Song of the Sea

 

Song of the Sea is a new film from Tomm Moore, Oscar-nominated director of The Secret of Kells.

It tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse – the last Seal-child – who embark on a journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. Featuring Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, and Lisa Hannigan, with music by composer Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, both of whom collaborated on The Secret of Kells.

It won't be playing near me anytime soon, sadly but if you happen to live in NYC, it starts December 19 at the IFC Center. To purchase tickets, click here.

It looks totally dreamy.

Escape from Planet Earth This Valentine's Day (Giveaway)

Looking for something out of this world for Valentine's Day? Grab the kids and blast off for planet Baab with The Weinstein Company’s new film, Escape from Planet Earth, which hits theaters on Friday, February 15th!

The 3D animated family comedy catapults moviegoers to planet Baab where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population.  A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary (Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA.  When BASA’s no-nonsense chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary’s warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission.  But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (William Shatner) it’s up to scrawny, risk-averse Gary to do the real rescuing.  As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) and their adventure-hungry son Kip (Jonathan Morgan Heit).

Visit http://www.escapeearthmovie.com/ for exciting features such as photos, videos, characters, games and even a link for parents and educators to download movie-related curriculum-based activity sheets. You can also download the free “Escape From Planet Earth” Movie App, available for iOS http://bit.ly/EscapeFromPlanetEarthiTunesFS and for Android http://bit.ly/EscapefromPlanetEarthAndroidFS

Enter using the form below to win a $25 Visa gift card to help get you to the movie along with an Escape from Planet Earth prize pack, including tattoo sheet, activity book & crayons, and a backpack clip.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was compensated for this sponsored post made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. All prizing for MSM giveaways is handled by a third party unless otherwise noted. For this reason prize fulfillment can take up to 90 days after the winners information is received.

Five Festive Holiday DVDs from NCircle Entertainment

NCircle has great family videos to keep your preschoolers entertained this holiday season, including two BRAND NEW seasonally themed DVDs from PBS Kids' The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! and Nick Jr.'s Dino Dan. Roo and Jasper are getting older but they still love to watch the shows they grew up with. These make great stocking stuffers or last minute holiday gifts!

•  “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About Christmas” (NEW) – premiering this fall on PBS, this new DVD was specially-produced to ring in the 2012 holiday season, and features the voice of Martin Short as the Cat. Both of my kids still loooooove this crazy cat!

•  “Dino Dan 'Twas a Dinosaur" (NEW)  - follow the adventures of paleontologist-in-training Dan Henderson as he learns what might have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, tracks down a Euplocephalus, and gives the poem "The Night Before Christmas" a new spin! This is not a show we were familiar with but both kids really got into it. We will definitely be checking it out again.

•  "Happy Holidays WordFriends" - a fun and festive DVD from the multiple Emmy Award-winning PBS Kids series, WordWorld, featuring three episodes – The Christmas Star, A Christmas Present for Dog, and Duck’s Family Reunion – plus a bonus music video, Dancing Dog. Jasper, in particular, enjoys this show. He's just starting to read so I think it makes a big impact on him.

• "It's Always Christmas With You" - the most recent holiday DVD from The Wiggles is a real treat for the entire family, filled with 14 original new tunes and seasonal favorites. The DVD features special celebrity guests (including ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone) in performances filmed around the globe. Okay, I know many kids are fanatically devoted to them but my kids really don't get into The Wiggles. And I'm alright with that. The holiday theme makes them less freaky than usual to me, though.

• “Puppy Party” - available in fetching holiday packaging, this adorable live-action DVD from Animal Atlas features Milo, the adorable Labrador Puppy, who’s invited over 25 puppy pals to a party! Filled with facts and antics, and an ideal treat for animal lovers young and old. Roo loves this. It's full of puppies of all shapes and sizes. What's not to love?!

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that we received copies of the DVDs pictured to facilitate this review. No compensation was provided for this post. All opinions are, as usual, entirely my own.