When I was a little girl, before Disney had the long string of Princesses for girls to choose from, Cinderella was the one everyone loved. Unlike Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, she wasn't a princess to begin with. She was a mistreated girl who worked hard yet never let it crush her dreams, and then with the help of her fairy godmother met her Prince Charming and fell in love. Most little girls loved the story and, at least in some way, identified with Cinderella.
The movie has just been released again for the Cinderella: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray, featuring a digitally remastered version of the film along with loads of extras.
I watched it again with my daughters and realized how much of the movie I had forgotten. Everyone remembers the iconic fairy godmother scene, and of course Cinderella at the ball, but both of these happen much later in the movie than I had recalled. The stepmother's cat, Lucifer, has a larger role than I remembered, as he and the mice take up a large part of the subplot, even involved in the final rescue attempt to unlock Cinderella from the tower.
The movie has a slower pace than many of the newer Disney films, a hallmark of the time it came from. A lot of time is spent showing the audience the daily life that Cinderella endures, giving us plenty of information to make our minds up about the nature of her evil stepmother and stepsisters. Even the songs are slower and dreamy in quality. It was fantastic to relive my memories of the film while watching it with my two daughters.
Beyond the film itself, the Diamond Edition Blu-ray is filled with additional fun. The best extra (in my opinion) is the addition of the Tangled Ever After animated short. If you liked Tangled, you'll love seeing how their wedding day was nearly a disaster but, like many moments in Tangled, all turns out OK in the end.
There's also a never-before-seen alternate opening sequence, showing a series of storyboards that detail one proposed opening for Cinderella, and two deleted scenes. I also really liked the feature on the new Disney Princess Fantasyland being built at Walt Disney World. The amusement park is expanding to bring the worlds of Disney Princesses to life and it looks amazing. The first section just recently opened - I can't tell you how excited I was to see the new attractions, especially since we're planning our first family trip to Disney in the spring!
This Blu-ray also includes the Disney Second Screen experience - you can download the app onto your computer , iPad or iPhone and then sync the app with the start of the movie when you're watching it. This lets you interact with the film as it's playing: see additional information about scenes, play games and more.
Overall, the Cinderella: Diamond Edition Blu-ray is a great addition to any collection. It's fantastic nostalgia for parents and grandparents, and a sweet fairy tale for kids. Who doesn't wish their fairy godmother might pay them a visit someday and make all of their dreams come true? OK, it's probably won't happen, but that's no reason to stop dreaming, right?
Cinderella is available on DVD and Blu-Ray just about everywhere now for a limited time before it's back in the vault again!
PS - Want some coloring pages for your kids, too? Click the button below for some free Cinderella coloring sheets!
Full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this Blu-ray to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed here are my own. And if I could get a wish granted from my fairy godmother, I'd ask her to cover the costs of our trip to Disney next year, because vacations aren't cheap.
When I was a little girl, every shooting star and birthday candle and wishlist to Santa contained the same request: a horse. Despite living in town, I still wanted a horse of my very own to ride and brush and love. It's probably no surprise that I never got that horse, and it's probably a good thing I didn't. I don't have the money or time for a horse, and while I still enjoy riding, I'd rather visit a public stables and pay for a ride rather than be responsible for my own horse.
Recently, I was introduced to the Facebook game Horse Haven, where you can keep and care for your own virtual horses. Horse Haven is a game where you are the sole inheritor of your uncle's run-down ranch. You start with a single foal and a lot of weeds and broken buildings, and quickly begin turning the mess into a successful ranch by feeding and caring for your horse, growing treats for your horse, and training your horse to enter competitions.
You can also buy more horses and develop a full working ranch, complete with breeding stables to produce more foals, training pens, and a stable full of horses of all colors and types. Once your horses are trained, they can visit other towns to compete for trophies and awards.
As you level up and get more awards, you can visit new places.
One unique feature of this game is that by playing with your digital horses you can help Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue, a real-life non-profit horse rescue center in Pennsylvania. Certain items you can buy for your farm provide direct donations to the charity, ensuring that you're giving back while indulging in your imaginary ranch.
So what do I think of it? Horse Haven is a fun resource management game. You have to balance training your horses with building up your farm and clearing away debris. There is a limited amount of energy to do each task, and you can quickly run out of energy, leaving you to either buy more energy or wait until you can build up more energy again.
This is my ranch and two horses. It's a work in progress.
Raising and caring for the horses is a lot of fun. My daughters saw me playing and suddenly it was a group game - they like helping me pick out what to add next to the ranch and never fail to tell me when I have energy again to attend to my horses. If you have friends who play the game as well, you can visit their ranches and help them out with chores to gain rewards for yourself. You can also send game gifts to your friends and put out requests for items you need.
The downsides to the game are that it can take a long time to get up enough energy and horse bucks to get very far in the game. If you're willing to spend real money, you can get there faster, but without spending real money you have to be dedicated to advance quickly. Also, you get a lot further in the game if you have friends playing as well. There is a computer generated character who serves as your friend if you don't have any Facebook friends playing with you, but real friends are almost needed to get you all of the items you need.
The game's theme is cute and perfect for anyone who ever wanted a horse as a kid. The graphics are bright and kid-friendly and the mini-quests are interesting and help in building your ranch. I also like that some in-game purchases will also result in donations to the Angel Acres horse rescue center.
So if you like Facebook games and still remember closing your eyes tight and wishing for a horse on the first star every evening, give Horse Haven a try. Even if you can't have your own horse, these horses won't complain if you ignore them for a day and you're still helping other horses through the game.
Full disclosure: Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #UbiChamps
Note: Please welcome my husband, Aaron, as he shares his review of The Avengers. We were given preview passes earlier this week, and he's been counting down the minutes until he could tell the world about this film! I agree with nearly everything he says here - this is a must-see.
