2 Moms, 4 Boys & A Movie: Inside Out

As many of us know Disney/Pixar Inside Out was just released. Inside Out, the studio’s latest offering, debuted with an estimated $91.1 million in North American ticket sales, giving it the largest opening ever for an original property, surpassing the 2009 opening weekend of Avatar ($77 million). Pete Docter’s film also ranks as the second biggest Pixar opening of all time, putting it squarely between “Toy Story 3’s” $110.3 million opening and ahead of 2013’s “Monsters University’s” $82.4 million opening. Do you have a little one that has been asking to go and you are not sure?  Two Disney Devoted moms took our little ones out to see it during opening week and we are giving you our thoughts.

My name is Amanda...

      As you may or may not know I am a mom of 2 boys who are 6 and 11. When I first heard about this movie I thought it was a reference to Inside Out Boy who was on in the early 90's. Then as time passed I saw more trailers and I thought "this will not be a good movie". None the less my boys know that I like Disney & Pixar and was getting excited to see it. So we went.
      Little did I know that this movie will keep adults very entertained and laughing, oh and crying. Pixar is no stranger when it comes to showing emotions, relationships, and this movie is no different. Yes, I cried...Thanks Pixar. Some of the concepts of how the core emotions caused personality and long term memory and things like that I think got lost on my 6 year old at times but he was still entertained. With that being said, I was so fascinated in how they explained memories and core memories and nothing was missed.  The brain is complex and to break it down in an animated way for everyone to understand was amazing. My boys enjoyed the movie as well as myself.
         You can not miss Bing Bong and his catchy little tune. Also stay for the end because you get to see different inside the heads of different people and animals. Our favorites were the cats. The Pixar short at the beginning is called Lava, it is very catchy and you may here it at more times that one at home.  It was another successful movie for my household.

My name is Maria...
I am also the mother of 2 boys, 8 and 4.  We try not to miss out on any Disney/Pixar movies, especially on a hot summer day when school is out!  I wasn't sure this movie was for my youngest, but he wouldn't be denied a chance to gorge on popcorn.  So off we went!  This movie reminds me a bit of "Wreck it Ralph" in the sense that there is a hidden "world" in your brain.  This world consists of emotions (in the form of cute characters) and personality worlds.  Your memories are little globes, delicately handled by your emotions.
The premise of the story is following the inner thoughts of a 11 year old girl as she moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.  Dealing with new home, new school and a pizza shop that only serves pizza with broccoli!  It brought me back to when my parents moved us from NY to Maine when I was 16.  So I certaintly identified immediately with all the emotions.  Some of the best parts of the movie are the emotions arguing amoungst themselves about how best to handle things like Dad's new job or having a nightmare.
As an adult, I followed and understood all the layers of the movie.  My kids appreciated it on a different level.  My 4 year old was enjoying things until a scary clown nightmare came into play.  Then he had to be bribed with more popcorn to stay in his seat.  My 8 year old laughed throughout most of the movie and understood the technicalities of the "brain" as portrayed by Pixar.  So with all Disney movies, it meant something different to everyone.  All in all, a success by Disney/Pixar!

4 Moms, 6 Boys, A Girl and Big Hero 6

As many of us know Disney's Big Hero 6 was just released. In its opening weekend at the box office it took the top spot and grossed $56.2 million in one weekend. Do you have a little one that has been asking to go and you are not sure? Four Disney Devoted moms took our little ones out to see it during opening weekend and we are giving you our thoughts based on what families thought.  Thanks to Dulcie's daughter, Erinlee for a 10 year old's review of the movie!

My name is Amanda...

 I am a mom of two boys who are 6 and 10. My boys were super excited to see Big Hero 6, so much so that I got them to clean their rooms. (Bonus points for that Disney).  My boys enjoyed most of the movie with lots of laughs and mom did you see that. The beginning seemed a little less kid friendly for me with robot fighting and gambling. It seemed slow in the beginning but gets better. Once it gets going it is amazing. The storyline and the animation both wrap you up like a hug from Baymax and you forget you are in a theater watching a movie. There are two distinct parts in the movies that caused tears for not only my boys but also for this mama. My oldest in particular liked the "tech" parts of the movie. They talk about robots and chemistry. He also liked how you can be a "superhero" without having superpowers but just by being you. Disney made me fall in love with my first villain. He has many alias such as:Yokai, Mr. Kabuki, Mask Man. He is based from Lord Deathstrike from the original Big Hero 6 comic books. The animation details for this villain was amazing and he reminds me of a super villain that would be in a comic book. I do like saying Wasabi's name just to annoy my boys now. All in all it was a great movie that is an emotional ride.

