New #MLP Season 5 Starts TOMORROW!

So much has changed for our Mane Six friends since we last saw them! Twilight has her own castle in the center of Ponyville, and the title of Princess of Friendship. Heck, even Hub Network has changed into Discovery Family Channel now.

Image courtesy Discovery Networks.

So, Pony-heads--Bronies and Pegasisters alike--are you ready for even more adventure in Season 5? Because I've had the opportunity to preview this weekend's first episode! No spoilers from me, but here's a quick synopsis:

Image courtesy Discovery Networks.

The Mane Six friends learn the secret of Twilight's new castle, and are led to an eerie village in the far east of Equestria. Something is strange about the new place (can you guess what it is from the image above?)... The utilitarian "utopia" lives much like a cultish-communist commune--very Orwellian "1984"--and has a dark secret. Twilight and her friends must figure out why they are being sent there and what they must accomplish.

Image courtesy Discovery Networks.

Strange magic is afoot here, and Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, Fluttershy, and Rarity must figure out how to save the day...

Image courtesy Discovery Networks.

... and THEMSELVES!

Be sure to tune in Saturday, April 4th at 11am ET on Discovery Family Channel (formerly Hub Network, check your local listings) to see what happens! All I can say is that it's exciting!

BOOK REVIEW - #Frozen: The Poster Collection

About a year ago, I was given the opportunity to go to Los Angeles to go behind the scenes of the blockbuster Disney animated film Frozen. I got to meet the directors, play in the rigging lab, even voice Olaf! It was an experience I'll never forget, and it forever made Frozen hold a very special place in my heart.

When Insight Editions contacted me to check our their new book Frozen: The Poster Collection, I couldn't resist.

The book is large and absolutely gorgeous. Each poster is double sided and printed on thick, high quality paper. The images included feature memorable scenes from the film, popular characters, and--my favorite part--foreign market versions of the film posters.

The images are stunningly high quality and show details you may have missed in the theatre or at home on your television. My camera couldn't do them justice, but I was most impressed by the fact that you can see the woolen texture of Anna's skirt! Just incredible!

 The book retails for $24.99 and is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon, linked below!





Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book for review purposes. For more information, please see my Disclosure tab.

Big Hero 6 on Blu-ray TOMORROW!

Image courtesy Big Hero 6 facebook page.

Are you ready to own not one, but TWO Academy Award-winning films? Tomorrow, Tuesday February 24th, Disney's Big Hero 6 comes out on Blu-ray combo pack and DVD! And it includes the theatrical animated short, Feast! Both Big Hero 6 and Feast won Oscars last night!

Images courtesy Walt Disney Animation Studios.

It's no secret that I am a huge, ginormous fan of Big Hero 6 and it was one of my favorite movies last year! Check out my full film review HERE.  The cats of the TV Household have been remiss since I saw it as I've taken to calling them "Hairy Baby" every time I pick one of them up! There are just so many great things about the movie. Thankfully, the Academy agreed! Congrats to the teams that worked on Big Hero 6 and Feast! Both awards were well deserved!

The Blu-ray combo pack features:

• Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD copy
• Feast theatrical short
• The Origin Story of Big Hero 6: Hiro's Journey
• Big Hero Secrets (check out a sneak peek on the Big Hero 6 Facebook page!)
• Big Animator 6: The Characters Behind The Characters
• Deleted Scenes

And don't forget to pick up Big Hero 6 on Blu-ray combo pack or DVD tomorrow!

Disclosure: A copy of Big Hero 6 on Blu-ray was provided for this post. Please see my Disclosures tab for more information.

MOVIE REVIEW: Disney Planes Fire and Rescue #FireAndRescue

Last night, the TV Family went to the sneak peek of the new Disney Planes: Fire and Rescue movie. I either haven't been paying enough attention or what, but I was surprised to see a 3D film from my friends at DisneyToon Studios (where I saw all my cool Pirate Fairy stuff!)... these folks are mega talented!

Image © Disney.

The 3D (we saw the "RealD" version) was stunning. TV Boy has never seen a 3D movie before, so this was a big deal to him. I was surprised he kept the glasses on for the whole film too, but that could have been my big speech at the beginning about having to have them on so it wouldn't hurt his eyes (a bit of a bent truth, but I guess it worked). However, remember that 3D isn't great for really small children's eyes, so keep that in mind.

