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Littlest Pet Shop: Little Pets, Big Adventures DVD Review

Posted by Professor on January 15, 2013
in DVDs & CDs, Kids Stuff, Movie Reviews, Movies, TV Shows

We have reviewed the Littlest Pet Shop Cartoon before…when it premiered on the HUB network … we are pleased to announce that Littlest Pet Shop has launched its first DVD Collection!

The DVD is entitled “Littlest Pet Shop: Little Pets, Big Adventures” and it is based on Hasbro’s popular Littlest Pet Shop brand and animated TV series. The DVD contains FIVE fun-filled episodes and captivating entertainment the whole family can enjoy. The DVD also features bonus content including coloring sheets, a “look behind the pet shop doors” featurette, and an offer for a virtual Collectible Pet on the Littlest Pet Shop App.

For those of you who have not seen the series … basically, Littlest Pet Shop is an animated half-hour comedy series that follows Blythe Baxter and her father as they move into a Big City apartment above the Littlest Pet Shop store (an amazing day-camp for pets of all kinds including a doggie diva, dancing gecko, a sweet adorable panda, and others. Her real adventure begins when she discovers that she alone can miraculously understand and talk to all of the pets. Blithe joins them on fantastical adventured that include uproarious songs-and-dance sequences featuring all-new original music by Daytime Emmy Award nominee Daniel Ingram and the vocal talent of Ashley Ball, Tabitha St. Germain, Nicole Oliver, and Peter New.

The Littlest Pet Shop Cartoon premiered on NOV 10^th on the HUB TV Network … but now the FUN is available on DVD for your enjoyment!

Episodes on DVD include:

Blythe’s Big Adventure ~ Parts 1 &2
Bad Hair Day
Gailbreak!
Penny For Your Laughs

DVD Bonus Content

“A Look Behind The Pet Shop Doors” featurette
Coloring Sheets

The DVD is available in Stores and online NOW ~ JANUARY 15^th!

Our Review:

My children absolutely ADORE Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop Products and Toys. So of course they were thrilled when the HUB TV network aired the cartoon series. Now they are overjoyed with a DVD that they can watch anytime they wish! As a mom I have to say that this is a great cartoon series. The characters are engaging and suitable for children…there are some cartoons out there that are inappropriate that I will not let my children watch …but this is NOT one of them! This is a delightful series about a young girl and pets. What I like is that even after the cartoon is over I find my children reenacting the episodes and imagining new adventures with their Littlest Pet Shop Toys and figures. I have three children, 2 girls ages 8 & 4 and a boy age 6…they ALL enjoy the series and the toys. Although honestly I have to say that my girls are more “into” Littlest Pet Shop than my son…but he will play along with them or watch the series and have just as much fun!

The thing we found exciting was that the DVD comes with a PET COLLECTOR Token. You just scan the token into the Littlest Pet Shop APP and collect a Virtual Pet. This is a very NEAT thing! My daughter just got a new tablet for Christmas and is ecstatic with her new Virtual Pet! The Littlest Pet Shop APP is free, but the Virtual Pets cost approximately 14.97… but remember you get a free one with the purchase of the DVD! The APP is available for both Apple and Android users.

You can find more out about the APP and download a copy here: http://www.hasbro.com/littlestpetshop/en_US/discover/news/lps_app.cfm

One other exciting thing is that on some of the DVD copies you may find a SAVE $5 coupon offer. The coupon states that you can save $5 when you buy any Hasbro Littlest Pet Shop toy and the DVD (coupon must be presented when purchase is made). This is a BONUS! I find that this is a great deal since Easter is just around the corner! What a great gift to give … a Littlest Pet Shop character to go along with the DVD!

Overall, we cannot say enough about the release of the DVD…my household is enjoying the product and will for years to come…

For more information about the Hasbro brand please visit: www.hasbro.com

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Party Time with The Amazing Spider-Man! #SpiderManWMT #Cbias

Posted by html404 on November 3, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Movie Reviews, Movies, News Worthy, Reviews, Shopping

Ever since our first post about The Amazing Spider-Man our children have been eagerly anticipating hosting our party and watching The Amazing Spider-Man movie, which is due to be released on DVD on November 9th. It took us four different extended invitations before we found some guests available and interested in coming to a Spider-Man themed pizza party and each time our children asked, “Is so and so coming over?” so they were pretty excited when we got the yes.

