24 November 2014 
Are You Ready?
posted by Lisa Leave a Comment
Here we are. The week of Thanksgiving and I haven’t given a single thought to what we will be eating on Thursday. Not to mention shopping for food. Oi, the crowds!
Every year we get together with another family that has become like our true family over time. They are there for us in hard times and share in our blessings. They will roll in on Thursday morning around 11:00 and we will begin the flow of food that doesn’t stop until around 7:00 in the evening.
Since we already had the whole turkey and dressing meal with our church family yesterday, I am going to skip that this year and we will do something different. Maybe burgers, maybe Mexican food. It depends on what strikes my mood while I am at Costco this afternoon.
I do love the freedom of going with my mood. It can be dangerous though. It could take me down a path like Alice down the rabbit hole. I see a pretty bottle of who-knows-what and my mind says “Drink me”. Then off I go and by the end of my shopping trip today we may be having tea and giant mushrooms for Thanksgiving.
I am also going to preview the new Hunger Games movie while I am out. My kids are dying to see it. Last week I saw “Big Hero 6″ and it was pretty cute. I don’t think it will become a family favorite, but I found nothing objectionable in it.
I have a lot of work to do on my book over the next couple of weeks, so my main focus is going to be that. But since my travel for the year is over, I plan to also take lots of walks with the kids and clean out a few spaces that have been much neglected. I noticed this past weekend that our pantry has things in it that no one has used for at least three years. I found a can of soup that I bought in 2009. It needs to go.
It’s always a struggle finding ways to organize packages that are odd shapes and bags of snack and chips. I will be spending some time on my friend Becky’s blog, Organizing Made Fun. She’s got some great pantry organizing ideas! I may also, if I think I can control myself, make a stop at The Container Store. It’s risky, especially when I have been “mood” shopping at Costco. The Container Store is my Kryptonite.
While many of you are preparing for Thanksgiving travel or a houseful of family, I am glad to be settling back and relaxing for a few days. I hope you have a wonderful time and if you need prayer let me know. Praying for you is what gets me through my own trials.
Thanks for stopping by!
Filed Under: Featured, Lisa’s Blog Tagged With: blog friends, Fall, friends, movie reviews, organization
15 September 2014 
What Makes You Smile?
posted by Lisa 1 Comment
There are three things that always make me smile….always.
1. The sound of my kids laughing together
2. Big, white, puffy clouds
3. Any movie with Doris Day in it
What is it about Doris Day that just makes you happy? And her clothes….oh man I don’t even care that they are all 60s and outdated….I would wear any of those things in a heartbeat.
Our weekend was beautifully simple. One of my daughters & I went to the city on Saturday to return her friend to the airport and see a movie. We previewed “Dolphin Tale 2″, which I really liked. For sure we will rent it when it comes out. I doubt we will see it in the theater though….taking 11 people to the movie is too expensive. It would come down to a choice between Dolphin Tale 2 or paying last month’s electric bill.
But I should go ahead and add dolphins to my above list because I always smile when I see dolphins. They are just so happy!
Since James had a big tax deadline on Monday he was kind of “gone” all weekend, so I took advantage of the time to myself on Saturday night by taking a simple course about Facebook marketing. I think it will come as no surprise that I ended up with a great big old headache by the end of the evening. Insights and statistics are not something I catch onto easily. I went to bed, but the headache rolled over into Sunday morning and by the time church was over I was ready to dunk my brain in a tub of ice water.
A friend at church asked me if I was feeling OK and I told her I had a headache. “Oh,” she said, “”Do you think it’s allergies?” “No,” I replied, “It’s Facebook.”
I came home and instead of the ice water trick I rubbed myself down with essential oils. There’s a great headache remedy that I really like and wish I had thought of it the night before.
I used the oils and laid down on my bed and watched a movie with my good friend Doris in it. Headache-gone.