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The road to The Avengers begins back in 2008, when Marvel Entertainment announced the creation of their film division. No longer would we see Marvel's comic-book heroes brought to life on screen by third parties – instead the publisher would produce their own films in-house. First up was Iron Man, and frankly, it was a gamble. Let's take a mostly unknown superhero, gather high-profile actors to play the supporting cast, and stick Robert Downey Jr. in the lead.
It was incredibly risky. There were any number of reasons it could have failed. But it didn't. Instead, it launched Marvel Studios as a powerful entity in its own right, and soon after, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and finally, Captain America: The First Avenger followed.
And all of it leads up to this. As the four title heroes, joined by the Black Widow and Hawkeye, and assembled by Nick Fury, Chief of S.H.I.E.L.D., band together to stop Loki and a horde of invaders in Marvel's The Avengers.
The Film
The film picks up where we left off at the end of the previous films, with Thor returned to Asgard, Loki banished, Captain America newly re-awakened in the modern world, Doctor Banner in hiding, and Tony Stark doing whatever he darn well pleases. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been studying the Tesseract, last seen in the hands of the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, and then being studied by Dr. Selvig at the end of Thor. Loki returns, steals the Tesseract, and begins a reign of terror. At which point Fury realizes that he needs the team of heroes, and one by one, brings them into the fold.
There are subplots a-plenty, as each hero has at least one bit of baggage to unload. The Tesseract itself changes hands several times, the heroes suffer several major setbacks along the way, but when all is said and done, the Avengers assemble to fight off Loki and his army. And what we get along the way is one of the greatest superhero team stories ever told on film.
There was reason to doubt. Joss Whedon, despite being a geek god, has only one feature film director's credit to his name. Could a film balance four superheroes who had each carried their own film, in addition to adding in two more? Would the threat feel like it was big enough, especially when it used a villain who had been defeated by a single hero in a previous film? Would characters be shoved off to the side? Fortunately, Whedon and company rose to the challenge in answering each of these questions, and the film comes together beautifully.
In the end, we're left with a film that feels far shorter than its' 2 hour and 24 minute run time – not because anything feels rushed, but because it grabs you by the collar and never lets go as it races towards the climax.
The Good
There are so many excellent moments in the film, it is hard to narrow this down. “The Good” could easily cover most of the entire film. Let's start with the cast.
Five of the six heroes who make up the Avengers have played these characters before, although Scarlett Johannson's Black Widow and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye only appeared as supporting cast members of earlier films. Wisely, the film gives us a lot of time getting inside their heads, and in many ways, this film could have been the basis for a Black Widow feature. Robert Downey Jr. gives us the same effortless charm that has made us love his Tony Stark since the beginning, Chris Evans' Captain America gives us both the somewhat naïve “Man out of Time” vibe, while still providing inspiration and leadership to the team, and Chris Hemsworth looks like a Greek (or Norse) god come to life. Samuel L. Jackson returns as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, supported by fan-favorite Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and newcomer Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).
The real gamble in casting was Mark Ruffalo. As the third Bruce Banner to hit the big screen in the past decade, he could easily have been the weakest link. Instead, as both Banner and as the Hulk (who bears a greater resemblance to Ruffalo than any earlier Hulk did to its' respective actor), Ruffalo steals the screen whenever he appears. Not a small man, Ruffalo manages to make himself small and cowed by the world around him – and his fear of the beast inside. When the Hulk is unleashed, he commands attention, and ends up with two of the funniest moments in the movie.
Whedon's trademark elements as both a director and a screenwriter are on display in this film, in terms of the overall plot, and most importantly, his characteristic witty dialogue – not to mention the ample amount of screen time devoted to the Black Widow. What is a pleasant surprise is that, while his trademarks are there, they're not pushed front and center. This feels like “The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon” instead of “Joss Whedon's The Avengers.”
Loki's plot is also suitably epic. His alliance to the alien invaders makes this feel big, and there is every reason to believe that if the team cannot stop the invaders within New York, the world will soon fall.
Visually, the film feels big. This is not a small, personal drama. This is about six superheroes saving the Earth. And that scope is conveyed both through dialogue, action, sight and sound.
The Bad
The Avengers is not perfect. While I was extremely pleased with the film, it never had a moment where it blew me away. There's nothing completely new here. We've seen these heroes before. We've seen a team of heroes before. We've seen comic characters brought to life in a way that doesn't apologize for being based on a comic.
The Avengers kicks it up a notch, and does so masterfully, but it doesn't bring anything entirely new to the table. This is not a mark of shame. There is nothing wrong with setting out to make a great action film that honors the source material, gives us a tight plot, good characters, and keeps us entertained for two and a half hours, and succeeding admirably. If it fails to do something “new”, that speaks to the strength of the superhero film over the past decade rather than a weakness in the film.
And yet... I somehow wanted more. More of what I don't know, but I wanted something more.
There is also a lack of female characters in the franchise – which is surprising considering the prominence of Black Widow, the addition of Maria Hill, and the return of Pepper Potts. All three of these women (and the amazing actresses who portray them) are excellent – but I'm fairly sure that they never exchange a line of dialogue with each other.
My other gripe is the use of the alien race chosen for the film. They are remarkably generic, and despite the stinger during the credits (because there is always a stinger in the Marvel films), they never feel unique or important. This is a shame, considering that the Marvel universe is ripe with interesting alien races, any of which could have served as Loki's army.
Finally, and this is entirely a personal preference, but for me, the 3D was an unpleasant addition to the film. 3D often makes a film get blurry during the action sequences, and that was on display in full force during the final battle between the Avengers and the alien forces.
Final Thoughts The Avengers is an incredible film. It is tightly scripted, deftly plotted, smartly written, brilliantly directed, amazingly well cast, and just a lot of fun. This is everything we want a summer blockbuster “popcorn” film to be. It shows off the strengths of its cast, and of Joss Whedon as director, script-writer, and ensemble builder.
