Weekend Family Movies: WWJD II: The Woodcarver & VeggieTales: Robin Good

It's Lent. Stewart just said to me, "just think about God." We should be doing this all year long, but, if you're a Christian who observes the season of Lent, you probably do it more during this forty day (not counting Sundays) season from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday. Many people give up something during this time to remind themselves daily about the sacrifice of Christ. It might be coffee, chocolate, red meat, fast food, baths, or something equally luxuriant (bath forgoers take showers instead). This year I've decided instead of giving up something, I'm going to try and do something. It was spurred by the talk given by Stacie Wood in my previous post. I'm going to try and fill my mind with good thoughts so that I can be nicer to my kids. It's amazing how faithful God can be when a person decides to do something after God's own heart. It was as if the moment I made the decision, I got two emails about some great family videos that would help me do exactly what I was hoping to do.

WWJD II: The Woodcarver
The next installment in the What Would Jesus Do? series from Vivendi Entertainment and Nasser Entertainment stars John Ratzenberger (Cliff from "Cheers"), Woody Jeffreys , and Dakota Daulby.  Matthew Stevenson (Daulby) is a troubled kid from a broken home. When he vandalizes the local church to get back at his parents, Matthew has to repair the damage to the church to avoid criminal charges. While working at the church, he meets Ernest (Ratzenberger), an accomplished wood carver who created the intricate woodwork decoration that Matthew destroyed. Ernest has become something of a hermit since his wife's death, but reluctantly comes out of reclusion to help repair the church. Now Ernest and Matthew must work together to preserve the church's beautiful antiquity, and along the way, they also manage to restore their faith in God and in life.

As I watched the film, I noticed how the constant fighting between the parents was affecting Matthew. I'm guilty of this, Stewart doesn't want me to fight in front of the kids but I can't seem to control my anger sometimes. Maybe it's the constant flux of pregnancy, post-partum, and nursing hormones that have made me crazy but I can't get a grip on the rage valve. I really need to ask myself the question that Ernest has Matthew ask himself in the movie, "What would Jesus do?" Jesus would not be yelling at his spouse about some infraction (not putting clothes away, asking me for the millionth time where something is, forgetting to take H to school) in front of his children. I need to CUT. IT. OUT. The craziness of Matthew's dad (Jeffreys) in the movie also made me hear myself. It does affect children and if I don't change, then there is no telling what kind of acting out will happen with my kids. I'm really glad to have watched this movie so I can remind myself to act in a more loving way, even when I am disciplining the boys. This film really made me think about how parental behavior affects kids. 

VeggieTales: Robin Good & His Not So Merry Men
The faith-based animated series takes on the Robin Hood legend in this newest VeggieTales adventure. When the evil prince of Bethlingham oppresses the have-nots by stealing their food, do-gooder Robin Good and his fearless associates launch a project of stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

The boys have been watching too much secular TV and this film came at the perfect time to give us a dose of goodness during this Lenten season. The boys could clearly see how ridiculous it was that Sir John was taking away hams from people, saying he didn't have enough, when he had hams coming out of every corner of his palace. A teachable moment--greed is NOT good, kind people share, and sometimes when people are grouchy they are just hungry (SPOILER: there is a giant in the movie that is supposed to be terrorizing the villagers but it turns out all he wanted was something to eat). One thing I found interesting was that the villagers were commenting on tough economic conditions, so it felt like the situation could be analogized all too real to real life. It would be nice if those holding all the hams would share so that the hungry in our society could get enough to eat.

The other features of the DVD that my boys enjoyed were the Leapin' Leap Year Lesson, "Bubble Rap" (Silly Song with Larry), and the bonus short "Lenny and the Lost Birthday." H said the best part of the short was when Lenny was crying in bed and then his mom came. Of course after he told me that, hugs were shared, then H told me, "you're the best." The power of talking and singing vegetables! We wanted to share all the great things we learned from the DVD, and H&R agreed right away when I asked them if we should send it in a care package to a missionary family in Japan. If you need a video to spread some warm fuzzies in your family this weekend, this is definitely one to consider.





The lessons from these two great videos will stay with me for a while. Thank you to Vivendi Entertainment and Big Idea Entertainment for providing them to our family!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.

