"Hub Network's What's The Hubbub?" - With Spooksville's Keean Johnson and Jim Kreig

Last night I got a chance to Google Hangout with Hub Network's seires Spooksville star Keean Johnson (Adam) and Head Writer Jim Kreig! Jim is an absolutely hilarious guy, and I really kind of want to meet up with him for a drink next time I'm out in L.A. because he seems like the kind of guy who that would definitely be a night to remember! Thank goodness they muted us when we weren't asking our questions, because most of the time I was cracking up.

Image © Hub Network.

My first question comes in around the 7 minute mark, and is a call back to my October excursion to California for the Hub Halloween Bash! Check out the video below to see the entire conversation between myself, these awesome guys, Hub Network Exec Ted Biaselli and a handful of other awesome bloggers! And don't forget to tune in to Spooksville on Saturdays at 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific on Hub Network!

UPDATE 4/8: The video now has much clearer and better audio! Check it out below!

#HubClubBloggers - Parent and Kid Review of Spooksville!

Image © Hub Network.

As part of my membership in the Hub Club Bloggers, I was given the chance to preview this weekend's episode of their popular new series, Spooksville, before it airs on Saturday March 22nd at 5pm Eastern/2pm Pacific. This review is special because it's the first video that TV Boy gets to appear in! (This kid LOVES reviewing stuff. In fact, after we finished making this video, he wanted to do a review of one of his LEGO sets.)

Image © Hub Network.

This weekend's episode is entitled "Phone Fear". Several students from the Lizzie Borden High School are taken on a "field trip" that is really a week-long survival exercise. When they get trapped in the rain, they seek shelter in an abandoned logging camp that has a scary past involving one of the earliest cellular phones in the 80's. The camp is engulfed in a mysterious fog when anyone tries to make a call. Can Adam figure out the secret of the fog and save his friends from disappearing?

Check out what TV Boy had to say about the episode in the video below, and be sure to tune in to Spooksville this weekend on Hub Network!





Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with the Hub Club. Please see my Disclosure tab for more information.

Behind the Scenes with FROZEN Animation Rigging

Time for another episode of "What the Heck TV Mom Was Doing in L.A. Last Month" and more coverage of Disney's Oscar winning animated film, Frozen! This time, we head to the Animation Rigging Lab under Animation TD Supervisor Greg Smith.

Welcome to Disney Animation Studios Rigging Lab!

First we sat down and were treated to a neat presentation about the way the CG animation worked and how the team for Frozen had some challenges that they actually created new software to overcome. For instance, Elsa's hair, and to a lesser extent Anna's, was rigged with individual clumps of hairs, totalling more than 400,000 individual hairs--which is about four times what a normal human being has on their heads and at least double what Rapunzel had in Tangled! This gave the animators a chance to actually "style" the characters' hair in much a similar manner as real hair. And speaking of hair, Olaf too had some "hair" issues that the animators had to deal with... he only had sticks for hair remember, but they had to be bouncy and full of life. You'll find out more about that by watching the video below (which, I promise, is only around seven minutes long).

Presentation on Anna's clothing from patterns!

Other obstacles included clothing--each female character wears full undergarments and petticoats, and they're all animated separately based on the type of fabric they are supposedly made from! Since fabric moves differently based on what type it is, that posed yet another challenge for the animators, which they touch on in the video below.

An animation rig! Dual screens, yo.

Being the geek that I am, when given the opportunity, I asked what operating systems they used for their various animation programs. Our Olaf hands-on demonstration (at the end of the video you can see a minute of my "animation" work!) was given to us on PC, and they used a Mac for their presentation (as well as I noticed on our tour that they were omnipresent on desks throughout the department)... and they responded just as I thought they might... Linux! He couldn't remember what breed of Linux system they used, but it was Linux-based. To those of you whose eyes glazed over or skipped this last paragraph entirely, I apologize, but I thought it was super interesting. It's why I asked... and immediately texted TV Dad to let him know, being that he's a Linux guy.

You can see in the picture above just how many different controls there were to move Olaf around, and how detailed his face animation can get. It was fascinating and I likely could have spent far longer in that room than anyone would have been comfortable with being that I'm not a Disney employee... but I digress.

So, here's the moment you've all been waiting for... the VIDEO! It's super short, and of course I didn't think to start taping until after the comment about Elsa's hair, but there is lots of interesting information to be gleaned from a mere seven minutes! Again, sorry for the video quality (iPad!), and your sound needs to be all the way up to hear it, but since we were in a smaller room, it's more clear than the Director/Producer interview video. Enjoy!