As alluded to above, stick around through the credits. There is not one, but two “stingers” during the credits. The first hits midway through the credits, and gives us our hint to the villain of the next The Avengers film (and there will be one, be assured of that – with Thor 2 and Iron Man 3 both on their way, we can expect Marvel to announce plans for the next Avengers before 2020). I won't ruin the reveal, but it won't come as a complete surprise to anyone who has read Marvel Comics, or has paid close enough attention to the previous films. The second stinger occurs at the very end, and may be the funniest moment yet in any of the Marvel features.
Is it my favorite superhero film of all time? I'm not sure. Not yet. But I am certain I loved it, and will be seeing it in the theaters again.
If you're not already singing the theme song to the Muppets in your head, then you must not have grown up in the US in the 70's or 80's. As a child I loved the Muppets. They were funny, they had great music, and they were a gentle yet smart show for a child to watch, with endearing characters and creative puppetry. (Or muppetry, as the case may be.)
We have some of the old show on DVD, and the kids have watched several of the Muppet movies, including Muppet Treasure Island and A Muppet Christmas Carol. So when it was revealed that a new Muppet movie was being released, I was thrilled at the chance to go see it in the theater with our daughters.
We did go see it, and loved it other than missing the last 10 minutes due to an accident in the theater. We never had another chance to go see it, so instead I anxiously awaited the release of the Blu-ray.
Well, that day is here, and I couldn't be happier! The Muppets was released last week, and in true Muppet fashion they went over-the-top to produce an extravaganza of a product. The Wocka Wocka value pack includes not only the Blu-ray and DVD copies of the movie, but also a digital copy for your computer or tablet and a copy of the soundtrack, along with a ton of extras including commentaries, deleted scenes, the "Longest Blooper Reel Ever Made (In Muppet History)" and much more.
The story of this Muppet movie takes place long after the Muppets fame has faded. Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, goes with his brother Gary to Los Angeles to visit the Muppet Studios, only to find it falling down and about to be bought out and torn down by greedy millionaire Tex Richman. Walter makes it his mission to find Kermit and round up the old Muppet crew to convince them to put on a Muppet telethon to raise the money to save the Muppet Theater. (And I'm sure you can guess that there's a happy ending and the Muppets are reminded just how much people still love them.)
We were so happy to finally see the last 10 minutes of the movie. Like the old Muppet Show, there were several celebrity guest appearances and lots of music, including the Academy Award winning song, Man or Muppet. And the movie proved that the Muppets are timeless - even when competing with CGI graphics and blazing special effects in other movies, our daughters fell in love with the Muppets just like we did when we were kids. The humor is silly, with plenty of moments breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the audience, the songs are sweet and keep everyone humming along, and adults will love the nostalgia while kids develop their own relationship with Jim Henson's greatest creations.
As for the extras on the Blu-ray: you need this set for the blooper reel and the theatrical spoof trailers. Oh, the other extras are great, too, but I guarantee you'll be watching these two features more than once.
There are many movies that I like that I really don't need as a part of my collection. The Muppets, however, is one I absolutely recommend to own. If your house is anything like mine, this movie will get a lot of play time, and the extras make it even more fun. (See how fast you end up having a sing-along in your car to the soundtrack!)
The Muppets is now available at Amazon and most major retailers.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this Blu-ray set to facilitate my review. No further compensation was received and all opinions stated are my own. Also? My favorite Muppet is still Animal.
As a child of the 80's, My Little Pony was one of my favorite toys. I had far too many of them, from the standard ponies, to the sparkle-eye ponies, to all other wild variants on the franchise. I remember watching My Little Pony movies as well. I recently found some footage from those movies and, well, let's just say it wasn't as good as I remembered it.
The My Little Pony craze disappeared for a long time, seeing some small revivals here and there. But recently the brand has had a huge re-start on The HUB network, complete with redesigns of the ponies, new toys, and a brand new TV series. It was by accident that my family found out about it, and I Tivo'd a few episodes of the new series to share in the nostalgia with my daughters.
I didn't have high expectations at first. However, the new My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series stunned me in just how fantastic it is, from well-developed characters to storylines that even adults can enjoy. This is not some puff-ball girly series - the characters are amazingly well developed for an animated show for kids, the humor is witty, and the plots are complex and full of adventure.
In My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: The Friendship Express, the benevolent Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, selects unicorn Twilight Sparkle for a very important assignment - to learn about the most important magic of all: friendship. With her new friends, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, Twilight sets out on amazing adventures, and they all learn what it means to be true friends.
The DVD includes the first two episodes of the series (a 2-part episode, really), as well as three other episodes from first and second season that all involve the Ponyville Express train at some point in the episode. (Hence the title, The Friendship Express.)
The 2-part series opener is where Twilight Sparkle is sent to Ponyville and becomes friends with the other ponies. While there, Nightmare Moon (Princess Celestia's younger sister) comes back from banishment and tries to conquer Equestria again. Twilight and her friends soon find they each have unique characteristics that make up the Elements of Harmony, which they use together to defeat Nightmare Moon.
In Over a Barrel, the ponies travel to a frontier town where the have to help settle a dispute between the settler ponies and the native buffalo herd. (Very wild-west feel to it.) During Hearth's Warming Eve, which is essentially the Christmas episode, the ponies retell the story of how earth ponies, unicorns and pegasai ended their centuries-long hatred of each other and worked together to build a new society in friendship. And in The Last Roundup, Applejack doesn't return from a rodeo out of town and her friends set out to find her and bring her back home.
Also included on the DVD is a sing-along - there are LOTS of songs in this show - coloring sheets, and a profile for each of the ponies.
I'm honestly surprised how much I like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The moral of each episode is evident without beating you over the head, the ponies are funny and well-developed, and it's a show I'm not afraid to let my daughters watch over and over. Even some of our adult friends have become fans of the show after seeing it at our house.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this DVD to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed here are my own, although I have no doubt you'll agree with me if you watch a few episodes yourself.
There comes a point in every mom's week where she can no longer watch another cartoon or kid show without feeling the urge to pluck her eyes out. This is often solved by scheduling a movie night, or just watching a romantic comedy or costume drama DVD after the kids are in bed.
