Strollerderby : DVD

Tina Fey Sesame Street Episode On DVD

Brett Singer — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

It's a good thing Tina Fey seems so nice. Because otherwise people would have to hate her.

Consider: amazing career. Attractive. Insanely talented. Genuinely funny. And able to do an episode of Sesame Street with panache.

Of the few famous or semi-famous folks that I know, those who have appeared on Sesame Street list that as one of their top credentials. Even Gilbert Gottfried sounded excited about his episode, writing on his blog, "for the first time in my career, I can tell you how to get to Sesame Street!" The rest of the paragraph reads as follows: "You drive downtown during rush hour, go over the bridge, circle a few blocks without signs, park in an over priced garage and walk 11 blocks to the studio. Funny how they don’t mention that in the song." Hey, I wouldn't expect the guy to become warm and cuddly because of one encounter with Big Bird. (For many other great Sesame Street moments, including Robert DeNiro's brilliant impersonation of a cabbage, check out The Babble List: The 50 Best Sesame Street Moments.)

Tina played the leader of the Bookaneers, the pirates who love reading. Notwithstanding the fact that pirates aren't as much fun these days as they used to be, the episode was amusing and Tina (I imagine that she'd let me call her Tina, were we to meet someday) seemed to be very much into her role. It's no Sarah Palin impression, but it's still good. (Actually, Tina Fey doing her Sarah Palin impression on Sesame Street -- that I'd like to see.)

Sesame Street: Elmo and the Bookaneers will be released on DVD on April 21, 2009. List price is $14.93 but Amazon has it for $9.99. Such a deal! I haven't seen the DVD, just the segment with Tina Fey when it aired on regular TV. That's full disclosure, folks.

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DVD Review - The Sportys

Brett Singer — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Baseball season has begun. For those of you looking to teach your kids some of the fundamentals of the game, you could do worse than to watch "The Sportys."

The set up is simple enough for even very young children to follow. A group of kids get together and decide that they want to play baseball. But they don't know how. So a talking ball named "Stitch" (voiced by "The Green Mile"'s Michael Clarke Duncan) shows up to teach them. Then they encounter a rival team who are, at first, much better than our heroes, who themselves tend to strike out while batting and to run into each other on the field. Spoiler alert: despite these overwhelming odds, they come back and win the game. It's completely unrealistic but my almost 4-year-old didn't care one bit. He was right there with it the whole time.

The best thing about "The Sportys" are the baseball tips they throw in. From a storytelling perspective, it's not exactly smooth, but as an instructional-type video aimed at youngish children, it works. Examples include:

- "If you're going to catch a fly ball, say 'I got it!'" (advice that even Big Leaguers forget from time to time.)
http://www.guzer.com/videos/baseball_crash.php

- "Lead off? What's that?" "That means you bat first."
- "If I get four balls, I get a walk, right?" (Something I figured out my first year in Little League. The pitching wasn't exactly great, and even though I didn't get a single hit, I was third on the team in walks. Ah, memories.)

There's even a song with the Obama-esque title "Yes We Can" to keep little ones engaged. It's not going to win a grammy, but it worked on my son, who spent the next three days "batting" with his tinker toys all over our apartment.

A nice bonus feature is the 30 minutes of instructional segments by New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long. Each lesson is simple to follow and refreshingly low-key, emphasizing "realistic goals" such as "I want my child to hit the ball today." (As opposed to "That kid better hit a home run or she's walking home!" That would be an unrealistic goal.) Fans of Evan Longoria can enjoy a poster of the 2008 Rookie of the Year, included with the disc. (Fans of Eva Longoria should watch "Desperate Housewives." Rim shot.)

Although the animation is nothing to write home about (the "visiting" team also appears to be made up of clones, since the animator didn't bother to create 9 new characters), and the overall story is ridiculous, young children with an interest in baseball should find plenty to enjoy while they – and their parents – learn a few things about how to play the game.

"The Sportys" DVD is $19.99 and can be ordered at TheSportys.com. A portion of DVD sales will be donated to the RBI Foundation.

Uh Oh - Elmo's Gone Green - Literally

JeanneSager — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:48:00 GMT

It was bound to happen some day. Cute, loveable and very red Elmo was going to lose his red fur.

Who knew it would come at the hands of equally cute and kind of ditzy fairy Abby Cadabby? Elmo's gone green - literally - in his new DVD, and Babble got a sneak-peek at the all new Elmo and how to throw together a tele-thon Sesame Street style.

Just in time for Earth Day, Paul Rudd (they're continuing the cute theme) suits up in a giant globe costume to host the Sesame Street Earth-a-thon.With Rosita, Telly and Cookie Monster manning the phones, pledges from kids to help the earth start rolling in (and pleas for cookies start rolling out).

In true Sesame Street style, the pledges shoot the show out to spots around the globe where kids are going green in their own way, from kids who watch their glass bottles be melted down and reformed into glass knick-knacks in South Africa to Turkish tots who have an eye for reusing plastic bags.

Bringing it back to Sesame Street, Elmo and Abby make the rounds of the recycling bins and the furry red monster makes a promise to Rudd, aka. Mr. Earth to go green. Which is all fine and dandy until Abby lends her wand to the cause, leaving Elmo looking like he's switched suits with a fellow muppet with a fondness for Miss Piggy. It may not be easy being green, but Elmo fans know he'd never let a little mixed up magic get in the way.