DVD Review: THE GARFIELD SHOW All You Need is Love (And Pasta)

If you're a regular Random Mommy reader you know that H is somewhat of a picky eater. He eats macaroni and cheese at least once a day and very seldom wants to try anything new. It was very interesting that after watching the recently released Vivendi Entertainment DVD The Garfield Show: All You Need is Love (And Pasta) that he was willing to try, you guessed it, LASAGNA. It was amazing because usually when he tastes meat in something he will immediately spit it out. But I think because H was so familiar with lasagna from watching Garfield eat it and love it, it made him more predisposed to giving it a fair shot. I've made lasagna three times in the past month and H has eaten it up every time. As to what H thinks of Garfield, you can see his reaction from his body language here:

I think this would be a great idea as a gift to a child for Valentine's Day rather than the inundation of sugar and empty calories that typically accompanies this day. H recently had to undergo several dental surgeries for 14 cavities (and of course oral sedation isn't covered by insurance) so he knows that candy and chocolate are off limits to him. So this Valentine's Day, he'll be watching The Garfield Show: All You Need is Love (And Pasta) to celebrate the day. The DVD is appropriate since it features six love-themed misadventures of Garfield, Odie, his owner Jon, and other characters from Garfield's neighborhood. Whether he's fostering orphan birds, enduring Jon's quest for the perfect family portrait or putting up a good front for Liz's parents, Garfield really does love his friends, maybe even more than lasagna. Just a warning though, after watching this DVD, you and/or your child may have a craving for Italian food that you just can't ignore!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a copy of the DVD for review purposes.

Cats, Dogs, and GARFIELD DVD Review

When I was growing up, my parents never let us have a pet. First of all they had to worry about making enough money to feed us and second, my mom had been bitten by a dog as a child so was deathly afraid of them. When my parents finally advanced themselves financially enough, my mother found out she was allergic to animal fur when she tried to buy a mink coat. She actually did buy it, but then had to return it when her neck broke out in hives and she had trouble breathing. My father is a Buddhist and unable to kill any living creature. My mom has to kill all the spiders and bugs that come into the house. There is no way that my father would be able to handle having to euthanize a sick old dog or cat, so to avoid the situation he can never have a pet. So for all these various reasons, I grew up without a great love for dogs or cats or birds or any creature that could be a pet.

When I went to college, I trained myself to like dogs. One of my best friends had an illegal dog in her dorm room and there was no way I could go over there if I didn't like dogs. After college, the few encounters I had with cats (a roommate's cats came to live with us for a few weeks and I cat-sat for a friend during law school) left me with the distinct impression that cats are not friendly and want only to scratch my eyes out. And of course it didn't help that, in the first house we bought, there was a corner of the hardwood floor that was completely disintegrated because it had been the previous owner's cats' favorite place to relieve themselves. For some reason, dogs seemed friendlier. H&R have always had a great affinity for dogs. H would go up to the biggest dogs in Manhattan and put his hand in their mouth. The only stuffed animal he ever picked out in a toy store to buy was a Gund puppy. R's nickname is R-Dog, so we've conditioned him to love dogs.

Where am I going with this? We've just moved into a townhouse complex in the San Jose area. Our next door neighbor has five adult CATS, one of which recently had a litter of kittens. (Yes, she's older than me and unmarried. I can only imagine how many cats are actually living inside her home.) She also feeds a stray cat that comes by every day. I did not have a good feeling about this. I thought for sure H&R would say things like, "I'm scared of cats. I don't like cats. I only like dogs." I thought they would run away from the cats. But no, they LIKE the cats. They always look for them and want to see them sitting on the eaves of the roof next door. They want to pet the cats and feed the cats. I think they would even play with the cats if the cats ever allowed H&R to catch them. Instead of saying, "woof, woof," now R says, "meow, meow." I can only think of one reason why they are suddenly displaying such affection towards cats: GARFIELD!

When we moved to San Jose, we were in corporate housing for a month. The apartment was furnished and came with cable. The only kids show that they could watch after dinner was back to back episodes of Garfield on the Cartoon Network. At first they were scared of it--after all they had never had any positive experiences with cats. Then they tolerated it. Then they started to like it. I think the show helped them incorporate cats into their everyday consciousness. So when the boys and I were given the opportunity to review the new Garfield DVD, I had to say yes.

