tots100 film club

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.

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* )

tots100 film club

Scooby Doo Spooky Games Film Review

Where the Wild Things Are.