The Sesame Street character love aside, Being Green is a movie that helps break down the big green questions for little green minds. We talk a lot about helping the Earth, but what IS it? Not a guy in a globe suit, but Rudd shows his inner goofball (can you tell this guy's a dad?) walking the muppets on a tour around himself. Songs about saving water when they brush their teeth and saving energy when they shut off the lights send home messages that little kids can make a big difference.

Out on DVD on April 7, you can put in your pre-orders now on Amazon, but if you click on the picture below, your kids have a coloring sheet to get them ready. Will they color Elmo green?

Images: Genius Products

Four Creepiest Animals Turned Adorable Kids Characters

JeanneSager — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:05:00 GMT

Just the thought of the scene when the rats converge in the kitchen in Disney's Ratatouille gives me the willies. They're (shudder) rats. Uggggh.

Becoming a parent, I quickly learned, was setting myself up for dozens of movies/tv shows featuring the world's creepiest animals thrown onto a screen in the attempts to make kids think they're just as cute and cuddly as your average puppy.

Who are they trying to kid? Rats, spiders and cuddly tigers? Oh my.

Remy in Ratatouille: He can read! He can cook! Gotcha - but he's still a rat. And rats don't belong indoors, not to mention in a restaurant kitchen mixing up French delicacies. Since this comes from the folks at Disney, I can't help but ask, did they take a look in their archives? I hold the rat scene from Lady and the Tramp wholly responsible for my residual rodent revulsion.

Charlotte in Charlotte's Web: Another reader, with a talent for writing, Charlotte is the true hero of the movie and E. B. White's book that bear her name. She's still a spider! With big buggy eyes and larger-than-life chompers. And did anyone catch the tail end of the Dakota Fanning version, with the egg sack full of thousands of little spiders just waiting to scuttle off and settle in the corners? See Also: Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends.

Alvin, Simon and Theadore in Alvin and the Chipmunks: I will always remember the day a contractor left a door open at my parents house and a chipmunk snuck in. Total. . . and complete . . . pandemonium. Followed by plenty of cleaning up of little pellets of poop in my bedroom. Ewww. Another member of the rodent family, chipmunks carry disease and are best-known for storing their food in their cheeks so long they come close to bursting, followed closely by their "chirpy" chipmunk calls. Ever said, "say it, don't spray it," when your kid spoke with a full mouth? Try telling that to a chipmunk . . . or to the three singing sweethearts who hanker for hula hoops? That Dave lets these little guys live in his house and eat of his cereal bowls is giving me flashbacks. . . to poop cleaning.

Oswald: With the disarming voice of a Savage brother, how could anyone dislike the bright blue resident of Big City who tips his bowler to everyone he meets? Maybe the fact that octupi have been known to kill sharks, detach one of their eight legs to escape predators and shoot bright clouds of ink at anyone who gets in their way? Fish may be friends, not food, but the octupus is not the friendliest member of the ocean community.

Images: Disney, Flixster, Amazon, Parent Previews

Kids Get in on the Man on Wire Story

JeanneSager — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:28:00 GMT

Since the adult version won an Academy Award last month, the buzz about Man on Wire has hit a fever pitch. Want to share it with your kids?

Scholastic has adapted the Caldecott Award-winning children's book about Philippe Petit's tight rope walk between the towers into a movie just for them.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers . . . and More Inspiring Tales is based on a 2003 title for kids four to eight. Using Mordicai Gerstein's dramatic and richly detailed illustrations from the book, Scholastic added animation that lets the kids hop from a Petit-eye-view to the pedestrians on the street and up into the sky. Jake Gyllenhaal lends his voice, telling the tale of the long night of preparation and the day that shocked the world. Petit is almost childlike himself, lying down on his long balancing stick, dancing among the clouds and grinning all the while, giving kids a look at a dream.

It's accompanied by three more tales, including Snowflake Bentley, another Caldecott Medal-winning book adaptation that tells the story of a real life hero, the man who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike and The Pot that Juan Built, about one of Mexico's most famous potters. Each is voiced by stars with stellar voices, including Claire Danes, Sean Astin and Alfred Molina, taking kids on real-life adventures.

Borrow the books from the library, read them, then watch them in animated form - some with live action thrown in - to give your kids another look at the world of literature. Like the read-along tapes we had as kids, the focus on putting books on DVD can be a great companion piece to your regular storytime or a jumpstart to get kids interested in reading.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers . . . and More Inspiring Tales has stories for kids at any age - even big kids who would give anything for one day as Petit, who knew as long as he stayed on the wire "he was free."

Image: Amazon

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Kid DVD of the Day: Tugger Tugs at Their Hearts

JeanneSager — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:23:00 GMT

Who knew there was room left on the family DVD shelf for yet another movie about a talking vehicle? Who knew Carrot Top could not be annoying and kid-appropriate all at the same time?

Believe it. Tugger: The Jeep 4x4 Who Wanted to Fly has its hunka-junk moments, just like the animated World War II era car that lends its name to the film. But overall, the worst thing about the Jim Belushi and Carrot Top vehicle (come on, I had to throw that one in there) is that no one's heard of it.

Voiced by Belushi, the decomissioned 4x4 has dreams of flying - fueled by a creative Army soldier's quick thinking on the front lines that left Tugger with an airplane propeller inside the hood to help cool down his engine. Tugger lands at an airport, where he's supposed to pull in the planes, but inevitably ends up driving the owner a little nuts. Unlike that other talking vehicle movie that one or two kids might have heard of (yes, I'm talking about Cars), this is a movie peopled by humans, talking vehicles AND talking radios (hence Carrot Top's entrance), even a set of talking gas station pumps.