Stay until the very end. I know sitting through the credits is boring but it is a must do.

   (fist bump blaaalllahhh)

My name is Maria...

 I took my two sons, 7 and 3 to see Big Hero 6 this weekend.  I even brought my big kid, aka my husband.  I was in no big rush to see this movie, all I could think of was the marshmallow guy in Ghostbusters.  But thanks to endless commercials on Disney Jr., my boys were all for it.  I was glad to see a new "boy-centric" movie from Disney.  While we all loved Frozen, we were a "teeny-tiny" bit done with Anna and Elsa.  

The movie does contain some scary themes, including death.  Other than being a little startled, the boys did fine with the loud scenes.  Also scary for us grown-ups is talk of "teenage hormones".   Like most children's movies, there is an underlying adult humor to keep us from going stir crazy the first 10 times we watch.  My boys understand about feelings, so for them it didn't mean anything.  If they were older it might have been more real, but they would have had more understanding.  I don't think it went beyond the realm of appropriate.  

The "end game" of the movie is to bring home the point that everyone has a special gift.  Every kid, no matter how different can make a difference.  Brains over brawn and crushing some stereotypes applies to most of the Big Hero 6.  A family doesn't have to be blood related, that relying on your friends and a big marshmallow guy can save the day.  I won't reveal too much, but suffice to say we all loved it.  Like any Disney movie it was an emotional roller-coaster and both my 7 year old and I were crying at points.  Definitely give it a chance and enjoy!

My name is Michelle...

    Big Hero 6 has been a hot topic in my household for some time.  I have two boys, ages 5 and 3. The previews, the toys and the cuddly white balloon guy certainly was enough to pique my little one's interests.  To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the film.  I am not a super hero fan and the previews lead me to believe this was an average super hero film.  It is not.  The humor and theme immediately engaged me and I was soon in love with Hiro and Baymax.  Admittedly, as a Disney fanatic, I am not a hard "sell."   

     On the flip side, my 5  year old who is a member of the ASD (Austim Specturm Disorder) club or as we call it, the Awesomely Sensitive Dudes club,  was a little rattled by the topic of Death being presented to him.  With a little cuddle and explanation, we moved on from that hiccup.  Unfortunately, the intensity of the transformation of one of the characters in the film was too much for his little sensitive soul.  As many Moms of an autistic child know, figuring out the subtleties of emotional changes can be very difficult.  Also, as an ASDer my 5 year old is very literal.  Bad is bad and good is good; there is no middle ground.  Fear took over and we had to leave the movie.

     If you have any children with special sensitivity needs, you may want to prepare them for some of the themes and changes in the film.  It is difficult to find a lot of information about a movie before it officially opens so we probably should have waited a few weeks. Then we could have done our research and discussed the film more thoroughly prior to heading to the theater.  We used this unfortunate reaction to talk about "feelings"  and how people's attitudes can change.  And this doesn't mean they are "bad" or "evil." In our family, everyday is a new learning experience for us all!

     If you would like more specific information regarding the film in order to prepare your sensitive child, feel free to message me.  I was purposefully avoiding spoilers.  

My name is Dulcie...

I took my 10 yr old Princess to Big Hero 6 opening night. This has been on our MUST WATCH

list since we first saw the teasers as DHS forever ago. Baymax stole my heart from the first teaser

trailer we saw. From the first time we heard Baymax say "Hairy Baby" that was our favorite

quote from the movie hands down!

I will admit I cried more than once during the movie while consoling my daughter who cried her share too. But it's not a Disney movie if you don't shed a tear or two. At least the theatre was dark so nobody knew where the sobs were coming from.

It was a little "dark" in spots and if you have a younger child that gets frightened easily or doesn't like loud noises you might want to skip it at the theatre and get it on DVD to turn the volume down or skip a scene without them getting to frightened. There were a few things that made the adults laugh that the kids didn't quite catch and flew right over my 10 yr olds head too. I always love a good movie that makes me emotionally connected with the characters and even if they aren't real I always feel like I know them just by their story. This one was no different.

The one complaint I have is the omission of a few scenes that were in the trailers for the movie.That happens in about all of the movies but I hope they are in the outtakes when it's released on Bluray and DVD.

