Emily and I just watched Curious George and I really enjoyed it! Finally! A new movie that I enjoy watching with my daughter! OK, I realize she's only two, but we have had too many movie encounters lately from the "family movie" genre that I would not want to watch as a family. I was excited about the interesting ones that we could watch when our sweeties get a little older. The movies kept including unnecessary things or agendas we disagree with. It was really getting depressing. We've had the flu and molars coming in this weekend, so we've ended up watching a little more tv than we would normally.
Anyway, Curious George did not follow the original story book plot as I expected it to do. They had the basics, curious monkey, man in a yellow hat ("yellow's the new khaki") and the transition from jungle to city. That's about it. I did not feel that they were unfaithful to the original story line, just creative. In and effort to save the museum where he works, Ted (the man in the yellow hat) leaves for the jungle to discover a large, ancient idol. Enter a curious monkey and the rest is history. Complete with a mild, greedy, non-violent, but unethical villain (seriously the mildest villain I think I have ever seen in a movie--Disney should have villains this unscary), a muscle bound apartment manager, slightly daft museum curator (voice talents of Dick Van Dyke), a lovely teacher? (voice talents of Drew Barrymore), and curious monkey scenes without dialog filled in with the lovely music of Jack Johnson, Curious George is a sweet and enjoyable movie that does not bore without becoming too intense for younger viewers. The movie encourages embracing life with a hands-on attitude and not traveling the journey alone. It was quite refreshing to enjoy watching a film with my daughter where it was not scary (and at this point, everything is scary to Emily for some reason.) There were no adult themes, not even a reference that was above her head. It is not my personal favorite movie, but I enjoyed it enough to watch it again, and it had many cute animals. Really, what more can you ask for in a family movie? (Besides Pixar :)
BTW, our new favorite screening site is kids in mind. It seems pretty thorough and just lets you know exactly what you are walking into, regardless of how little it may seem. For example, for Curious George, they let you know there is an older lady in the bathtub, who stand up and is covered with painted bubbles. They do not show anything, but there is a lady in the bathtub who, yes, is not wearing any clothing in the bathtub. They let you know. They also seem to have a pretty wide selection.
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
September 23, 2007
April 9, 2007
movie review: Duma
Something I would like to start doing on my blog is review movies for families and books, both for children and for mommies. We have so little time, it is nice to have a place to start. Both the library and Blockbuster can be overwhelming. So many options with so few worth the time. . .
But, to begin, I would like to tell you about the movie we watched while we had the stomach flu, Duma. I did not watch it through my complete mommy filter, even though I watched it with Emily. I do not remember any swear words, but I was not watching for them. I will try to do that in the future. For now, it was a good, clean family movie. Honestly, I would have had a hard time with it when I was little, since the cheetah's mom is killed by lions (either not shown or not graphic, I do not remember) at the beginning of the movie and the boy's dad dies shortly afterwards. A few scenes could be a little scary or intense for younger children, their raft goes over a waterfall and lands them in the midst of crocodiles, and the tsetse fly scene is a little scary. Oh, and the man traveling with the boy is buried in a cave-in, but quickly rescued. However, I really enjoyed it and look forward to watching it as a family later. For now, Emily really liked watching the "Chee", the monkeys, and the lions. It also showed an interesting view into life in a country far away, that is very different from most of ours, and yet very similar as we all deal with loss and growing up. For more information about the movie go check out http://dumamovie.warnerbros.com/
P.S. So this wasn't my best review ever, and my composition teacher would be appalled. I'll strive to do better next time. This is a start.
But, to begin, I would like to tell you about the movie we watched while we had the stomach flu, Duma. I did not watch it through my complete mommy filter, even though I watched it with Emily. I do not remember any swear words, but I was not watching for them. I will try to do that in the future. For now, it was a good, clean family movie. Honestly, I would have had a hard time with it when I was little, since the cheetah's mom is killed by lions (either not shown or not graphic, I do not remember) at the beginning of the movie and the boy's dad dies shortly afterwards. A few scenes could be a little scary or intense for younger children, their raft goes over a waterfall and lands them in the midst of crocodiles, and the tsetse fly scene is a little scary. Oh, and the man traveling with the boy is buried in a cave-in, but quickly rescued. However, I really enjoyed it and look forward to watching it as a family later. For now, Emily really liked watching the "Chee", the monkeys, and the lions. It also showed an interesting view into life in a country far away, that is very different from most of ours, and yet very similar as we all deal with loss and growing up. For more information about the movie go check out http://dumamovie.warnerbros.com/
P.S. So this wasn't my best review ever, and my composition teacher would be appalled. I'll strive to do better next time. This is a start.
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