Belushi breaks into song one time too many, but the tale itself is solid, if a little cliched. Believe in your dreams kids, and the impossible might not exactly come to be (did you really think the Jeep 4x4 would suddenly sport a set of wings?) but pretty darn close.

The bottom line is for kids who love moving vehicles, this is fine family fare with a happy ending and a positive message. It hits shelves today, so check it out.

Image: Amazon

Review: My Wubbzy Little Valentine

JeanneSager — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:24:00 GMT

The hottest game on NickJr.com might wow you. It's not Dora. Not Jack and his musical pals.

It's Wubbzy.

With some two hundred sixty million plays, the game featuring the little yellow critter of indeterminate origins (is he animal, mineral, vegetable?) has captured our kids' hearts. Now he's looking to keep those hearts pitter pattering with a DVD release timed for the Valentine's season.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Little Help from My Friends hits stores today, to go along with the recently launched second season of the show. Split into episodes about the value of friendship, it's a movie that highlights just why I've let Wubbzy worm his way into my daughter's heart.

It's creative.

When Wubbzy gets tired of his friends doing everything for him, he decides to bake up a chocolate doodle-berry cake all by himself - only to let things get out of control when he goes hog wild on making it extra fantastic. When the cake batter blows up and out the door and on through Wuzzleberg, buddies Widget and Walden save the day - doing for their little yellow buddy as they always do.

What's going to come next from Widget's tinkering or Walden's scientific explorations is anyone's guess; and the humor that ensues is just right for the pint-sized. Silly, but still sweet, Wubbzy's worth watching so they can learn the value of trying something new and doing it with good friends.

Image: Amazon

What Does a Smile Mean? Teaching Emotions to Autistic Children

SunnyChanel — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

There are countless things that I take for granted. Knowing what a smile means, is one of them. But this seemingly simple connection between facial expressions and their emotional meaning is one that is a struggle for autistic children to make. But Simon Baron-Cohen (who just happens to be Ali-G aka Borat aka Sasha Baron Cohen’s cousin) is out to change that.

Baron-Cohen is the director of the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University and has developed a DVD for autistic children called The Transporters which will be released in the United States this week.

The video is in a ‘autistic-friendly’ format making the information being conveyed digestible by using track based vehicles as the main characters (autistic kids are drawn to things that move on tracks like trains) that features human faces illustrating various emotions.

And it looks like it works.

“In a small study of 20 autistic children between ages 4 and 7, Baron-Cohen and colleagues found that autistic children who watched the video for at least 15 minutes a day for one month had caught up with normal children in their ability to identify emotions.” But Baron-Cohen does warn that it may not change their behavior but there can be improvement. There have been other DVD targeting these issues but this one has been, reportedly, more successful in keeping kid’s attention.

The DVD cost $57.50, with a chunk of the profits going to autism charities and research, and it is available (along with more information) here.

Source

No Christmas Specials for Some Jewish Kids

Brett Singer — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Dahlia Lithwick has a piece over at Slate that discusses which Christmas specials are OK for Jewish kids to watch. Not according to the Torah, which was written pre-TV, but based on her discussions with a few families.

She found that her generation's Jewish kids were allowed to watch "one or all" of the following: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Year Without Santa Claus. Two of these are among my personal favorites, but I would include Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer in that list. Apparently that one didn't make the cut for the Jewish now-grown-up kids that Lithwick spoke to.

The reason surprised me – a "no Santa" rule. No Jesus, I get. Jesus is religion. Nothing wrong with religion, but if it isn't YOUR religion and you choose not to watch shows that feature religious elements, that's your choice. But Santa? Was he in the Bible? Frosty was also banned from some Jewish households, according to Lithwick, because of a "no resurrections rule", which I think is pushing it.

Here's the thing – I like Christmas specials. I even like Christmas music. And I'm Jewish. Obviously Christmas is a religious holiday for millions of people. But last time I checked, Rudolph wasn't one of the apostles. So I hereby give permission to all Jewish parents — let the kids watch Rudolph! Why deprive them of the joys of Rankin and Bass? The Island of Misfit Toys? Yukon Cornelius? Hermey the Elf who would rather be a dentist? This a great show! And The Year Without a Santa Claus? Heat and Cold Miser! This is good stuff, people!

Interestingly, A Charlie Brown Christmas does feature religion prominently. Somehow that made the cut in many Jewish households, according to Lithwick. Why? In my opinion, there are a few reasons. First, Linus says it. That makes it automatically more OK than if the same words come out of some claymation dog (Davey and Goliath, anyone?). Second, it's done in the context of "good will towards men", which is hard to argue with. Third, it isn't presented in a way that says, "If you don't believe these words, you will burn in Hell for all eternity." It's actually quite lump-in-the-throat inducing, in a good way. Last, after Linus says his piece, everyone finally starts being nice to Charlie Brown, decorating his tree, and making nice warm and fuzzy holiday feelings. That's my theory, anyway.

Anyway, whatever your faith may be, or even if you happen to faithless, don't ban Christmas specials just because they happen to be about Christmas. Give 'em a chance. Maybe the kids will like it. You might enjoy it as well.

Oh, Merry Christmas. And Happy Chanukah.