Today I am all better and I hit the ground running, Literally. I went for my morning run at 6:30AM. The problem is that it’s dark now at that time and I am going to have to rethink my mornings. The possibility of getting hit by a car is not worth staying in shape. So I am looking for some new exercise DVDs. I love my TTapp, but I’d like to try something new so I can alternate.
This is my last week of peacefulness before the storm of travel hits. For the next 5 weeks I will be either traveling or having guests or my kids have activities. Our family calendar looks like a scrap quilt of appointments and plans. So my plan of attack is to sleep this entire week and hope for the best.
Have a good one!
Filed Under: Featured, Lisa’s Blog Tagged With: blog friends, Essential Oils, Girls, movie reviews
26 March 2014
Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers Around
posted by Lisa 14 Comments
This week for homeschool month I want to share some ideas for you moms trying to juggle teaching older kids when you have babies and toddlers around. It sure is a challenge….but you can do it!!!
Babies: When I had a new baby (which I did for almost 2 decades!), I always kept a rocking chair in the room where we did our school. That way I could comfortably hold baby and teach at the same time. I also would take school into my bedroom or the nursery when necessary. This season is really about being flexible. Take 20 minute breaks while you nurse. Relax and enjoy your baby.
Toddlers: Once they are big enough to move around and play a little, it’s a whole new situation. This time takes training and work and patience. Here are a few things I did while I was homeschooling and raising toddlers.
1. Teach them to play alone in small increments. Depending on their age, they can play in one spot with just a few toys for 10 minutes or so. I’d keep a special set of toys that are a favorite set aside for this time. I’d spread a blanket or create a spot where they have to stay, give them the toys and tell them to stay there until the timer goes off.
2. Fifteen minutes of sibling time. Yes, an older sibling can play with a toddler for 15 minutes while you work with other kids. It should be time with a purpose that is teaching the toddler and keeping them safe. This time is not for the older child’s enjoyment, but for them to serve. (I used a timer a lot during these years to remind myself not to expect them to be still and quiet for too long)
3. Work during nap time. Toddlers tend to have regular nap times that you can count on, so why not use a little of that time to get some school work done?
4. Tactile activities. Toddler respond really well to doing things with their hands. A 9X13 pan filled with rice or a sink with water and bubbles can entertain a child for 10-15 minutes.
5. Videos. Yep, I’m just gonna say it. There are some days when I needed to really occupy the littles to get a big chunk of school done. I tried not to do this more than twice a month. So if I was going to use electronics, I just tried to be sure it was “educational.” Here are a few fun ones:
*I Will Trust God (a sweet, simple message about trusting God)
*My First Signs (learning sign language)
*What’s in the Bible? (a really cute series)
*Creation Proclaims: Climbers & Creepers (a little older, but great lessons about creation!)
AND I am giving away a copy of “I Will Trust God” to one blessed winner!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This post contains affiliate links.
Filed Under: Featured, Reviews Tagged With: Giveaways, Homeschooling, movie reviews
20 November 2013
A Great Men’s Gift Giveaway and Fun Wrapping Idea!
posted by Lisa 33 Comments
This post is sponsored by HomeRight.
Who’s the hardest person on your Christmas list to buy for?
For me that would be my dad. He’s retired and has everything he needs. It’s my annual challenge.
So when the HomeRight people told me they were starting a new site called AutoRight with products for taking care of your car….I knew this was something my dad would love! He likes to piddle and clean things. Their Easy-Wash Stick and their Auto-Wash Stick would be a great gift for him and they are right in my price range!
But how do you discreetly wrap a long, thin wand with a brush on the end of it? I figured out a darling way and thought I’d share it with you!
I used disposable pans for the tops. They are easy to cut with scissors, so I was able to cut an opening for the wand to stick out.
For the Auto-Wash Stick (with a polishing top) I used pie pans. After cutting the opening for the wand I duck taped two pans together (I stuffed them with tissue first) and wrapped wrapping paper around the wand. Be sure to tape it to the wand so it won’t slip off. Then I twisted ribbon around the wand and taped it to the top. It doesn’t have to look nice at the top because it will get covered.
