Studio Ghibli Weekend: My Neighbour Totoro

On Friday night we watched Princess Mononoke with kid 1 so on Saturday afternoon we thought we could show kid 2 some Studio Ghibli magic too.  We chose My Neighbour Totoro for its sweet and innocent look at childhood in rural Japan/Ghibliland.


Satsuki and her little sister Mei move to the countryside to be closer to their mother who is in hospital.  They discover all kinds of magical and mysterious spirit creatures live in and around their old farmhouse and they befriend them.  And in return Totoro (the largest and cuddliest of the creatures) and his friends help Satsuki and Mei in their time of need.

Rating: My Neighbour Totoro is a very simple and slow moving story.  Suitable for a 4 year old who needs some down time on a lazy weekend afternoon.  The older members of the family found it too slow but we enjoyed having it on in the background and watching the occasional snippet of Cat Bus or Totoro.  Kid 2 wanted to watch it again the next day and we wouldn't object to her having a repeat viewing.  Except that now she wants a Totoro soft toy... of course!

Naughty bits: Cat Bus is a little scary/creepy at first so if your child is sensitive then My Neighbour Totoro is best left on the shelf till they are older but our 4 year old was not worried at all.  Other than that Totoro is as clean as your house once you have cleaned out all the soot sprites.

Snacks: Corn on the cob

Family In-quotes: "Come out, come out, where ever you are!"

Related Goodies:
Cat Buses in real life
Cat Bus Rail Puzzle Game

Studio Ghibli Weekend: Princess Mononoke

My husband and I first watched Princess Mononoke in our mid 20's Anime phase.  It's a phase that we've not really grown out of to be honest but the volume of consumption has definitely dwindled this side of parenthood.  As Studio Ghibli is one of the more broad audience orientated studios we thought Princess Mononoke would be a good introduction to Anime's often unique form of storytelling for our children so we sat kid 1 down one Friday night so see how it would go down.  She loved it!  We however, didn't find it quite as satisfying the second time around although Studio Ghibli always have a certain magical quality to their productions.


Princess Mononoke follows the adventures of Ashitaka as he travels far from his homeland to find the cure for his curse from the legendary Forest Spirit.  When he arrives in the western forest he finds himself caught up in the battle between the ambitious humans and the disturbed forest creatures led by the beautiful Princess Mononoke and he struggles to help them both live together in peace. 

Rating: We enjoyed the film but we [the parents] probably won't bother seeing it again.  However kid 1 liked it more and would see it again.  The theme of environmentalism is a bit belaboured but it gives a good opportunity for discussion afterward.


Naughty bits: Princess Mononoke is on the more mature end of Ghibli productions.  There is quite a bit of gore and violence and plenty of weird blobby creatures.  This really is for older children or teenagers because the likelihood of nightmares and awkward conversations are rather high if your kids are sensitive or younger than double digits.  The language is mostly clean though and there is not really any sexual content.

If you are unfamiliar with Anime or Japanese film-making you need to be aware that their spiritual outlook is quite different to traditional Western spirituality and this heavily influences the content of their films.  This is fine if you are happy to introduce your kids to different worldviews and perspectives but parents who are unaware of this may find it unsettling.

Snacks: Blue Jelly and marshmellows

Family In-quotes: "Ugh, I smell like a human"

Related Goodies:
Studio Ghibli Museum

Guardians of the Galaxy

With the impending release of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (been and gone in theatres at time of writing!  I'm so behind!) we decided to introduce kid 1 to the original in the hopes that we would be able to squeeze in a trip to the movies to see part 2.  Alas that did not pan out #momslife but we are ready and waiting for the digital release...


Guardians of the Galaxy was a lesser known Marvel comic series until the movie came out.  The Guardians are a rag tag bunch of scallywags who are brought together by accident and band together for their own gain but over time become friends and decide to be a team; just in time to save the Galaxy!

The movie is full of bright colour, crazy action sequences, more quippy one liners than an 80's Schwarzenegger flick and cheap looking but delightful makeup.  The 70's and 80's soundtrack lent a nostalgic edge to the film which gave it an original spin when held up against the plethora of superhero movies being released at the moment.

Rating: We really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy and will watch it again sometime.  It's fun and keeps good momentum.  Even the few slower emotional moments are quickly made light of and it picks up the pace again.  The plot is fairly basic but that's good when watching with younger viewers.

