Big Idea EntertainmentThe characters in this DVD are familiar to most; an Italian toymaker Gelato (Larry the Cucumber) and his assistant Cricket (Khalil the Caterpillar).  Gelato has no family (with the exception of some ducklings) to call his own and after receiving a piece of pistachio wood, carves himself a son; Pistachio (Junior Asparagus).

Little Pistachio however, does not want to listen to Gelato his father and gets himself entangled into a whole lot of trouble.

Combining the classic tale of Pinocchio and the parable of The Lost Sheep from the Bible, Pistachio is a lesson filled DVD about the importance of listening to your parents.

Click to read more ...

Comedy is waiting for your family in the new 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD and Blu-Ray 'Aliens in the Attic'.

It’s summer vacation, butthe Pearson family kids are stuck at a boring lake house with their nerdyparents.  That is until feisty, little, green aliens crash-land on theroof, with plans to conquer the house AND Earth!  Using only their wits,courage and video game-playing skills, the youngsters must band together todefeat the aliens and save the world -- but the toughest part might be keepingthe whole thing a secret from their parents!

Favorite actors like Ashley Tisdale and Austin Robert Butler for the young viewers and Doris Roberts and Kevin Nealon for us "older" viewers.

Amber and Hubby laughed hilariously at the slapstick mind control.  And one can't help but love the little sister and her sock monkey.  Amid the comedy hi-jinx there are even a couple of lessons learned.

We watched this with a group of Girl Scouts this past week-end and the middle school/high school aged girls (and their troop leaders!) enjoyed it too.

This PG DVD is family approved by the Dove Foundation, which always is a plus in my book.  Movies approved by them mean that if I am unable to watch with my daughter and her friends, I can pretty confident that it is alright for them to watch on their own.

Some of the DVD and Blu-Ray bonus features include

• Introduction to the film by Ashley Tisdale
• Gag reel (always a favorite in our home)
• Meet the Zirkonians

And More!!!  The Blu-Ray includes a digital copy of the movie so you can watch in on a laptop or upload it to your Ipod too!

Take a peek at a trailer

I was provided a complimentary copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition from One2One Network for the purpose of this review post.

 

Seriously, all three of us huddled around the computer when the webcast started, and when the video was played for a second time, we were still there watching!

 

Timon and Pumbaa engage with chalk drawings,their ever witty humor and catchy tunes, to share the importance of Fire Safety in your home and community.

Did you know that Sunday, October 4 kicks off Fire Safety Week?  And a perfect thing for you do to with your kids is watch a short trailer of the 12 minute dvd at http://www.safetysmartdvd.com/.

There is also A Fire Safety Smart Super Challenge at UL in their kids section that is a great reinforcement for safety rules.  The Safety Smart Super Challenge also has quizzes for other areas as well.

UL's business is to help make sure that the products you buy are safe to operate and use.  They smash, burn, explode (sounds like a fun job doesn't it!) and basically they trash the products before you buy them, so they can help your world be a safer place.

If you've ever been to Epcot at Disney World you will recognize UL as a the sponsors of the Test The Limits Lab in Epcot's Innoventions.  We always have a great time stomping to get the doors closed, trying to shatter a t.v. and attempting to smash a firefighters helmet.  Kind of gives you a taste of what Underwriters Laboratories do everyday!

 

 

To enter this giveaway visit UL's Facts and Figures page and comment with something you learned about the hazards that face our children and a solution to help prevent injuries.

 

For extra entries you can (please leave a new comment for each additional entry):

1. Follow Me on twitter and tweet this giveaway (this can be done daily!) you can tweet "@threedifferent Be one of ten winners for Wild About Safety Starring Timon and Pumbaa: Safety Smart Goes Green DVD! http://bit.ly/8ybrd"
2. Subscribe to my feed via reader or email
3. Follow my blog publicly
4. Add my button to your blog
5. Post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to it

This giveaway will end on October 15, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and is open to U.S. Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

"The Zula Patrol" is an animated astronomy and science show for kids that airs as part of NBC's Saturday morning lineup, and on public t.v. stations during the week.

The colorful and diverse aliens that make up the Zula Patrol, fly across the galaxy, discovering all kinds of interesting things.

I received both the “The Zula Patrol: Animal Adventures in Space” (released in June ’09) and “The Zula Patrol: Moons Mayhem” (released on Aug. 25) to review.

Here is a synopsis of each DVD.

In The Zula Patrol: Animal Adventures in Space!, the team explores how insects, reptiles, mammals, plants and rocks form and interact with each other. In Larvae or Leave Me (the first episode), Skip the grasshopper can’t find his friend Wriggly the caterpillar – until he discovers, with help from The Zula Patrol, that Wriggly has transformed into a beautiful butterfly! Four additional stories on the DVD are: Egg Hunt, There Goes the Neighborhood, Choosing Sides and Camp Worm. No job is too big for The Zula Patrol, as they search for stolen frog eggs, help restore life to a canyon ecosystem, solve the mystery of the missing honey, and tunnel through dirt with their worm comrades to help the trees grow – and end up thwarting a threatened “alien invasion” from another planet.

