And Now Our Feature Presentation: “The LEGO Batman Movie” (2016)

Finally got to see “The LEGO Batman Movie” flying home from vacation recently. I had meant to see it in theaters, but movies don't hang around too long in the theaters here and I had heard a fairly lukewarm review from a friend who'd seen it, so I figured I'd wait for it to be …

And Now Our Feature Presentation: “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”

George and Harold are two imaginative elementary school kids fond of pulling pranks. They also created a comic book superhero named Captain Underpants from another planet where everyone just wears underpants and has super powers. Their principal, Mr. Krupp, is always trying to find a way to punish them for their antics, with his ultimate …

Kid Tested – Uncle Approved: “Penguins of Madagascar” (2014)

I'm always weary of spin-offs...but everything I heard about the cartoon was positive, even glowing in the reviews. So when the movie version popped up in Netflix, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Kid Tested – Uncle Approved: “Anastasia” (1997)

The animation is crisp and real, often blending computer animation with old-school hand-drawn cells. This is further illustrated (pardon the pun) in his 1997 film Anastasia.

Kid Tested – Uncle Approved: “The Good Dinosaur” (2015)

First published in the Holyoke Enterprise on December 24th, 2015. Do my wife and I attend matinees of animated films alongside parents with small children? Yes, of course we do. Duh. Especially Disney/Pixar films. After over a month in theaters, we finally made it to see “The Good Dinosaur” and while not their best effort, …

Kid Tested – Uncle Approved: “Spy Kids” (2001)

    First published in the Holyoke Enterprise 4/30/15   Who’d have thought Robert Rodriguez, the guy who brought us “From Dusk Til Dawn,” “Sin City,” and “Desparado,” would ever make not one, but four children’s action movies about a family of spies and their adventures saving the world? After directing “The Faculty”, his only …

Kid Tested – Uncle Approved: Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014)

First published in the Holyoke Enterprise 4/2/15 Hollywood loves remaking things. If it was popular once, it has to work a second time, right? No. The answer is usually a resounding no. When I first heard about Mr. Peabody and Sherman, my first thought was WHY? These are characters that first appeared in the late …