Well, if you like costume dramas, I've got the movie that will serve as a remedy to any amount of preschool programming.
I first heard about the movie Anonymous just before it was released to theaters. The film poses a question that some scholars have debated for years: who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays and poems? It's always seemed unlikely that the barely educated son of an illiterate glove maker could go on to write some of the greatest plays in history, filled with incredible details about lands Shakespeare never saw and history that he likely never learned.
While most academics still accept that Shakespeare wrote his own works, there are some who believe that it was actually a member of the nobility who wrote all of them using Shakespeare's name. During that time period, it was considered scandalous for a nobleman to write plays for the general public, so should he wish to do so he would have to do it secretly under a different name.
Anonymous is a fictional what if? story that assumes that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, was the true Shakespeare. The film often jumps back and forth through time, featuring Edward as a younger man, dreaming of poetry and writing while flirting with the younger Queen Elizabeth, and then Edward as the disillusioned older man, looking for a way to express his political opinions and incite change in the country and finding that means of expression through secretly play writing for the London stage.
Woven in the fiction is a wealth of historical fact, however, and the movie brings the characters and world of Elizabethan England that some of us vaguely remember from history books to life in stunning detail and complexity. The visuals presented in this film are breathtaking, with every aspect of the world displayed in painstaking detail, from the crowded, dirty city of London to the manicured estates of the nobility.
I should add at this point that the movie is not as historically accurate as you might think it to be. It's a story pursuing a theory in history, and as such that story takes many liberties with the source material. (In other words, don't let your teens watch this to pass their world history test.) But where the details may be fictional, the sensibilities, politics, and culture of that moment in time are preserved and resurrected on the screen.
Amazingly, for a movie about Shakespeare, there isn't a lot of screen time for the man himself. When Edward de Vere asks the writer Ben Jonson to get his plays onto the stage under Jonson's name, Jonson hesitates and Shakespeare is only too happy to step forward and accept the applause. In this story, Shakespeare isn't the noble genius we may consider him to be, but rather a drunken, scheming actor ready to blackmail a nobleman to get the fame and fortune he wants.
The cast is made up of both newcomers and legends. The older version of Edward de Vere, played by Rhys Ifans, is a delicate balance of a man crushed by past rejection yet, deep down, still filled with the passion that drove the actions of his youth. Vanessa Redgrave plays the older Queen Elizabeth, while Redgrave's daughter Joely Richardson is the younger version of Elizabeth. Each brings to the character a depth well beyond the classroom description of the "Virgin Queen" of England.
My one complaint with the film is that if you don't already have some knowledge of the material or of some of the history, it can be difficult to follow through the dizzyingly large cast of characters. I love Shakespeare and Elizabethan history was the focus of my first college degree, so it was easy for me to keep up, but others may occasionally feel lost in the details. I can't even fully explain the story in this review because there are so many layers involved!
Still, it doesn't detract from the basics of the story and may leave some viewers wanting to seek out more information on these historical figures. Anonymous may not change your opinion on the subject of who actually wrote the works of Shakespeare, but it will entertain you with an intriguing theory on what could have been, provide a beautiful study of Elizabethan England, and possibly even invite some debate among friends about who was the "real" Shakespeare.
Anonymous is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The Blu-ray features extended and deleted scenes, a featurette on Shakespeare, commentary with Director Roland Emmerich and Writer John Orloff, and more. The DVD has some of these features, too, but if at all possible, get the Blu-ray. The high-definition treatment is really a must to appreciate all of the gorgeous detail in this film.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this movie to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed here are my own, and your opinion of dramas with men in tights may vary. I especially have a love for movies featuring the Earl of Oxford because my husband played the character when we were once actors at the Ohio Renaissance Festival many years ago. True story.
What did we ever do before the invention of dancing games? When I think back to holiday family gatherings from years past, I remember the same old board games brought out year after year. If the game was too advanced, the younger kids couldn't join in, and the adults didn't want to play anything aimed at the little ones.
But now that there are games like Just Dance 3, any gathering can quickly turn into a dance party for all ages. The first dance game I ever tried was the original Just Dance for Wii (and recented ABBA You Can Dance), and despite my eternal lack of coordination, I was hooked. The enthusiasm spread quickly, too: at Thanksgiving this year, my mom and my aunt joined me for a dance-off in my living room. Never until now would I have imagined them joining in for a dancing game!
Just Dance 3 has all of the fun of the original Just Dance, with even more music and a greater variety of modes to keep the game interesting. Lots of current hits can be found in this game, but for people (like my mom) who don't keep up with the Top 40 and have never heard of LMFAO, there are plenty of older hits to choose from as well like Boogie Wonderland. (Some songs have to be unlocked via game play, and others can also be downloaded to your console.)
Let me be clear: you don't have to be good at dancing to play this game. You only need to be able to hold the Wii remote in your right hand and try your best to follow the moves of the dancer on the screen. That's it.
You won't match every move, you'll laugh at yourself trying to do some of the poses, and at the end of a song you'll find yourself saying, "Oh no, we're doing that one again, and I'm going to ace it this time!"
We tested the game with all ages, from my older relatives to my four year old. There's the standard quick play mode to get you right into the action, and there's also Just Sweat mode for some serious cardio while burning up the dance floor. If you're not picky about songs, you can set it to Shuffle mode. Dance Mash-up is a new way to play that lets you have up to four players each with their own, separate dance moves to do. You have to carefully follow your selected dancer on the screen, but when done well it's a really awesome choreographed dance number.
Our friends and family have loved playing this game. The number of songs included with the game means it's hard to ever get bored, and the Dance Mash-up provides a fun new way to dance as a group. Beyond the fun - we're also getting our exercise while we play!
And while I've said I'm uncoordinated, there are those few (short) moments when it all comes together and we suddenly look like we know what we're doing:
(I said SHORT moments, people.)
