little spirit:christmas in new york review

if you are the kind of family that likes to have a whole pile of christmas videos to watch leading up to christmas, you might want to givelittle spirit: christmas in new yorka look.

the context of the movie is two girls who have to go stay with their grandparents while their parents try to "work things out." this is the part that was a little troubling to me. i really hate for my kids to be exposed to anything that would raise concerns about the the possibilities of us remaining married. a taxi driver determined to have them for customers is given the responsibility of taking them across town.

as they are stuck in traffic, he tells them the story about a boy named leo who had a very special christmas as a newcomer to new york, thanks to a magical spirit that takes him on an incredible adventure. along the way, he learns the value of reaching out and making friends with the wide variety of people in new york city.

this video has incredible talent. danny devito plays the taxi driver, lucy liu and brian williams have roles, as well as brenda song ("the suite life of zach and cody") and freddy rodriguez ("ugly betty"). faith hill and duncan sheik make some incredible musical contributions (my favorite part of the show).

i can't say that this is my favorite holiday movie of all time but the kids really like it. they have already watched it twice. what i appreciate about the movie as a parent is the lesson that friends can be found in the most unexpected places. people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds can be our friends, if we ourselves are open to the possibility.

if you want to add another christmas show filled with good feelings to your list, you can definitely check out little spirit: christmas in new york.

i received a copy of this dvd to review from genius products and curious pictures.  i have in no other way been compensated for this review and the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own.  if you use this link to amazon to buy the dvd, amazon has agreed to give me a very, very small cut.

iron man: armored adventures (volume 1) review

if there was one video that bill was excited to see come in the mail it was iron man: armored adventures.  i have to admit that i felt a little thrill of excitement of my own.  some of my favorite cartoons growing up were batman and spiderman.  now i was interested to see what the adventures of tony stark would be like.

bill and i both really enjoyed this dvd.  tate would have liked it if we had let him watch more of it.  it is still a little intense for the younger set but he will definitely enjoy it when he gets older.  the story line is good, the dialogue is witty and the graphics are well-done.

the storyline differs quite a bit from the movie, if you watched it, because here tony stark is a 16-year-old genius.  he is able to come up with incredible technological marvels but an evil man wants to take his ideas and use them for weapons and war.  when his dad dies, this man takes over the company, leaving tony out of the loop.  it is up to iron man to fight tragedy, corruption and conspiracy, not only to protect his father's legacy but also to protect the world from some other evil forces that are seeking power.

he doesn't have to work alone, however, he has some great friends, jim rhodes and pepper potts who assist him with his "high-speed flight, high-tech battles and high-octane quests for justice."

my only reservations with this dvd series is that it really is better for the tween set.  i am not ready to let my kids watch them with us.  that said, i think it is a great series for tweens and adults alike! 

i received a free copy of iron man: armored adventures, vol. 1 from genius products.  i have in no other way been compensated for this review.  the views and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.  if you use my link to buy a copy from amazon, i may get some spare change from them...