Jim Davis’ classic cartoon cat is back in action (or is it inaction?) in “The Garfield Show: Odie Oh!”, which pounced on DVD October 5 from Vivendi Entertainment. Named one of the best new kids’ shows by People magazine and voted favorite comic strip by Nickelodeon magazine readers, “The Garfield Show” offers a fresh and funny look at Garfield’s day-to-day life, blending the modern look of CG animation and the familiar humor of Garfield, Odie the dog and Jon Arbuckle. Currently airing on the Cartoon Network, the vivid series follows the lasagna-loving, Monday-hating fat cat as he gets in and out of sticky situations, learning important lessons along the way.

“The Garfield Show: Odie Oh!” DVD contains six episodes. Parents might want to preview the episodes before showing it to children who are sensitive viewers because a couple of the episodes could be a bit scary for the littlest viewers (R kept saying he was scared but at the same time he wouldn't stop watching). In "Pup in the Pound," Garfield finds trouble after accidentally getting Odie sent to the pound and learns what friendship. "Odie in Love" is an endearing episode in which Odie falls in love with a very unusual object. "From the Oven" and "Neighbor Nathan" are perfect for some Halloween-scary, innocent fun. "Up a Tree" teaches some good lessons about the dangers of negative stereotyping, and "Flying Dog" shows the importance of having dreams. H's favorite was "From the Oven" because he loves baking cakes! For me, one of the great aspects of the show is that it is not a closed universe. New characters can appear in each episode, which makes it seem more like real life.

I'm glad Garfield was able to change my boys' attitudes towards cats. Without that change I think living here would be pretty difficult because cats are everywhere. They even come into our garage and stare at us if our door is open. The Cat Lady Next Door already offered us a kitten, which I politely declined citing my mom's allergies. I really hope she finds homes for them instead of keeping them herself. For now, I'll stick to watching a pretend cat that I can turn on and off and not have to worry about feeding. MEOW!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a product sample for review purposes. Cat photo obtained from Flickr, taken by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sanchez from Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.

Mid-Summer Movie Mania Part I-GIVEAWAY

CONGRATULATIONS NUMBERS 14, 12, 4, 8, AND 19. DVD titles will be assigned in the order you respond to my email! Thanks to everyone who entered. Another fun giveaway will be going up tomorrow.
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If you're an at-home parent, summer nights are perfect for watching movies when your kids are out of school both with and without your kids. If you are watching with your kids, it's not a school night so you don't have to worry about homework, getting to bed early, etc. If you're watching after the kids have gone to bed, you don't have to worry about making lunches or going to sleep early yourself so you can get them to school the next day. I was up late last night watching yet another Korean drama on mysoju.com. Since H is out of preschool for the summer, I knew that I could sleep in if they did (my gamble paid off and they slept till 8 this morning!). Next month I'll have some more enjoyable late nights watching three upcoming new releases. FIVE Random Mommy readers will be able to watch the films at the same time as I do by winning a DVD copy of the following movies:

1) One Random Mommy reader will win Diary of a Wimpy Kid arriving on Blu-ray and DVD August 3 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. If you don’t know much about the movie it follows the life of pre-teen Greg Heffley through his trials and tabulations of life in junior high school. We can all relate to Greg Heffeley’s character because we know what it’s like being an adolescent trying to navigate our way through the social etiquette of junior high.

2) One Random Mommy reader will win Date Night coming out on Blu-ray and DVD on August 10 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. I think any married person will enjoy this comedy of a couple trying to spice things up and find that they get themselves into more trouble then they ever thought possible. Stewart and I don't get many date nights but I never thought it was such a weird thing that we didn't since our parents never had date nights. Even those few times we've gone out, I've always been worried about what the boys were doing to the babysitter. I think we'll definitely be ready in a couple of years but till then we can live vicariously through this movie!

3) Three Random Mommy readers will win Letters to God arriving on DVD on August 10 from Possibility Pictures and Vivendi Entertainment. It is the heartfelt and inspiring story of what happens when one boy’s journey touches the lives of his family, friends and community. An intimate, moving and often funny story, the film follows the path of a young child with a terminal illness who through his battle becomes a warrior for hope and a champion to everyone around him. I know already that this film will make me realize yet again how lucky Stewart and I are to have two healthy boys. 

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11:01 PM (Pacific) until Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite summer blockbuster film, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/29yopto) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail with their order of preference for the movies. Movies will be allocated based on order of response to the e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prizes will go to the next place winners as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Vivendi Entertainment for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I will receive product samples to facilitate my review of these films.