Hello! I have two terribly interesting pieces of news to share with you today.

First off, I wanted to let you know that this coming Friday (June 29th, 2007) is Wrong Trousers Day. Now, I would love Wrong Trousers Day even if it was simply a day to celebrate Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers or even if it was just a day to wear ridiculous pants. That’s just how I am. But it turns out that Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park went and started an entire foundation dedicated to helping sick kids throughout the UK.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to love Nick Park any more than I already do, but look! I just did! When I found that out! So there you go. It’s a great cause and I’m not clear if those of us outside the UK can play along with Wrong Trousers Day, but I’m guessing they wouldn’t turn our money down if we offered, so there you go.

In less exciting (and non-pants-related) news, your intrepid Toy Box Mommy has decided to take her own advice for once and take a vacation. I know! I’m surprised, too. But it’s happening. So: You will have to enjoy the rest of your week on your own (perhaps filled with anticipation for Wrong Trousers Day), and then please do have a wonderful time up through the 4th of July holiday, and I will be back on the 5th.

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, while I’m gone. (Fortunately for you, that gives you quite a bit of latitude.) See you next week!

Summertime… and the living is easy. Well, maybe if you’re not a parent that’s true. If you are a parent, summer can be a wonderful time, yes, but it can also be a time when the kids are wanting more entertainment. And it’s also possible that you have things to do other than entertaining your kids all day. Maybe. Or maybe you enjoy entertaining them, but don’t have endless amounts of money to spend on special activities.

(I don’t know about you, but my children still seem to believe that if I go to the magical machine at the bank, it will just give me more money. So that I can buy them more things. And why am I laughing at them?)

Anyway, the good news is that if you play your cards right, you and the kids can be enjoying free movies all summer long. And no matter what your relationship with the magical bank machine, that’s a good thing.

It was this post over at Animated News that reminded me. They highlighted the Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival, which offers free showings at select theaters on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings all summer long.

Don’t have a Regal near you? Don’t worry; they’re not the only ones helping you out this summer. Over at AMC they call it Summer Movie Camp and do free showings on Wednesday mornings. Or you can purchase a package for Cinemark’s Summer Movie Clubhouse that works out to just $.50 per movie and enjoy ten flicks for less than what you’d normally spend on a single showing.

And if you enjoy seeing all of those great movies, too, while you’re taking your kids? Well, I certainly won’t blow your cover.

The only thing that could make me happier than a 24-hour Wallace and Gromit channel is this: Shaun the Sheep is getting his own show.

The animated series, which just last week won the Cristal Award as Best TV Production at the Annecy Animated Film Festival, will premiere on Disney Channel on Sunday, July 8, 2007, in primetime. Since its successful launch as the most viewed show at Mipcom 2006, the property has sold to primary broadcasters in 145 territories including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, India, France, Benelux, Japan and Latin America.

Targeted at kids 5-10, SHAUN THE SHEEP follows the comedic misadventures of a young sheep who leads his barnyard buddies into all sorts of calamitous situations, turning peace in the valley into mayhem in the meadow. As a character, Shaun was first introduced in director Nick Park’s Oscar-winning animated short, A CLOSE SHAVE. While the rest of the flock is content to spend all day chewing on the cud, Shaun is out to have as much fun as possible — whether flying a kite, organizing synchronized swimming in the water troth or nipping into town for a pizza.

I pink puffy heart Shaun. I mean, I still love Gromit most of all, but this is spectacular news. You could tell from the way he was utterly unflappable in A Close Shave that he’d have to be back. Of course, I thought the same thing about the evil penguin (did he have a name?) and I haven’t see him yet, so who knows.

Anyway, the series will be premiering in a few short weeks. In the meantime, get your Shaun fix over at the official site, which hosts all manner of distractions to liven up your work day. Erm, I mean, for your kids! Yes, of course, for the children. Naturally. Ahem.