Be sure to look for Mochi aka"Hairy Baby" (the cat) dressed at Stitch...and do NOT leave as soon as the credits start rolling.You will miss a very important scene that may or may not lead you to believe they may have plans for a Big Hero 6 2 ... or just tying Marvel in with Disney kinda way!

*FIST BUMP* BALALALALA

My name is Erinlee...

I want to share a 10 year olds perspective on Big Hero 6.  I thought that it was a VERY FUNNY movie but there were some very sad parts too. I do not want to spoil it but be sure to take some tissues with you.
HoneyLemon and Baymax were my 2 favorite characters in this movie.I like HoneyLemon because she was a girl and loves science just like me. She has a very cool purse that is her special weapon against the villain in the movie. I love Baymax because he was very caring and wanted to take care of Hiro.
This movie is like a Superhero movie but Disney style.There is something for everyone from kids to parents and even grandparents. Be sure to stay through the credits to see a surprise scene and you won't be sorry that you did.

Maleficent Movie Review and Giveaway!

In Maleficent, Disney puts a twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale and gives you the other side of the story, told from the supposed villainess' point of view.

The story opens to a Maleficent as a fairy child, who is charged with protecting the inhabitants of the Moors, home to all the magical creatures. She soon meets young Stefan and they become friends, and then fall in love. But as they grow into adults, Stefan's hunger for power overpowers his love for Maleficent and eventually leads him to not only break her heart but to physically harm her by cutting off her fairy wings, to gain the favor of the dying king.

Stefan becomes the new king and marries the princess, and they have a child together, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Maleficent is still hurt and enraged over the birth of the child, and invites herself to the Aurora's christening. She too bestows a "gift" upon the child, which is really a curse of death upon her 18th birthday. Stefan begs her to take back her curse and so she relents and softens the curse to she will not die, but instead,  upon pricking her finger on a spinning wheel, she will fall into a death like sleep forever.

At this point of the story, you pretty much recognize the original plot where she is sent to live in hiding in the forest, except the 3 fairies, Flora, Fauna & Merryweather are bumbling idiots. This causes the stalking Maleficent to step in (from behind the scenes), to make sure the young Aurora survives until her 18th birthday. It is during this time, Maleficent grows to love the child, and becomes her protector.

I don't want to give away too many more spoilers, and have left out some other parts of the story like how she meets her crow, so you can enjoy the surprises and twists in the plot.

Over all the movie is visually stunning, with just the right amount of special effects, without it taking away from the story and acting. And since we are talking about acting-Angelina Jolie was born for this role. I can honestly say that if anyone else played Maleficent, the movie would not have been as good. When Jolie turns on that 1000 watt smile and seductively lowers those green eyes to look through her long lashes-you are mesmerized. Great supporting cast as well-both magical and human.

The DVD will be released on Nov. 4th, 2014 and is packed with these bonus features:


Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD/SD & Disney Movies Anywhere
· From Fairy Tale to Feature Film – Re-imagining Maleficent for a new generation
· Building An Epic Battle –Creating the clash between Maleficent and King Henry’s Forces
· Classic Couture – Examine Maleficent’s spellbinding head wraps and jewelry.
· Maleficent Revealed – Explore the layers of extraordinary special effects.
· Aurora: Becoming A Beauty – Elle Fanning reveals her lifelong love of Disney’s original animated classic.
· Deleted Scenes:
- “Stefan In King’s Chamber”
- “Pixie Idiots”
- “Diaval asks about the Curse”
- “Pixies Seek Asylum”
- “Suitor”
· And More!

*Digital bonus offerings will vary per retailer.

*****************************GIVEAWAY!!!********************************
You can enter to win a Maleficent Movie Pack including a Maleficent Pop Plush, Maleficent button, and a copy of Maleficent (2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)! Visit our Facebook page and click the giveaway tab. You'll need to like our page to enter. Giveaway starts Friday October 31 at 12:00 AM Eastern Time and ends on Friday October 31 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Freebie Friday-Free "The Incredibles" Digital Copy

This Spring Disney launched DisneyMoviesAnywhere.com app which allows you to watch your digital copy Disney movies on any device.   This includes your Disney, Pixar and Marvel movies that you've purchased on DVD/Blu-Ray that include digital copy codes.  You can also purchase digital copies direct from Disney Movies Anywere.  As a reward for opening an account, Disney Movies Anywhere will give you a free digital copy of the Incredibles (as of August 2014).  This offer and movie are subject to change so be sure to set up your account soon.  Don't forget you are also eligible to collect movie rewards for more fun and free Disney stuff.