The Snowman and The Snowdog: Our Review

For the month of November, we were sent The Snowman and The Snowdog based on the novel The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.  This is a sequel to the original.  

Aaron and I have never seen the The Snowman but turns out you don't really need to see the first one to enjoy this movie!  It's a very sweet story - without words - just lovely music.  A boy finds a box under the floorboard of his room that holds the Snowman's hat, scarf, nose and buttons and also a picture of a young boy and the Snowman.  So he gets the idea to build one for himself and now he's got all the parts!  And since he just lost his dog, he builds a Snowdog for the Snowman.  It's a wonderful story of love and strength, friendship and adventure.  

Aaron really enjoyed it and since there was only music, he felt free to ask questions during the show.  This would be a great stocking stuffer for the holidays!  It's a sweet story.  

You can buy The Snowman and The Snowdog at Amazon.com or directly from NCircle Entertainment.  It retails for $9.99.

Pocoyo Boo! - Our Review

Pocoyo Boo! - Our Review

This month Aaron and I got a fun Halloween themed Pocoyo dvd from NCircle Entertainment: Pocoyo Boo!

I know I've said it before but Aaron just loves Pocoyo!  And even though this is a Halloween themed dvd, it's not scary (like some other ones I've seen) so it's perfect for your younger or sensitive kids.  

This dvd has seven (yes, seven!) cartoons with Pocoyo and his friends.  They explore new games by scaring each other (BOO!), play with friendly aliens on their planet, enjoy a monster party, solve mysteries and engage in pretend play with each other.  

Aaron's favorite episode was the first, titled Boo!, in which Pocoyo goes around scaring all his friends by hiding and then jumping out and saying.... you guess it... BOO!  Aaron squealed and laughed every time Pocoyo scared someone.  He thought the episode was just hilarious!

The dvd runs 50 minutes, includes Spanish language and is perfect for all ages.  Aaron and I give it a very spooky two thumbs up!

The SRP is $6.99 and the dvd can be found at retailers near you and at Amazon.com.  

 
 

Room on the Broom: A Review

Aaron's reenactment of Room on the Broom.

This month N Circle Entertainment was super awesome enough to send us the new movie by Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo!  Room on the Broom is based on another book by Ms. Donaldson and animated by the same creators that did The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child movies.  

I love the animation on these movies!  I think the animation is just perfect.  And the stories themselves are just so simple and sweet that they are great to watch at any age.  

The story is about a happy witch and her cat who are on a journey.  After a series of little mishaps the witch and cat begin to collect friends, much to the annoyance of the cat who wants the witch all to himself.

Through this collection of new friends the witch is being followed by a "fearsome" dragon who wants to eat the witch!  Eventually the new crew learns to work together to save the witch who rewards them with a new fancy-schmancy broom with room for everyone!

This adorable story teaches kids about acceptance, team work and friendship.  It's a wonderful movie and Aaron loved watching it over and over and over again.  (No really, it automatically restarts).  He said his favorite part was when they met the frog!  

If you're looking for a really cute short story for the kiddos, this is the one!  Two thumbs up from us for sure!  

If you're interested in getting Room on the Broom you can purchase a copy at NCircleEntertainment.com, Toys "R" Us and Target now!  SRP is only $9.99!  Get your copy now - you won't regret it!

 

The Cat in the Hat: Show & Tell Sure is Swell! Review

Cat in the Hat Review

This month our review for NCircle Entertainment is for The Cat in the Hat: Show & Tell Sure is Swell!  Aaron and I watched this new release based on the popular show that airs on PBS every morning.  

This dvd had 2 segments that taught us all about the 4 seasons of the year.  We learned about the weather, foliage and environmental changes for each season including what animals might go through in each season!

In 2 more segments we learn about the eyes/vision and hair/fur of different animals.  How different animals see, how their eye shapes are different and how their hair/fur protects them.  Each animal is individual and it taught us how the differences are beneficial to each animal.

And the final segment was, which was Aaron's favorite, taught us again about both the differences and similarities in different animals by showing us baby animals and how they might grow up to be very different than their infant stages (for example: tadpoles & frogs).  Aaron loved learning about the platypus!  

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is a great series for kids to learn all sorts of things and in case you didn't know -- it has a voice of Martin Short as the Cat -- teaching children through adventure and rhyme!  This dvd gets another 2 thumbs up from Aaron.  Thanks NCircle!

The Cat in the Hat: Show & Tell Sure is Swell! is available at NCircleEntertainment.com, Toys "R" Us and at Target with a SRP of $10.99!  (Bonus!  You can watch it in Espanol too!)