I highly recommend this game. Dance alone for fun and exercise, or hand your friends and family Wii remotes and make your holiday party a dance party. As for us, I know we'll be burning off those Christmas dinner calories with a little Just Dance 3 this weekend!
Just Dance 3 is available for Wii, XBox 360 and Playstation 3.
Full disclosure: Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions (and sore muscles from too much dancing) are my own.
Let's get one thing out of the way up front: I'm not the most coordinated person you'll meet. Far from it. I can usually trip over my own feet on a smooth flat surface. So when it comes to dancing, I'm generally the one hiding in the back to avoid looking like a fool or taking out a group of dancers with one wrong move.
The rise of dancing video games, however, has given me the chance to practice my dance skills a little more in the comfort (and privacy) of my own home. But when the time comes to play a game as a group, I suddenly get shy and encourage everyone else to go before me.
I've found one dance game, however, that simply needs a party. Why? One word: ABBA.
If you know nothing of ABBA, then you are likely under thirty years old or avoid musical theatre. ABBA was one of the great disco groups of the 1970's and their music has persisted well beyond that decade. Even in college in the mid-90's, we could count on the song Dancing Queen being played at every sorority dance. Eventually a Broadway musical was made using only songs from ABBA, and Mamma Mia! quickly became a hit that still tours the US today. (It's actually in Columbus right now!)
When I received my copy of ABBA You Can Dance for Wii, I expected it to be like many of the other dance games available. And in many ways, it is. You can select the song you want to dance to (all ABBA, of course), choose up to four players to dance, and then try your best to match the dance moves on the screen for a high score.
But this is ABBA. These songs are party songs - disco songs that you can't help but move to and sing along with. When you've got songs like that, dancing by yourself is a crime - you need a group.
To properly try out this game, we went to my brother-in-law's house for a proper dance party with friends. I also received a small gift to help set the mood:
Disco time!
The result? We had a blast! We won't be winning any dance competitions anytime soon, but we laughed and sang and danced ourselves silly.
Even Mira joined in for some dance time.
Some of the songs feature a single set of dance moves, while others have you select a character to follow and your dance moves won't always match those of your fellow dancers, giving you the feel of a choreographed performance. This is especially fun in Mini-Musical mode, where you can live out your Broadway dreams by dancing in a sock-hop style musical. Adding a USB microphone lets you sing along if dancing isn't your style.
While we weren't dancing queens, with practice we did have a few moments of being in sync. Very short moments, of course.
ABBA You Can Dance is a great Wii game for all ages, and perfect for any party. Whether you're a loyal ABBA fan or have never heard them, the songs are fun, the dancing is challenging without being too difficult, and there's plenty of entertainment to keep the party going for hours.
Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. And I have to brag that I was AWESOME at Super Trouper.
Thank you to Kingston for sponsoring this review. Please click here to learn more about Kingston. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.
Some people call them thumb drives. Or flash drives. Or USB drives. Whatever you call them, they've become a routine way to carry and transfer data in our digital age. Some are designed as cute characters, some come on keychains, and some are built to withstand a beating, but generally all of them have the same purpose: store data to use between devices.
But storing data is generally the limit for most USB drives. They're passive devices, holding the information we need so we can move it to another device, where it can be used by that computer's software. They're really interchangeable to me. I've received so many USB drives from various blog conferences and promotions that I don't even care if I lose one, as long as it didn't have any sensitive data on it. They've become throwaway devices at this point.
However, I recently had the chance to try out the new Kingston 8GB DataTraveler 109 with urDrive software, and I can honestly say the lowly USB drive suddenly has a lot more potential.
The urDrive software makes it possible to carry much of your digital life with you on your USB drive, but also to use that data no matter where you go. Stored on board is an mp3 player, a video player, and a photo viewer for all of your media files. (No need to worry if the computer you're using has the right software or not!)
It also has its own web browser that can save all of your favorite sites and preferences to the cloud, available to you from any computer with your urDrive USB drive. This is incredibly useful for working at public computers where you don't want to leave any of your personal information behind, or for when using a work computer (during lunch, of course) where you can't save any of your favorite sites or preferences.
For kids, the urDrive software also includes Fooz Kids, a kid-safe web browsing application with a parental dashboard to set limits and monitor your child's use of the internet. And for both kids and parents alike, you can access the latest flash games from EA Games and PopCap Games on your USB drive.
Finally, if you're worried about the safety of the computer you're using with your USB drive, you can run a quick scan using the included Norton PC Checkup software.
Additional apps can be downloaded from the urDrive store, allowing you to customize your USB drive to fit your needs.
I often work between several computers, and the Kingston urDrive is a resourceful tool to keep around. I like storing my music on it and having a ready-made playlist wherever I happen to be working. The easy access to PopCap Games is great when I need a short break. And keeping my favorite websites bookmarked on the Maxthon 3 web browser is much easier than trying to save my bookmarks on each computer.
Also? It's smaller than any other USB drive I've ever owned. I mean itty-bitty small - about the length between two knuckles and about as thin as two or three dimes.
Here's a quick video that explains a little more about the Kingston urDrive:
Giveaway!
Want to try the urDrive out for yourself? I'm giving away a 5-pack of Kingston USB drives for one lucky winner - enough for you and your family or friends to try out!
To enter: leave me a comment below telling me how many USB drives you currently own. If you're like me and aren't sure, give your best guess. (I've got an entire jar filled with promotional USB drives, plus one in my purse, two in my laptop bag, and probably one or two hiding in a suitcase.)
One entry per person, US residents only. Be sure to provide a valid email address so I can contact you if you're selected as the winner.
Entries will be accepted until Friday, November 18 at 11:59pm ET. After that date, one will be selected by random drawing and contacted via email. Winner has two days to respond to the email or an alternate winner will be selected.
I recently had the chance to try out some new products from LeapFrog in anticipation of the holiday season. I hosted a gathering of friends so we could all try out the LeapFrog Tag reading system and the brand new, ultra-cool LeapPad. As you can imagine, these were big hits with all of the kids.
