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DVD and TV Recommendations
May 2010

From Ranny Levy at KIDS FIRST!

KIDS FIRST! is a project of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to empower children to make wise media choices and to promote quality media products that enrich their lives.

Preschool Early Readers Grade School Teens  
 
 
Preschool

Barney™: Let’s Play Outside. Join everyone’s favorite purple dinosaur and his playground friends as they branch out under the sun and stars to fill each day with outdoor fun adventures in “Barney: Let’s Play Outside.” Whether it’s imagining shapes in the clouds, eating ice cream, fishing, singing songs around a campfire or catching lightning bugs, Barney, Baby Bop, BJ and the rest of the gang celebrate the warm weather and let their imaginations soar! DVD. 54 min.; $14.98; Ages 2-5. Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Being A Friend. Thomas’ friend Emily learns that being kind is more important than appearances, Bob the Builder helps Lofty accept help to save the Banana Tree for the new Botanical Garden, Barney and his friends make a new friend feel welcome when she moves into the neighborhood and no friend will be left behind with Fireman Sam, in “Being A Friend.” Join the whole crew and find out what it means to be forever friends with these four episodes: Thomas & Friends – “Emily and the Garbage”; Bob the Builder – “Lofty’s Banana Tree”; Barney – “Making A Move”; and Fireman Sam – “Norm’s Invisible Friend.” DVD. 56 min.; $14.98; Ages 2-5. Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

The Best of Elmo 2. Join everyone's favorite red monster for a fun-filled story featuring some of the most popular Elmo segments ever! Elmo meets a robot on Sesame Street who is losing his power. The robot is a "Memorybot," and he needs "memories" to power up again. Elmo gladly shares his memories of special times with friends like Jason Mraz, Adam Sandler, Destiny's Child, David Beckham, India Arie, The Goo Goo Dolls, Feist and more. Will Memorybot get his power back? Every Elmo fan young and old will enjoy this story of friendship and treasure this collection. DVD. 27 min.; $14.98; Ages 2-5. Warner Home Video.

Care Bears: Share-A-Lot in Care-A-Lot. Join the Care Bears for eight wonderful tales filled with sharing and caring delight! Whether it’s the Care Bears welcoming Grizzle, Share Bear helping Harmony overcome her fears on Surprise Day, or McKenna learning the joys of giving at a Giving Party, the Care Bears discover that warmth and kindness bring friendship and fun! Get ready to journey into Care-a-lot for more charming Care Bears adventures! "Sharing and Caring” is the focus of “Share-a-Lot in Care-a-Lot.” DVD. 88 min.; $14.98; Ages 2-5. Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Go Diego, Go!: The Great Panda Adventure. All Aboard! Join Diego and Baby Jaguar as they rescue animals all over the world. In these action packed journeys we pick up pandas in the mountains of China; return a lost koala to his mommy in the Australian Forest; reunite a lemur with his family in Madagascar; and protect a beaver’s dam from a giant wave in the Canadian Rockies. Catch Diego as you’ve never seen him before! ¡Vámonos! DVD. 95 min.; $16.99; Ages 2-5. Paramount Home Entertainment

Mr. Men Show: Mr. Bump Presents: Planes, Trains and Dillymobiles. This hilarious DVD contains six fun-filled shows, plus catchy songs and interactive bonus features. Based on the classic book series by Roger Hargreaves, which has sold over 100 million copies, The Mr. Men Show introduces families to the charming and funny inhabitants of Dillydale. With over 25 featured characters, from Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Chatterbox to Mr. Bump and Mr. Tickle, every child can find someone to identify with in this fast-paced, humorous show. DVD. 69 min.; $14.94; Ages 2-5. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Sesame Street: The Best of Elmo 2. Join everyone's favorite red monster for a fun-filled story featuring some of the most popular Elmo segments ever! Elmo meets a robot on Sesame Street who is losing his power. The robot is a "Memorybot," and he needs "memories" to power up again. Elmo gladly shares his memories of special times with friends like Jason Mraz, Adam Sandler, Destiny's Child, David Beckham, India Arie, The Goo Goo Dolls, Feist and more. Will Memorybot get his power back? Every Elmo fan young and old will enjoy this story of friendship and treasure this collection. DVD. 27 min.; $14.98; Ages 2-5. Warner Home Video

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Escape From Dino Island. Wubbzy and his friends are heading out on a mysterious adventure! Join the Wuzzleburg gang as they voyage to Dino Island in Widget’s Wavy Wheeler 3000, explore Wazumboo Jungle and try to control a Doodleberry patch that has gone Wow! Wow! WILD! There is no telling who they will meet along the way! Sing and laugh along while learning life lesions about honesty, sharing, friendship and being prepared! DVD. 80 min.; $16.98; Ages 2-5. Anchor Bay Entertainment.