 

Dino Dan: Dino Party - Our Review

Dino Dan!  Dino Party Review

This month our NCircle iNsider review is of Dino Dan!  Dino Dan is a television show that comes out of Canada (eh?).  Aaron loves Dino Dan and can name pretty much any dinosaur that comes his way.  Trust me, he knows more about dinos than you do.  Unless you're a paleontologist, that is.

In this dvd you'll find five dino-riffic episodes of Dino Dan.  Dan is a young boy who wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.  In each episode he comes across a dino mystery in which he uses the scientific method to find clues and solve his dino dilemmas, all while learning about dinosaurs along the way.  Dan is the only one that can see these dinosaurs but he usually has friends and family helping him along.

If your child is really into animals and/or dinosaurs they will really enjoy this new Dino Dan dvd.  Aaron loved all of the episodes (his favorite was the Dino Party episode) and watched the dvd 2 days in row.  He even loves the extras because you learn real facts from a paleontologist!   

You can pick up Dino Dan: Dino Party at NCircleEntertainment.com or at a retailer near you, including Toys "R" Us and Target on 6/11/13.  The dvd retails for $12.99.  

  

Pocoyo's World: Our Review

Pocoyo's World Review

Aaron and I were sent Pocoyo's World by NCircle Entertainment to enjoy and review this month.

First of all, this is an easy sell for both of us because we both love Pocoyo.  Aaron first watched Pocoyo on Univision en Espanol.  I immediately loved the face that Aaron was so interested in something in the Spanish language.  It was simple and easy for him to understand.  Aaron loved the cartoon from the start.

In this new Pocoyo DVD: Pocoyo's World, you enjoy twelve mini adventures with Pocoyo and his friends.  You can watch the dvd in either English or Spanish (we chose Spanish, of course) which is definitely a bonus if you ask me!  If you want your child to get used to the sounds, words and inflections of another language this is the way to do it!  They will still be interested because A) it's a cartoon and B) the Pocoyo series is so easy and simple to understand, with or without your language.  

That's the main reason we like Pocoyo so much.  It's such a simple concept.  It's like playtime in cartoon form.  It helps children to use their imagination, teaches them to share and figure out solutions, all while going on an adventure.

Aaron watched the entire dvd with great pleasure and then immediately wanted to watch it again with his dad when he got home from work.  In fact, Aaron's been watching it all weekend!  His favorite episode is A Dog's Life in which Pocoyo takes turns acting like all of his friends.  He even gets up and acts right along with Pocoyo!  

If you've never seen an episode of Pocoyo, I highly recommend taking your kids on an adventure with Pocoyo and his friends Elly the elephant, Pato the duck, Loula the dog and Sleepy Bird the birdy.  It's fun for children of all ages!

Aaron and I both give the new Pocoyo dvd two thumbs up!

You can buy the newest Pocoyo dvd at all major retailers on May 21, 2013.  The disc retails for $12.99.  

           

A new venture for us! Submitted for Review:........

Aaron working on his modeling skills.

A few weeks ago I was offered the opportunity to become an NCircle iNSider!  If you have young children I'm sure you've heard of NCircle Entertainment.  They are the company that puts out some of Aaron's favorite tv programs like Dino Dan, Yo Gabba Gabba and Pocoyo (which I usually have him watch in Espanol).  

Being an NCircle iNSider means that I get sent a DVD every month for Aaron and I to watch together and review.  We're like, super awesome movie critics now!  The first DVD we were sent was Sid the Science Kid: The Movie!  Aaron has watched the cartoon before but this is the first movie from Sid the Science Kid!

The movie was about Sid and his classmate Gabriela who win a contest and get to be part of a small group of kids to visit a brand new science museum before it opens to the public.  The kids meet children from another country, get to see robots, dinosaurs, solar system exhibits and more.  They learn about science and when something goes wrong they learn about teamwork and solve the problem together!  

Aaron was totally entranced during the entire movie.  He paid full attention, laughed out loud at the silly robots and learned new science facts about electricity and the solar system.  When I asked if he liked the movie he said "YES!" and when I asked what his favorite part was he said he loved the part about the dinosaur exhibit.  

As a parent, the biggest lesson I hope Aaron took from the DVD was the lesson about teamwork.  It shows kids how important it can be to work together to solve problems, even if you know plenty of things on your own.  Sometimes seeing things from another point of view can help out!

So, from Aaron and I both the DVD Sid the Science Kid: The Movie! gets 2 thumbs up!  

The movie retails for $12.99 and is available at NCircleEntertainment.com, Amazon.com or a retailer near you including Toys "R" Us and Target.