We went party shopping at Walmart and bought fruit – we made carmel apples – veggies, Spider-Man themed party supplies and Marketside pizza. Walmart will be releasing Amazing Spider-Man themed Augmented Reality triggers that will be included on the pizza box & display pallet, triggering special Amazing Spider-Man experiences on the iPhone, iPad or Android in-store, especially for shoppers.

I found that playing hostess with people outside our household didn’t give me or my daughters the same freedom or time in snapping photos of everything and anything due to taking care of my guests. I tried though.

We ate first before going down to our basement to watch the movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie

All the younger children waiting for the rest of the adults to watch the movie. Sorry about the dark photo.

The adults were upstairs talking and enjoying quiet conversation while the children were downstairs waiting. We interrupted them to get a group picture.

If you read my previous post, you know that we took advantage of the pre-order opportunity to get a digital download of Spider-man on DVD or Blu-Ray on Vudu.com. I also set up an UltraViolet™ (UV) account, which “is a new movie industry standard that allows you to securely store your digital movie collection in the cloud.” We really like online streaming technology.

The Amazing Spider-Man is rated PG-13, unfortunately for families with young children. I wish I had watched it in advance. I naively thought “Spider-Man…what could possibly be wrong with it” and neglected to read the rating, I should have known better. There were a couple of scenes I quickly had to cover up. A brief glimpse of one scene made our 10 year old son say, “That scene on the subway was unnecessary.” And guess what? He’s right.

The movie wasn’t bad, if you haven’t seen it yet, but a lot of the story line was changed if you are use to another version. Even the children noticed since they’ve watched the animated version. We tend to not like new changes.

After watching the movie we gave our younger guests The Amazing Spider-Man goodie bags and they left for home since it was getting late. We thoroughly enjoyed entertaining and look forward to the next time.

Friends talking

For additional information about The Amazing Spider-Man upcoming DVD release, check out Twitter (use hashtag #SpiderManWMT) or Facebook.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment #CBias #SocialFabric” (Feel free to add any additional wording you would like such as “all opinions are my own”)

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Veggie Tales: Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men ~ Movie Review

Posted by Professor on April 9, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Movie Review Monday, Movie Reviews, Movies, Uncategorized

Another great DVD from our friends at VEGGIE TALES!

Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men

Robin Good has a mission – fundraising from the rich and giving to the poor! But when greedy Prince starts stealing the townspeople’s hams, donations are down and Robin’s band of friends desert him to give robbing a try. Can Robin overcome his hurt, show his friends what’s right and restore the townspeople’s hope?

Bonus Features:

Leapin’ Leap Year Lesson
“Fun”-Raising with Larry
“Things Will Get Better” – Sing-along Songs
“Prince of Ham” – Sing-along Songs
Robin Good’s Guide to Handling Hurt – Discussion Guide
5.1 Surround Sound
English and Spanish Subtitles
DVD Format: NYSC/Region 1

PLUS! Silly Songs with Larry featuring Bubble Rap!

Running Time Approximately 50 minutes.

Our Review:

My family is HUGE fans of Veggie Tales…and this DVD did not disappoint! As a mother I especially liked the lessons presented in this DVD. This DVD came out just at the right time for us, during the Easter season because it teaches of the love of Jesus and what it means to give. Thus, a great lesson for Easter!

One bonus to the DVD is the discussion guide “Handling Hurt” … this was a great discussion in our house… the guide really helped open the children up to conversation!

And of course the Sing-along songs are always a hit! The best we have to say was “Bubble Rap”…the children loved this silly song with Larry!

One added bonus is that on the Veggie Tales website there are games and other activities for the children… nice interactive learning games and activities! You can even watch a preview of Robin Good!

For further information about the product and other offerings please visit www.veggietales.com

I noticed that the video is now on sale at the Veggie Tales store! You can buy your own DVD here: http://store.veggietales.com/robin-good-dvd.html

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WWJD: The Woodcarver ~ Movie Review

Posted by Professor on March 5, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Movie Review Monday, Movie Reviews

Vivendi Entertainment and Nasser Entertainment bring this heartfelt story to life on DVD!

Synopsis:

Rebelling against his parents and the broken home he comes from, fifteen-year-old Matthew Stevenson makes a destructive choice to get attention: he vandalizes the church his father is renovating. To avoid criminal charges, he agrees to repair damage he caused to the intricate carvings and finds himself working alongside Ernest Otto (John Ratzenberger), a talented but reclusive woodworker. Laboring together, an unlikely friendship forms and both come to realize that all things are possible with faith, family, and friendship.