 
 
Early Readers to Grade School

Saturday Morning Cartoons 1980s. The decade that brought us mullets, new-wave music and “Pac-Man” also gave birth to some of the most unforgettable cartoons on TV. Warner Home Video (WHV) pays tribute to the ‘80s by releasing some of the most entertaining and colorful animation from that time with “Saturday Morning Cartoons 1980s,” the latest installment from the “Saturday Morning Cartoons” library. This new collection features an eclectic mix of rare and popular cartoons the whole family can enjoy. The compilation features 11 shows on two discs for over four hours of delightful animation. DVD. 300 min.; $26.98; Ages 5-12. Warner Home Video.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Screenwriter John Fusco returns to the Western themes of his previous films “Young Guns” and “Thunderheart” with this animated children's adventure from Dreamworks. Matt Damon supplies the voice of Spirit, a wild Mustang stallion living free in the Old West of the late 19th century, where he's captured by human horse traders and sold to a cavalry regiment at a frontier outpost. There, a cruel colonel (voice of James Cromwell) nearly succeeds in breaking the willful horse, but not quite. Spirit escapes in the company of another captive, Little Creek (voice of Daniel Studi), a Native American youth that tries to possess the magnificent animal by more humane means, but Spirit refuses to bend to human will even when he makes the acquaintance of Little Creek's beautiful and fiercely loyal mare, Rain. After he saves Little Creek's life in an Army raid, Spirit believes that the gravely injured Rain has perished after a tumble over a waterfall. Despondent, the horse is captured again by humans, enslaved this time for work in a pack team on the transcontinental railroad. Undaunted by the tragedies that befall him, Spirit manages to escape for a reunion with Little Creek, Rain and his long-lost brethren. Featuring songs by rock singer Bryan Adams, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” departs from other examples of its genre in that the horse protagonists do not speak or sing; only Spirit's voice is heard as voice-over narration. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment.

Tooth Fairy. Dwayne Johnson (“The Game Plan”) stars as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his ability to knock out other players’ teeth. After discouraging a youngster’s hopes, he is ordered to one week’s hard labor as the real Tooth Fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first he “can’t handle the tooth,” but eventually learns how to adapt to his new position and finds himself rediscovering his own forgotten dreams. DVD. 102 min. ; $29.98; Ages 5-8. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

 
 
Grade School

Finn on the Fly. The lives of Finn, a life-loving, Frisbee-playing dog, and his shy, 13-year-old owner, Peter are changed forever when a lab experiment goes wrong and Finn is accidentally transformed into a human. Once on two legs, Finn teaches Ben to feel the wind in his fur, catch Frisbees like a dog and, ultimately, to find his own pack. Starring Ana Gasteyer (“The Women,” “Saturday Night Live,” “What Women Want”), Matthew Knight, Ryan Belleville, Brendon Firla and David Milchard. Directed by Mark Jean (“Homecoming”), Winner of "Best Independent Feature for Ages 8-12, KIDS FIRST! Best 2009." DVD. 101 min.; $29.98; Ages 8-12. E1 Entertainment.