Source: Slate

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Disney Bails on Narnia

Brett Singer — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT

You won't be hearing the Chronic-WHAT?-cles of Narnia at the Mouse House any more.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting (clunky sentence, sorry) that Disney has decided not to pick up the option to get involved with "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the third film in the series. The reasons are "budgetary and logistical", which sounds to me like code for, "the other films didn't make enough money and producing them was annoying, so why should do it again?" "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", the first film in the series, grossed $745 million worldwide, whereas "Prince Caspian" took in "just $419 million," according to the Reporter. That still sounds like a lot of cabbage to me, but it's a big drop-off, and may not be enough to make risking more cash on a third film worthwhile.

Although I enjoyed the books when I was younger, and my son is starting to read them now, we haven't seen either movie yet. They didn't have that "must-see" effect on my kids that the Harry Potter films or "Iron Man" had. In fact, my son has expressed more interest in seeing a DVD-only release, "The Next Avengers", then he has in "Lion" or "Caspian."

Interestingly, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was scheduled for a May 2010 release, so talent was attached, plans were made, people had eaten a cheesecake and taken a nap, etc. (Random reference for you on Christmas Eve – don't say I never gave you anything.) Walden Media, which owns the rights to the C.S. Lewis stories, will shop around to try and find another partner for "Treader", but these flicks don't come cheap -- $180 million for "Lion", $200 million for "Caspian". With shrinking profits and a crummy economy, it will be interesting to see if another studio jumps in for "Treader."

Source: Hollywood Reporter via Reuters

Image: Amazon

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Gifts I Want That I Can Pretend Are For The Kids

Brett Singer — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:00:00 GMT

One of the things I like about being a parent is the fact that it allows me to regress with impunity. For example, a childless man who plays with Legos? Creepy. A father who plays with Legos? Aw, that's so sweet. He's such a good dad. With that in mind, here are a few gifts that I want this holiday season that I can pretend are really for the children. If they're lucky, I might even let the kids play with them.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – when we got a Wii, one of the first things I thought of was, "I want a game that lets me use the WiiMote like a sword." When I heard about a new Star Wars game that would allow you to use the WiiMore like a LIGHTSABER, I realized that this was potentially a dream come true. A dream I didn't even know I had. Namely, that I could use the WiiMote like a lightsaber. Hello? How many times did I imagine that I was Luke Skywalker, battling Darth Vader, denying he was my father as I swung my lightsaber in defiance? (Yes, Han Solo was cooler but Luke was a Jedi and was a more attainable goal – you weren't going to be as cool as Han, but you could definitely be like Luke. OK, I was a kid with self-esteem issues.) The idea that I can do this as an adult and get away with it because I have a son is almost too cool to imagine. Reviews of the game on Amazon are mixed, ranging from "pretty good" to "Worst. Game. Ever." There are a few "all my childhood dreams realized" comments on there. Until I actually play the game, I'll stick with those.

To make the nerdy experience truly complete, there is the Thrustmaster Glow Saber Duo Pack, which sounds like the name of a sex toy from a Woody Allen movie but is actually a Wii accessory where you insert the WiiMote into a glowing piece of plastic and wave it around like a lightsaber.

Peanuts Holiday Collection (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown / A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving / A Charlie Brown Christmas): This one isn't as embarrassing as the other two. The various Peanuts holiday specials have, in my opinion, stood the test of time better than any others. The animation is pleasantly low-key, the voice acting isn't obnoxiously loud and the kids actually sound like kids, and there are no stupid adults around. It's sentimental without being saccharine, funny without resorting to lowbrow comedy (nothing wrong with that but it's nice to see something different everyone now and then), and its great when you can enjoy something from your childhood with your kids without being forced to explain to them why you like it.

Marvel Transformers: It's unclear how I managed to not hear about these amazing new toys. It could be because I'm an adult. But I don't like that explanation. How can something as unbelievably cool as an Iron Man Transformer action figure not have been on my geeky radar? I might have to turn in my Platinum Nerd Card. In all seriousness – well, not ALL seriousness, this isn't a very serious topic – these look cool, appear to be in stock at Amazon, and would provide hours of fun for me, I mean MY CHILDREN. So come on. Fill my stocking with superheroes!

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The Longshots: Girls Can Play Football . . . and Make You Cry

JeanneSager — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:29:00 GMT

If somebody just gives them the boost, kids can forget what "other people think." It's one of those "messages" that comes blaring out of the newest "kid as sports phenom/role model to America" films to hit DVD just in time for Christmas.

"The Longshots," based on the true story of the Jasmine Plummer, the first girl to lead a boys Pop Warner football team to the national championships, got so-so reviews when it was making the rounds of the theatres over the summer. But I've always had a thing for those stories of the girls playing "boys" sports, and when you're talking the real deal . . . a shy, smart girl who simply has physical talents . . . who cares that the director used to bounce around a stage telling the world he did it all for the "Nookie?"

The movie puts Keke Palmer in the role of Plummer, the now teenaged Illinois high school student who told a Chicago-area paper over the summer, "I was always taught to go after what I wanted and to be the best I could be. To me, it was just me doing what I loved and having fun with it."

Palmer as Plummer is the kind of kid you root for - even through the somewhat predictible plot points that these girl playing a boy's game films have to hit (getting blitzed by a pissed off male teammate during practice until she shot the ball right at his nuts? come on, you sort of saw that coming). Her uncle, played by Ice Cube, comes out of his shell from the dopey layabout with a fondness for forty-ounce cans of beer from the local convenience store into the guy who finds himself again by helping a child change her life. Preditable? Aaaach, it still made me weepy.