The move picks up where Planes left off: Dusty Crophopper is a world class, high-win race plane. He's become famous for his speed and stunts. However, being an older model plane, when his gearbox fails and starts to disintegrate, a replacement part can't be found. I would say this is akin to the plane/car version of needing an organ transplant and being told you have a rare blood type. Dusty has to give up racing, but he is reluctant. When a fire occurs in Propwash Junction, and the old firetruck Mayday is slow to the rescue, Dusty volunteers to become a fire plane. He flies off to Piston Peak Park to train with an old friend of Mayday's, Blade Ranger. Dusty must overcome his new affliction and become a certified firefighter before the big corn festival back home.

We all thought the movie was pretty cute. There were a few good jokes for the parents, including a fire plane named Dipper who is the epitome of the "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme in plane form, voiced by Modern Family's Julie Bowen.

Image © Disney.

*Actual Dipper line in movie.

Also, be on the look-out for references to CHiPS and Howard the Duck. In the same scene. And featuring guest voice Erik Estrada. So much epic in one five minute segment. 

Hint: This is the scene of awesome. Image © Disney.

If you've been reading for a while, you know I'm a sucker for an "all star cast", and Planes Fire and Rescue delivered there. We have Dane Cook returning to voice Dusty as well as Brad Garrett (Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond) as his sidekick fuel truck Chug, Teri Hatcher as fix-it truck Dottie, and Stacy Keach as mentor and coach plane Skipper, but we get voices from Cedric the Entertainer, Fred Willard, Jerry Stiller, Patrick Warburton, Kevin Michael Richardson, Regina King (aka human resources lady Mrs. Davis in Big Bang Theory), another brief cameo from Brent Mustburger, and of course John Ratzenberger has a minor character (because it wouldn't be a Disney film without him anymore). That's just to name a few.

My favorite, though, is new fix-it truck from the fire base, Maru, voiced by Curtis Armstrong (aka Booger from Revenge of the Nerds, host of King of the Nerds, voice of Snot from American Dad, and Robot from now-cancelled Nicktoon Robot and Monster). What I find funny is that no matter what character Armstrong voices, animators seem to have a similar face for every single one of them. And they all look like Curtis Armstrong.

Tell me you don't see his face in Maru. You do. Image © Disney.

Finally, I was a little teary to see the film not only dedicated to firefighters everywhere who put themselves in harms way for the good of others, but to see actual firefighters' names listed in the credits. That was a classy move on Disney's part. 

To celebrate the movie, which premieres in theatres everywhere tomorrow, July 18, click the image below to download a printable activity book for your kids to enjoy! The movie is rated PG. It's a fun, heartwarming (no pun intended!) movie and perfect summer fun for the whole family!

Image and files © Disney.

*Disclosure: I was provided a free screening of the film for review purposes. Please see the Disclosure tab for more information. 

Our Trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop #MLP

To celebrate the season 4 finale of My Little Pony with Hub Network (which airs next Saturday at 10am Eastern), I and TV Boy were offered a trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop to make our very own pony friend!*

Our closest location is Easton Town Center in Columbus, OH. We were greeted by our Bear Specialist Amy and began our journey to making TV Boy a stuffed version of his favorite pony, Rainbow Dash.

This kid isn't happy or anything.

After we picked out our friend, we headed over to the heart station. All Build-A-Bear animals have a special heart inside that kids can choose attributes they want their new friend to have.

Making our heart

After that, you are offered the opportunity to add sounds and scents to your friend. We decided against a scent (TV Boy's room is smelly enough as it is! Ha!) but we did choose a sound: Rainbow Dash phrases. It includes "This needs to be about 20% cooler", which made me super happy. For the My Little Pony animals (or really any animal, I guess!) there is also an option to add the theme song.

Adding sounds.

After the sounds and smells, it's time to STUFF! We headed over to the big stuffing station!

Rainbow Dash takes shape!

Before the friend is stitched shut, you have to add the heart. If you haven't been to Build-A-Bear and plan to go, wear something comfy... adding the heart is a workout! You have to jump, spin, warm the heart, tap into a heartbeat, touch it to your nose, your heart, your head...

Making ponies is hard work!

And then you make a wish! For the first time ever, TV Boy made his wish silently, so I don't know what he wished for. Then you give it a kiss, and in the heart goes!

Now she has heart!

Once your pal is stuffed just the way you like it (kids can choose how soft their animal is or isn't), you head over to the bath station, where your animal gets a brush and blowout.

Taking a bath!

Then it's time to accessorize! The My Little Pony line has all the pony dresses from the show that are made for each specific character, along with some MLP themed outfits that any animal can sport. TV Boy went with the Rainbow Dash dress from the series and some sparkly pink sneakers.