Finally, a funny story! So, as we were walking out after our session, one of the other bloggers asked for a photo of the three guys who gave the presentation. They giggled and asked if she needed them to pose a certain way, and she asked them to stand nicely or something, which they gladly obliged. I, being the not-too-swift-on-the-uptake gal that I am, also tried to grab them for a photo (one walked away), and jokingly, I told the two guys who remained they didn't have to pose any particular way for me. So, this is what I got:

This is why you should ALWAYS have them pose!

Yep. One smiled like a goof (what computer guy ISN'T a goof?) and one hid from me entirely. I couldn't help but crack up and told them that it was absolutely perfect for my needs. And it is. So, thank you awesome computer animator guys for indulging the silly side of my blog!

Stay tuned for more Behind the Scenes looks at Frozen here at TheTVMom.com, including (hopefully!) video of ME voicing Olaf in the recording studio! Plus, continuing coverage of my L.A. trip: The Pirate Fairy, Saving Mr. Banks, Disney Studios Lot, and the Animation Research Library and Archives!



Disclosure: I received a trip to LA in exchange for my unbiased coverage of the Frozen Blu-ray release. Please see my Disclosure tab for more information.

The Pirate Fairy - EXCLUSIVE EXTENDED SNEAK PEEK!

Up until my trip to LA last month, I had never seen a Disney Fairy movie before. However, when I saw The Pirate Fairy, I fell *in love* with it! And no, not just because Zarina, the main character standing center below, looks strikingly similar to one particular mom blogger... Haha! I seriously wish I looked that good in a short skirt and that my hair was that voluminous! Still, how rad is she?

Image courtesy Disney.

The Pirate Fairy releases on Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD on April 1st, but you can get an *exclusive* extended sneak peek right here, right NOW! Check it out!

I'm so excited for all my readers and their families to see this movie! I can't hide it, really, but I was definitely impressed with the characters and story. Be sure to pick it up on launch day, even if you're like me and you only have a son. You won't regret it!



Disclosure: This post is part of a series of sponsored posts to promote Disney's The Pirate Fairy. Please see my disclosure tab for more information.

EXCLUSIVE - Teaser Trailer for The Boxtrolls!

If you've been to a kids' movie recently (and you all SHOULD because by now you've seen The LEGO Movie, right?.... RIGHT?) you may have an inkling about the new movie from the creators of Coraline and ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls.

Image courtesy Click Communications.

From the press release: "The Boxtrolls [are] a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnifred (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family."

The Boxtrolls releases in theatres everywhere on September 26th, 2014, but here's a sneak peek!

Celebrate Frozen's Oscar Wins!

This week will be HUGE here at TheTVMom.com! In case you are living under a rock and weren't either watching TV or on the interwebs last night, Frozen won the Oscar for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature! Here's why I find that exciting...

Do those three look familiar? They ought to... they even stood in the same order on stage at the awards!


Yes, I got to sit down for a roundtable chat with those very three people! I have the entire thing on video and that is coming later this week! I couldn't wait to share it with you before, and now with all the Oscar winning fun, I am even more excited! Check out their heartwarming Thank You Cam moment!

Here's a fun clip of the cast singing "Love is An Open Door" from the new Disney Movies Anywhere app to tide you over in the meantime until I get my video up and live!


Love Is An Open Door by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana from Frozen - Disney Movies Anywhere - Disney Video

A very huge congratulations to all my new friends at Disney Animation Studios!!! Be sure to stay tuned for more on the Frozen Blu-ray!

Disclosure: I received a trip to Disney Animation Studios in return for blog coverage of the Frozen Blu-ray release. See Disclosure tab for more information!

Disney's The Pirate Fairy SWAG!

While I was in LA this past month, I had the opportunity to see some of the amazing product lineup that is being released along with The Pirate Fairy! Of course, you know all about the fun I had with Crocky already, but there's plenty more where he came from! We got to see the whole upcoming line of new fairy gear, much of which is already available at your local Disney Store.

There are some great kids' outfits, costumes, and super cute jammies...

Images courtesy Disney.

Random side note... I totally wish the Zarina dress--bottom purple one--came in grown up size! There WILL be cosplay involved from this gal, even if I have to figure out how to sew it myself! Although, mine will likely be closer to her brown outfit she wears in the film.

They didn't forget about the grown up fairy lovers though...

Images courtesy Disney.

Also coming soon is a line of LeSportSac bags featuring our favorite fairy friend!

Images courtesy Disney.

The one on the bottom right unzips into a huge tote bag! How cool is that?

And, of course, a whole line of awesome toys, books, and plushies ready to swoop into the hearts and bedrooms of fans!

Images courtesy Disney.

We bloggers got to take home some books!