But what really makes "The Longshots" worth watching - and the story worth hearing - is the fact that this story came to light in 2003. Remember - the real Plummer is still a teenager in 2008. The film tells a story of her as a pre-teen, with Palmer sporting sweet braids and getting stood up for a game of double dutch by the class mean girls.

It took until 2003 for a Pop Warner quarterback at national levels not to need a jock strap.Why? Because Title IX isn't working? No, girls have to be allowed on the teams of their male classmates these days, and as a reporter for the local paper, I've written about them. Girls on the wrestling team. Girls on the football team. In both of the cases here in my area, the coaches were from the old school (one was my father's assistant football coach in high school people . . . it doesn't get much more old school). Those coaches' biggest concern? Making sure EVERYTHING was equal - equal playing time, equal training time. They weren't that concerned about coaching girls. So, no, I wouldn't put the blame on the coaches anymore - at least not all of them.

In the special features of "The Longshots" DVD, Plummer's real uncle revealed the people making the biggest fuss about his niece making directions from inside the huddle were the other mothers. This wasn't part of the movie or manufactured by Fred Durst to move his story along. We've still got the Mommy police out in full force, making parents second guess what they allow their kids to dream and do.

Remember the "what will the neighbors think?" argument from your mother, when you wanted to stay out until midnight on a Saturday night? It's alive and well, and holding back our kids for no reason other than the jibber-jabbering that parents love to do about other parents. We can give our little girls trucks and send our little boys to twirl around the backyard with tutus, but someone else can always make them question it.

It's our job to help them ignore it.

Image: Amazon

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Girlhood Cage Match: Pixies vs. Princesses

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:05:00 GMT

We've managed to fight off the princess industrial complex for a few years now, but I fully admit I'm into fairies and don't mind telling my daughter all sorts of stories about these recalcitrant, jealous sprites who cause all manner of mischief and glee.

So I was delighted to read this story from Dodai at Jezebel about a cultural childhood shift toward fairies instead of princesses. The new Tinkerbell DVD is the top seller at Amazon apparently, and kids are voicing more support for fairies, who seem to "do" things instead of princesses, who seem more mentally inert.

The bottom line, according to someone quoted in the article, is that fairies mean adventure and action, while princesses just wait around for things to happen or for people to do things for them, like offer a ring and a happily ever after. I bet you can guess which one is a better role model for our daughters.

Defamer's Top 10 Halloween Specials

Brett Singer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Some of these – Roseanne, for example – wouldn’t crack my list, but there are some truly bizarre discoveries, such as the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, and "the discoriffic 1979 TV movie…'The Halloween That Almost Wasn't'", which stars none other than Judd Hirsch as Dracula, proving perhaps that actors will do anything – ANYthing – for money. The list is automatically valid because the number one spot goes to, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." He got a rock. A ROCK. Heh heh.

Defamer commenters leave a few list suggestions of their own, including Gary Larson's "Tales from the Far Side":

And here's the Paul Lynde entry. This one was unfamiliar to me, but it should be seen:

Watching these made me think about how much television viewing has changed. In our house, we have a DVD player and Tivo, so there's very little "appointment TV" except for sporting events, which are usually on too late for the kids to watch anyway (and they aren't all that interested, although they did want the Red Sox to lose, which warmed this father's heart.) Back in the day I used to look forward to holiday specials popping up annually. It's great to be able to watch whatever you want whenever you want to watch it, but it's definitely less "special" in some ways.

How about you? What are your favorite Halloween specials?

Source: Defamer

Image: Wikipedia

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Yo Gabba Gabba! DVD & Giveaway

editors — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:18:00 GMT

Part throwback to Sid & Marty Krofft, part sneaker/collectible culture Yo Gabba Gabba! is a fantastic if not bizarro kid show created by members of the So Cal costumed ska band The Aquabats. And they brought their music and movie biz friends along for the (educational) ride. In addition to musical interludes from The Shins, Hot Hot Heat and our own Mates of State, regular segments on Yo Gabba include Biz Markie’s “Beat of the Day” and Mark Mothersbaugh’s “Art with Mark”. But the big stars of the show are costumed creatures Muno, Brobee, Foofa, Toodee and Plex (the magic robot) along side real-life DJ Lance Rock as host/benevolent deity in the sky.

If the cool factor doesn’t impress, you'll still appreciate the life lessons taught by the kid monsters on Yo Gabba: keep trying, don’t give up, don’t bite your friends and even the surrendered - sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

The Dancey Dance Bunch DVD launches the Yo Gabba Gabba! series with four episodes: “Eat,” “Dance,” “Friends” and “Happy” that goes on sale today, and we’ve also got some copies to give away! Also on sale is the soundtrack for the modern classics of Yo Gabba via iTunes download. So go ahead and put aside that Music Together CD and actually enjoy the songs your kids are listening to repeatedly. Pick: “Party in My Tummy” by crowd favorite Brobee, the little green one. - April Peveteaux

Enter to win The Dancey Dance Bunch DVD at babblecontest@gmail.com - subject line “I Like to Dance!” and tell us who your (ahem, your kids’) favorite Yo Gabba character is and why.

Get Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch (ages 1 +) at Amazon for $12.99.

Magic Garden out on DVD

Brett Singer — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

OK, so clearly my Babble List (25 Great Children's TV Shows That Aren't On DVD) is taking the entertainment world by storm.

