It’s been a pretty good summer for movies, if you think about it. I mean, I really can’t complain. My whole family loved WALL-E, and the kids saw Kung Fu Panda without me (but loved it), and my husband and I had a great time at Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and my daughter and I are going to see the Kit Kittredge movie this weekend, I think.

All in all, we’ve had plenty of cinematic goodness since school let out, is my point.

And because I tend to be a fairly easy sell when it comes to animated films, I laughed right along with my kids when this trailer came up before WALL-E:

Looks like good, harmless fun, right? Well, although Space Chimps has a fully-featured destination website (complete with goodies for the kids), I went to consult my most trusted movie resource and found… nothing. Oh, The Tomatometer has it listed, sure, but as of Wednesday night it had… no rating. That doesn’t seem to bode particularly well for the movie’s popularity.

However, my inner twelve-year-old boy would like you to know that it’s monkeys! In space! Doing physical gags! And therefore it will probably be awesome. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

If you’ve been to see WALL-E yet (and if you haven’t, why in the world not?), you know that in addition to being another flawlessly animated movie with engaging characters, it’s something of a suggestion that possibly we humans aren’t exactly tending to the earth and ourselves the best possible way.

(Shocking, I know. And here humanity had everything perfect, before Pixar suggested otherwise.)

Still, it is a little bit sobering when a movie comes out and The New York Times suggests that it should be compulsory viewing for our current political candidates:

Mr. McCain should be required to see “Wall-E” to learn just how far adrift he is from an America whose economic fears cannot be remedied by his flip-flop embrace of the Bush tax cuts (for the wealthy) and his sham gas-tax holiday (for everyone else). Mr. Obama should see it to be reminded of just how bold his vision of change had been before he settled into a front-runner’s complacency. Americans should see it to appreciate just how much things are out of joint on an Independence Day when a cartoon robot evokes America’s patriotic ideals with more conviction than either of the men who would be president.

Wow. Um. Ouch.

That’s a pretty far cry from just laughing at Wall-E’s antics.

It may be a bit deep for a Monday morning, but I thought it was worth a read. Do you suppose Obama and McCain had time to get to the movies last week…?

So, it would just figure that the very day I write about a safe video portal for kids that I would find myself on YouTube proper, searching for videos for my kids (without the benefit of a filter).

See, my children? They have a special microchip embedded in their brains. It sends an electronic pulse every time we’re about three days out from the opening of any highly-hyped movie, and that pulse demands that they begin pestering me. “When can we go see Wall-E?” one of them demands, while the other chimes in, “Can we visit the website? Can we find some clips to watch online?”

Those darn kids, what with their internet savvy and their pesky persistence.

We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hit the theater, but just in case your kids are doing something similar, I’ve got you covered for the day. There are actually several cute distractions on the Official Wall-E site, plus you know I always like to check out the ratings on the Tomatometer before I plunk down the money for a movie. (The reviews thus far are very favorable, with my favorite soundbite thus far being the reviewer who calls Wall-E “A Kidconvenient Truth.”)

And if you need even more, check out the Wall-E vignettes on YouTube. Here’s my favorite:

I don’t know about you, but my family is going to the movies tomorrow!

It always cracks me up, a little, when someone decides to call something modern a “classic.” I mean, I guess everything—even the classics—were new at some point, but aren’t classics supposed to be old? Are we even allowed to come up with new classics, at this point?

Whatever. I guess it’s possible to have new (old) classics. I may just need another cup of coffee to properly process it.

Anyway, Entertainment Weekly just did a piece on the “100 New Movie Classics,” and they started it off with The Top 25. These are the films which they feel are stand-outs that will withstand the test of time.

What I find notable on this list is that of twenty-five films, three of their picks are animated. Shrek comes in at 25, The Lion King at 20, and Toy Story was number 5. In the grand scheme of what makes a movie a classic, I think three out of twenty-five is pretty impressive. It certainly proves the point that animated films are managing to be true “family films” that the whole family will enjoy, rather than the so-called family films that parents silently suffer through for Junior’s sake.