The Zula Patrol: Moons Mayhem follows the intrepid team from Zula in six humor-filled stories that begin with a challenge, and end with a resolution, as they explore the fascinating, often volatile world of moons. The episodes include: Moon Struck, Blue Moon, Going Through a Phase, Moons Mayhem, Three Ring Gorga and Me, Myself and Io. It’s non-stop lunar adventure for The Zula Patrol, as they as they rescue a turbulent Venus, who is on a quest to acquire a moon of her own; discover the many moons of Jupiter during Jupiterfest; explore the composition of the surface of Earth’s moon; help save Bula from an awful Were-Mouse curse, and thwart Dark Truder’s nefarious plan to steal all the moons within the solar system.

My thoughts:

I had never heard of this t.v. series or the DVDs prior to my reviewing them. I'm always on the lookout for products for my sister's children and to share with my friends who have younger children. So I was eager to check these out.

There is a lot of good science fact in these shows. I especially liked the episode about Jupiter's moon, Io. I learned a lot from it and would even consider having my middle schooler watch it if we had a homeschool lesson geared around planets or astronomy.

HOWEVER, if you, like our family, believe in a universe created by God, and a young universe (not billions of years old), then I suggest you watch the episodes before allowing you children to view them. Not all the episodes are written from a non-creation perspective, which is why I suggest previewing them. The episodes that don't mention the way things came to be or time frames, are very good from an education stand point. We found the episodes we had no issue of theory with, were as entertaining as they were educational.

For those of you who homeschool or are teachers there is even some curriculum to use at TheZulaPatrol.com. (On the upper left hand corner of the page called Zula School Curriculum.)

To complement these DVDs, ZulaWorld.com has games and activities for your child to particpate in. Kids can create an alien of their own and give them a name, which is their icon throughout their time online. The base activities are free, but to access higher level activities there is a charge.

The Zula Patrol DVDs are appropriate for ages 4 and up, while ZulaWorld.com is geared for a little older kids.

To enter for a chance to win a set of two Zula Patrol DVDs OR one of ten free ZulaWorld.com VIP Memberships for one month, leave a comment here letting me know who your children's favorite Zula Patrol character is or if they have never seen them before which DVD you think they'd like best. (The first chosen comment by Random.org will win the dvds, the next ten will win the ZulaWorld.com VIP Memberships).

Get extra chances to win by: (the above entry must be completed first before any additional entries will be accepted) Leave an additional comment for each that you are eligible for.

1. linking to this giveaway on your blog
2. subscribing to Three Different Directions feed by e-mail or reader
3. following Three Different Directions publicly
4. following me on twitter and tweeting this contest. (this can be done daily)
   

This giveaway will end on September 23, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and is open to U.S. Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews statement at the bottom of this page and my Privacy/Rules declaration and agree to them.

I don't know how many of you have PBS on during the day, it's been a while for me, but I have recently learned about a kid named Sid who hangs out there. He's a puppet (of sorts) that likes....science. Hence the show is entitled Sid the Science Kid.

Standing behind the show is the name Jim Henson, and while Sid is not cloth and strings, rather he was created by digital means, he resembles those other famous puppets by the well loved company.
I received the DVDS from the Sid the Science Kid series "Change Happens" and "The Bug Club" to review in our home, and I was quite excited at the prospect of reviewing them with my preschool nephew. However, their visit was put on hold (sigh). So I took the trusted opinion of my daughter's best friend's brother (who is 3 1/2), that the show is liked by preschoolers ☺.
The joke of the day was one of my favorite parts. Take a peek at Sid.

Now on to the Submarine.

Dive Olly Dive is one of the offerings on PBS Sprout. As soon as I saw the cover of the "Ship Shape Sub" DVD that was sent, I immediately thought that the little ones that watch shows about trains and jet planes would probably like this too. In this series preschoolers follow the adventures of Olly and his sub friend Beth.

The show is incredibly visual. The colors and characters are bright and appealing, as is the backdrop of the ocean and reef. More importantly as a Mom I appreciate the story lines of the episodes and the valuable lessons the show teaches.

These DVDs are to be released on Tuesday August 4th. But one of my readers will have the chance to win them!

An easy entry for your first one, just mention in the comments who you want to win this for.