Next I draped 4 pieces of tissue paper on the round pans, like a lollipop. I finished it all off with a big bow.
For the Easy-Wash Stick (with a brush top) I used rectangle cake pans. It wasn’t easy to cover the pans. I wrapped them the best I could and in the end I hot glued wide ribbon around the edges to cover up the ugliness of the tape and extra cuts.
I also glued some little felt snowflakes to the bow to cover up some of the messiness. Then I printed out a sign for the rectangle and a tag for the round. At the bottom of this post I have shared a printable for the sign….in case you want to make one!
I love them so much I may have to make more next year just for my Christmas decorations.
And two of you can win one of these auto washing wands! Give it to your hard-to-buy-for person….or keep it for yourself!
Just enter below…..
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Click Here to get the Merry Christmas sign printable!
Filed Under: Featured, Reviews Tagged With: Christmas, Giveaways, movie reviews, shopping
31 October 2012
The Heart of Christmas Giveaway
posted by Lisa 40 Comments
With the world spinning around us, I love to sit down and watch a good movie with my kids and focus in on home and family.
When I got the opportunity to share a sweet, heartwarming, faith filled movie with you all I jumped at it. I watched it last week….it’s very sweet. With so few wholesome things to watch these days, I was glad for something the family could watch.
But I’d better warn you….it’s a tear-jerker. Have a box of tissues ready.
The movie is called, “The Heart of Christmas” and it is coming out on DVD.
The Heart of Christmas tells the story of Austin and Julie Locke, who are devastated to learn that their young son, Dax, has been diagnosed with cancer. With courage, determination and faith, they decide to give Dax one last Christmas – even if it has to be in October. When the community sees the holiday decorations and learns the heartbreaking truth, what happens next is a miraculous outpouring of care and support. The Heart of Christmas will touch your heart and bring home the spirit of the holidays.
If you’re interested in following up after watching the movie, check out The Dax Locke Foundation. They are working to raise $1.6 million for St. Jude. Amazing testimony!
Two of you can win a DVD for your family! Just leave me a comment and you’re entered. Simple as that.
This giveaway will end on Sunday, November 4 at midnight. I will announce the winners on Monday morning.
Filed Under: Featured, Reviews Tagged With: movie reviews
28 June 2012
Brave: Movie Review
posted by Lisa 22 Comments
The new Disney Pixar film, “Brave” was released last weekend. The previews caused me to wonder if it had a feminist agenda and too much teenage rebellion. But the main character’s red hair and the Scottish accents made me decide to at least preview it. And I liked it.
We will let our kids see it, but we probably won’t buy it when it comes out on DVD. Before I give you my pros and cons I want to be clear that I don’t think my standards should be everyone else’s standards. I just think everyone should have standards.
The good:
1. My very favorite thing about this movie is that it revolves around a nuclear family. Dad, Mom, siblings. The parents love each other. The dad isn’t an idiot. The brothers, while wild and out of control, are sweet. It’s hard to find a hit animated movie with 2 parents and a loving family.
2. The end…without spoiling anything I will say that lessons are learned and hearts change.
3. The scenery is amazing. I am amazed at how these gifted animators make a cartoon landscape look so gorgeous.
4. The hair. I know it sounds crazy, but that mane of red hair was mesmerizing. For me it was especially sweet because Grace’s hair is like that. (in brown, of course). Plus because Jacob does CGI I know how hard it is to do animated hair. I couldn’t stop being captivated by it.
5. The story was different. Lots of unexpected situations and sweet little moments that kept my attention despite the child behind me that kept talking loudly and kicking my seat (parents, please teach your children to be quiet during a movie…even at home….that way they will know how to do it when they’re out)
6. The men. This reason might seem a bit odd, but I loved how the men were men. They fought and spit and had wars. They defended their women and tussled on the ground and I thought it was great. Plus it was really funny.
The bad:
1. Teenage rebellion. It’s extreme. The main character is very hateful to her mother. However, it does turn into a lesson. I wouldn’t let my kids watch it over and over, but we’d see it once or twice.