Then again, I’m not entirely sure I trust this listing, given that they rank both The Matrix and Blue Velvet—two movies I have watched several times and still fear I’m too unhip to truly “get.”

I guess I’ll stick to Toy Story; I’m pretty sure I have a good grasp on that one.

Well, I guess technically it’s more of an eventuality than a chance—I already told you over a year ago that the beloved silly kids’ book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was being developed into an animated film by Sony. But with a scheduled 2009 debut, little was known at the time other than that it was under development.

A few days ago, however, the MTV Movies Blog revealed that a couple of big names have signed on to voice roles in it:

Between their big-time work on shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “Friends,” and twisted characters in such films as “Just Friends” and “Hot Rod,” Anna Faris and Andy Samberg have proven themselves to be two of our most animated funny people. Now, both are about to become real-life cartoon stars.

Be sure to check out the link to see a video of Anna Faris talking about the film. She’s so… so… well, so delightfully blonde in that clip, I could instantly see her as an animated weather girl. Good call by Sony, methinks.

On the other hand, you already know how I feel about adaptations of books our kids love. They never (for me) truly live up to the greatness of the original written word, and so I’m not sure whether this infuriates me or makes me relieved:

“It’s actually only loosely - very, very loosely - based on the book,” Faris explained. “But it’s about a small town that rains food, basically. So hamburgers come down, and ice cream, and [the residents] have to figure out a way [stop it]. Eventually, it gets more and more dangerous, and they have to figure out a way to stop the satellite machine that’s raining food.”

Maybe it’s a semantic quibble more than anything else, but if it’s only loosely based on the book, why don’t they call it something else…? Because, you know, if they did, I might not whine so much about how it’s not nearly as good/detailed/funny/captivating as the original, when it comes out.

Why the big studios aren’t consulting me on these things, I’ll never understand.

Back when we last checked on the news of the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, the big news was that the movie would be dropping the “Avatar” appellation so as not to conflict with an upcoming James Cameron film releasing around the same time. Fine. Good to know, even.

But what about what’s happening with the movie so far? There’s been precious little news. Until this week!

Coming Soon has an interview with the director up, wherein we learn why Shyamalan wanted to do the film:

“It was just the story. I just loved the story,” he told us. “I loved the characters in the story and I felt like I could be me inside this larger canvas of this very long-form movie. I think it inherently had kind of family issues and serious larger topics–at the center, genocide–all kinds of stuff. Cultural differences at the center. It has Buddhism, Hinduism, things I’m interested in. It does have martial arts in a way that’s not bang bang bang, but more about the person mastering yourself and the things that I love. I took martial arts for a long time. A ten-year-old at the center. That point of view felt good, like I could do my thing.”

I also received a press release from Nickelodeon about M. Night Shyamalan’s appearance at Licensing Show yesterday, where his enthusiasm was readily apparent:

During the presentation for The Last Airbender, Academy Award®-nominated writer/director Shyamalan commented, “Casting has begun and we’ve seen thousands of kids. I believe we’ve found the next superstars.” In recounting his excitement about the project and how he got involved, Shyamalan recalled, “I called up my agent and said I have a movie I want to do. We phoned Paramount and Nickelodeon, and told them that we think they have the next STAR WARS.”

Shyamalan also discussed how he came to work on the Avatar film, crediting his daughter as his first introduction to the action-oriented series. “I sat down and watched four television episodes back-to-back with my kids. We were riveted. I said, ‘This would make a phenomenal movie!’ My wife said, ‘This is the one you’ve been waiting for.”

Exciting stuff! I can’t believe we still have to wait until 2010 for the movie.

I don’t know why this little piece of news delights me so, but it does. I mean, here we are in the age of the Nintendo Wii, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday:

It was Christmas, and my brother and I unwrapped an Atari console amidst whoops and hollers. We spent the remainder of the day playing Pong, Tank, and also a game I think was called Adventure (oh, it was! Here it is!). We thought we were the luckiest and coolest kids around.