To earn extra entries, you may do any of the following. Leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed by e-mail or reader
* Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway - I've made it easy for you just use the re-tweet button in the upper corner of this post and leave a link to your tweet in the comments.
* Blog about this giveaway with a link back here.
* Place my button in your sidebar
* Follow my blog publicly

This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+, and will end on August 8, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to the winning e-mail or a new winner will be chosen.

Please read **About Reviews at the bottom of the page. I was provided the DVDs "Sid the Science Kid: Change Happens", "Sid the Science Kid: The Bug Club" and "Dive Olly Dive: Ship Shape Sub" in order to watch prior to writing this review. By entering my giveaway you acknowledge that have read and agreed to my Privacy/Rules policy.

You know the saying "time flies when you're having fun"? Well apparently it applies to fun on the t.v. too. Who can possibly belive that Nickelodeon's SpongeBob is 10 years old?!?!

Now I know not everyone is a fan of this undersea dweller, but personally, I find him and his cohorts entertaining. Besides my love for one unnamed iconic mouse, SpongeBob is a kitchen/sea creature after my own heart, and I have the licensed oven mitts, tea towels and pajamas to prove it. But I digress... I was told I could review the all-new DVD release -- SpongeBob SquarePants: To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants and found myself stalking the delivery people that came to my home until it arrived.

The new season of SpongeBob SquarePants that began on July 17th, started off with the first episode on this DVD that was released yesterday at retailers. The crazy adventure starts with SpongeBob having a laundry mishap that results in him having no pants to wear. With the store being all out of "Square" pants (gasp) SpongeBob takes a leap and buys a pair of "Round" pants.

The story is weak, but funny as SpongeBob and Squidward bond on the job as SpongeBob "RoundPants" emerges as a "new" employee at the Krusty Krab.

Other memorable episodes round out the DVD to provide pure entertainment and enjoyment.

If you're looking for a plot line of substance or a story with value, move on there is none of that here. However, if silly humor, dumb jokes and just plain goofy are up your aisle, 88 minutes of it are waiting for you on SpongeBob SquarePants: To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants. You can pick this up for an ARV of $16.99 at most retailers nation wide.

Imagine a movie (rated PG) that is one giant parody of sci-fi and super hero movies, that your whole family can watch together, and you might even catch your tween or teen suppressing a few laughs.

In Super Capers, Ed Gruberman (played by Justin Whalen) is a super hero wanna-be who joins up with the Super Capers, an odd ball team of aspiring super heroes, to fight crime.

Decent visual effects don't cover up the silliness, but this is intended to be a family show unlike most spoofs produced and I don't think the writer/director Ray Griggs had any sights set on an Oscar for this movie.

Amber and her friend initially reviewed this copy sent to us and I had no problem allowing them to watch it with me not in the room or without having previewed it since it has received The Dove Foundation Family Approved Seal.

Their giggles while viewing it assured me there is still a place for movies geared for kids that don't need to be paused or filtered.

If your family enjoys comedies and goofy humor I recommend this for watching.

Super Capers will be released on July 21st, 2009 and is available for pre-order now. To see a trailer and more about the movie visit www.supercapers.com.

Please read **About Reviews at the bottom of this page.

Move over Mystery Inc. there's a new game in town. Adina's Deck is a group of 8th grade girls, thrown together through a circumstance of cyber-bullying and make a club where they are determined to defend the innocent and root out the guilty, using their technology skills.

I actually came across these dvds while doing a search on the internet for games to play with a deck of cards. I was impressed by the video trailers and the topics the dvds were based on and bookmarked the site. I found myself gravitating back to it the next day, and sent an e-mail to Debbie Heimowitz one of the founders of the series, along with Jason Azicri, asking if I could review these for my blog.

As a mother of a teenager I'm concerned about what takes place on the internet. Amber is involved in message boards, facebook and forums. We try and watch who she talks with and what she says, but on the other side there is a point to where we have to trust her as well. We are constantly pitching the lectures advice of how to stay safe online, but in all reality we realize that a lot of times she is probably tuning us out. Often our children will listen or take heed of an issue from another source, especially if it is from someone or something that resembles their peer group. Adina's Deck is just such a resource.

Two episodes of Adina's Deck deal with safety and the consequences of cyber-bullying and an online crush. Issues that are very prevalent for today's tweens and teens. Since technology is often given to very young children they are immersed early on in situations that often require more maturity than they have. The lessons these dvds teach is that there are consequences to both sides of the issues and when in doubt talk to an adult about it.

The third episode is the one that really caught my eye. It is about plagiarizing. As a homeschooling parent there are certain topics that I know need to be dealt with, but sometimes don't get discussed because of the schooling situation we've chosen. One of them is plagiarism. We've just started delving into research papers as we round out middle school and are preparing for many more in high school. With the internet becoming more and more of a source of information, teaching our children to cite and record their findings is very important. Not just because they may get caught, but because it is theft.