Obviously, we bloggers in attendance were given a sampling of cool gear to take home with us. I don't have a daughter, so I instantly claimed the toys since TV Boy isn't huge into dolls (unless it's a Rainbow Dash Equestria Girl doll, which is on his wishlist for his Easter basket this year... go figure). However, not having a daughter apparently also hinders my ability to free the poor things from their plastic prisons! It took me fifteen minutes and a pair of scissors to get my awesome Zarina (the main character) fairy doll out of her box while TV Dad laughed hysterically at me from the other side of the room.

From plastic prison to freedom!

Of course, as soon as I got her out, I had to play with her. And, being a dork, I took her around and posed her in various places in the house...

Crocky was not amused.

Here Obi-Wan, I've got this.

Yes. I totally have a time-anomaly battle going on between Darth Vader in the suit and young Obi-Wan Kenobi on top of our lizard's tank. This is normal for me, I swear! I could totally see Zarina telling a Jedi he's "doing it wrong" when it comes to swordfighting. She's my kind of gal like that.


Be sure to watch out for more posts about Disney's The Pirate Fairy, due out April 1st on Blu-ray combo pack! I have some fun Q&A with the creators to share with you! Stay tuned, TV fans!



Disclosure: The TV Mom received review items in compensation for this post, along with a trip to Los Angeles and a preview of the film. Views and opinions expressed are solely those of The TV Mom and TheTVMom.com and are not in any way influenced by receipt of the items pictured. Please see my Disclosure tab for more information.

CLUE: The Movie, Airs Tonight on Hub Network!

When I mentioned to TV Dad that I have yet to see Clue: The Movie, the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Yeah, so Clue airs tomorrow night."
Him: "Awesome."
Me: "You know, I've never actually SEEN it."
Him: (Silence, then) "I don't know you."

So, yeah. I never actually got to see the movie. It first premiered in 1985, and it wasn't my parents' cup of tea at the time, and I just... never got around to it. Same thing for Nightmare Before Christmas (GASP! Don't throw things!)

Honestly, the first Tim Curry movie I saw was Rocky Horror Picture Show... Funny story about that. My parents took me to a theatre to see RHPS. I was six (yeah, my parents were laid back, so what.) When my mom told me what we were going to see, I heard Rocky and Bullwinkle. I put on my "moose and squirrel" socks and decked my acid washed jean jacket out in my finest Rocky and Bullwinkle buttons, of which I had a rather impressive collection. The whole time, even with the live actors in front of the screen on the floor, I kept wondering where the moose was. (And don't worry, I was well asleep before the "Toucha, Toucha, Toucha" number. I was one of those kids that could sleep pretty much anywhere... and I never asked a lot of questions haha!)

Image courtesy Hub Network.
I still see him in a corset.

So, I will check a movie off my bucket list tonight at 8pm Eastern/5pm Central on the Hub Network. And, they were kind enough to send me this fun little movie watching box as a treat!* Hot cocoa, Junior Mints, Popcorn (in two flavors!), Peanut M&Ms (my favorite!), and a blanket to snuggle up underneath with our treats to watch the movie, which is perfect for the O-hoth-io weather!

Let's all go to the lobby...

Also, be sure to catch an encore of Stan Lee's Mighty 7 (which they sent me a DVD version of as well) right before the movie airs at 3pm Eastern/Noon Pacific!

*This is a sponsored post as part of my membership with HubClub. Please see the Disclosure tab for more information.

"I'm going on a trip and I'm taking an apple, a basket, a cucumber..."

Who remembers that horrible game? Or, perhaps you're like me and you know that's actually a line from a very funny play by Larry Shue called The Nerd... in which I starred as Mrs. Waldgrave my senior year in high school, thankyouverymuch. (I found a link online to a different, probably more recent production from a different high school... there was no youtube when I was in school... there was hardly internet. I'm old. Anway, link HERE where you can see the whole show, but video number five has the scene I mentioned.)  However, the sentiment in that title is what I'm REALLY here to talk about...

I'm heading to Los Angeles/Hollywood next week! Where it's WARM! And not SNOWING!!!

Image courtesy Disney.

The reason I get to go is even more awesome. I'm getting a sponsored* trip to go check out Disney Animation Studios and some awesome Disney films with a group of new blogger pals (and a few I met back in October at the Hub Halloween Bash event!) in anticipation of the release of Disney's Frozen and The Pirate Fairy on Blu-ray!

I get to board a plane and head for sunny California (BUH-BYE cold Ohio winter weather!) next Monday at stupid-o'clock in the morning, which I'm okay with, actually, because it's a direct flight and I'll have the whole day on Monday when I get there to do some sightseeing for a change! Walk of Fame, here I come! I also managed to score a ticket on my own to a taping of the Comedy Central hit "@Midnight" for Monday evening since the studio isn't far from the hotel I'll be staying at, and I'm secretly hoping I can meet the one and only Chris Hardwick (Geek Squee!). You'd better believe I'll have a Sharpie in my pocket in hopes of an autograph!