My family is no stranger to LeapFrog. Each of my daughters has a Leapster with several games, and we already had a Tag reader. I love the educational games they get to play, and it's a great feeling to see my kids learning while having fun at the same time. For the party, I received a Tag reading pen for the guests to use, but I brought out the pen we already owned as well to give everyone more of a chance to use them.
The Tag reading system is designed for pre-readers through beginning readers. The pen works with special Tag books to either read each page to the child, or help the child with individual words or sounding out a word. You only need to touch the pen to the word and it immediately speaks the word for you. (After using a USB cable to connect the pen to your computer and download the book's information to the pen.)
But there's actually so much more the Tag pen can do beyond reading the words. Touch the pictures and the characters talk or sound effects are given. And most books contain games near the end that work with the pen to reinforce reading skills.
Mira can read just like her big sister now - and she's starting to recognize words thanks to Tag!
The Tag pen can also be used to learn geography. The LeapFrog Interactive World Map teaches about the different countries of the world as well as directions and distance through exploration with the pen and games available to play with the map.
My seven year old wasn't very interested in this product because she's already an advanced reader, but my four year old is obsessed with Tag. She loves to read the books "all by herself" with the help of the Tag pen, and it's helping her learn to recognize sight words. One of her friends also loved the Tag system so much that we sent his parents home with our extra pen and a couple of the books to get them started.
The big hit of the party had to be the LeapPad learning tablet, however. Several of us commented on how often our kids want to play with our smartphones or iPads, but we worry about them being broken or cluttering up our screen with nothing but apps for the kids. (Personally, I have barely been able to use my iPad because my kids love it.) The LeapPad, however, is the solution to win back our smartphones and tablets!
Mira even relaxes with her LeapPad like I do when using my iPad
The LeapPad is a tablet computer designed for kids 4-9 years old. It's smaller than an iPad but larger than a smartphone. The touch screen responds to both a finger touch and the included stylus. Like the grown up versions, you can download different apps for the LeapPad, including games, ebooks, and videos. (Apps are downloaded by connecting it to your computer with the included USB cable. And also like the grown up version, apps aren't free.)
It features a camera on the backside that can take still photos or video, and an editing program to create silly faces or add digital scenery to your photos. It has a cartridge slot at the top to allow you to use Leapster Explorer cartridge games as well.
I like the versatility of the LeapPad. It's simple enough for a non-reader like my four year old to navigate and use with little to no help from me, yet there are plenty of challenging games and activities for my seven year old. My younger daughter already considers herself a photographer now thanks to the camera app, and is now starting to dabble in shooting video.
All of the kids at our house had no trouble working the LeapPad. The youngest of the group - three years old - quickly found the drawing app and in no time was creating a masterpiece using the different drawing tools provided on the screen. The older kids played games and loved the interactive Cars ebook.
Reading ability is optional with the LeapPad - every kid loved it!
As for the parents, we all agreed the thick plastic case looked sturdy enough to handle rough play from our kids - far better than a iPad would fare! And the $99 retail price is a fair price for an electronic device that can do so much.
The one downside we noticed is that the LeapPad is battery powered. With heavy use, it needed new batteries by the end of the day, which can really add up. A rechargable battery pack would have been a better choice - we can only hope that it might be an option in the future. But since the party, my daughters have only been using the LeapPad for an hour or less each day, resulting in a longer timespan between battery changes. (Note: an AC adapter is available, which is great but limits the portability of the device when plugged in.)
Overall, I'm really impressed with the new LeapPad learning tablet and I predict it'll be one of the hottest toys for the holidays. I also like how many books and interactive products are available for the Tag reader now - my younger daughter has already pointed out several new Tag books she'd like Santa to bring her.
Take my advice - shop early for these educational toys! My daughters can't get enough of their LeapPad and Tag books, and I like that they're learning new reading and math concepts while they play.
Full disclosure: I was provided with the above LeapFrog educational electronics and accessories to facilitate this review and demonstrate to guests at a play party. My party guests were also provided with coupons for discounts on LeapFrog products. All opinions stated here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of LeapFrog.
Pirates have been all the rage ever since Pirates of the Caribbean. But they generally don't come off as approachable and friendly to the average preschooler. At least not until Disney Junior developed Jake and the Never Land Pirates, where the pirates went from being just the villains to being the actual heroes as well.
Jake and the Never Land Pirates introduces a crew of kid pirates – leader Jake and pals Izzy and Cubby – and follows their Never Land adventures as they work to outwit two infamous characters, the one and only Captain Hook and Smee, from Disney's classic "Peter Pan." Every episode features the animated Sharky and Bones characters as they pop up throughout to perform original pirate ditties, and each episode concludes with a live action music video featuring The Never Land Pirate Band.
You may think pirates are more of a genre for boys, but my two girls LOVE this show. Thankfully, one of the kid characters on the show is a girl, so they have a character to relate to when watching. The show is actually gender neutral, with adventures, songs and characters that entertain both boys and girls. My daughters love to sing along and help the crew, and my older daughter has already decided she will be a pirate for Halloween, just like Izzy.
And now you can now find seven episodes available on their first DVD, Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Yo Ho, Matey Away! which appeared in stores last week. The DVD also has two bonus features including "Yo Ho, You Want To Be A Pirate?" where Jake teaches viewers how to talk like a pirate, and "Pirate Party With Pirate-oke," a collection of music videos performed by The Never Land Pirate Band that allow viewers to enjoy with or without the sing-along/karaoke-like feature.
The DVD also comes with a bonus 7-track CD sampler and a pirate eye patch. (But only one eye patch - be ready for this if you have more than one child, or fights might break out over who gets to wear the eye patch.)
