When “Sleep No More” meets Disney
Oct 14, 2011 What's Going On
The Ass and I went to a show a little while back where everybody in the roving audience had to wear a mask and remain completely silent. And I don’t think I need to explain why I have multiple sets of mouse ears (doesn’t everybody?).
So today, Fiona and her playdate were going through my stuff, and created a look that almost made me pee my pants (you hear that Hugh Jackman, I said almost!), but will surely haunt my dreams.
Hilarious.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Today’s agenda: spoiled milk edition
Jun 28, 2011 Today's Agenda
Well I’m not sure how much more excitement I can handle today because I’ve already had so much. I didn’t do the dishes last night before going to bed (actually, “going to couch” would be more accurate since I once again fell asleep on the couch and almost dropped my laptop), and as payment I knocked a glass of milk off of the counter. Since it had been sitting out since last night its awesome smell was spread around a huge portion of the dining room, along with glass that I’m still finding over an hour later.
But there are things to be done! And today is the last day of school for the kids, so it’s my last chance to get things done without them underfoot until they start camp in a couple of weeks. And today’s only a half day, which doesn’t leave much time. In fact, just enough time for a wax and a pedicure.
Later this morning I’ll be publishing part two of my three-part post on Cape May and Congress Hall (part one is here). You don’t want to miss this one, it’s mostly about food!
This afternoon the kids and I are going to a preview of new Disney products for the holiday season, and they’re not talking Fourth of July! I’m most excited to see the new Disney Animator doll collection. I’ll take lots of pictures.
I’ll also be publishing a review of the Stinger Indoor Insect Trap that I’ve been using for about a week now. Short version? It works very well and is worth the money but won’t take care of every bug.
Have a great day – it’s going to be a stormy one here in Brooklyn!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: Cape May, Disney, mosquitoes
Disney Cruise Line heads to NYC in 2012!
Apr 6, 2011 Travel
I just attended a luncheon at the beautiful Lighthouse Restaurant at Chelsea Piers, where Disney Cruise Line president Karl Holz (with some help from a special mouse) announced some very exciting news: in May 2012 the Disney Magic will be docking in New York City for three different itineraries: south to Florida and Tte Bahamas, north to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and out to sea for fun cruises to “nowhere.”
The eight day Bahamas cruises will include a one-day Disney World Park Hopper pass and bus transportation to Disney World while the ship is docked at Port Canaveral, Florida.
The Canadian cruises will stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia and St. John’s, Newfoundland.
This is incredibly exciting news for New Yorkers. I’ve cruised to the Caribbean out of New York and it was amazing! Instead of having to pay for plane fare and spending a day on each end traveling to and from Florida, we hopped in a cab a few hours before our ship was set to sail. Talk about convenient! I can’t wait.
After “summering” in NYC, the Magic will then head down to Galveston, Texas for western Caribbean cruises.
Bookings open on the 8th of April, 2011.
Thanks so much for sharing the news, Mickey!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 8. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, and Momtourage, and podcasts with The Blogging Angels.
Tags: Disney
Introducing Disney Junior, plus a giveaway!
Feb 9, 2011 Paid/Sponsored Post
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner, Katrina!
This post is a sponsored post in conjunction with the BabyCenter Blog Network.
So I’m sure this would be a difficult way to market to every single kid in the country, but my son Jake is quite excited that Disney is about to debut a new show named after him: Jake and the Never Land Pirates. It’s part of something new from The Disney Channel: on Monday, February 14th Playhouse Disney will become Disney Junior!
You can see some video previews of the new Disney Junior here. Disney Junior is made for kids 2-7 and will have a lot of the familiar content from Playhouse Disney, but will also feature several new shows, like Babar and the Adventures of Badou, about Babar’s eight-year-old grandson, and Tinga Tinga Tales, based on traditional African animal folktales.
