Santa Buddies - The Legend of Santa Paws

Join The Buddies (Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Buddha and Mudbud) in a wonderfully wacky twist on a classic Christmas favorite. When Puppy Paws, the fun-loving son of Santa Paws, gets tired of the North Pole, he finds Budderball on Santa's naughty list and figures he's just the dog to show him how to be an ordinary pup. But when the magical Christmas Icicle starts to melt and the world begins to forget the true meaning of the season, it's up to Puppy Paws and his new found Buddies to save Christmas.

Starring: Christopher Lloyd, Craig Anton, Andrew Astor, Tom Bosley, George Wendt, Field Cate, Tim Conway, Chris Coppola, Josh Flitter, Ben Giroux, Skyler Gisondo, Zachary Gordon and many more.

Rated: G

Just when you thought you had enough, they bring out another Buddies movie. I have to admit though that this film does have it's charms. My children loved this film very much and watched it beginning to end several times over the weekend. It's not often a movie captures their interest that long.

For the grownups, it is definitely watchable at least one time. The story is pretty good. Talks a lot about the spirit of Christmas and what it means. That Christmas is more about giving than receiving and the buddies have to work together as a team in order to save Christmas. In doing so they help transform some of the lives of the people around them, one grumpy dog catcher played in particular.

There is a part or two where the flow doesn't really jive. You see Eli (a real elf) giving a kind lecture to a fake elf about the spirit of Christmas etc and yet you don't see how that ties into the movie. The fake elf wasn't a grump, there were no scenes (unless they were cut) where that Elf lacked Christmas spirit.

I can't really think of any potential warnings for parents. There is some mild action as the puppies are being chased by the dog catcher. In one scene the puppies try to escape and the dogcatcher gets knocked over and falls on his back. That's about all I can think of.

I should add that if you are a Christian you will find the message in the movie falls sadly short on the true meaning of Christmas. However, as always, there are many teachable moments that you can share with your children if you are sitting along with them watching this film.

Movie Mamma

Up

Carl Fredricksen, a retired balloon salesman, is part rascal, part dreamer who is ready for his last chance at high-flying excitement. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, Carl sets off to the lost world of his childhood dreams. Unbeknownst to Carl, Russell, an overeager 8-year old Wilderness Explorer who has never ventured beyond his backyard, is in the wrong place at the wrong time - Carl's front porch! The world's most unlikely duo reach new heights and meets fantastic friends like Dug, a dog with a special collar that allows him to speak, and Kevin, the rare 13-foot tall flightless bird. Stuck together in the wilds of the jungle, Carl realizes that sometimes life's biggest adventures aren't the ones you set out for.

Featuring the Voice Talents of: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft and many other talented voices.

Rated PG for some peril and mild action.

Lovely, lovely, lovely movie. I just loved this film. Can you tell? It was altogether delightful and charming. The balloons are such a whimsical touch and there is just something about the graphics and colours in this film that I really love. Not too bright, more pastels. I don't know, it's just lovely.

I was surprised at the PG rating. Roadrunner has more peril and action than this film. Having said that; however, there are a couple of parts that I felt would be too heavy for my oldest (6) to watch and so we did not let her watch this film.

Parents note that this is not just a film for the kids but for the whole family. The beginning starts out with the old man, Carl, as a young child when he meets his wife, Ellie. It then progresses into a silent movie style clips, showing the ups and downs of their lives together. While this may be over many the heads of younger children, some more sensitive children will pick up on the meanings behind some of the sadder clips. Not to say that is necessarily a bad thing. I just recalled a scene from another movie in Meet the Robinsons where a baby is left on the steps of an Orphanage. That had actually upset my daughter quite a bit to imagine a baby being left like that. So when I saw the beginning of this film I thought perhaps it was not for her.