Image courtesy Disney.

On Tuesday, I get to head to the famous Disney Animation Studios to meet Frozen's Director, Chris Buck, and producers Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho, and participate in a Q&A session. Then, we get a cool hands-on demo of the rigging process used in the film with Character TC Supervisor, Gregory Smith. And, if that wasn't enough awesome behind-the-scenes fun, which you all know I *love*, I get to do a voiceover recording session with the Audio Engineer Gabe Guy! I am seriously hoping there is video involved that I get to post. Voiceover actors are among my favorite interviews I've done, and I'll finally get a look at what they all do every day! There is also a SUPER SECRET event after all of that, which I'll get to post more about later this month!

On Wednesday, I get to truck over to the DisneyToon Studios for an advance screening of the new animated feature The Pirate Fairy, and then have a chat with Director Peggy Holmes and Producer Jennifer Magee-Cook. Finally, we'll all get a walk through of the creation of one of the characters, seeing the character evolve from design to animation. (An About.com review of the film will follow as well!)

I also get to fly home on my first ever "red eye" flight Wednesday night, not arriving back home until Thursday morning. I will then hibernate most of Thursday, haha! I'm glad TV Dad had the foresight to take that day off too!

In anticipation of my trip, I hit up my favorite BIG RED LOGO store (you know, the one you can't go into for two things and come out having not spent over $50?) and picked up some new Disney-appropriate wardrobe...

Geek chic!

I plan on bringing the Sharpie with me when I wear that Mickey shirt on Tuesday, because I want some Disney Animation autographs on that sucker! And Marvel is now owned by Disney. (Because. Yeah. I didn't buy that thanks to my huge geekness or anything...) I still have to find a plain shirt to wear to the @Midnight taping though, they have a policy about that.

Post any questions you have for the Directors or Producers in the comments section! I will have a six hour plane ride on the way there to think of some, but you know I love reader-sourced questions! Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and on The TV Mom Facebook page, all of which have buttons or widgets on the right sidebar, for all the up-to-the-minute coverage of my whirlwind adventure! Keep an eye out for the hashtags #‎FrozenBluray‬ and  #‎PirateFairyBloggers‬, which all of the bloggers will be using during the entire trip (those links go specifically to Facebook, but they will be used on all social media outlets).

In the meantime, check out this awesome video featuring The Pirate Fairy and singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield!





*Disclaimer: I am receiving an all-expense paid trip to LA in exchange for my coverage of these titles and this event. Views expressed in this post and all those related are solely those of The TV Mom and TheTVMom.com and are not in any way influenced by receipt of this trip, nor are they representative of Disney Studios or subsidiaries thereof. Please see the "Disclosure" tab for more information.

The Hub's First Annual Halloween Bash!

My friends at The Hub Network are all super excited about their first annual Halloween Bash! Kids of all ages can enter the Halloween Costume competition in one of six categories:

·         Howl-arious – Shows the lighter side of Halloween with a take on a fun, funny or otherwise hilarious costume.

·         Spook-tacular – Get ready to frighten America by showcasing the most spine-chilling costume for all the ghosts and ghouls out there.

·         Mad Genius – Unique, original, innovative and never seen before. A knight in armor fashioned from bottle caps, bat wings made from old umbrellas, or a cardboard-box jet pack, the possibilities are endless. Display a costume unlike any other — show your Mad Genius.

·         Blast from the Past – Take a stroll down memory lane with a timeless costume. Memories, nostalgia and yesteryear brought to life. Show your take on great figures from before the 20thcentury or a retro 50’s sock hop get up, 60’s flower child or other “period” inspired costumes.

·         Animal Kingdom – Transform into a living creature from the past or present. Be a roaring lion, a school of jellyfish, a firefly, or a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

·         Everyday Stuff – We're looking for the coolest refrigerator/freezer, remote control, mailbox, block of Swiss cheese, telephone and more.  Be creative and transform the ordinary into the extra-ordinary.

Keenan Thompson... image courtesy The Hub.

Then, on Saturday, October 26th, special guest host Keenan Thompson (of SNL and 90's Nickelodeon show All That fame) along with Halloween maven Martha Stewart and a panel of celebrity judges will showcase the costume competition where semi-finalists will duke out the costume coolness for the grand prize of $25,000 and a walk-on role on R.L. Stein's "The Haunting Hour" series!

For more information on how to enter, complete rules, and to check out the current competition, visit hubworld.com/halloween! The deadline for entries is Sunday, September 29th, so be sure to get your costumes in before then!

If any of my readers makes it into the semi-finals, be sure to email me using the contact tab at the top of the blog so we know who to root for! I'll be sure to share your entry far and wide and post it on The TV Mom Facebook page!

 

Let the spooking begin!