Flicka 2. Carrie (Sursok) is a big-city teenager whose life is turned upside down when she moves to a horse ranch in Wyoming to live with her father (Warburton). But everything changes when Carrie meets Flicka, a wild, jet-black mustang who's just as free-spirited and strong-willed as Carrie. The two form a special bond and Carrie opens her heart to her father and a handsome, local boy, but when a jealous rival puts Flicka's life in jeopardy, Carrie must do whatever it takes to save her best friend. DVD. 132 min.; $22.98; Ages 5-12. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The Nanny Express. A young woman goes to work as a nanny for a widower whose two kids have already run off six other nannies. Slowly, the man’s young son warms to the new nanny, and the dad himself starts to fall for her as well. The teenage daughter of the family is still hurting over the death of her mother and has no interest in having this new woman in her or her dad’s life. Starring: Vanessa Marcil (“Las Vegas,” “General Hospital”), Dean Stockwell (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Quantum Leap”) and Stacy Keach (“Prison Break”). DVD. 89 min.; $14.93; Ages 5-12. Vivendi Entertainment.

The Spy Next Door. This family action comedy stars Jackie Chan as Bob Ho, an undercover CIA superspy who decides to give up his career in espionage to settle down with his next-door neighbor and girlfriend, Gillian (Amber Valletta). But Bob has one more mission to complete before Gillian agrees to marry him: winning over her three opinionated kids. DVD. 94 min.; $29.95; Ages 6-12. Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

 

 
 
Teens

Bound by a Secret. Ida Mae is thrilled when her best friend Jane returns home after years away as a famous actress. But when Jane reveals that she’s dying, both women struggle with whether it’s time to finally reveal a shattering truth to Ida Mae’s grown daughter, Kate, about the reality of her natural, and secret, parentage. Starring: Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”) and Lesley Ann Warren (“In Plain Sight”) DVD. 89 min.; $14.93; Ages 12-18. Vivendi Entertainment.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This season, Will meets Lisa – and before you can say “Go slow, bro,” he’s in love, engaged and standing before the minister with 50 pounds of iced shrimp melting in the banquet hall. All that romance must be contagious, because Carlton finds his soul sister through online dating. (Unfortunately, that’s only half right. It’s Hilary.) And there’s a lot more than love going on as Will grapples with a big orange whale, a mobster, a bear, Jay Leno, Lisa’s cantankerous dad and in one of the series’ most memorable episodes, a bullet with his name on it. With this 4-disc set, you are cordially invited to all 25 laugh-out-loud, love-happy Season 5 Episodes of the hit, hilarious show that gave sitcoms street smarts. DVD. 650 min.; $29.98; Ages 12-18. Warner Home Video.

Invictus. He was imprisoned 27 years for his heroic fight against apartheid. So what does Nelson Mandela do after he is elected president of South Africa? He rejects revenge, forgives his oppressors and finds hope of national unity in an unlikely place: the rugby field. Clint Eastwood (the National Board of Review’s 2009 Best Director choice) powerfully directs an uplifting film about a team and a people inspired to greatness. In a performance that won him NBR’s Best Actor Award and an Oscar nomination, Morgan Freeman portrays Mandela, who asks the national rugby team captain (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Matt Damon) and his underdog squad to do the impossible and win the World Cup. One team, one country. The universal language of sports has never spoken so thrillingly as in Eastwood’s “Invictus.” DVD. 133 min.; $28.98; Ages 13-18. Warner Home Video.

Ladies Of The House. Three women take on the daunting task of renovating a run-down house in order to raise funds for their church. The project becomes deeply personal for each of them and helps them examine challenges they are facing in their lives. The Dove Foundation has deemed this film “Dove Family Approved” for ages 12 and up. Starring: Florence Henderson (“The Brady Bunch”), Donna Mills (“Knotts Landing”), Pam Grier (“The L Word,” “Foxy Brown”), Lance Henricksen (“Millennium”) and Richard Roundtree (“Shaft”). DVD. 89 min.; $14.93; Ages 12-18. Vivendi Entertainment.

Working Miracles. Buddy Hoyt lives an ordinary life, and his fiancé loves him just the way he is, but he wants to be a ‘somebody.’ After being involved in an accident Buddy gets his wish and is gifted with the ability to heal others. Life gets complicated when Buddy learns that he is draining his own energy every time he heals someone else, and it may eventually kill him. Will Buddy choose his new-found fame over the woman he loves? Starring: Eddie Cibrian (“CSI Miami,” “Ugly Betty”) and Patrick Duffy (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Step by Step." DVD. 88 min.; $14.93. Ages 12 - 18. Vivendi Entertainment.


 

 
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