DVD Review: Tom and Jerry - Tricks & Treats

Image courtesy Warner Home Video Inc.

Just in time for Halloween, Warner Home Video is releasing a collection of both new and classic Tom and Jerry cartoons on this new DVD "Tom and Jerry - Tricks & Treats", available September 4, 2012. This is the perfect alternative to a bucket-load of candy for your little ghoul or goblin!

Check out my full review at About.com!

Review: Robot and Monster

Image courtesy Nickelodeon Studios (c)

This is a fairly new cartoon from Nick, and I have to be honest, I'm in LOVE. Not only is it hilarious, but the animation is gorgeous, and the voice cast is to die for. So, grab yourself a plate of bacon (as it's only fitting, after all!), and head on over to About.com to read my review of this awesome new show!

The Hub's "Dog Days of Summer" event this week!

Image courtesy The Hub Network (c)

With summer winding down and school days upon us, The Hub is throwing a summer blowout party celebrating the best in pooch-themed entertainment all this week, August 20-25.

It kicks off tonight at 8PM ET with The Hub TV Network Premiere of "Hotel For Dogs", and continues every night at 8PM ET with a new Dog-tastic flick: Air Bud 3: World Pup, Scooby-Doo (Hub Premiere), Air Bud 4: Seventh Inning Fetch, and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (Hub Premiere).

Image courtesy The Hub Network (c)

Then, on Saturday, August 25, from 9-11AM ET, The Hub will feature a Pound Puppies marathon, culminating in a final brand new episode, "The Accidental Pup Star" in which Rebound excitedly sings and dances when her owner, Agatha McLeish (voiced by Betty White), returns home... but it may prove catastrophic when a scouting girl selling cookies catches her on video! Will the Pound Puppies greatest secret--that dogs can talk--be revealed to the whole world via the internet? Tune in to find out!

Image courtesy The Hub Network (c)

Finally, The Hub will announce the winner of it's online "Pup-ularity Contest" with the Happiest Dog in the World, as voted by you the viewers! Check out HubWorld.com for more information (although voting closed yesterday).

By the way, The Hub gets the prize for the coolest method of screener disc delivery I've gotten so far as a reviewer:

Check it out... it came in a film tin! Pretty sweet!

(I love the "Hollywoof" sign in the background. Hilariously adorable. Good work, Hub Network!)

DVD Review: Tiny Toon Adventures - How I Spent My Vacation

Image courtesy Warner Brothers Studios (c)

Remember the '90s? If you do, you probably remember Tiny Toon Adventures. It was a fun cartoon about the next generation of Looney Tunes characters: Buster and Babs Bunny, Plucky Duck, Hampton Pig, Dizzy Devil, etc.

Now if you were a kid or had kids in the '90s, you probably had VHS cassettes of Tiny Toons laying around your house. But, if you're like me, your VCR is long since dead, and you have lots of these cassettes looking for you forlornly from the boxes they occupy in your attic, and you kind of miss all those hours of tape you had of some of your favorites. Well, miss them no more, with the newest release of Tiny Toon Adventures - How I Spent My Vacation from Warner Brothers Studios.

Click here to read my full review of the DVD at About.com!

Cartoons For Kids Who Like Robots

Do you have a tiny robot fan running around your house? Check out my latest About.com list featuring the best cartoons for kids who like robots!

And, coming soon, a review of Nickelodeon's newest cartoon duo: Robot & Monster. I watched it for the first time today and fell in love! It features the voice of none other than Booger from Revenge of the Nerds, and their favorite food is bacon. What's not to like?

Image courtesy Nickelodeon Studios

Doc McStuffins WINNER! *Updated with consolation prize!*

Congratulations go out to..........

Image courtesy Walt Disney Studios (c)

Beth R.!

Thanks to everyone who played in my first giveaway! There weren't as many entries as I was hoping for, but I'm sure those will come with time. Stay tuned for more fun giveaways!

Beth, check your email! :) 

The rest of you who didn't win, I have a fun consolation prize for you and your children! Click below for some fun Doc McStuffins activity sheets that you can print for free!