All cool ponies need accessories!

Finally, you head to the birth certificate station, where you can name your new friend (we stuck with Rainbow Dash, of course) and fill out some information about yourself. Every pet has an individual identification tag that is stuffed into the animal so in case it is lost, it can be returned to any Build-A-Bear Workshop where they can get the tag out, scan it, and return the pal to its rightful owner. (I wish our loyal thrift store best buddy Doggie had the same feature!)

Filling out our information

Then it's time to head home in your awesome Build-A-Bear carrier, complete with personalized birth certificate, suitable for framing!

Going home with Rainbow!

The My Little Pony line currently in stores only features some of the characters: Rainbow Dash, Twilight (in Alicorn form!), Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Each pony is $25 and clothing and accessories are sold separately. Scents and sound options are also an additional fee.

Build-A-Bear at Easton

Right now, there are also mini friends to go with the ponies, featuring Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Spike the dragon. We ended up buying a Scootaloo to join Rainbow Dash, because of course you need a friend!

Pony friends!

I want to extend a special THANK YOU to our new friend Amy at the Easton Columbus Build-A-Bear location. If you're local, be sure to stop in and tell them The TV Mom sent you!

Thanks Amy!

Be sure to tune in to My Little Pony on Hub Network Saturdays at 10am Eastern, especially next week for the season finale!

*Disclosure: We were given a free trip to Build-A-Bear with a free friend in exchange for promotion for Hub Network. Please see the Disclosure tab for more information.

How Inspector Gadget Predicted The Future of Technology

Who hasn't sat around with their friends and argued about a cartoon? (Oh come on, you know you've done it too. Don't lie.) Recently, something along those lines came up in my circles of friends, and we began to debate what pieces of cartoon technology from our favorite shows in childhood in the 80's have since become not only reality, but commonplace.

And Inspector Gadget came up.

Dun dun dun dun dun Inspector Gadget dun dun dun dun dun HOO HOO!

Image courtesy IMDB.

Yeah, you know you just read that in the theme song. I'm that good.

Anyway, it inspired a great piece for my About.com cartoon page, which is good because I'm in the height of cartoon slow season. And yes, that's a real thing. I've found it happens every spring. Odd.

Check out the article here and come back and tell me the next show you'd like to see me take on! By the way, the Jetsons is already on my list (Rosie the Roomba, anyone?)

#IWantMyNerdHQ Home Stretch!

Zachary Levi and the Nerd Machine group are only two days away from the end of the #IWantMyNerdHQ campaign, and we all still need your help to get the word about about Nerd HQ and why it's awesome!

Image courtesy TheNerdMachine.com

Check out this video featuring three years of awesome Nerd HQ Conversations for a Cause!



Also, just released from my friends over at The Nerd Machine... 
"When we reach 333K, one third of our one million dollar goal, every funder that has contributed $5 or more to the campaign will be automatically entered to win the most awesome prize offered to date, a visit from Zachary Levi. That’s right, a funder somewhere in the Continental United States (sorry international funders) WORLD will win a visit from Zac in July before Nerd HQ. He will fly to the nearest city and accompany the winner and a guest to dinner.

And that’s not all.

After the city is chosen, all funders in the area are invited to meet Zac to say hello, grab an autograph, and take photos after the dinner with the selected funder. The Nerd Machine will find a venue close to the winner’s location that can accommodate the event, dependent on how many attendees want to come. When all the details are arranged, we will ask funders who live close enough to attend to RSVP so we can get an accurate count for the venue.

Remember, this incentive is only possible if we reach 333K during the campaign.

Go to www.iwantmynerdhq.com to support the campaign

- See more at: http://www.thenerdmachine.com/iwantmynerdhqupdate/#sthash.BeicvSjs.dpuf"

That's right, everyone who becomes a funder of the Indiegogo campaign is eligible to win a DINNER WITH ZAC LEVI!!! But it's only if they reach $333K by this Friday! Even just $5 helps!

Still on the fence? Here is an awesome list of reasons why you should contribute to making NerdHQ happen thanks to my friend Audra at RealityToDreams.com:

Visit IWantMyNerdHQ.com to contribute or find out more about the campaign or the event! Also, you can use the widget on the right side bar to donate directly. Let's make NerdHQ '14 the most incredible one yet! Thanks to all my nerdy, geeky, fantastic friends who have already contributed! 

Now... whose suitcase is big enough to smuggle me to San Diego in July?