Search Results for: blog enchanted 2007

Grace is Gone (2007)

Last night I stayed up late to watch “Grace is Gone.” I have to say, it’s been awhile since a film touched me so very deeply. John Cusack brilliantly portrays Stanley Phillips, a man who wanted to serve in the military so badly, he cheated on the vision test so he could get into the Army. When his doctor on base discovers that his eyesight is terrible, he kicks Stanley out, but Stanley has already met Grace, a beautiful cadet, and they are married. They have two daughters, Heidi and Dawn, and they’ve built a life together. When Grace is … Continue reading →

Clay Aiken Blogs, Patrick Swayze Experiences a “Miracle,” and Amy Adams is Engaged

He is almost a dad himself, but Clay Aiken is blogging about a recent UNICEF trip he took to Somalia and Kenya. He talks about how the violence in each country has left thousands of children homeless. Even as things are looking better, many children have not returned to school. Aiken wrote, “Getting children back to school is vital for their protection, and helps build a sense of normalcy in their lives. The re-establishment of schools in the most difficult circumstances is a testament to the commitment of UNICEF and to Kenyans.” He went on to say that every child … Continue reading →

Enchanted (2007)

I love a good fairy tale and I love a good spoof, so when the movie “Enchanted” came out, I knew I’d enjoy it. However, I didn’t get to see it until this last weekend. Why, oh why, did I wait? I loved it! We begin our film in an animated land called Anadalasia. It’s ruled by Queen Narissa, an evil woman who can’t stand the thought of anyone taking over her throne. We also meet Giselle, a lovely young woman who talks to animals and never loses her temper. One day, she meets Prince Edward, and after singing a … Continue reading →

Top 5 Resources for Today: November 5, 2007

We wave good bye to Chele, who used to bring us the Homeschooling Resource of the Day. She has moved on to bigger and better writing projects. However, her resource of the day blogs were so popular, I decided to bring them back and revamp them a little. You will find now that the resource of the day blog will focus on one theme. If there’s something you’d like to see covered or you need more resource for a project you’re working on. . .let me know! Today’s theme is built around resources for lapbooking, and notebooking. I realize that … Continue reading →

Barbie as the Island Princess (2007)

I am constantly impressed by the level of quality not only in the CGI animation, but also in the storytelling of the Barbie movies. The latest installment, Barbie as the Island Princess is yet another remarkable addition to this must-own collection. A Tale Of Woe Barbie stars as Ro in this film, a young girl who was shipwrecked on an island in the South Seas. She is raised by friendly animals that she can communicate with. Sagi the red panda, Azul the beautiful, royal peacock and Tika, the elephant. Ro has no idea where she came from or who her … Continue reading →

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales – Follow Your Dreams (2007)

From the first commercial ad on television, my daughter was hooked. She’s a huge Disney princess fan and she loves their animated featurettes with the different princesses. What makes this new DVD different from previous installments is that these are themed tales designed to help empower children (girls specifically) and they do so through the art of storytelling. In Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams we join Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Jasmine (Aladdin) through two different tales. The theme is perseverance. Despite being direct-to-DVD, the tales actually have nuances and the animation is extremely well done. Keys to the … Continue reading →

Ratatouille (2007)

Let me preface this review by saying that although this movie is gorgeously done animation by director and writer Brad Bird (The Incredibles 2004), this fairytale about a Remy the Rat’s dreams of being a master chef coming true does have one significant problem for parents. The animation is so well done that the scenes of the rats fleeing one home at the beginning or swarming together to help Remy towards the end are so very well done that it was nauseating. It was like actually watching a tidal wave of rats and I’m sorry Disney and Pixar – you … Continue reading →

Inside the Disney Limbo

After previewing “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” last week, I began wondering about the status of many other upcoming Disney films. While researching the movies Disney’s got on its production line, I discovered many promising titles (and some not so promising) that are currently in a state of limbo. A number of interesting projects are in various stages of halted production over at Disney right now. For today’s blog I thought I’d highlight some of these projects. “Enchanted 2” – All right, I’m cheating some here. The House of Mouse just announced that they plan to make a … Continue reading →

“Princess and the Frog” Hints at New Era for Disney

For the past decade, Disney Animation has meant little without Pixar. All of the sharp storytelling and visual artistry that made Walt Disney famous came not from the studio he started, but from a company originally founded by George Lucas. Some movies made in that time stood out, such as “Lilo and Stitch” and “Enchanted.” But they never quite achieved the magic Disney had lost. By 2004, Disney altogether stopped making hand-drawn animated movies. “Princess and the Frog” restores the glimmer of Disney’s previous glory to a respectable glow. The movie isn’t perfect, but the studio’s finally returning to form. … Continue reading →

Born to Rule – Kathryn Lasky

“Born to Rule” is a cute book written for girls ages 8-12. Our main character is Princess Alicia, a young lady who is leaving behind her castle home to attend Camp Princess for the first time. Camp Princess is a fun summer camp designed especially for princesses. Each year, the girls learn how to work tapestry and to train songbirds. They do archery and other royal-type sports, and they sleep in every morning and have their breakfast in bed. It’s a break from the rigors of castle life (you know, where they have to have breakfast in bed and sleep … Continue reading →