The show's first soundtrack was also recently released, featuring songs like the kooky, comical "Hot Lava," “Aw Coconuts,” "Pirate Password,” and the arrrghhh-rated “Talk Like a Pirate.” Hot Lava has now spurred many a game of "oh no, the floor is hot lava! Jump from pillow to pillow or you'll be burned!" in our house.
So if your kids love pirates, but you're not quite ready to expose them to Johnny Depp's version of the scurvy sea-captains, check out the DVD of Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Yo Ho, Matey Away! or the daily episodes on Disney Junior. It's the perfect non-scary introduction to pirates that will have kids eager to start their own adventures and search for treasure in their own backyards.
While our trip to Cedar Point could have been a vacation in itself, we didn't want to waste our chance to see more of the area while at Lake Erie. So on Sunday we checked out of our hotel and took a short 20 minute drive to Port Clinton to see the African Safari Wildlife Park. This 100 acre park is home to more than 400 exotic animals that you can visit from the comfort of your own car. Never before have I been able to get this up close and personal with a wild animal!
This guy? LOVES carrots.
I've never been to a drive-thru wildlife park, so this was a new experience for all of us. At the gate we were given our free cup of food for the animals (you can also purchase more - trust me, you'll want to purchase more!) and instructions on how to feed them. The animals showed no fear and were happy to stick their heads into the car to check for more food.
Hey there, got any food?
You have to have a firm grip on the feeding cups - some of the animals have learned the trick of pulling the cup out of your hands to get all the food for themselves.
Turns out, feeding the animals is a LOT of fun. How often can you say you had a bison's head in your car?
There's also a walking portion of the park, where kids can ride a pony or a camel, see a white alligator, and feed the fish. Educational animal shows are held daily as well.
Our next stop was the beach at East Harbor State Park. It was a gorgeous view. And thanks to Ohio weather, it was just as hot and humid as any Florida beach.
Cordy wanted to look for "treasure" so we spread out our blankets and walked along the shoreline, looking for anything that might wash up in front of us. The sand was amazingly soft and felt so good between our toes.
Beachcombers
The haul for their treasure hunt was a very shiny piece of a shell, two tiny round shells, a hard black rock that was either coal or petrified wood (I have no idea, really), and a small piece of "driftwood." Cordy declared the treasure hunt a success and we moved on to our next stop.
Cordy insisted I take a photo of the treasure.
Our final stop for the day was back in Sandusky at the Merry-Go-Round Museum. This museum houses an impressive collection of carousel horses and other animals, as well as an on site workshop for woodcarvers who specialize in making carousel animals.
Carousel cow, anyone?
Horses in various states of completion
All four of us enjoyed seeing the different types of animals that were created for carousel rides. Mira liked the cow and the lion. Cordy was a purist, preferring the horses. My favorite? The shark:
I bet the Old Spice guy chooses a shark when he takes a carousel ride.
A spin on the indoor merry-go-round was included with admission, and the girls loved one last ride before we needed to start the journey home.
She only looks nervous because I'm not holding on to her at the moment.
Our weekend vacation was just long enough for us to reconnect as a family and create some lovely memories without growing too tired of each other. More than once, Aaron looked at me and said, "I'm really glad we did this." So often we're all coming and going so quickly in our house that we forget to slow down and enjoy the company of our family.
I'm glad we took the time to get away without going too far away. Compared with a vacation to Florida or California, our trip to Lake Erie still contained all of the fun you'd find far away (beaches, amusement parks, etc) with less travel time and less expense. It was also fun to explore some of the exciting attractions we have right here in Ohio.
There were still more sights we wanted to see around Lake Erie, but that only gives us an excuse for a return trip, right?
Want to plan your own trip to Lake Erie? Visit the Lake Erie Shores & Islands website to start planning your own perfect vacation with lodging packages and discount savings available with the Shore Savings Card! When you're in the area, stop by one of the two Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Centers for advice from their helpful staff, maps, brochures and discount coupons.
Another satisfied customer
Full disclosure: I was invited by Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Shores and Islands group to visit and experience all they had to offer. My family was provided complimentary tickets to Cedar Point, the African Safari Wildlife Tour and the Merry-Go-Round museum. All other expenses, including food, parking, gas, souvenirs, etc. were not included.
My family has never had a real "family vacation." Sure, we've been to Great Wolf Lodge a few times, but it felt more like a retreat than a full-out vacation.
Our reasons are ones that many families today probably face: finances are tight, so we need the best value for the money, and we don't have a lot of time off from work, so we don't want to waste a lot of time traveling. We need a vacation close to home. Of course, given the choice, we also wanted a vacation with fun and excitement, and I certainly wouldn't mind a little time on the beach.
Turns out, we can get all of that right here in Ohio.
We had the opportunity to spend this weekend up on the shores of Lake Erie and couldn't have had a better trip. Our work schedules afforded us just two days for a vacation, but those two days were so packed full of fun that they felt much longer.
Our trip started very early on Saturday morning with the drive up to Sandusky, Ohio, home to Cedar Point, one of the best amusement parks in the country. We arrived shortly after the park opened, with our first stop being the measuring station outside the gate. Kids can get measured once and are then given a wrist band to wear for the day so they know which rides they can and can't go on. (I wish every park used a system like this!)
Ummm...when did my little girl reach 48" tall? *sob*
Cedar Point has been voted World's Best Amusement Park for 13 years, and it's easy to see why. With over 150 rides, shows and attractions, there's something here for everyone and plenty of room to fit a lot of people! We were here for just one day, but you could easily fill two or three days in the park and the attached Soak City water park.
We spent a lot of time in Camp Snoopy, the children's area of the park, where there were few lines and plenty of rides appropriate for both of our girls.
But out of nowhere, my six year old with a sensory fear of new things decided she was ready for something larger, and begged to go on the Mine Ride roller coaster. Amazingly, she LOVED it! She then asked to go again, and soon a roller coaster junkie was born. She later rode the Gemini and then at the end of the day rode the Iron Dragon. (Which proved to be a bit too much for her, but she was tired by that point. I'll make her love that coaster some day - it's one of my favorites!)