They’ll also have a bunch of new short series, like Mouskersize, Handy Manny’s School for Tools, and A Poem Is… This last one was my favorite of everything that I got to take a sneak peak at. Each mini episode of A Poem Is… is narrated by Katie Holmes or Jennifer garner, and while they read, appropriate scenes from classic Disney movies are shown. It’s really sweet.
I just watched a preview episode of Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and it’s very cute. It’s an adventure series about three kids, Jake, Izzy and Cubby (thanks for that little bit of Mickey Mouse Club nostalgia, Disney!) who look for treasure while trying to outfox Captain Hook. It gives kids plenty of opportunities to talk back to the TV, great training for later in life when they’re watching sports. My favorite part, though, would be the Never Land Pirate Band, a couple of doofuses (doofi?) who crack me up.
There’s a preview site for Jake and the Never Land Pirates right now that has a bunch of funny music videos, an introduction to the characters, and some games that kids can play. The full site will be coming when the show debuts, which is at 8:30am on Monday, February 14th. To celebrate, I’m giving away a prize pack full of Jake and the Never Land Pirates stuff, including a Disney Junior journal, a water bottle, a tumbler, a Jake and the Never Land Pirates t-shirt, stickers and tattoos.
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me something you love about Disney.
For a second entry, you may tweet about this contest with a link back to this page. Or, you can copy and tweet the following:
The new Disney Junior and @SelfishMom are giving away a Jake and the Never Land Pirates prize pack, stop by and enter! http://bit.ly/eHc6Bu
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
So, that’s a maximum of two entries per household please! This contest will close at five-ish pm on Saturday, February 12th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Prizes may be shipped within the continental United States only. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 10 & 11. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, and Momtourage, and podcasts with The Blogging Angels.
Tags: Disney, Disney Junior, Giveaway
Disney’s Tangled: You’ll love it
Nov 23, 2010 Uncategorized
My kids and I saw a sneak preview of the new movie Tangled, and I’m thrilled to say that Disney has once again produced a movie that I enjoyed as much as my kids did. The story revolves around Rapunzel and her seventy feet of magical hair. She’s spent her life trapped in a tower, being “protected” from the world by Mother Gothel. Yearning to be free and experience life outside of the only home she’s ever known, Rapunzel embarks on an adventure with a dashing criminal, Flynn Rider. Add a stolen tiara, a determined horse, a couple of thugs, a very protective pet chameleon, and a kingdom missing its princess, and you’ve got all of the ingredients for a beautiful adventure with some gorgeous songs and a lot of laughs.
Tangled is a 3D, CGI movie, but don’t expect soulless faces and gimmicky special effects. It’s a lush, expressive, visually stunning movie that makes you forget it’s in 3D. Believe me, that’s a good thing. Coming close on the heels of Toy Story 3, another great example of how studios should use 3D, Tangled draws you in with its depth and detail, and never slaps you in the face with any “Hey, look at me, I’m in 3D!” moments. Rapunzel’s hair is almost a character itself, and I shudder to think how many Disney animators went to the loony bin making it look so realistic.
Mandy Moore is just perfect as the voice of Rapunzel, both speaking and singing, and Zachary Levi conveys both unbridled confidence and tender longing as Flynn. Broadway powerhouse Donna Murphy annoyed me a bit when speaking Mother Gothel’s lines, and I can’t quite figure out if it was her interpretation, or just the way the character was written. But it doesn’t really matter, because she made up for it completely with her show-stopping number “Mother Knows Best.”
The supporting characters are all perfectly cast, but my favorite didn’t even talk: Maximus, the royal horse who takes it upon himself to hunt down Flynn. I get annoyed easily by talking animals, even when animated, so I’m very happy that Disney chose to leave all of the animals in Tangled mute, save for their natural animal sounds.
The best news for Disney is that my nine-year-old son loved the movie. My six-year-old daughter was a sure thing (Disney? Princess? Singing? Hair? No question she’d love it), but based on the commercials I’ve been seeing Disney is really hoping the boys show up to theaters too – they play up the adventure aspects of the movie much more than the romance.
