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    Movie Reviews

    Musicals

    Musicals

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    Beauty and the Beast-Kids’ Movie Review

    Belle (Emma Watson) is a smart and beautiful young woman who lives alone with her widower father. Belle doesn’t have many friends and is not very close with the townspeople. They find her very odd because she loves to read books, something they don’t appreciate. Belle’s life dramatically changes when she is taken prisoner in a castle by a beast (Dan Stevens). Belle doesn’t know it, but the Beast is a cursed, arrogant prince who must find true love in order to break a spell. Though the Beast has a hideous exterior, Belle befriends the monster-like character and the castle’s enchanted staff. She eventually realizes that the Beast is a kind soul whom she falls in love with. Beauty and the Beast is Disney’s live-action remake of the classic 1991 animated musical.

     

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    Beauty and the BeastRating: 4.5 popcorn buckets out of 5
    Release Date: June 6, 2017
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 8+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
    Crude or Profane Language: Mild
    Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will Kids Like It? Yes

     

     

     

    Talking Points:

    • The film highlights the importance of humility.
    • Belle is a loving daughter who is willing to do whatever it takes to insure her father’s well being.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • Character’s flirt with the opposite sex and the same sex.
    • LeFou briefly dances with a man. He’s confused as he’s trying to figure out his sexual preference.
    • Female characters wear dresses that show their cleavage.

    Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

    • There are intense and scary scenes throughout the film. More graphic violence in this version than in the animated version.
    • Vicious wolves attack several characters.
    • There’s a battle between the townspeople and servants in the castle.
    • We see mob violence with pitchforks and torches.
    • There’s an intense battle between the Beast and an attacker. They fight with fists, claws and guns.
    • The Beast may scare young kids with his growl and loud roar.

    Crude or Profane Language: Mild

    • Name calling such as; “idiot,” and “fool.”

    Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We see characters drinking at a local tavern.

    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    • The theater was filled with attentive kids who loved the movie.

    Overall this is a wonderful film for the whole family. Having said that, parents need to be aware of the moderate violence that may scare sensitive kids.

    Trolls-Kids Movie Review

    “Hug time!!” The trolls love to hug  and these cute, little, colorful creatures love life! The trolls live in a perpetual state of happiness. They sing, they dance and they hug all day long! However, life gets a little complicated for the fun loving little guys when the Bergen’s (unhappy goblin-like creatures), discover that can feel happiness if they eat a troll. Now the happy go lucky trolls have their work cut out for them as they try to save their human race from the unhappy creatures.

     

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    trollsRating: 4 and 1/2  out of 5 popcorn buckets
    Release Date: February 7, 2017
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 5 +
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate
    Crude or Profane Language: None
    Drug and Alcohol Content: None
    Will Kids Like It?  Yes

    See the trailer here!

     

     

    Talking Points:

    • Trolls is a positive and upbeat movie. The film highlights the fact that happiness comes from the heart.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • We see a couple kiss.

    Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

    • We see the Bergen’s (dwarf-like creatures) grabbing and eating the trolls.
    • A character shares a story about the death of his grandmother. It’s implied that she was eaten by a Bergen.
    • A Bergen gets set on fire.
    • We see two trolls’ choking another troll.
    • A hopeless Bergen buries himself alive; wanting to die.

    Crude or Profane Language: None

    Drug and Alcohol Content: None

    Will Kids Like It?  Yes

    • I interviewed several young kids (ages 3 to 5) who loved the fun music, and the cute little trolls. They also said they were scared at times because of the “scary monsters.”

    Overall Trolls is a fun entertaining film for kids of all ages!

    Jem and the Holograms-Kids’ Movie Review

    The power of social media!! Jerrica Benton is a quiet, though very talented teenage girl, who writes her own music, sings and plays guitar. Her songs help her deal with the day to day stress of being a teenager girl. However, her quiet life soon ends when her sister, Kimber, posts one of Jerrica’s tunes online, and before you know it’s gone viral. Now the world wants to know that quiet and humble girl. Based on a the popular 1980’s cartoon, Jem and the Holograms is an entertaining film, especially for pre-teen girls.

     

     

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    Jem and the HologramsRating: 4 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: January 19, 2016
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 8+
    Sexual Content: Mild
    Violent/Disturbing Content: None
    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
    Drug and Alcohol Content: None
    Will Kids Like It? Yes

     

     

     

    Talking Points:

    • Jem and the Holograms is a little corny in parts, though entertaining for tweens. The film highlights the importance of family and loved ones in your lives. One of the girls says…”A home is a place where you’re surrounded by people who you love and who love you regardless.”
    • At the recording studio’s headquarters, the girls are told that the “house rules” demand no drinking, no smoking and no venturing out after curfew.
    • The positive and negative aspects of social media is noted. A character says that paparazzi photos “live longer than vampires.”
    • The teens break into a building and run from the police. One of the girls has a habit of stealing things.