Naughty bits: We were hesitant at first because there is a fair bit of violence and a few scary parts but it turned out that 11year olds are pretty hardy these days and she slept like a chill 11year old after. There is little nudity and most of it is Chris Pratt so husbands be warned...  and there is also quite a bit of coarse language and behaviour so do check the IMDB parental guide before deciding if Guardians of the Galaxy is right for your family.

Snacks: M&M's or skittles and when someone with the same skin colour comes up on screen you have to eat that colour

Family In-quotes: "What are you doing?"  "Dance-off, bro. Me and you."

Related Goodies:
Geek History Lesson Podcast: Guardians of the Galaxy episode 
TV Series

The Rocketeer

Long before La La Land was lauded for bringing back classic Hollywood glamour a little known film called The Rocketeer had already done a bang up job thank you very much.  A mere 5 years since her awkward teenager Labyrinth persona Jennifer Connelly surprises us all as a drop dead gorgeous 1930's Hollywood bombshell (I adore her dress in the club scene) and Timothy Dalton plays a perfect Clark Gable-esque figure (with a twist - no spoilers!!).

Who is The Rocketeer?  This masked man of mystery?  The movie reveals that he is in fact Cliff, a young, impetuous pilot who discovers a jet-pack and after debuting it at an airshow finds himself in way over his head with all the bad guys hot on his tail.  They steal his girl and he has to do everything he can to get her back with the aid of his trusty mechanic sidekick/mentor.

Rating: We really enjoyed The Rocketeer and will watch it again sometime.  It is a good old fashioned action/adventure movie with some decent plot twists.  Cliff will get a bit annoying but he's really just a nice boy who is out of his depth so we'll give him a pass.

Naughty bits: This movie is suitable for kids double digits and older as the themes are more mature (war, kidnapping, gangsters, a couple of dead bodies) and there is quite a bit of gun violence (no blood).  I'm making it sound worse than it is maybe? so check the IMDB parental guidance page to see if your kids are up to it.  No sexy bits unless you count a couple of kisses and Jennifer's club dress!  And it does give an opportunity to talk about WW2 which is a good history lesson to pass onto your kids.

Snacks: Tomato Soup

Family In-quotes: "I do my own stunts!"

Related Goodies:
Real Life Jetpack
and there is a reboot in the works *groan*

The Flintstones

Who here in internet land has fond memories of the TV show The Flintsones?  Yabadabadoo!  All of us, that's who!  The classic 1960's series was re-run well into our childhoods so why not watch the live action movie and introduce the fun to our kids?  Well, the idea was a good one...

Lets start with the casting: John Goodman as Fred and Rick Moranis (see our previous post) as Barney.  Great.  The set: A whole town set built to look prehistoric with "mod-cons" and dinosaur puppets.  Excellent stuff.  The costumes:  Authentic to the TV show and outrageous.  Good, good.  The plot:  Here's where things go horribly wrong.  The writers turn what was a fun, happy go lucky cartoon into a serious story about a corporate takeover and the ramifications.  They even split apart the Fred and Barney bromance!  But worst of all, it was B.O.R.I.N.G.  So boring in fact that the kid fell asleep and we fast forwarded through much of the last third.

Rating: Needless to say we did not enjoy The Flintstones and will be happy for it to be lost to history.  This was so sad because visually there was so much we liked about it but ultimately it was not worth our time.


Naughty bits: The Flintstones is as clean as Wilma's lil' white dress.

Snacks: Bronto Burgers

Family In-quotes: "Yabadabado!"

Related Goodies:

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

My husband and I hadn't thought about Rick Moranis in years until we started listening to the Pop Rewind Podcast.  One of the hosts, Linz, has a soft spot for the bespectacled 80's actor and it got us thinking about his filmography.  Of course, Honey I Shrunk the Kids came up and we had to show it to our kid.
  
Honey I Shrunk the Kids tells the story of an aspiring inventor who is working on a shrink ray.  Things are not going well until an accident gets his invention working.  Unbeknownst to him the machine shrinks his kids down to the size of ants and they get lost in the back garden where they spend most of the movie trying to get home again.

Rating: Honey I Shrunk the Kids is heartwarming and funny and features an amazing animatronic ant.  I especially liked the cranky neighbour who is sooo like Jim Carrey (but isn't him).  We will watch this again sometime.

Naughty bits: Honey I Shrunk the Kids is as clean as the kitchen after the house cleaning montage (love those montages).  However I don't recommend for very young viewers as the insect scenes are pretty intense for little kids and might make them [more] scared of bugs and creepy crawlies.

Snacks: Cereal

Family In-quotes: "I'm not panicking. [shouts] Who's panicked? Nobody's panicked!"