We’ve actually seen Tangled twice so far (the first time was a fascinating early screening with a full story and score, but with the animation in different stages of completion), and my kids were riveted both times. And I sobbed in several places, both times. I laughed, I cried, I was moved…and you will be too.
Article first published as Movie Review: Tangled on Blogcritics.
This was posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, Momtourage, and podcasts with The Blogging Angels.
Disney’s “Tangled” giveaway, & a peek behind the making of CGI animation
Nov 1, 2010 Contest/Giveaway
The giveaway is now closed, but keep reading for a look at how CGI movies evolve, plus you can check out my full Tangled review here.
Last month Jake, Fiona and I had a very special experience: we got to see an unfinished preview of Disney’s new movie Tangled, which will be in theaters on November 24th. I wouldn’t want to see every movie this way, but it was an incredible look into how much goes into making a CGI movie. Tangled, when finished, will be 3D, but we saw it in a very different form.
We saw the “entire” movie, meaning the whole story. But much of the animation was not complete yet. Different scenes – and even different shots within the same scenes – we presented at different stages of completeness, including basic storyboards giving an idea of what was happening in the scene; very basic CGI renderings of the characters without their “costumes” (they weren’t naked, they were wearing basic bodysuits, and Rapunzel had a short bob); fully-rendered scenes that hadn’t been “lit” yet (no highlights or shadows); and finally completely finished scenes. There were even more “levels” in between these (I forget all of the subtle differences), and of course there was no 3D, but you get the idea.
I had a lot of misconceptions about CGI movies. I thought that once the computer animators “built” the characters and the set, that was it – they could just tell them what to do. Seeing the different stages really drove home how complex, hands-on and artistic a process it is and just how much work goes into it. Every piece of scenery, every detail is made first by a person, not a computer. The effect in this case is breathtaking, from the flowing hair to the incredibly detailed and beautiful scenery. I’m really excited to see the finished product in a few weeks.
What was especially great was that Jake and Fiona both loved it equally. Coming so close on the heels of another Disney movie the three of us adored, Secretariat, it’s so refreshing to see another movie made for kids but totally loved by adults.
I’ll write a full review after we see the finished movie. Until then, here’s a little giveaway to hold you over: three winners will each receive a Tangled t-shirt and a pack of Tangled character Silly Bandz. There are three different shirts so the winners will get to choose which shirt they want in the order their number is drawn.
To enter, all you have to do is tell me your favorite Disney animated movie. And if you don’t have one…well then you’re probably not wanting to enter this contest anyway. I mean seriously, who doesn’t have a favorite Disney animated movie? So leave your favorite in a comment on this post.
For a second entry, you may tweet about this contest with a link back to this page. Or, you can copy and tweet the following:
Want 2 win some cool stuff from the new #Disney movie #Tangled? @SelfishMom has 3 prize packs to give away! http://bit.ly/dvvYlO
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
So, that’s a maximum of two entries per household please! This contest will close at noon-ish on Wednesday, November 24th (Tangled‘s release date!) and the winners will be chosen by random.org. Each entrant may only win a maximum of one prize pack. Must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Prizes may be mailed within the United States only. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, Momtourage, and podcasts with The Blogging Angels.
Secretariat: a selfish mom’s dream movie
Oct 8, 2010 Uncategorized
The folks at Disney have a magic formula. They don’t apply it to everything (some of the Disney Channel stuff seems designed specifically to make me leave the room), but when they do, the result is magic: a movie loved by a 37-year-old mom, a nine-year-old boy, and a six-year-old girl. We saw an early screening of Secretariat (which opens today, October 8th) and it was fantastic.
