Reviews

Scooby Doo Spooky Games Film Review

August 29, 2012 by Merry Leave a Comment

After last months less than successful film review, I was a bit nervous while choosing the film for this month, but settled for Scooby Doo Spooky Games on the basis none of the children would even imagine for a second I would watch it with them, whereas they might think I would go for a Dr Seuss recycling monster. It arrived while we were on holiday, so last night I invited an extra child round on the basis she might have something positive to say out of obligation… and left them to it.

My slight disclaimer here is therefore that everything I know about this films has first been filtered through two sugar loaded, over tired 12 year olds… but I can't see that being a problem 😉

The basic premise here appears to be a set of episodes of which one is a Scooby themed London Olympics (are we allowed to type that yet?) episode where Shaggy finds himself running in the Olympics while Fred pole vaults for King and country to show off. And it's all in American accents. (I don't think the children noticed that and I was at a distance large enough to allow me to live with it). And it made them laugh a lot, which is always a good sign. There is another episode which combines all sorts of cartoon characters in it, including Yogi and the Pink Panther. Both 12 year olds gave it 8 out of 10, knocking off a point for a lack of Smurfs, but conceded that was probably due to them being involved in making their own film currently.

I don't know what it is, but I love a bit of cross cartoon pollination. It's a bit like Doctor Who (DT, natch), Sherlock and Sam from Life on Mars all simultaneously appearing in a Children in Need special. *stops…. drools… continues…* It truly tickles my girls fancy whenever two unlikely hand drawn characters appear on the same screen.

Actually, can you imagine Sherlock meeting Doctor Who? And actually, oh god… in five years time, the inner city schools of the country are going to have 4 Sherlocks per class, aren't they? (Says the mother of a Benedict…)

Anyway, back to the job in hand. On close questioning, B told me she loved the cartoon but took away a point for it making something funny out of the Olympics as they are the Best.Thing.Ever and also for not being very realistic (again! Glad it's not just mine!) because there was no huge statue that came alive in the real olympics and they could have made that more life like if people just vanished. I didn't ask? 😉

Maddy agreed but said that as Scooby, Yogi and the Pink Panther are her equal favourites, it was impossible not to like.

So there you go. It made them laugh, kept them quiet, got the thumbs up and didn't get consigned to the “to be give to someone unsuspecting” pile. Result 😆

With thanks to the Tots100 Film Club.

Making some noise with Lego Friends.

August 6, 2012 by Merry 2 Comments

Josie was very lucky to be sent some of the latest Lego Friends range to review. Despite some of the initial household raised eyebrows about pink Lego in our house and on the Internet a large, Josie was so pleased with the last little set she received that she blew some birthday money on more of it. So getting a fresh set, in the shape of Mia’s musical bedroom the other day was a major bonus.

The new range concentrates mostly on outdoor pursuits and animals; while I’m no fan of gender specific toys in general, I do like that Josie has really enjoyed playing with this range in her own way. She’s naturally imaginative and likes to play complex games with bits of stuff, but she’s also a ‘set’ type of child. She doesn’t particularly mix things up and she likes toys to be represented by the things they really are, so she tends to keep her Lego friends in their own little box and enjoy building and playing with the bricks they came with. No mini figures are allowed to cross the ‘Friends’ threshold 😉 Gradually though, extra Lego has been allowed to make accessories and buildings for them, so it’s expanded her creativity, while letting her play in a style that suits her. A Lego figure with a drum set though, now tha she likes 😉

You can see the full new range (melting hearts at the riding school here!) on the Lego website. I can forsee the advent calendar, coming out soon, being a huge hit 🙂 As it happens, I’ve also been waxing a bit lyrical on the DKL site about construction toys, so there you go. Perfect 😉

Where the Wild Things Are.

July 23, 2012 by Merry 21 Comments

Apparently I misjudged my family in offering to review this particular film. On its arrival, I handed it to dh (who if you don’t know is called Max) and he immediately said “I hated that book when I was a kid. The boy is called Max and he wears a stupid suit. I’m not watching it.'”