Related Goodies:
Rick Moranis also starred in Ghostbusters (not for kids)
Make your own Shrink Ray
Where is Rick now?

George of the Jungle

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and we were all lolling about the house.  A good time for a movie so we cracked out the late 90's comedy George of the Jungle, based on the late '60's TV series.




George of the Jungle tells the story of George, a Tarzan type character who was raised by apes in the jungle, and his inevitable discovery by a sweet young lady Ursula.  She persuades George to come with her back to civilization but George realizes the jungle is his home and returns.  When he arrives home he discovers that Ursula's dastardly fiance is trying to kidnap his friends! and George has do everything he can to rescue them.

Rating: We enjoyed George of the Jungle.  Sure it's super cheesy and over the top but that's its charm (and it's a kids movie people).  If you enjoy silly fun you will enjoy George of the Jungle.  We will watch this again in a little while.

Naughty bits: Not too much for the kids to worry about; some mild cartoon violence, a few kisses and some mild language but it's the mums you have to worry about in this film.  Brendan Fraser is looking mighty fine in this film and you see most of his hot bod for most of the movie.  You have been warned husbands...

Snacks: Bananas or other jungley food

Family In-quotes: "Watch out for that tree!"

Related Goodies:
The Original Series
Another great movie from the glory days of Brendan Fraser - The Mummy (not suitable for kids; too scary)
Tarzan - the animated Disney film

Moana

Disney have a tradition of putting out a kids movie every Boxing Day.  We have a tradition of seeing said movie the day after.  This year was the release of Moana starring The Rock as Maui, the demi god of Pacific Island/Maori legend.  We didn't really know that much about Moana before going and to be honest we weren't that excited about it either but tradition is traditionally something you keep so... nah it also looked like a fun way to fill in a holiday morning.
 
Well, we were very pleasantly surprised.  You might say that Disney has done it again!  And not since Frozen have I had so many short song snippets stuck in my head for so long.  "So shiny..."  But I think Moana is better that Frozen so don't let my mention of the F word put you off!

Moana tells the story of a young woman who, as daughter of the village chief, is destined to lead the next generation of her people however she yearns (like Belle before her) for something more.  For Moana that is to explore the great wide open [sea].  She discovers that in fact the sea has chosen her for a special mission to rescue the world from a coming darkness.  To do this she must enlist the help of Maui, a task much easier said than done.  I would say more but that would be a major plot spoiler!

Rating: We loved Moana!  Especially kid 2 who is the perfect age (4) for a Disney princess movie.  We now hear random lines and songs from the movie throughout the day and she dresses like Moana as much as possible.  Yep she has definitely moved on from Anna and Elsa.  Moana is a very strong and feisty gal but has a caring heart and is great role model for little girls everywhere.  The Pacific Island imagery is beautiful and moved me to tears, Hei Hei [the chicken] cracked us up and the songs help to tell the story which we always appreciate. "So shiny..."

Naughty bits: Moana is as clean as her world's oceans but there are some scary bits which would frighten younger kids so check the IMDB parents guide and know your kid's limits before you take them.  Our kid went a second time with her friend and was fine but her friend was not and had to leave a couple of times in tears.

Snacks: Coconut in all it's delicious forms, Bounty bar anyone?

Family In-quotes: "You're Welcome!"

Related Goodies:
The Maui legends compiled into one epic hardback book (every Kiwi kid needs this!)

Harry Potter: All the movies!

The children in our big kid's class at school have been discovering the magical world of Harry Potter this year and talking about it plenty.  Our kid is not the world's keenest reader so we decided to do things the fast way and get to know the world through film.  Over the Christmas holidays we had plenty of late nights available so we sat down every night for a week and watched the entire series together.


In case you have been held hostage by an obscure tribe for the past 20!! years and are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter saga, it tells the story of a young man who discovers he is a wizard and is whisked away from his ordinary life to a magical world where he attends wizard school, makes great friends and discovers an evil wizard that he must confront and defeat.  The world depends on it!


Rating:  We really enjoyed immersing ourselves in the Harry Potter universe; it truly is a magical place and we will definitely watch them again in a year or two.  There are wonderful themes of good vs. evil and friendship and love conquering all, even the glaring plot holes.  However the last book being split over two movies was a bit unnecessary and we did get a little bored in the second to last movie.