First, you had the Banana Splits' comeback (kinda). Now, after more years than I care to admit, Carole, Paula, the Chuckle Patch and the rest of The Magic Garden will be available on DVD.

I loved this show when I was little. Carole and Paula were like the best babysitters you ever had. Looking back, I realize that I had crushes on both of them. They were young, attractive, played guitar – the feeling I get remembering them is the same that I get when I think about Gina, my first real-life babysitter. She was… well, I remember her fondly. Let's just leave it at that.

The path from "lost classic" to "found classic" wasn't that easy. Like so much television back in the day, no one thought "The Magic Garden" would ever be valuable, so the tapes – yes, videotapes – weren't stored terribly well by WPIX, the station that aired the show. After discovering that some of those tapes had been destroyed, a search was started to find every episode. Eventually, they succeeded, and now we have this DVD. I think its ironic that the TV shows we – and by we I mean me – would most like to watch is often the hardest to find, whereas the stuff we – me – would be least interested in is readily available. The package also includes a CD of Carole and Paula songs – "See ya, see ya, hope you have a good good mornin'…" If you want a little preview of the tunes (or in my case, a flashback), check out this fan site.

I haven't watched it yet; when I do, I'll post my review. For now, it makes me smile just to know that this great show is at least available for current and future generations to see.

The 2 DVD/1 CD set will be available on October 14th. To order, click here. For more about the ladies of the Garden, visit caroleandpaula.com.

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Muppet Op-Art

Ailing Companies as Bad Children

NYC Parents: Come Meet Elmo & Abby Tomorrow!

editors — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:01:00 GMT

What you do with your Wednesday morning is your business. But for the record, what I'm doing is hauling my baby downtown to Barnes & Noble, where Elmo and Abby Cadabby will be promoting their fantastically silly new DVD, Abby in Wonderland. (Elmo creator and puppeter Kevin Clash directed.) My press release promises "special treats," a limited number of autographed DVDs and -- this is the part that got me -- "photo opportunities with the characters." Details after the jump! Also:keep an eye out for my audio interview with Abby Cadabby, coming soon to Babble.

Abby Cadabby & Elmo's "T" Party

Wednesday October 1st at 10 am

Barnes & Noble - 97 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007

If you see me there, please say hi! -- Gwynne Watkins

Carrie Bradshaw's Pre-Sex Life for Teens

Madeline Holler — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:40:00 GMT

Feel like you can't really share the "Sex and the City" fun with your daughters, what with the grown-up themes and now outdated clothes? Don't worry. Candace Bushnell's delivering a version of Carrie Bradshaw's story for teens.

In less than two years, SATC fans and teen readers will crack the spines of Bushnell's lastest incarnation of the NYC sex columnist: a two-book series of the girl's teen years.

Will it include a scene of Bradshaw losing her virginity? Publishers say ... they won't say.

From the New York Observer:

Asked if Ms. Bushnell was planning to write about Carrie losing her virginity, Ms. Balzer and Ms. Bray said they weren’t sure. Pub Crawl checked it out, though, and there’s a story for the telling. If the universe of the books is consistent with the universe of the show — and it very well may not be — readers should anticipate a scene featuring an 11th-grade Carrie sharing "half a joint" with one Seth Bateman and then doing it with him on the Ping-Pong table in his "smelly rec room." At least this is how Carrie describes her origin story to Charlotte in episode 38, "The Big Time."

The books will no doubt be bestsellers and huge hits. But, question: will most of its readers be 40+-year-olds hanging on to their once favorite pastime? Or will these books be the incubator for a re-release of the series' DVDs?

Photo: latimes.co

One that didn’t make the list – Run Joe Run

Brett Singer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:30:00 GMT

In my extensive list of Classic Kiddy TV shows that you can't get on DVD (excuse my blatant self-promotion), there were some that didn't make the cut.

Exhibit A: Run, Joe, Run

This description, from 70slivekidvid.com, is one of the all-time great sentences ever written about a TV show:
"The show was sort of a combination of Lassie and the Fugitive…falsely accused person running from authorities while helping out the people he meets along the way, except that the person was a dog."

Yes. A dog.

I'm fairly certain that I had a Joe action figure as a lad, but my recollection is hazy. This video clip jogged my memory. Maybe it will do the same for yours.

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Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Like father like son

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Man ejected from Yankee Stadium for lack of patriotism

The Babble List: 25 Great Children's TV Shows That Aren't On DVD

Dad arrested for leaving son at McDonald's

5 reasons it's a good thing I had boys (one of them is that they'll watch this nonsense with me)

Bored games

DVD Review: Our Country, USA to Z

Brett Singer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

With July 4th coming up in a couple of days, many of us are feeling patriotic. But in our current political climate, patriotism can be a highly charged topic. Personally, I think you should be able to love your country without buying into the ideology of a particular person or political party. More "celebrate what's great about America" and less "keep the immigrants out."

"Our Country, USA to Z" (Team Baby Entertainment) is more the former than the latter. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg in her usual slightly sleepy-voiced style, this is (mostly) politics-free patriotism.

The disc opens with a relatively painless song (performed by John Lennon Songwriting Award winner Joe McDermot) about our nation and how good it is, with shots of cute babies dancing around. Football, kids, cities, Native Americans, Statue of Liberty – pretty straightforward stuff, pleasantly presented.