2. Witchcraft. It doesn’t bother us, but if you are opposed to your children seeing witchcraft or sorcery you don’t want to see this film.
3. Cleavage. It’s the number one reason we won’t be buying this film. It’s only with one character, but it’s all throughout the film and very noticeable. We don’t let our boys see any movies that have cleavage. And you know, I wonder about this. Why is it necessary to show so much skin in a children’s movie? OK, I wonder why it’s necessary in any movie, but especially one made for children.
4. Potty humor. There are a couple of times that are a bit crude. Once a guy moons someone (you only see it from the front) and another time a long row of men are walking with no pants on and you see them from the rear….and you do see their rears.
5. Scary scenes. There are a couple of scenes with a bear that might be scary for younger kids. I didn’t think they took it too far and it wouldn’t bother my kids at all. But it’s worth mentioning.
All in all it was sweet and funny. The character were cute, the story was interesting and the animation was amazing.
If you’ve seen it I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Filed Under: At The Point Tagged With: movie reviews
Film Review: Race to Witch Mountain
posted by Grace 1 Comment
by Grace
When Vegas cabdriver Jack Bruno picks up two seemingly normal children in his taxi, he is plunged into an adventure he neither expected nor wanted. He just wants to stay within the law and do his job. But when he discovers that the children are actually aliens, he has to choose — should he help them with their mission to save Earth as well as their planet, or let the corrupt government officials and alien assassin catch up with them?
The Good:
Jack’s journey from reluctant nice guy to strong protector is refreshing after the slew of wimpy “heroes” in most films these days. Even when it endangers his life and his freedom, he decides to protect the children, and take responsibility for them, when no one else wants to help. He stands up for what’s right no matter what, and is rewarded by a better life in the end.
The aliens — a brother and sister team named Seth and Sarah — also present a pleasing contrast to typical Hollywood family relationships. They care about one another, treating each other with kindness, while their whole mission seeks to honor and assist their parents’ endeavors. When dealing with the sometimes skeptical or difficult Jack, they don’t yell or insist upon his help, rather, they speak respectfully and maturely. Seth’s doubtfulness and occasional contempt of the human race in general, and Jack in particular, is resolved beautifully when he asks forgiveness for his attitude.
The Bad:
The most glaring problem is the aliens themselves. While Scripture does not outright deny the existence of sentient life on other planets, some would say that the fact that man is made in God’s image excludes the possibility. Particularly when the aliens are superior to man, as the children in the film are shown to be. Besides having remarkable powers (Seth has the ability to control his molecular density, giving him super strength and the power to move through solid matter, while Sarah can control objects with her mind, as well as reading the thoughts of others), they are shown to be more intelligent, more practical, and more skilled than the humans in the film. The classic sci-fi premise that aliens are probably more “highly evolved” than man is clear, particularly when Sarah notes that “Humans have these abilities too, they just haven’t learned to use them.”
As far as content, the film is fairly clean. There is some very mild romantic content — when Sarah reads the mind of the female lead, and tells Jack that the woman finds him “very handsome,” or when a nerdy man asks the woman if she’s accepted his offer of a date. It was minor enough that I, personally, found it merely funny. There is some violence, though without blood, and some potentially disturbing situations (the government planning to dissect the aliens). There are also frequent intense sequences that might be frightening for young children.
Perhaps most disappointing was the scene where Jack and the woman, Alex, are driving along and Jack comments on the “luck” that has brought him to this place. Shaking her head, Alex replies that it’s not luck. I got my hopes up for her to say something about Providence or design, but instead she says, “It’s pure science. Probability theories.”
Hollywood still has a long way to go before they will be turning out any Christ-centered family films (if ever), but for the moment, my family finds The Race to Witch Mountain to be a clean, exciting film that we can all enjoy
Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: movie reviews
Do You Preview the Movies Your Children Watch?
posted by Lisa 16 Comments
James and I strongly believe in preserving our children’s purity and protecting their childhood. As parents it is our job to guard their hearts. This means that our kids don’t watch TV, read books we haven’t read first, play violent or sensual video games and they never, EVER see a movie that we haven’t previewed.