Naughty bits: There is some magical violence (killing/knocking out with spells) and a few kisses/teen romance but this is the tame stuff.  Harry Potter has some really creepy special effects and themes starting in the first film and things get darker and darker as the series goes on.  For this reason I would strongly recommend reading the parental advisory notes on IMDB and making sure your child is mature enough to handle them or you will be up for a few nights with crying and nightmares!!  For this reason we waited until our kid was at least double digits before even suggesting it and we described some of the creepy stuff to her to make sure she was OK.  She was; whew!

Snacks: Chocolate frogs (Freddo!)

Family In-quotes: "You're a wizard Harry"

Related Goodies:
J K Rowling Website
Warner Bros studio Tour (where it was filmed!)
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

2016 TV Overview

Shows we watched this year:

Clarence
Think Hey Arnold meets Adventure Time and you have a good idea of the genius that is Clarence.  This is one of Cartoon Network's triumphs and we desperately hope they give it a third season.  If you like fart jokes and remembering the weird stuff you got up to as a kid with your mates then you will enjoy Clarence.  BFF's unite!  

Steven Universe
Steven Universe is a unique series.  A group of aliens sort of adopt a kid and they save the world together.  The world of S.U is as unusual as it's characters but it has a sweetness to it that we loved.  And more than one redemptive moment.







Rebels season 2 and 3
Last year I raved about Rebels season 1 and these seasons were just as good if not better.  Great storylines and characters and Rebels really captures that Star Wars magic.  Disney does it again!

Voltron
Netflix released an original series based on the old 80's series: Voltron.  It was a little hard to get into but after a couple of episodes we were hooked!  The characters get developed well and the story got really exciting by the end of the series; we had to stop ourselves bingeing and running out of episodes!  We are looking forward to season 2 this year.

Angie Tribeca
More suitable for big kids and adults this series took us back to the grand old days of Police Squad and Hot Shots.  Packed full of ridiculous gags and cheap puns it had us sniggering away for the whole evening.  You will either love it or hate it intensely.

Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse
We were recommended this by a cousin and we weren't sure to believe them.  A barbie series is actually good?  Another Netflix original series, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse is a surreal experience.  You think it's going one way and then... huh?  We loved it all, but mostly Ken.

Sym-Biotic Titan
Sym-Biotic Titan was our retro TV watch this year.  Made in 2010 by the unpronounceable Genndy Tartakovsky (who also made Samurai Jack) it promised to be an epic TV series but was sadly cancelled after the first season leaving us fans hanging.  Huge robots, crazy aliens, epic battles and an intriguing storyline all made for amazing television but apparently that was not enough for the executives.  We will have to be content to re-watch season 1 every few years.

Terry Teo
Another surprise for us this year was the NZ produced Terry Teo series (available on TVNZ on demand website).  It's very kiwi but if you don't let that distract you the acting, production and humour are all on point and the twist on the classic comic book plot is really well done.  It was a little bit violent but older kids would love it.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Our new family Advent tradition is going to see the latest Star Wars movie.  This year we just managed to squeeze in a trip to the movies only a few days after Rogue One came out.  This was essential as it meant the Husband could relax and enjoy the internet again without worrying about spoilers!! We only took the big kid with us as The Force Awakens taught us that the new Star Wars movies can be a little darker and more suitable for adults and older kids.  

Rogue One tells the story of the rebels trying to get the plans for the Death Star.  It slots nicely into the Star Wars universe between Rebels and Episode 4 and we came out wanting to go home and start watching A New Hope [again] immediately.  We found the beginning a bit slow and maybe hard to follow for a kid but once things started heating up it got too exciting and by the end we were on the edge of our seats even though we kind of knew how it would end! 

The characters are really strong (especially the two main rebel leads) and the sidekick robot was hilarious!  Rogue One also has some nods to Star Wars icons/moments but they are far less obvious than The Force Awakens and don't break up the momentum so much.  The thing we did notice was that the "goodies" and "baddies" as kid two would say are less obvious; you know you should be rooting for the rebels but should you?  They seem kind of bad?  It was a very 2016 zeitgeist but great for discussion afterward and more realistic in my book.

Rating: We will definitely watch this again!  In fact as I write this the husband and big kid are off at the movies re-watching it.  We will add it to the movie marathons of episodes 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Naughty bits: This is the movie which put the "war" back in Star Wars.  Imagine Saving Private Ryan but in space; there is lots of war violence.  It's not gory or sinister but there is a high body count.  Coupled with the fact that the "goodies" do some bad things, its much more suited to older kids.

Snacks: Blue Milk!

Family In-quotes: "The captain says you're a friend. I will not kill you"

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