Cordy after her first roller coaster ride!
It was a hot, busy Saturday, so you'd expect long lines, but really there wasn't much of a wait to get on most of the rides. Sure, the newest and flashiest coasters had longer waits, but with two small kids we weren't planning to ride those. Thanks to such a wide variety of rides at the park, we had the chance to experience a lot of different spinny, whirly, stomach-churney fun throughout the day.
Riding the racing horses of Cedar Downs
It was hot. Please excuse my sweaty face.
The girls also had the chance to meet and dance with Snoopy and friends. Cordy loved dancing along with the characters, and of course wanted a hug from Snoopy at the end.
Everyone loves Snoopy.
Saturday ended with Aaron winning stuffed animals for Cordy and Mira, and then a quick drive to our hotel for the night, where we ate dinner and all promptly fell asleep from happy exhaustion. (Be sure to check out my separate hotel review of the Best Western Plus Sandusky, too!)
Full disclosure: I was invited by Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Shores and Islands group to visit and experience all they had to offer. My family was provided complimentary tickets to Cedar Point, the African Safari Wildlife Tour and the Merry-Go-Round museum. All other expenses, including food, parking, gas, souvenirs, etc. were not included.
Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.
My daughters have been asking for a dog, and my answer is always no. We already have three cats, which is plenty of pets for me. Add in taking care of the cats as well as the kids, and I've got all of the responsibility I can handle.
However, there is one kind of dog I'm happy to let my girls have: a virtual one. With all of the iPhone apps out today, it only makes sense that someone would think up a virtual dog app, and now it's here. Cube Dog is an adorable app that lets you build your 3D animated dog from lots of different pieces and parts, choose its color, name it, and then interact with it. The building process is very simple, letting you try out different eyes and ears and face shapes before settling on the choices you like best.
Once your dog is built, it's time to play with it! The 3D animations are really, really cute. You can drag your finger to see your cube dog from all angles, and touching your virtual canine will result in a variety of responses. I got such a kick out of petting it on the head and watching hearts replace its eyes as it responded to my touch. My coworkers loved to poke it in the belly and watch it laugh from being tickled.
A cool feature that comes with the app is the ability to take photos of your cube dog in your actual surroundings. Want a photo of your child and the dog? No problem - just select the camera option, zoom in or out to get the proportions just right, and snap the photo. Cube dog can be perched on a park bench, on a table, or on your head if you want.
Downside: At the moment, this app is only available for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch (3rd gen) running iOS 4.0 or later. My iPhone 3G wasn't able to use it, so I had to borrow an iPhone 4 to download and play with it. (Note to self: time to upgrade my phone!)
Best feature of all? This app is free! You can make in app purchases to buy more features and options for your cube dog, but even the basic, free version has plenty of options to keep you and your children occupied for hours. And hey - no need to take this dog out for walks!
Here's a short video explaining a little more about Cube Dog:
The app and any app add-on purchases can be downloaded through iTunes. Cube Dog is also running a fun contest on their Facebook page through June 13.
So the next time your kids ask for a dog, just download this app and let them have their fill of playing with their new virtual best friend!
Full disclosure: While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.
I've been waiting for Disney's Tangled to come out on Blu-ray and DVD for what seems like forever. After seeing it twice in the theater, I was hooked on the story and couldn't wait to add it to our library. Well, now that day has arrived, and as of today Tangled is available for purchase everywhere.
What's that? You missed out on seeing Tangled in the theater? Well, let me explain why you must add this new classic to your collection!
The story synopsis from Disney is this: When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) is taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a feisty teen with 70 feet of golden hair who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, the unlikely duo sets off on a hilarious, hair-raising escapade filled with adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.
Truthfully, that's a fairly shallow description of everything involved in this movie. It doesn't mention that Rapunzel is a princess who was kidnapped by Mother Gothel and has lived nearly all of her life inside the tower. Or that her parents still hold out hope they'll find her again one day and have a lantern lighting ceremony on her birthday each year. (You'll sob when you see this.) Or that the cast of supporting characters could include vikings who like to collect tiny ceramic unicorns. Or that Rapunzel can wield a mean frying pan.
I do love that Rapunzel is a strong female character. She's kept away from the world at a child, innocent and scared of the outside, and yet she faces her fears to follow her dreams. Along the way she encounters a lot of frightening moments, but she rises to the occasion for each - she's a good modern princess role model for young girls. (Honestly, I still am not sure why this movie wasn't titled Rapunzel like all of the other Disney princess films.)
The ultimate 4-Disc Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack of Tangled comes with the 3D Blu-ray, the standard Blu-ray, the DVD, and a digital copy for your computer/iPad all in one package. There is also a 2-Disc Blu-Ray and DVD combo as well. (Which is what I received for review.) While I don't have a 3D capable TV, I did see the movie in 3D in the theater and it was great. But the non-3D version was just as good, and on our HD TV the Blu-ray copy of this movie is simply gorgeous.
Extras packaged with this release include the making of Tangled, deleted scenes, extended songs, two alternate openings, and several teaser trailers. I really enjoyed the deleted scenes and alternate openings, including the alternate tavern name of The Jaunty Moose.
Here's a clip of one of the alternate openings included with the extras:
This is a movie that will likely endure many, many viewings in our household. Not only do our daughters like it, but my husband and I really enjoy this movie as well. When I reviewed the initial release of the film, I said that while I liked it, I still liked The Princess and the Frog better. Well, having seen it a few more times now, I can confidently say Tangled is starting to pull ahead as a favorite.
If you have the chance, add this film to your collection. Here, I'll even make it easier for you with a $5 off coupon for the 4-disc set, good for this week only.
You and your kids will love Tangled. Trust me: mother knows best.
Full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this movie to facilitate my review. No further compensation was received, and no guarantee of a positive review was promised or expected. Of course, they probably knew to expect a good review when I replied back with, "Oooh! Oooh! Please let me review a copy!"