This summer there are several movie releases that our children have expressed an interest in seeing. It doesn’t matter how sweet the movie looks, it must have been viewed by Mom (or sometimes Dad) before any of them can watch it. They almost always pay for their own movie tickets, so it’s just a matter of me being able to preview it.
It takes time and money to make this happen. I have to pay for myself to go see it once, then pay for myself again if the movie gets my stamp of approval. I have to find a free afternoon or evening to get away alone, which isn’t always easy. Sometimes we just don’t have the time or money for me to see it twice, so we simply don’t see the movie. It’s just a movie. We wait for it to come out on Netflix which still means I have to find the time to watch it first, which I often do late at night after everyone has gone to bed. Then I watch it again with the children, at least the first time they see it.
I’ve already previewed 4 movies this summer and there are several more on the horizon. A couple of them we will let the kids see, most of them we won’t. Our children understand completely and I know if you asked them they would tell you they appreciate being protected. Sometimes, when asked if she minds being so sheltered, Grace will reply, “Why would I? My parents just want what’s best for me and that movie/book/show will still be there when I am ready to see it.”
It can be a pain…using my precious alone time to see movies that I have no interest in watching. I don’t mind. Motherhood is filled with doing things that aren’t my first choice of how I want to spend my time. I am happy for my children to be able to see a movie every once in a while, but not at the expense of exposing their hearts and minds to things we would normally shelter them from.
It is never worth potentially damaging your character for the sake of entertainment. Never.
Filed Under: Faith Points Tagged With: Child Training, movie reviews, movies
Movie Review: Meet the Robinsons
posted by Grace 8 Comments
by Grace
Meet the Robinsons is one of the most underrated animated films I’ve ever seen. I’ve yet to talk to any friends outside my family who have watched it, despite the heartwarming, engaging, clean storyline and endearing characters.
Lewis is an orphan who loves to invent things, but as he approaches thirteen years of age, he begins to despair of ever being adopted. He’s had dozens of interviews, but none of the couples seem to think he’s the right one for them. More than anything, Lewis longs to know why his mother gave him up as a baby.
Then Wilbur Robinson, a fast-talking kid from the future, shows up at Lewis’s science fair and begs Lewis to complete his invention. Lewis is skeptical until Wilbur proves his story by taking him to the future to meet his crazy, but loving and loveable family.
Join Lewis on a delightful journey as he meets the Robinsons and learns to keep moving forward.
The Good:
The main theme of the film — keep moving forward — was beautiful and well-articulated. As Lewis journeys through the story he goes from trying to regain the past he lost to working towards the future he knows he can have. And he realizes it’s up to him, as he’s told near the end, “you’ve got to make the right choices.” Also, seeing the future consequences of his thoughtless actions shows him how careful he needs to be about every aspect of his life. A little unkind action, a little unwise decision, goes a long way.
And the loving character of the Robinsons themselves is refreshing indeed in an age rife with dysfunctional, disjointed families. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and even those relatives that no one’s quite sure how to place, all live in one house, all eat at the same table. They share in each others’ joys, sorrows, and triumphs, whether it’s a successful business venture, or Grandpa finding his teeth. They embrace the lonely Lewis with a genuine love that is heartwarming and beautiful.
The sad story of the evil Bowler Hat Guy is touching and thought-provoking as well. He shows the inverse of the theme in a powerful way, throwing the blame for his wasted life on Lewis, rather than taking responsibility and moving forward. Once he is convicted of the error of his ways, his purposelessness is communicated very strongly.
In addition, the film is very, very clean. There is no romance, no violence, no language, no immodesty, no crude humor. A G-rated film with such deep and powerful messages is a rarity that I enjoy very much.