Team Umizoomi Special: The Umi Games... and my interview with Donovan Patton!

Image courtesy Nickelodeon (c)

With the Olympics winding down, it would seem everyone has Olympic fever. Team Umizoomi and Dora the Explorer have caught it too, and will be airing special sports-themed episodes on Monday, August 13th.

The evening will begin with "Dora's Fantastic Gymnastics Adventure" at 7pm ET/PT, who is competing in a ribbon dancing competition, until Swiper the Fox swipes her new special rainbow ribbon! Will she get it back in time to perform?

Then at 7:30 ET/PT, Team Umizoomi steps up to the plate at the Umi Games. It's the biggest sporting event in Umi City and they must compete against special sports robots to win the Umi Games Trophy. They show us how math is at work in four different sports: Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, and Cycling. Will Milli, Geo, and Bot win the trophy?

I've gotten to see the Team Umizoomi episode, and it's a lot of fun! My favorite is the soccer match!

As part of this special event, I got the chance to chat with none other than Bot himself, Donovan Patton! I had so much fun talking with him about working with Team Umizoomi, his time on Blue's Clues, and more.

Click here to read my full interview with Donovan Patton at About.com!

Doc McStuffins: Friendship is the Best Medicine DVD Giveaway!

Image courtesy Walt Disney Studios (c)

If you're a loyal reader, you already know how much I love Doc McStuffins, Disney Junior's most popular new series. It's such a cute show and it's so different than any preschool-directed cartoon on the air right now. But here's the exciting part: Disney has given me the chance to host my first giveaway here on the blog! "Doc McStuffins: Friendship is the Best Medicine" releases on Disney DVD with Digital Copy on August 21st, but you can win a copy here from The TV Mom before it even hits shelves!

The new DVD features five shows with two episodes each. Plus it includes a cute activity book that is reminiscent of Doc's "Big Book of Boo-Boos", complete with character stickers. You will also get access to Disney's Digital Copy so you can take Doc with you wherever you go!

I've made it super simple to enter too... just fill out the Rafflecopter info below! The only mandatory entry is that you leave a comment on this post, using the comment form at the bottom, telling me which Doc McStuffins character is your favorite and then fill out the widget letting me know you did it. Personally, my favorite is Stuffy the Dragon, mostly because I know he's voiced by the former "Cousin Oliver" from The Brady Bunch. Ha!

Here's the "fine print" (which isn't going to be very fine because I don't feel like changing the font size): Open to US and Canada residents only. The contest runs from today until midnight on August 12th. I will then choose a winner and email them. If they don't respond within 24 hours of the time the email was sent, I will choose a new winner. I'm only being so strict with that because I want you to be the very first to have a copy of the DVD, and in order to do that and get it mailed in time, I need to know where to send it! All you have to do is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below. Answer the question by using the comment form *at the end of this post* (not in the widget), and be sure to leave your email address! Please note, the comment will not show up right away, so if you see the "comment will appear after moderation" message at the top of the page after you hit submit, it's in. The other entries will unlock after you do the first one. You have the opportunity to earn a total of five entries into the contest.

So that's it! Have fun with it! And good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Lorax on BluRay and DVD August 7th!

Image courtesy Universal Studios Home Entertainment (c)

The Lorax was the first film I took my son to as a Mommy-Son date in a theatre. He had already seen the 3D version of Star Wars Episode 1 with me and my husband, and had done well with it. A rainy day last spring, we decided to hit the early bird special and see it together while Daddy was at work. We actually had the entire theatre to ourselves. It was magical. If you haven't already seen it, check out my parent guide site on About.com's Kids TV & Movies page and read Carey's review of the film.

What I liked about it, was that it took the beloved story by Dr. Seuss further. It showed what happened when the seed was planted, and what happened when the Once-ler finally realized what the Lorax was trying to tell him. And Danny DeVito as the Lorax? Perfection.

However, today I'm going to review The Lorax on BluRay (also available on DVD and BluRay 3D) combo pack. I was given the opportunity to have a special sneak preview* of the BluRay combo pack from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and I have been spending the good part of a day playing with it so far.

