’s just leave it at that ;)] Today, I’m planning to take my 2 year old who has been harping on Buzz and ‘Wooly’ for months now! It’s incredible to think how much has changed for me between now and then; but what’s even more incredible is how these characters are still touching lives, even after all these years!

After all of the movie’s clever marketing, the film’s early reviews are looking quite bright! I can’t wait to share my thoughts, and maybe even a some of our favorite kid gear to boot. For now, take a look at this pretty cool behind the scenes clip with interviews from some of the voices. If you go to see Toy Story, be sure to tell me what you thought!

Check it!

Speaking of how much things have changed in 15 years, did you know Disney Pixar has a Facebook app where you can buy Toy Story 3 tickets via Facebook? You FB-obsessed people (like me) don’t even have to leave the site to secure your own movie tickets! Just head to Disney Together to get the app and click, click and you’re done!

Disney Pook-A-Looz are Cute, Edgy and Sweet

June 9, 2010June 9, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I’ve been reading some blurbs about the Licensing Expo that was recently held in Vegas. Of the interesting information that was dispersed from the annual show that showcases all the hottest licenses in the industry, I was interested to see this one from Disney Consumer Products, which I’ll get into later.

Speaking of Disney, at the Time to Play Spring and Summer Showcase, Disney Consumer Products had a diverse selection of their latest toys. Aside from the much-hyped Toy Story and the ever-popular Princesses toys, DCP had some new, but familiar faces.

DCP recently introduced Pook-A-Looz, a plush line of their classic characters who have received a modern-meets-vintage twist. That probably doesn’t make too much sense, but according to Disney, Pook-A-Looz were designed to capture the personalities of iconic Disney characters in an edgy, offbeat way. They’re said to be inspired by the urban vinyl toy culture, which began in Asia a decade ago.