Then come the letters. (The chapters on the DVD, available in the main menu, are helpfully split up by letter so you can skip around if you need to.) A is for America (duh), B is for Bell, as in "Liberty Bell," C is for Columbus (with no mention of Native Americans), D is for Diveristy, and so on. My favorite segment was J, which is of course for Jazz. Whoopi should do a whole DVD for kids on the history of jazz. M is for Military was a little weird, but kids will like the trucks and Coast Guard boats. There is a slightly right-of-center leaning revealed (I think) in the choice of "great presidents" (the letter P, of course): George Washington, Abraham Lincoln (a "civil war hero", no mention of freeing the slaves), Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. It's not a huge deal, but I'm guessing that the Democratic version of this disc might not mention ol' RR in this grouping.

There is a teeny amount of suspense when you watch "USA to Z" for the first time – what the heck are they going to do for X, for example? Since K was for King (as in Martin Luther King), I thought maybe we'd get Malcolm X, but they went with Railroad Crossing, which is a little lame, but at least features subways as well as railroads. Then there's "Road Trip," another original tune with a nice montage of video from the 50 states. These include cities as well as purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain, something that, as a lifelong city dweller, I always appreciate. As always, there are cute kids of various colors and creeds bouncing around.

"Our Country, USA to Z" is a little different from the DVDs that Team Baby Entertainment typically puts out. Most of their content (which I've never seen) seems to be geared towards indoctrinating young children in the ways of sports fandom – Mets Baby, St. Louis Cardinals Baby, Red Sox Baby World Series Edition narrated by Ben Affleck (ouch, that was hard to type – guess who my favorite team is?), and of course, Yankees Baby, which I've never seen but is of course the best of the bunch (that would be my team.)

For the most part, this relatively short DVD is cute, harmless patriotism that does a decent job of including the different types of people and places that make up the United States of America. There is no mention of more controversial topics – Native Americans, slavery – but it is geared towards very young children; 2 or 3-year-olds is about right in my view. "Our Country, USA to Z" is educational, colorful, and doesn't go too far to the right. And when it does skew a little bit more Red State than Blue, that's tempered by the presence of the Whoopster's narration. Whoever hired her deserves a big, fat all-American raise.

image: Team Baby Entertainment

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Family Movie Night: Everyone's Hero

Brett Singer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:00:00 GMT

It's Father's Day, so I picked a flick with a daddy-theme.

My oldest son shows little interest in baseball, and I've started to accept the fact that he probably will never join me in rabid Yankee fandom. His love of this film, though, gives me a little bit of hope that he may still develop an interest in America's pastime (which it really isn't anymore, but why spoil a cliché?)

'Everyone's Hero' isn't terribly daring, the animation is only so-so, and the plot is utterly unbelievable in almost every way. But somehow the film works, with plenty of laughs, some tugging at heartstrings in the right places, and a perfectly triumphant sports-movie ending.

Yankee Irving -- his parents named him for the team -- is a lousy baseball player, but that doesn't stop him from being a huge fan of the team his dad works for as a clubhouse attendant. Then Babe Ruth's favorite bat gets stolen, and Yankee's father is blamed, and then fired. This is a real problem for the family -- it's the 1930's, and there are no jobs. Yankee's dad thinks Yankee stole the bat, and, shockingly, he doesn't really buy his son's assertion that all will be cleared up if the team President would only speak to his new friend, the talking ball. Yes, Yankee has found a magical talking ball. Of course, the ball only talks to Yankee (shades of Mr. Ed), but we know Yank's not a loony-tunes since the ball can be seen moving around on its own by everyone. The ball was a foul, and wishes it could have been a homerun, but unlike every DreamWorks movie, this isn't a major plot point; it helps that the ball is an obnoxious New Yorker with a kid-friendly potty mouth. Eventually they find the bat, who also talks and is an egomaniac because of her "relationship" with the Babe. They also, you know, save the day, after some heroics.

The movie shows a teeny bit of depth when Yankee is befriended by a Black girl whose father is a star in the Negro Leagues. Yankee ends up riding on his team bus, and the players show him some ball techniques that make him a better player in the end. It's all presented very matter-of-fact, as a piece of history but without any self-conscious judgment, which serves to make it more poignant in a way. The same is true of a scene with a bunch of hobos, all of whom are just down on their luck as opposed to being drug addicts or something else sinister.

This is also a rare children's film where both parents are alive and well. Dad is unemployed for a little while, and part of Yankee's journey to get the bat back is motivated by a desire to prove to his father that he didn't steal it (it was taken by the owner of the perennially-losing Chicago Cubs). That's about as sad as it gets. All is forgiven, dad even feels bad for not believing in his son, good feelings abound. Even the ball cheers up.

In a field of kiddie films crowded with wacky animals that spew fart and dick jokes, it's nice to see something that, while it doesn't take many chances, just presents a sweet, straightforward story. Oh, and the baseball thing helps, at least for me. Highly recommended.

image: Amazon.com

R. Kelly found not guilty

Brett Singer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:51:00 GMT

So. It's time to admit that sometimes, I am wrong.

For example:

"Google? Feh. That stock will never go above $100."

"Hairspray: The Musical? Who the hell is going to want to see that?"

I also think I would have predicted that R. Kelly would be found guilty in his child pornography case.

And once again, I missed the mark. Kelly not only believes he can fly; he will fly, right out of the courtroom. The "dramatic verdict...appeared to stun even his own highly-paid lawyers." When even the attorneys defending you look surprised, that's not a good sign.