Here’s another one for the “gosh I loved that when I was a kid, and now it’s back” files:

Variety reports that Speed Racer is zooming to the small screen:

Lionsgate will announce today plans for its first animated series, a new version of the 1960s toon “Speed Racer.” Nickelodeon’s 24-hour cartoon channel, Nicktoons, is aboard to run the initial 26 episodes.

The new “Speed Racer” cartoon is set to launch next year, around the same time that Warner Bros.’ live-action “Speed Racer,” directed by the Wachowskis, hits theaters.

“It seemed like the right time to do a revival,” said Ken Katsumoto, exec VP of family entertainment at Lionsgate. “When this opportunity arose to revive such a classic property, we jumped.”

Will the series stay true to the original? Well, yes and no:

In the new franchise, young Speed Racer enters a racing academy for the fastest kids on Earth — and discovers that he’s the son of the legendary (and original series’) Speed Racer. He also finds out in the first few episodes that he has a brother — the new Racer X — whom he never knew existed.

Speed Racer wows the school with his Mach 6 (an updated version of the original show’s Mach 5) — the most advanced vehicle in the universe, which doesn’t run on gas. Speed and X team together to prevent villains from stealing the Mach 6 and to find out who’s behind the mysterious disappearance of their father.

Other characters returning include original Speed Racer’s younger brother Spritle, now headmaster of the racing academy. And chimpanzee Chim-Chim is now a mechanical robot.

(For the record, they had me right up until the bit about Chim-Chim now being a robot. What was wrong with a chimp??)

Perhaps most interesting to me was the fact that his project comes from Lionsgate, given that I thought Lionsgate was still the production company of angsty, edgy flicks rather than children’s entertainment. But apparently I’ve not been paying attention while they’ve reached out to grab another market segment:

The new “Speed Racer” comes as Lionsgate continues to expand its family entertainment biz, with a live-action “Bratz” movie coming out this August, as well as two more feature films on the docket: “Foodfight!” and “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.”

After I read the part about Bratz having a live-action movie I had to go lie down, but still, there’s news to be followed, here. And really—chimp turned robot aside—anyone who brings back Speed Racer is okay in my book.

Thanksgiving? Why are we talking about Thanksgiving? Shouldn’t we be talking about picnics, and bubbles, and swimming?

Well, yes. And no.

This is interesting because it’s a great peek inside the minds that run the Disney machine. When you look at a movie that becomes much more than just a film, but becomes an entire franchise, you have to wonder how much of that was planned from the beginning and how much of it just happened. At least, that’s something that I tend to wonder. So I find articles like this one about the upcoming Enchanted film fascinating.

The film itself is a big change from the typical Disney let’s-go-sing-with-the-woodland-creatures fare; princess Giselle is your typical girly animated heroine before an evil queen pushes her down an enchanted well. Giselle surfaces… in Manhattan, as a live-action body with a 2-dimensional princess personality. And then, of course, hilarity ensues. (Apparently she falls for a new prince, Patrick Dempsey, who is a not-very-nice lawyer. Very un-Disney-like, one might say.)

“Enchanted,” set for a November 21 release, pokes fun at old Disney films such as “Sleeping Beauty” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” where the heroine surrounds herself with cuddly creatures or people whistling happy tunes.

[…]

The irony of Disney flaunting the conventions of the very films on which the company was built was one idea that excited the film’s makers.

“It’s really difficult material,” director Kevin Lima told Reuters following a news conference on Monday. “What it really took is … someone who understood the heritage, who loved it. Someone who wasn’t afraid of it.”

Okay, if I didn’t know what Lima was talking about, I would think he was talking about one of Shakespeare’s more obscure works. This isn’t Timon of Athens, people, it’s a Disney film. That’s going to make buckets of money. And apparently stars McDreamy.

I’m not sure how difficult it’s really going to be. Maybe the franchising will be, but the film itself? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait til November and see.

You already know how I feel about The Muppets. I adore them. You might say I am very firmly pro-muppet. Yes.