Likewise further into the film, as with most movies, a bad guy develops and is out to get the good guys. There are several small incidents of violence, with bullets being shot at the main characters, while there are no injuries, this may be more than you want your children to see. Oh and there is reference to people being eliminated in a general way. Again, if your child watches anything like Scooby Doo or Roadrunner this movie will be fine for them.

On a side note... if you have Blu-Ray player and are thinking of purchasing this film... buy it on Bluray. The Blu-Ray version has extra features and a short film clip that is not available on the DVD. I was disappointed with this. I think it may well be a sign of the way things are going to go in the technology arena. Blu-Ray will be pushing out DVD's before we know it.

Movie Mamma

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

Tinkerbell is back and ready for a new adventure. "Discover how the Pixies make their magic dust! Take off in a hot air balloon with Tinker Bell and her new friend Blaze, a lightning bug who lights her way, on an enchanting secret journey to find a new moonstone, the source of the Pixies mystical dust. But hold on tight! There'll be amazing encounters, some close calls, and a daring rescue by her old friend Terence! In her biggest adventure yet, Tinker Bell not only learns a lesson in responsibility, she discovers the true meaning of friendship. From the creators of Tinker Bell, 'Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure' is a captivating journey of self-discovery everyone will want to take."

Rated: G

Featuring the voice talents of:

Mae Whitman as Tinker Bell (voice)

Jesse McCartney as Terence (voice)

Kristin Chenoweth as Rosetta (voice)

Lucy Liu as Silvermist (voice)

Pamela Adlon as Vidia (voice)

Raven-Symoné as Iridessa (voice)

Anjelica Huston as Queen Clarion (voice)

Grey DeLisle as Lyria / Viola / Narrator (voice)

John Di Maggio as Minister of Autumn

Jane Horrocks as Fairy Mary (voice)

and others......

Another delightful Tinkerbell movie from Disney. I was a little worried that the second Tinkerbell movie would be a tad humdrum, that we had discovered all the enchantment there was to be had in the new Pixie hollow. That was, however, not the case and my girls were just as delighted with this second Tinkerbell film as the first.

The voice talents were incredible, the graphics were gorgeous, the story was delightful. This film gave plenty of opportunities for my girls to see what happens when you allow your temper to get the best of you, how it can hurt friendships and what you must do to set things right again. All in all a captivating film from beginning to end.

For parents, there is very little of concern in this film. There are no evil villains in this film which is atypical Disney style. The worst parts are Tink's own bad behaviour and it's obvious that this type of behaviour is not to be preferred.

Really I can't think of a single warning to give. If you've seen the film and have a warning to suggest, please do leave me a comment.

What's going to be up next?

Movie Mamma

Imagine That

A successful financial executive has little time to spend with his young daughter. Then a personal crisis takes hold, and his career begins a downward spiral. But he finds the answers to his problems in an unlikely place: his child's imaginary world.

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Yara Shahidi, Ronny Cox, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nicole Ari Parker, Deray Davis, Vanessa Williams, Martin Sheen... to name a few.

Rating: Canadian rating is G but the MPAA is PG for "mild language and brief questionable behaviour".

To be honest this movie did not get the best ratings. I, however, disagree. I found the movie to be enjoyable with a strong message to parents about placing our careers ahead of our relationships with our children.

The topic may be beyond younger children. Despite the fact that this little girl has imaginary friends and visits an imaginary world I did not think my kids would find enough in this film to entertain them. The imaginary world is truly imaginary. However, if your children are older it might well be a good movie for the whole family to watch.

Basically, Evan Danielson is a fast paced corporate executive who is separated from his wife. It's easy to see why as work obviously his biggest priority. Things go awry though when he has to take his daughter for the entire week during one of the most stressful times of his career. He ends up finding himself playing with his daughter for the first time in a long while and slowly begins to discover himself and just how precious his daughter is.

The viewer actually gets to walk through this transition along with Evan. Just when you think he's coming along, he suddenly takes a wrong turn. This film provides plenty of discussion material for the whole family.

Movie Mamma