Now, this doesn't mean he's a good guy, or even that he didn't do it. One juror said, “Neither side proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt...that’s why we had to go for not guilty.” The jury did not hear about Kelly's prior history with underage women, including "Kelly’s secret marriage to the late R&B star Aaliyah when she was just 15." Nice.

So what was the lack of proof? Apparently the man in the video has a mole on his back, and R. doesn't. Also, according to The AV Club, Kelly's goddaughter denies that she is on the tape, and defense attorneys (you know, the ones that were surprised by the not guilty verdict) also "noted that Kelly's goddaughter is a 'sweet, nice young lady,' and certainly wouldn't have accepted cash for sex, as the girl in the tape is shown doing."

image: Chicago Sun-Times

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Giveaway: Win "The Muppet Show: Season 3" DVD!

editors — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:00:00 GMT

There are a few different ways to watch The Muppet Show: The Complete Third Season. You can view it as a freakish collection of pop-culture oddities: Gilda Radner singing Gilbert and Sullivan with a seven-foot-tall carrot, Sly Stallone sparring with a talking punching bag. You can look at it as a record of great live performances by the likes of Pearl Bailey and Danny Kaye, or a tribute to forgotten stars like Leo Sayer and Elke Sommer. You can see it as an an absurd backstage soap opera, following Kermit's struggles to keep his show afloat while Fozzie enters group therapy and Piggy threatens her romantic rivals.

But I'd recommend watching it as a child would: Laugh when the Swedish Chef is outsmarted by his own dough. Smile at the unexpected beauty of the African masks singing backup to Harry Belafonte. Let yourself believe the puppets are alive. Season Three is the best Muppet Show collection yet, with fantastic bonus features perfect for family viewing (including a 1968 special called "Muppets on Puppets," which explains the art and process of puppeteering).

And we have three to give away!

Email babblecontest@gmail.com with your full name, mailing address, and the name of your favorite Muppet, and we'll pick three winners at random.

And if you don't win, you can still pick up the set for $32.99 at Amazon. Good luck! -- Gwynne Watkins

UPDATE: The contest is closed and we have 3 winners -- congratulations to Tracey from Ontario (favorite Muppet: Fozzie), Maribeth from Quentin PA (favorite Muppet: Rizzo) and Jeanette from Santa Monica (favorite Muppet: Rowlf)!

R. Kelly case jury selection begins; girl he filmed was his goddaughter

Brett Singer — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:20:00 GMT

R. Kelly might believe he can fly, but first he's going to have to convince a jury that he's innocent of child pornography charges. (See? I could write for TMZ.)

The songwriter and R&B star, known for classics such as "I Believe I Can Fly" and inexplicable train-wrecks like "Trapped in the Closet," (see below for videos) has been charged with "videotaping a girl 'whom he knew or reasonably should have known to be under the age of 18' in a variety of sex acts some time between January 1, 1998, and October 1, 2000."

Adding to intense sleazery of the case is that the "alleged victim, who is now 23, has been identified as Kelly's goddaughter." Doing the math, this means that the girl may have been as young as 13 in the first video.

Ewww!

Jury selection has begun at the Criminal Court in Chicago, and this piece in the Sun-Times describes how the choice of jurors is being handled. The reporters make a point to give the race of each potential juror, although in some cases that doesn't appear to be relevant." One (white) man said, "I have two little kids…Child pornography is about as low as it gets." Maybe I missed something, but (apologies to Michael Jackson) does it really matter if he's black or white? Another woman, identified as, "an African-American woman whose husband is a Baptist pastor," says that she lives in the same town as Kelly but hadn't heard anything about the case. Years ago, during the Rodney King trial, while lawyers were looking for people who hadn't heard anything about the case, Bill Maher said that this meant they were looking for people, "you wouldn't even talk to at a cocktail party." I don't care what race she is, how exactly did she manage to not hear anything about a case as sensational as this one?

The charges are all alleged, so let's not jump to conclusions. Well, let me put it this way – I don't think they'd pick me to serve on this particular jury.

Here's the thing: if memory serves, there's a videotape that shows R. having sex with the girl. They used to sell it on street corners all over Manhattan. So if you can I.D. him and her, what exactly is his defense? "She told me she was almost 18?" And if it's true that she is his goddaughter, should that factor into his punishment?

image: Chicago Sun-Times

Videos of Chapter 15 of "Trapped in the Closet" (not work-safe, lots of cussin'), and "I Believe I Can Fly" (which, as far as I know, does not contain any foul language at all.)

Chapter 15-Trapped in the Closet

I Believe I Can Fly

Baby Einstein Founder Flanks First Lady at State of the Union

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:16:00 GMT

Julie Aigner-Clark, the founder of the the Baby Einstein company was an invited guest of George W. Bush during last night's State of the Union address, one of the "uninspiring choice(s)" made by Dubya according to Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg.com.

For those that don't know, Aigner-Clark developed porn-quality (in terms of production values) programs showing spinning toys and freaky puppets set to jejune music. The goal of the videos is to stimulate babies and turn them into, well, "Baby Einsteins," but we all know that's bullshit.

Tekla of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog had a more, ahem, pointed criticism of the choice:

This is the woman that convinced parents that it's perfectly OK to prop up babies in front of the television because it's educational (they don't even have to be old enough to sit)! The woman that found the perfect combination of music and colors to hypnotize a baby into complete docility, to ensure that the next generation really will be passive observers, not interacting or caring much about the people around them or their environment. Or, perhaps, this is the woman that has found the way to raise the perfect Republican...

As Tekla says, "at least we know what Bush watches on TV."