But I have to say that I’m a bit confused by this latest bit of news regarding The Muppets’ possible upcoming gig as purveyors of information about technology. It seems there was a very interesting survey put out. Well… just look for yourself:

* Do you want to see the Muppets return to television?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know

Yes, please.

* Would you find humor in watching Kermit trying to help Miss Piggy and the other Muppet characters learn all about technology?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t Know

Kermit: Miss Piggy, I got you an iTunes gift card.
Piggy: Oh, Kermie! But I still don’t know how to synch my iPod with my laptop!
Gonzo: Rattop? Did somebody say RATTOP?

Yeah, I guess that could be funny.

* Would you enjoy seeing the Muppets introduce special guests on their show that would encourage kids to learn about science and technology?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know

Kermit: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please put your hands together for Stephen Hawking!
Fozzie: Did you hear the one about the theory of relativity?

But what this survey suggests and what Jim Hill has been able to ferret out just don’t mesh:

Those are rather intriguing questions, don’t you think ? Ones that suggest that the Mouse may now have a bold new plan in the works for the Muppets.

Well, here’s the thing : Last Friday, I spoke with someone who’s in the know over at Muppets Studio, LLC (I.E. That division of the Mouse House that actually controls all Muppet-related projects). And they flat-out denied that any project like this is currently in the works.

Verrrrrrry interesting. You should probably read the whole thing.

[Hat tip: Animated News]

Welcome back from the weekend! Did you have a good one? Did you spend some quality time with your dad, or otherwise sharing the love with some dad or dad-like people in your life?

[My father—I guess, with me being the Toy Box Mommy, that would be the Toy Box Grandpa—had the nerve to be out of the country on his special day. Honestly. Some people have no respect for the importance of ritual. I had no one to call and say “Hi! I forgot to send you a card, but I love you anyway!”]

Anyway, much as they did for Mother’s Day, ToonZone is back with their assessment, this time, of the top 5 fathers and father figures in animation.

Where the Mother’s Day assessments were hilarious, this time we’re looking at some serious insights. Take their justification for choosing Marlin from Finding Nemo:

He also has a wonderful story arc in a movie that is full of them, moving from a character frightened of the world to one willing to take on an entire ocean for the sake of his son. The true sign that you love someone is that you’re willing to change for them, so watching Marlin develop from a character driven by fear and paranoia into one driven by courage and trust is a wonderfully subtle way to communicate how much he truly loves Nemo.

Later, in discussing the selection of Pongo, they give us a bit of interesting commentary about Disney dads:

[E]xploring the works of Walt Disney yields some pretty slim pickings as far as positive parental role models go. If you get a father at all, they are often well-meaning but largely ineffectual and buffoonish characters, as seen with Mr. Dr. Possible from Kim Possible, the patriarch of the Proud Family, Belle’s absent-minded father from Beauty and the Beast, or the Sultan in Aladdin. At worst, you get characters who are antagonists to their children, such as King Triton in The Little Mermaid.

Hey, wait a minute! That’s not funny, that’s just depressing. Hmph.

Anyway, it’s not so much with the giggles, this time, but it’s some great commentary and a good read, so check it out. And happy belated Father’s Day.

To properly read a Nancy Drew book, you need to be under the covers with a flashlight. It also helps to be a slightly geeky pre- pubescent girl, though it’s not required.

To properly view the Nancy Drew movie, it’s starting to sound like you have to be completely unfamiliar with the books. Which is really a shame.

As a confirmed bibliophile, I’m always a little sad when a book or series I love is made into a film. There’s just no way—no matter how much you spend on special effects or big-name Hollywood types—that what appears on the screen is going to mesh with what legions of people have been (individually) picturing in their heads for years. Part of the lure of reading is that it allows the unfolding of a story in the mind’s eye. Movies are about spoon-feeding, and sometimes that’s a great experience and other times it can tarnish a good story beyond recognition.