Our Review:

This was a wonderful movie! My entire family thoroughly enjoyed the film. I especially liked that I did not have to pre-screen the movie since it has the DOVE seal of approval (Family Friendly). My family loved the parallel theme of restoring the church and resorting faith that ran throughout the movie…this was a great topic of post-movie conversation! It was also neat to see John Ratzenberger in the role of Ernest. I remember him from Cheers and the children know him from the Disney Cars movies…so it was nice to see a familiar face in the film! This is a great film for the Easter season also… in respect that it exemplifies restoring belief in God and in life. What a great way to teach faith and forgiveness! Constantly remembering that change is possible if we simply follow God!

Overall a great family film…even my 3 year old was engaged throughout the entire movie! The movie itself created a great sounding board for post movie discussion with your family and children…I loved that I could tie this movie into the Easter season. I will be glad to pass this movie on the family and friends!

This film can be found at your local retailer…I noticed it was even available through Walmart! Available in stores this week.

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Christmas Movies – Movie Review Monday

Posted by html404 on November 28, 2011
in Family Stuff, Holidays, Movie Review Monday, Movie Reviews

This really isn’t a review per se, more like a generic post about Christmas movies.

We started watching some Christmas movies over the Thanksgiving weekend. Some old and some new. Miracle on 34th Street starring Maureen O’Hara was one of the ones we watched on Thanksgiving. It was one of my Dad’s favorites when my sisters and I were growing up. I still remember him calling to us as he always did when he wanted us to watch something with him (like 6pm Disney World on Sunday nights). Even though we do not celebrate Santa Claus, I love this movie’s story line and the warm memories it brings back.

One of the Christmas movies my husband grew up watching was A Christmas Story with “Ralphie”. This is a movie that my husband and children like, but I could live without. I detest the language in it and think it’s crude, but they all sat there laughing through it. My oldest could not understand how I could not watch it. I was in the room but ended up working on some project rather than paying attention to the movie.

We also watched The Nativity Story about the birth of Jesus on Sunday. It is one of our favorites now too.

Of course the classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Charlie Brown’s Christmas are usually on our must-see list.

We also watched a couple of “ABC Family Night” Christmas movies. Well, my daughters and I watched them and I am glad it was my older children because they contained a lot of adult content that I would not consider family-friendly. Even my oldest said that she thought Walmart was doing a better job with family movie night…yay Walmart and P&G!

So do you have your Christmas movie favorites? Feel free to warn us against the duds too so we can avoid them!

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Snowmen – The Family Movie Event of the Year

Posted by html404 on October 23, 2011
in DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Movie Review Monday, Movie Reviews, Movies

Snowmen is a all new heart-felt yet humors family-friendly movie about three young boys who want to make a difference and be remembered.

Our family loved this movie. We don’t know how the producers could make us laugh so hard at the same time we where crying. This movie was wonderful. All of our children loved it. And despite some rude humor, and mild language this movie was really good! It taught some great lessons about friendship, God, and making a difference.

Go see Snowmen in theaters! You and your kids will love it! You can learn more about Snowmen by visiting www.Snowmenmovie.com

Snowmen was created by the producers of notable films including The Passion of The Christ, The Ultimate Gift, and Braveheart.
The film stars Bobby Coleman (Last Song), Ray Liotta (Wild Hogs), Bobb’e J. Thompson (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), Josh Flitter (Ace Ventura Jr.) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future).

Faith and Family Reviews received a free screening of following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Who Is Simon Miller Movie Review

Posted by html404 on July 26, 2011
in Movie Reviews

My family and I recently got to watch the new Family Movie Night movie, Who Is Simon Miller. And let me tell you, this movie is wonderful!

All of my children, and my husband and I loved this movie! It was action packed and suspenseful. We loved Kevin (the teenage son) he was hilarious, and we all laughed at his funny speeches!

There is no questionable content in Who Is Simon Miller? So, it’s a great movie to watch with your kids. All of my kids sat through it and loved Who Is Simon Miller. We didn’t want it to end!

Thanks Family Movie Night for making yet another AWESOME movie! We love your movies and cannot wait for the next one! We have seen every single one of their movies and highly recommend them all!

Be sure to watch Who Is Simon Miller? on Saturday, August 6 on NBC at 8pm ET/7pm CT. AND be sure to like them Who Is Simon Miller on Facebook.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.