The BluRay is loaded with fun special features, including three new mini-movies. There is your usual fare for special features: a deleted scene, concept art, screen tests, and behind the scenes interviews and featurettes. I'm a cinema geek in that I love seeing the "making of" segments and learn about the process behind he film I just watched, and the "Seuss to Screen" segment delivered.

There is a fun "Get out of Town" game (available only on the BluRay version) that I still can't quite get the hang of, since you use the arrow buttons on your player remote to move, and it's rather involved with having Ted jumping and changing direction to avoid O'Hare and his henchmen. Younger kids might get frustrated with it, but older kids will love it. I fared better in the "Truffula Run" game, where you guide the Lorax through the Truffula tufts while avoiding stumps. It has a difficulty level setting at the beginning which will appease the younger players in your group far better. "The Once-ler's Wagon" feature lets you play with things that fall out of the wagon when the Lorax kicks it. It's cute, but you run out of new things to play with very quickly. There's also a cute music video sing along to the Let It Grow song from the credit part of the film with pop up words to follow along with, and the artwork scrolling behind without the distraction of the credits, which lets you take in the beauty of both the art of the film and Dr. Seuss' original story.

The mini-movies are downright adorable. "Wagon Ho!" takes you on a joy ride with two Bar-ba-loots as they snag the Once-ler's wagon and donkey with hilarious consequences. "Forces of Nature" was supposed to be a scene in the film according to the little "Making of the Mini Movies" featurette, but they decided instead to take it out and let it be a stand alone tidbit, featuring the Lorax trying to scare the Once-ler into doing the right thing with the help of Pipsqueak the Bar-ba-loot. Finally, "Serenade" is about two Bar-ba-loots who want to win the affections of a cute girl Bar-ba-loot by engaging in a sing-off. I have to say, "Serenade" was my favorite of the three.

Other fun features include a tour of Truffula Valley and Thneedville (only available on the BluRay version), that lets you learn more about all the characters, watch interviews with the film creators or voice actors, and even learn to draw the Lorax and a Bar-ba-loot.

My drawing from the "How to draw the Lorax" segment... how'd I do?

My favorite special feature has to be the "Grow Your Own Truffula Tree", in which you plant a seed and the tree grows as you explore the menus of the disc. I kind of wish it was real!

There is also the opportunity, available only on the BluRay disc, to view the movie with "O'Hare Vision", which will interrupt the movie with special hilarious O'Hare commercials like the one presented to him in the film.

If you liked the film, the BluRay or DVD is a must buy. It's such a heartwarming film, and there is so much to do on the Special Features menus, it's definitely worth adding to your film collection. Plus all three versions feature a Digital Copy of the film to add to your iPad, computer, or smart phone. You can't beat having a movie to take with you on the go!

Finally, today the Home Depot held a special Lorax event, where kids could build a cork board and learn more about the BluRay and DVD. We trekked over to our local Home Depot in Grove City, OH to get in on the fun.

We're in the right place!

However, it was a very popular event, and when we got there, they had run out of the cork board projects. We were given a tool box to build instead. But TV Boy didn't mind!

Hammering away, while I secretly prayed he didn't hit my fingers!

Paint time!

Placing our stickers very carefully!

It was a fun way to learn about tools while making something we can actually use! TV Boy was so proud of his little tool box, and I'm proud I didn't walk away with any injuries. We're definitely going to start visiting the Home Depot Kids' Workshops more often now that TV Boy is old enough. It was a lot of fun, and FREE!

Be sure to pick up your copy of The Lorax on BluRay, 3D BluRay, or DVD combo pack this coming Tuesday, August 7th!

*Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Lorax on BluRay combo pack from Universal Studios Home Entertainment for evaluation purposes. All views and opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not in any way influenced by my receipt of the free disc.

Celebrate The Lorax on BluRay and DVD!

Celebrate the release of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax on BluRay combo pack and DVD August 7th by downloading a free Lorax Activity Sheet for your Littlest Tree Lover! Also, check out the trailer with a first look at the all-new mini-movies at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DXU1348PHg

A review of the BluRay and all its cool extra special features is coming soon to The TV Mom! Stay tuned!