The issue with Nancy Drew, though, is that the critics can’t seem to agree upon what’s happening here. As of this writing, the critics at Rotten Tomatoes are evenly split; half think the movie is adorable, half think it’s an embarrassment to the literary legend.

Half of me wants to take my daughter to see it, and half of me is afraid that I’ll end up wishing I’d never laid eyes on this “updated” version. Perhaps I should wait out this opening weekend and follow the clues to the movie’s true disposition before making a decision. You know, sleuth out the reaction of other moms in creative ways… like searching their purses for ticket stubs and seeing if they’re stained with butter from popcorn (lousy movie, needed lots of snack diversion) or if they’re pristine and set aside to save (great movie, save the stub as memorabilia).

I think Nancy would approve.

While the sociological debates continue about what it means to be marketing directly to children and whether or not people are marketing to children and what corporations’ responsibilities are, therein, I think that this announcement couldn’t be more timely.

The upshot? Kellogg steps up and claims some responsibility. Sure, it comes after umpteen years of foisting sugar cereal represented by happy cartoons on your kids, but still. Progress!

The Kellogg Company announced today that it will phase out advertising its products to children under age 12 unless the foods meet specific nutrition guidelines for calories, sugar, fat and sodium.

Kellogg also announced that it would stop using licensed characters or branded toys to promote foods unless the products meet the nutrition guidelines.

The voluntary changes, which will be put in place over the next year and a half, will apply to about half of the products that Kellogg currently markets to children worldwide, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks cereals and some varieties of Pop Tarts.

The president and chief executive, David Mackay, said those products would either be reformulated to meet the nutrition guidelines or would no longer be advertised to children.

“It is a big change,” Mr. Mackey said. “Where we can make the changes without negatively impacting the taste of the product, we will.”

But if the product cannot be reformulated, Mr. Mackey said, the company will either market it to an older audience or stop advertising it.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks; while I’d love to believe that many of the unhealthy foods kids love will be reformulated, I can’t help but wonder if Kellogg will ultimately find it cheaper and/or easier just to change their marketing strategy.

(Because, dude: We’ve had those reduced-sugar Froot Loops, and I am here to tell you that they were awful.)

If there’s one thing I like more than technology, it’s new technology slapped on top of old technology!

Well, no. Not really. But take, for example, the very popular cellular phones that double as MP3 players. I don’t see the lure, myself, but I’m apparently in the minority. I see a lot of teens with them. Me, I like my phone to be a phone and my MP3 player to be an MP3 player and… well, you get the idea. But I do use the calendar on my phone, so maybe I have some weird double standard of what I believe a cellular phone ought to be able to do.

In actuality, I think I’m somewhat opposed to anything that makes a cell phone more appealing to kids. It’s not that I don’t like (love) cell phones, it’s that I dislike the marketing that makes children want them. Kids shouldn’t need cell phones. Kids should be climbing trees and riding bikes and not pestering me for a phone.

Anyway, it appears that Sony may be gearing up to cross-breed their PSP technology with mobile phones. I love how the article characterizes Sony’s position as complete denial, though:

Sony Ericsson has filed a U.S. patent application for a mobile device with video game features, but said on Monday it is not poised to launch a phone based on its PlayStation Portable (PSP) video game brand.

[…]

“We’re continually evaluating other propositions but they have to be credible propositions. We’re not interested in sticking parts on phones that destroy the brand equity that’s been built up by Sony,” Sony Ericsson spokeswoman Merran Wrigley said by phone on Monday.

So, basically, they’ve filed for the patent but don’t want us to think they’re actually doing anything with it. That makes sense.

My understanding of industry-speak is a little rusty, but I think this means one of two things. Either they haven’t found the partner willing to shell out the big bucks they want, yet, or whatever they’ve come up with so far is really terrible. Either way, I’m unbothered.

In fact, I think I’ll go dig through my recycling. I’ve got a couple of tin cans in there, and if I can find some string, I can tell the kids I decided to get them their very own phones!