Guest Post!!~ Most Anticipated Kids’ Movies – What’s in Store

18 Jun

Catherine Ross is a full-time stay-at-home-mum who believes learning should be enjoyable for young minds. An erstwhile elementary school teacher, Catherine loves coming up with creative ways through which kids can grasp the seemingly difficult concepts of learning easily. She believes that a ‘fun factor’ can go a long way in enhancing kids’ understanding and blogs at http://kidslearninggames.weebly.com/

Thanks to her two tiny tots, Catherine has developed a keen interest in the world of kids’ movies and feels that Nerdlush is the perfect platform for her to share her thoughts on all that’s new and happening in the sphere of kids’ cinema.

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Long before I had watched any animation movie, I often used to wonder to myself – Why do people, especially kids, love animation so much? What is it about these artificially created characters (which are neither fully cartoon nor completely human) that captures their imagination? And when I didn’t find any suitable answer, I decided I would actually watch a couple of animation films and find out for myself. And guess what – I haven’t stopped watching them ever since!

Animation movies are such that you can watch them over and over again. They keep it simple – friendship, love, family, loyalty, bravery and humility– all the qualities kids can actually relate to. And if they don’t really have a message, they are sheer entertainment. But, whatever be the case, animation movies have surely found a steadily increasing audience comprising kids and adults alike.

A couple of big names in kids’ animation are lined up for release this year. With films like The Lego Movie and Mr. Peabody and Sherman already out, here’s the lowdown on what’s still in store.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13, 2014):

The dragons are back! It’s been five long years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and Vikings on the island of Berk; thanks to our champion pair, all is harmonious in the village. Hiccup, the son of the Viking Chief, is now five years older and very much in love with Astrid, one of the smartest and toughest teen Vikings on the island. But as they say, with age comes responsibility and that’s precisely what the Viking Chief also believes –Stoick the Vast wants to groom his son to take over the Chief’s position.

Hiccup, of course, has other plans. He sets out on a journey across the skies with his best friend (Toothless), oblivious of adventures and dangers that await the indomitable pair. Enter the evil Drago Bludvist who wants to conquer the world – he’s even building an entire army of ferocious dragons for the purpose. And then there is the mysterious Valka, a dragon-whisperer who is accomplished in the ways of dragons and knows secrets about them that Hiccup hasn’t even discovered yet. A revelation about the place she calls home will change her equation with Hiccup forever…what can it be?

If the trailers are anything to go by, How to Train Your Dragon 2 promises to exceed expectations, just like its predecessor How to Train Your Dragon did. The action is on a far bigger and more awe-inspiring scale than before, with spectacular 3D flying action sequences. And of course, the endearing tale of friendship between man and beast lives on, with the inseparable pair managing to weave another wonderful story for us. A must-watch, this DreamWorks movie promises to be a treat for the senses.

Planes: Fire & Rescue (July 18, 2014)

The tagline sums up the movie perfectly: “When others fly out, heroes fly in.”A sequel to the 2013 DisneyToon Studios production Planes, this 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film is slated to hit theatres this July.

The historic Piston Peak National Park must be protected from a raging wildfire which threatens to destroy its very existence. The onus of doing so is on a bunch of elite firefighting aircraft with a quirky crew. Dusty, the renowned air-racer, suffers a setback when he suddenly learns that his engine is damaged, due to which he might never be able to race again. Now he must join forces with the experienced fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger’s firefighting team before being launched headlong into the dangerous world of wildfire air attack.

Watch how the courageous air-attack team made up of the super scooper Lil’ Dipper, the heavy-lift helicopter Wind Lifter and the ex-military transport plane Cabbie come together with a dynamic bunch of all-terrain vehicles called Smokejumpers to fight against all odds and contain the massive wildfire. The highlight of the movie is the way our feisty protagonist Dusty manages to perform heroic, life-threatening exploits as a Single Engine Air Tanker and emerges as a true hero.

Well-known for their trailblazing innovation when it comes to 3D animation, Disney and Pixar’s Planes: Fire & Rescue will surely score high on the light entertainment front. Watch it for the fun factor as the story takes off smoothly, glides along on a sweet script and lands softly on a nice message.

The Boxtrolls (September 26, 2014):

Ever heard of a 3D ‘stop motion’ comedy adventure film? ‘Stop motion’ refers to an animation technique which makes a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. And our adorable ‘Boxtrolls’ are certainly not merely objects! Even though people may describe them as evil trash-collecting monsters that crawl out of the sewers at night to steal cheese and children, these oddballs are so quirky and mischievous that you’ll actually find them quite endearing as well.

The story goes like this: There lives an orphaned human boy called ‘Eggs’. He holds the distinction of being lovingly raised by these Boxtrolls and co-inhabits their amazing cavernous home beneath the charming, cobble-stoned streets of Cheesebridge. Along comes the super-villainous pest exterminator Archibald Snatcher, who wishes to wipe out the entire species of Boxtrolls altogether. The time has come for our hero ‘Eggs’ to finally venture above ground and ‘into the light’, because it is his duty to save his family.

Welcome to a weird and exciting world where clever, sneaky little trolls wear recycled cardboard boxes so that they always have some place to hide; where in a town probably not unlike your own, deep below the homes and cobblestones, down, down through sewer tunnels and manholes… exists a family of trolls called The Boxtrolls.