The Bad:
The main issue I have with this film is with the Robinson family. Sure they are loving and kind, and that’s a good thing, but the way they live their lives and fill their days is problematic indeed. Their philosophy appears to be “You should do whatever you want, as long as it’s not hurting you or anyone else.” Mrs. Robinson uses her life to teach frogs how to sing and play music–and it’s probably no accident that her son is disrespectful and irresponsible. One uncle claims that a puppet is his wife, while his children spend their days painting and skating. Another aunt and uncle dedicate themselves to playing with giant toy trains and shooting themselves out of canons, respectively. The father appears to be the only one in the family who is actually productive and does any kind of work.
The Bible tells us that he who does not work shall not eat, and also that life is about so much more than doing whatever you feel will make you happy. If you don’t have the Bible to guide you, then this lifestyle looks pretty good. Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s nice. They clearly have plenty of money, so what’s the problem? Apparently, you should only work if that’s what you, personally, like to do. If this is your philosophy, you’d better make sure there’s somebody in your family who likes to work, unless you like to starve!
As stated above, Wilbur Robinson is not a perfect son. He’s not horrible, but he is mildly disrespectful to his parents, and when he makes a major mistake by allowing the time machine to be stolen, he goes after it himself rather than talking to his parents about it. Besides not speaking well for his relationship with them, it was extremely foolish. He nearly messed up the future worse than it was messed up already. He does learn his lesson somewhat, but I wish it had been stronger, and that his relationship with his parents had been specifically addressed. Even his line near the end “I never thought my dad would be my best friend,” while sweet, leaves me wondering what’s so strange about his dad being his best friend?
As far as content, there were a few minor things that could possibly be objectionable. There are moments that might be scary for young children, involving dinosaur fights, people being wiped out of existence, and evil mechanical hats. One Robinson family member, Uncle Joe, is extremely overweight and acts in a way that may be upsetting to young children. While it’s beautiful to see families caring for their disabled, this guy is just plain weird and nobody acts like it’s anything abnormal, which could also be disturbing for kids. There is a mild alcohol reference when adorably dapper frogs with gangster attitudes visit their private bar. I personally found it funny.
The Art:
The story gets two thumbs up from me, despite the weirdness. It is full of delightfully unexpected twists and turns, including huge shocking reveals along the way. The setups and payoffs are quirky and well done. The characters are believable and endearing. It is well paced and keeps interest in the most skeptical viewers of my experience. There’s a little too much odd randomness, but it is overshadowed by the more careful story elements.
The animation is also very well done. Hair, clothes and textures are believable, the stylization is charming, and the humans strike a fine balance between being too cartoony and too realistic.
The color palate is well thought out, using muted autumn tones for Lewis’s life at the orphanage, bright primary colors for the future world with the Robinsons, and something in-between for the Lewis’s return to the science fair.
Danny Elfman’s music was perfectly fitting, and is probably my favorite of his. I’m not usually a huge fan of Elfman scores, but he did a remarkable job weaving the quirky and the sweet together in this fun soundtrack.
I didn’t think I could get through this review without giving spoilers, but I believe I did it. I would give this film a seven out of ten. It has its issues, as do all films this side of Heaven, but in my opinion it is very worth watching for its innocence, wonderful storytelling and very inspiring theme.
Keep Moving Forward.
Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: movie reviews
Film Review: Hop
posted by Grace 7 Comments
by Grace
Warning: this review contains spoilers.
A lot of kids dream of what they want to be when they grow up. Doctor, lawyer, movie star, acrobat, astronaut– but did you ever dream that when you grow up, you could be the Easter Bunny?
On Easter Island, bunnies and chicks work to make the candy for all the children around the world (well, except in China), and the Easter Bunny delivers them on Easter Eve night. But E.B., the son of the retiring Easter Bunny, doesn’t want to be the Easter Bunny. He wants to drum! Frustrated by his dad’s insistence, he runs away to Hollywood to pursue his dream.