Well, hello… Somebody has issues!

And he didn’t watch it either. Some people just don’t know when it’s time to get over something 😉

Bizarrely enough, I’ve never read the book. I can picture it very clearly on the shelf of my classroom at school but I was such an early reader that I turned up my nose at books with pictures. We’ve never had it in the house for the girls either. I don’t know why (it may be partly that I hate picture books a little bit to be honest) but it sits alongside Each Peach Pear Plum in my head as a classic I have never read.

On the evening I gave the girls the film to watch, Bene was being hideously fussy. I assumed, because the tend to quite like fantasy, they’d love it. I didn’t get to sit in the room with them because I had to quell a ferocious beastie of my own so I have to review it by proxy. That would be an excellent way to describe it if proxy meant ‘shoe horn comments out of children by coercion and threatened supper less nights’.

The story is of a boy (Max, yes, could be worse dear, I’ve met plenty of Alsatians with your name too) who is sent to bed without supper for misdemeanours involving a wolf costume (I got that bit from the Internet, the children were hazy on the details) and goes off into an imaginary land where he stares down monsters and becomes king before coming home to bed. I would imagine he’s improved by this experience. I am going to watch the film though, just to check.

The girls said “it was quite good that they made a film out of a short book but not enough happened” and followed that up with ” the special effects were good but it all felt a bit dark”. Maddy said “it was very good at making you feel like you were really there, the atmosphere was exactly how it should be for the story… It’s just I didn’t like the thought of being in it”. Fran said “I should have done something else” but she is 14.

Josie said (and I quote) “the costumes were very scary but I don’t think they looked like real monsters”. Honestly, I don’t know quite where you go with a statement like that 🙄

Overall opinion was that had they been younger boys who had read the book, they might have liked it more. Sigh.

We are, even if it is not immediately obvious, very grateful to have had the opportunity to review this film thanks to the Tots100 Film Club and very much appreciated being sent the DVD for free. I suspect my nieces will be gratefuller.

(Sally, seriously, I’m really sorry. I did try to extract positive things out of them but to no avail on this occasion *blush* )

Jumbo Garden Connect 4 Review

November 26, 2011 by Merry Leave a Comment

I’m not entirely sure why we don’t have Connect 4 in our arsenal of games at home; we definitely did, but I suspect it may have fallen victim to the plague of hapless and untidy girls over the years. It’s a shame, because it has to be the simplest and cleverest game there is – noughts and crosses mark 2 really – and even I like playing it. It’s one of those games that has lots of plus points; it is very simple even for little ones, it is quick and it teaches strategy and looking ahead.

I was very glad when we were offered a chance to review it for GardenGames although to be honest, I couldn’t really see quite how a BIG version could be any better than small. This jumbo size one is 75cm tall, made of green painted wood (with a bag for the pieces) and very solid and heavy. Given it is cold and wet outside at the moment, it wasn’t likely to be used outside even though that is the intention of it, but it is nicely made enough to actually look reasonably at home in our house 🙂

What surprised me was there was a lot of fun to be had from a jumbo sized set (ahem!) There were tournaments and hilarity and there was laughter and family fun. It pulled a lot of strings and has been played far more than a small set would have been. I like the look and feel (though I admit I miss the bobbled edges of the same sized pieces). Josie started off by wailing and losing every game but, as you can see from this game, has learned a lot. That’s her peeping delightedly through having just totally cornered Maddy and beaten her.

I think this would be lovely for a house with a big garden or one with lots of visiting kids; it’s a great summer party game, but would equally suit a childminder, a nursery or a school. I think we’ll probably pass this on to a local kids group eventually, but right now I don’t stand a chance at parting them from it – it’s much too popular!

Disclosure: we were sent this game to review for free. All opinions are genuine and my own.