I think these dvds are right on the mark and are up to date with the issues they cover as well as the portrayal of the characters. They are perfect for a group setting (classrooms, homeschool co-ops, girl scouts etc) or home viewing. They are very well done and resemble the shows your tween or teen may already watch on Nickelodeon or The Disney Channel. They've been officially picked for many film festivals and have won awards. There is enough humor in them to keep the kids watching through the entire episode and plenty of meat in them to discuss the topics with them afterward.

Each dvd is $19.95 or you can purchase the 3 as a set for $39.95.

This is what Amber thought: The characters were really good, the issues are serious but they are put out in such a way that makes them enjoyable, and I really liked Clara's dad's sock puppet.

(Umm..yeah, the sock puppet if you want to know more about that, I guess you'll have to get the dvds!)

Please read **About Reviews at the bottom of the page.

Debbie Heimowitz is generously giving away a set of the 3 dvds to a reader here on my blog!

To enter the giveaway visit Adina's Deck and tell me who would be watching this dvd and which one they think they'd like best (please give the full name of the dvd).

For Extra Entries:

1. Leave a comment with an idea you would like to see for a future episode of Adina's Deck.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (this can be done daily).
3. Blog about this giveaway leaving a link back to my blog.
4. Add my button to your blog.
5. Follow my blog publicly.

This giveaway is open to residents of the US ages 18+, and ends on July 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst.

What a fun title for an educational dvd. Can you really say that you do not find the words of "mushroom" "good" "bad" and "deadly" together intriguing? When I was given the opportunity to review this dvd it was at a great time since we are currently taking biology in our homeschool science class and this obviously fit right into the Kingdom of Fungi which we are studying. So during our science class the other day we popped this in to our dvd player and sat back to watch. Now keep in mind that this is an educational informational dvd and so it can be little overwhelming with all the terms and names given out , but it proved to be a rewarding hour for both Amber and myself.

Taylor Lockwood the man behind this dvd is an internationally acclaimed nature photographer specializing in beautiful and exotic mushrooms and other fungi from around the world. This his newest dvd The Good, the Bad and the Deadly, teaches the basics about toxic mushrooms and their edible look-alikes. If you think mushrooms are dark, slimy and dirty your mind is about to be changed...

Lockwood educates in a very fun style and the photos and video that are shown on the dvd are beautiful. Amber thought she was going to be bored when she watched this but was surprised at how well Lockwood kept her attention. The only thing she said was tough to watch about it was the large Latin classification names of the mushrooms that Lockwood says as if they were common table speak. ☺ Truly, I was amazed at not just the huge variety of mushrooms out there, but by how many absolutely colorful, beautiful and interesting kinds there are too. It is really an interesting educational dvd, and well worth spending an hour watching.

The basis of the dvd is to educate anyone and everyone on the differences of "good", "bad" and "deadly" mushrooms. So you're saying "Well I'm not planning on picking mushrooms anytime soon", and perhaps not. But do you have a yard? Children? Pets? If you said yes to any of those it might bode you well to watch this. This is also a great supplement to a homeschool science class.

Lockwood can help you identify whether or not those mushrooms in your yard are a hazard to your family or pets. Or who knows he just might make a mushroom hunter out of you! ☺

And to show you just how much I learned the Smurf's homes (you know the red capped mushrooms with the white spots?) Bad mushrooms! ☺

Taylor Lockwood is sponsoring a giveaway for one of my blog readers to get their own copy of The Good, the Bad and the Deadly for their very own.

To enter visit Taylor's shop Kingdom of Fungi and leave a comment telling me what other product beside the review dvd interests you.

For extra entries (the above must be completed first): Leave a comment for each you complete

1. Leave a comment telling me whether you are a mushroom hunter or not.
2. Subscribe to my feed via e-mail or reader.
3. Follow my blog publicly
4. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway.
5. Blog about this giveaway and link both to my site and to Kingdom of Fungi.
6. Add me to your blog roll
7. Add my button to your site

This contest will end on June 26th 2009 at 11:59 pm cst, open to U.S. residents ages 13+.

Join in share with us!!

This week's movie topic is all about Your Collection...

We would like a glimpse into your collection of movies. Even if you don't have a physical collection to share, you must have some stored on the DVR, downloaded onto the laptop or ones that you rent over and over and over. We'll show you ours if you show us yours! Don't be shy - share on your blog and link back here at The Bumbles.

Thanks Bumbles that was fun!

Math is a course that for the most part, either you get it - or you don't. I was one of the ones who didn't get it. Rewind 20 years, high school math was sheer torture. It did not help that my math teacher in my senior year, cared more about the students who were on the hockey team, than the rest of us. Private tutors were an expense my parents didn't want to outlay, but thanks to some good friends, I muddled my way through, and I do have a high school diploma!