It centers around Penny Chenery (a graceful and strong Diane Lane), a Denver housewife who takes over her parents’ Virginia horse farm and sees the potential in one particular foal. She has to balance her life and duties back in Colorado (house, four kids, very understanding husband) with her new role in Virginia. This was the aspect of the story I was most happy about, because I’m all about following your dreams. She was largely missing from her home for a few years while working on Secretariat’s career, and while there are a lot of missed moments with her kids, she ultimately shows them how important her dream is, and I think that’s such an important message: you don’t give up your own life and hopes and dreams just because you become a mom. Penny Chenery displayed selfishness is what I think is the best sense of the word
My kids had no idea who Secretariat was, so that added an extra element of surprise and suspense for them. But for the adults in the audience, we all know how the story goes, and that means there’s an extra challenge for the filmmakers. They make the most of the natural enemies in the story: Penny’s brother, who just wants to sell the farm and go on with his life; a competing horse owner, who is as brash and rude as Penny is bold and dignified; and Penny’s biggest enemy of all, the financial problems that threaten to take the farm.
That last one provided the only moments where my kids seemed a little restless. In the middle of the movie there’s a very dark stretch, filled with mourning and a lot of talk about taxes that bored my kids a little bit. That aspect of the story is necessary though, to show why Penny was willing to leave her family and work so hard to help Secretariat win. And once that part of the movie was over we were off to the races again.
Ah, the races. Definitely some of the best scenes in the movie. Thrilling is the word that comes to mind. Through excellent camera and sound work you really feel what’s it like to be the horse, to be the jockey, to be right there in the middle of the action. Five different horses were used to portray Secretariat, and his white markings were painted on every morning. The horses are just beautiful, and the filmmakers manage to give Secretariat a definite personality without trying to anthropomorphise him.
The acting is all fantastic, but besides Diane Lane the standouts are John Malkovich, hilarious as a slightly nutty horse trainer, Lucien Lauren, and real-life jockey Otto Thorwarth, who brings authenticity to the role of jockey Ron Turcotte.
The sad ending to this review is that my daughter was devastated to find out that Secretariat dies…about sixteen years after the end of the movie. She was inconsolable. Aside from that, it’s an uplifting story about following your dreams where they take you, no matter that you’re not welcomed into your new role, or that the odds are against you, or that you have to put other important things aside temporarily. Being fulfilled is just as important as taking care of others.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 1 & 8. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, Momtourage, and podcasts with The Blogging Angels.
Tags: Diane Lane, Disney, Otto Thorwarth, Ron Turcotte, Secretariat, Triple Crown
First they came for the implants, and I said nothing because my jugs were real
Mar 21, 2010 What's Going On
I was showering this morning and had 1010 Wins on the radio, when I heard the words “Disney” and “breast implants” in the same sentence. That doesn’t happen often. It seems that a casting notice recently went out for extras for the fourth “Pirate of the Caribbean” movie that spells out the need for actresses who don’t have implants. According to the NYPost.com, they want models with lean dancer bodies, size 4 or 6, 5’7”-5’8”, 18-25 years old. And no fake boobs.
I think the entire thing is hysterical. I spent a few years auditioning and doing extra work, and you get used to the specificity of the notices: ethnicity, hair color, body type, height, etc. However, I don’t remember one ever saying “no fake boobs.” How will they be able to tell? Well, they’ll be looking for jiggling. They’re going to look, they may even ask you to jump up and down, do some jumping jacks, who knows. No jiggling, no job.
Of course, Keira Knightley had no such issues when she starred in the original “Pirates” movie. She claims that it took 45 minutes to paint her cleavage on. In fact, boobs were photoshopped onto her chest for the “King Arthur” posters a few years back. She changed her mind by the time she made “The Dutchess,” and refused to have the posters altered. Perhaps she felt it sent the wrong message to girls. I admire her for that. Disney? I don’t think they’re trying to send any kind of message. It’s just casting.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information. Amy also blogs at Filming In Brooklyn, Behind the Screen, and the NYC Moms Blog.
Tags: Disney, implants, Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean
