On March 2nd, Disney and Studio Ghibli released Ponyo on dvd and blu-ray, and special edition dvds of Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Castle in the Sky. All of the movies are good, but our two favorites right now are Ponyo and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Ponyo is a movie about a fish that meets a little boy named Sosuke. He names her Ponyo. After meeting him and spending time on land for a little bit, Ponyo is brought back out to sea by her dad. He keeps her in a bubble, but she tells him she wants to be human, then she breaks out of her bubble and goes back to find Sosuke.
It’s a good movie. I like the character of Ponyo because she is energetic and she likes ham. Sosuke is smart and he’s nice.
The special edition dvds have a lot of bonus features where we can watch Miyazaki talk about the movies he made and why he made them. Those parts are interesting.
Liberty

I like Kiki’s Delivery Service because I just like how the town looks and how the characters act and how Kiki delivers stuff. And Miyazaki films were probably the first anime movies I watched and now I watch all I can! I also like Kiki’s cat, Jiji. And I always like the old-fashioned bakery where Kiki ends up working. And the old lady’s house! And sometimes I feel like I would like to work at a bakery just giving bread to people. And I liked the sound effects. If I lived in a town like Kiki’s, and my mom had to go out and buy something, I would probably go with her and just stare at the town and stuff. In the bonus features, Miyazaki says he wanted the town to look like a bunch of little European towns mashed up, but especially a town in Sweden that he visited and loved.

-Lena

P.S. Disney gave us these DVDs for free.

Remember Maya’s review of Goji custom artisanal cereal from last year?

Are you a fan of [me] and goji on Facebook yet? NO? Why not? This is a brand that deserves to grow!  When Alexander told us about their goal to reach 25,000 Facebook fans, we said we’d help spread the word.  [Me] and goji is still one of our favorite gift ideas so when they offered us another canister in exchange for telling you guys about their goal, we said yes right away. Join their group to get news, insight into their sweet company, and special promotions, and then hop on over to [me] and goji to get a great gift for yourself or someone you love. It’s unique, it’s healthy, it’s attractive (you can put a picture of yourself on the slick canister now), and it tastes good. If creating your own unique mix overwhelms you, check out their recommendations page for already-created mixes that sound delicious. Eat up!

P.S. [me] and goji gave us some cereal for free.

Get ready for the release of season 1 of “Glee”! It’s coming out on December 29th, featuring the first 13 episodes, the director’s cut of the pilot episode, exclusive behind-the-scenes featurettes, and audition videos from the cast.

Exciting, right? Watch “Slushie Jam” and get even more excited:

This weekend we’re excited to visit the Wexner Center during the Zoom Family Film Festival.  The sixth annual festival features films from the U.S., Belgium, India, France, and Germany. We’re kicking off the weekend with What’s on Your Plate? and we’re also excited to see Tahaan, but there are so many other great films to see, too. Visit their site for a complete list of films, including trailers.

Here is some info about What’s on Your Plate? from the Wexner Center’s site:

“What’s a Funyon!!?,” a young girl asks. Come along as two 11-year-old girls explore food from a kid’s-eye point of view. Inspired by an Ohio summer vacation from their home in Manhattan, the girls follow a trail of information seeking facts and exploding myths about food by interviewing a variety of people from doctors to farmers to chefs. Farming, school lunches, distribution, ingredients, diet, health, and global politics are among the topics they address with fresh questions and sassy humor. The girls’ unfiltered honesty and curiosity bring a welcome sense of authentic inquiry to this engaging documentary about a topic of clear relevance to all of us.

And Tahaan:

Tahaan is an 8-year-old boy who lives in the conflict-torn Kashmir valley of Pakistan. When his family’s donkey is sold by his mother to repay debts, Tahaan sets off on a quest to recover his beloved animal friend. He must decide whether to trust strangers or keep secrets from his mother, and after he is recruited by militants to throw a grenade into an army compound, he faces a crucial choice about how far he’s willing to go to achieve his goal. More than a war story, this is a film about yearning, finding your purpose in life, understanding right and wrong and, ultimately, about choosing peace. Fable-like and beautifully shot, Tahaan captures the scintillating colors, textures, sounds, and smells of a beautiful and ancient land now characterized by border checkpoints, sniper fire, corrupt money lenders, and “disappeared” fathers.

While we’re there, we’re going to check out The Box, where we can see animations, dramatic narratives, and experimental projects by young (age 8-18) Ohio filmmakers and video artists which were chosen to be included in the youth division of the 2009 Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase.

The Zoom Family Film Festival also includes some free family activities:

• Art Projects and Tours
• Video Game Land
• Saturday Morning Cereal and Pajama Party
• Ice Cream Social

P.S. A family membership to the Wexner Center makes a great Christmas gift.

When we got the pitch to review Disney’s Up, Maya immediately said, “I’ll do that review!” She saw the movie in the theaters and really loved it. Now that review time is here, she said, “I don’t want to be videotaped,” so I asked her what she would say about Up since she liked it so much and she said, “I would say tell Lena to do it.” Okie doke.

The kids are tired of reviewing, but let me tell you, all of the kids and grown-ups in this house loved this movie and some of the grown-ups (probably about 1/2) were so moved by the first 15 lovely minutes that they cried in a most unbecoming way. Pixar is good at the movie stuff.

Maya said her favorite character is “the doggy,” and I would have to agree. Dug is hilarious and lovely. His PR people were kind enough to supply us with the transcrpit to an interview that Dug recently gave. Read it and then go buy Up! It’s in stores everywhere!

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Q: We’re here to talk to Mr. Fredricksen’s dog, Dug.

Dug: Hi there! I just met you. You are nice, I like you! Do you have peanut butter?

Q: No, sorry. I don’t have any right now.

Dug: I am on a mission to find some. It is my favorite. Oh, you are tall.

Q: Yes, thanks. So tell me, do you have friends?

Dug: Oh, yes. I have many friends. There’s Alpha. There’s Beta and Gamma and Epsilon…and Theta—I do not like him. He is smells of bugs—and Kappa and Lambda…

Q: Okay…

Dug: Omicron…Sigma. Delta..

Q: I think we’re good. We got it. What I meant was do you have people friends?

Dug: Oh, yes, I like people. People are nice. Like my new master.

Q: Tell me about him.

Dug: Yes, yes, my new master, not like my other master, no. My new master is very nice. He smells of prunes. He found me while I was on a special mission! I was lost and sad in the fog. The fog makes me sad. Then I was happy to find him! He and Russell are very nice. They have a house with balloons. They like my howling and barking. Can you bark? We can bark together like this, “Woof! Bark! Bark!” Do you want to try howling?

Q: I can’t right now but maybe later. Tell me about your special mission?

Dug: Oh, yes. My pack sent me on a special mission all by myself. And when I found my new master and Russell I found the bird! I wanted to take the bird back to our camp and make him my prisoner—SQUIRRELL!– It was my first time to see the bird up close.

Q: Tell us about your old master.

Dug: He is good and smart my old master. He made me this collar so that I may talk. I am good at talking. I am scratching now. There are fleas. Can you reach under my jaw? I am a good tracker. When I am on a scent I will find what I’m looking for. That’s why my master sends us out—to track the bird. He’s been looking for this bird a long time.

Q: Thank you for talking to us, Dug.

Dug: You are nice. I like you. I am going now. Have you seen the bird? I think I lost the bird and my new master in the trees. The bird is fast and he is tall. You are tall. Do you have any peanut butter?