    Sexual Content: Mild

    • We see a teenage couple making out.
    • A teenage boy is shown only wearing a towel, waist down. A teenage girl walks in on him and admires his physique.

    Violent/Disturbing Content: None

    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

    • “A–,” is said a few times, we also hear “h—.”

    Drug and Alcohol Content: None

    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    Overall Jem and the Holgrams is an enjoyable musical drama. Depending on the child, this is appropriate for kids ages 8 and up.

     

     

     

    Pitch Perfect 2

    The Barden Bellas, the beloved collegiate a cappella group, are back in this sequel to Pitch Perfect. In this second film the Bellas enter in an international competition in Copenhagen. Initially the girls have a tough time finding “their tune,” and working together;  however after a team building retreat they reunite and hope to be the first Americans to win the a cappella championship.

     

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    Pitch Perfect 2Rating: 4 out of 5 popcorn buckets
    Release Date: September 22, 2015
    MPAA Rating: PG13
    Best Age Group: 11+
    Sexual Content: Moderate
    Violent/Disturbing Content: None
    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
    Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild
    Will Kids Like It? Yes

     

     

     

     

     

    Talking Points

    • The music and choreographed a cappella ensembles are well done and entertaining.
    • As the girls struggle to rebuild their group they realize how important it is to work as a team.

    Sexual Content: Moderate

    • We see Fat Amy and a male character kiss and roll around on top of each other. It’s implied that they’ve had sexual encounters.
    • There are sexual jokes and songs regarding male/female body parts, erections and various sexual partners.
    • A new Bella says her mother and father have a five-octave range they sing out while having sex.
    • One of the Bellas is a gay girl and comments how she touched one of the other girls’ “goodies” while they were camping out and all sleeping together.

    Violent/Disturbing Content: None

    Crude or Profane Language: Moderate

    • We hear “a–,” “d–n,” “b–ch,” and “h—,” several times throughout the film.

    Drug and Alcohol Content: Mild

    • We see characters drinking beer and hard liquor at parties and singing competitions.

    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    • I interviewed several pre-teen girls who loved the movie.

    Overall this is a fun and entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the sexual references throughout the movie.

     

     

     

    Into The Woods-Kids Movie Review

    Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) all travel into the woods for one thing or another. Whether it be to sell a cow, going to grandmothers or visiting a mother’s grave… they are all headed into the woods. Into the Woods is a musical that  follows the lives all the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Each storyline is tied together by the Baker (James Corden) and his Wife (Emily Blunt), their dream of starting a family and their interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep)…who sends them into the woods!

    Into The WoodsRating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5 buckets
    Release Date: March 24, 2015
    MPAA Rating: PG
    Best Age Group: 10+
    Sexual Content: Moderate
    Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
    Crude or Profane Language: None
    Drug and Alcohol Content:     None
    Will Kids Like It?     Yes

     

    Talking Points:

    The music is fun and entertaining with an all-star cast singing the tunes. However, the film is not the typical sweet Disney movie that we’re familiar with. The Princes cheat and the Wolves seduce little girls.

    “Be Careful What You Wish For” is noted throughout the film. Cinderella dreams of meeting a handsome prince, though when she does, he’s not all that great.  In fact she even leaves her Prince as he fails to remain faithful.

    Sexual Content: Moderate

    • When Cinderella’s Prince (Chris Pine) meets the Baker’s Wife in the woods, they passionately kiss and he begins to seduce her.  The Prince is married and justifies the kiss by saying “Right and wrong don’t matter in the woods, only feelings.”
    • The Wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood in the woods, he acts like a child molester when he makes inappropriate comments to her.
    • Cinderella and her Prince passionately kiss, as does Rapunzel and her Prince.

    Violent/Disturbing Content: Moderate

    • Little Red and her grandmother are eaten by the Wolf, which we don’t see, however the Baker stabs his knife into the Wolf’s stomach.
    • Several character’s die; one falls off a cliff, one is punched and hits her head on a s stump, and another is hit in the forehead by a rock.
    • Cinderella’s stepsisters get their feet sliced by their mother…in hopes that the slipper will fit. The cutting is off camera, while we only see drops of blood.
    • Jack is repeatedly slapped by his mother.
    • The witch is evil and scary which may frighten young kids. She steals a little girl to raise as her own, and locks her away in a doorless tower.

    Crude or Profane Language: None

    Drug and Alcohol Content: None

    Will Kids Like It? Yes

    Overall this is an entertaining musical which may appeal to kids, however parents need to be aware of the somewhat dark storyline and moderate sexual content. This is not your typical Disney PG rated film.

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