On the other side of the world, Fred O’Hare is a failure, in his dad’s eyes. He hasn’t worked in a year, and no job is “quite what he’s looking for.” His sister’s help gets him a job interview and a really cool housesitting job, and things are looking up– until a talking rabbit shows up at his door!
Will Fred find what he’s looking for in life? Will E.B. succeed in his dream of drumming? And will the evil chick Carlos take over the Easter factory?
The Good:
I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the film was. There was little inappropriate humor, no language, no romance, and no violence. I also loved the relationship between Fred and his sister Sam. Usually Hollywood films represent brother/sister relationships as being fighting and hateful, but these two were affectionate, and Sam repeatedly looked out for Fred.
There were many good mini-themes in the film, though they were not always as strong as they could have been. The importance of loyalty is communicated when E.B. leaves his big drumming opportunity in order to help Fred. Fred himself goes from floating around without any clear idea of what his life should be, to articulating a goal and working hard for it. In the end, E.B. makes the decision to honor his father’s wishes, and become the Easter Bunny.
The Bad:
I said there was little inappropriate humor. One scene establishes that E.B. has the ability to excrete Jelly Beans. While I found this funny, it might be concerning to some. E.B. also makes a couple of references to him and Fred as “seeing” each other that could be taken as distasteful.
In addition, Fred’s family is far from a Biblically modeled one. His sister Sam has a career of her own, and his younger adopted sister Alex badmouths him multiple times. His father voices his disappointment with Fred frequently, but never gives him any direction, never offers to guide him through his confusion. Instead, he kicks him out of the house. While he told a younger Fred he was “destined for greatness,” he now wants him to settle for “any job.” While Fred is reluctant to leave, it appears to be only because he has no vision for his life, rather than because of love for his family.
The Easter Bunny idea itself is problematic, as it takes our minds off the real reason we celebrate Easter–the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Most children, when asked what Easter is all about, would probably answer “the Easter Bunny,” “Easter eggs,” “candy,” etc. Films such as this one reflect that attitude.
I mentioned individual good themes above, but overall theme? As far as I could detect, the film didn’t have one. Is it about following your dreams? No, E.B. gives his up, and Fred wins his more through luck than hard work. Is it about friendship? I don’t think so, at least, the climax of the film had more to do with E.B.’s drumming abilities than his loyalty. How about family? If so, it was a disjointed example– Alex and Fred are never reconciled, E.B.’s relationship with his father is never either great or horrible, and Fred’s dad never comes around until the last couple minutes of the film, when he says he’s proud of Fred. Why? Obviously, because his son is the first human Easter Bunny.
The Art:
The acting in the film was exceptional. Russell Brand’s portrayal of E.B. was hysterically hilarious, and my entire family found themselves laughing out loud throughout the film. James Marsden and Hank Azaria gave uproarious performances. The characters were quirky, and the two main characters and the antagonist were fairly well-developed, though secondary characters left me wondering what their motivation was.
In the category of story, the film barely squeaked by. Yes, it was well paced and timed, but it was constantly switching what it was about. Who was the protagonist, Fred or E.B.? And what was the film about again? Other story problems included an unconvincing climax, sudden goal shifts with no apparent previous motivation, giving away the twist of the film at the very beginning, setups that didn’t pay off, and a good sprinkling of what Blake Snyder calls Too Much Marzipan a.k.a. Black Vet. Worst of all, I was constantly asking myself, “What is this movie about, anyway?”
The integration of live-action and CGI was so well done it wasn’t noticeable. I never stopped and thought, “That’s an animated rabbit in a human world.” Despite the stylized animation, it blended remarkably well. The clothes and fur of the rabbits, the fluffiness of the chicks, and the stickiness of all the candy was convincing.
And as a lover of irony, I personally got a huge kick of the tough-talking evil Hispanic fluffy yellow chick.
All things considered, I would give this film a three out of ten. Did I enjoy it? For the most part. Would I recommend it? No. It was funny, but pointless. If you are thinking about seeing it, however, I hope this review has been help
Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Grace, movie reviews
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