I tried to explain Space Invaders to my son the other day and he just stared at me blankly for a while. Then he rallied and started peppering me with questions. Can you fly? (No.) Can you get new weapons? (No.) Well, can you set off a special shield or pass through to a secret level? (No and no.) Finally he gave up and said that maybe I just don’t like games all that much, because that sounded boring.

(I then made him sit through a twenty minute lecture on how I used to walk uphill both ways through the snow, barefoot, to school every day.)

Anyway, you’ll never guess who’s making a Nolan Bushnell biopic:

Leonardo DiCaprio has more fake IDs than Fletch.

The ubiquitous actor-producer has just become attached to star in “Atari,” a pitch that writers Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman sold to Paramount on Friday about the godfather of the video game industry, Nolan Bushnell. DiCaprio’s Appian Way shingle is producing the biopic, which the filmmakers hope will play with elements from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Tucker.”

Bushnell was an engineering student, puzzle-lover and game enthusiast (chess, Go, early computer games) who went from fixing broken pinball machines to launching Atari Corp., a video game manufacturer, in the early ’70s. Its first product was a little game called Pong that transfixed kids in suburban rec rooms across the country and led to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of video game sales. Within a few years, he sold the company to Warner Communications for $28 million.

During the next three decades, Bushnell started many other tech ventures and also created Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theaters.

See? Space Invaders is too interesting.

If you’ve been to the movie theater at all this year, you’ve likely already seen a trailer or twelve for Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks’ latest offering.

My children have been begging to see it for, oh, about three months. Thanks, DreamWorks! Ahem.

But I have a confession to make, too: Every time I see a trailer, I find myself chuckling. I mean, it does look like fun.

Here’s my favorite one:

(”Here, have a dumpling!” Gets me every time.)

Opening weekend is fast upon us, but in the meantime, here’s a few links to get you thinking about it (because, really, what you need to prepare for an animated family film is some deep thought).

• The Tomatometer is showing an overwhelmingly favorable rating, so far.
• Coming Soon has a great, in-depth interview with co-director John Stevenson.
• And finally, if you’re a big Jack Black fan, you’ll want to check out this commentary on whether or not his career will survive this film. I don’t anticipate a problem, but the author makes some interesting points (see: Robin Williams in Aladdin making himself even more annoying than before).

Now there’s nothing left to do but wait for the opening. And maybe practice your kung fu in secret. Hey, to each his own.

Well, I saw the new Indiana Jones movie this past weekend. We opted not to take the kids, after all, because I would hate to sully my title as the Meanest Mother Ever. But my husband and I, we were ready for some good old-fashioned Indy mayhem. The reviews were mixed, but we headed out with high hopes.

Our verdict? If you grew up on Raiders of the Lost Ark, this is a great film to take you on a fun little stroll down memory lane. It’s not the greatest movie I’ve ever seen, but I found it eminently satisfying for what it was. I’m glad we went.

(Most of the reviews complaining about the film are saying that it’s too campy or too predictable, to which I merely say, “I’m sorry, but have you seen the other movies?” Of course it’s campy and predictable. That’s sort of the point.)

Anyway, whether you’ve seen the movie yet or not, here’s a few little Indiana Jones themed distractions for you to check out this morning:

• AOL has 20 Fun Fact About Indiana Jones. (Did you know George Lucas wanted Tom Selleck to play Indy?)
• Dose has Ten Things Indiana Jones Can Do Better Than Your Grandpa. (So, your grandpa fought Nazis during WWII, for example, but Indy fights them before, during, and after.)
• Finally, MTV tells us 10 Things You Need To Know about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, including the lowdown on Shia LaBeouf’s groin injury during filming (frankly, I could’ve lived happily without those details, thanks).

May I also just point out that Harrison Ford is now 65 years old, and looking really, really good? I thought he was maybe 50. I’m off to buy myself a fedora, as I now suspect it’s the key to staying youthful….

It’s so not fair.

Why is it that as women age, they lose their appeal, but when men start getting a little grayer and ruddier they generally just become more delicious? (Hey, I’m a mom, but I’m not dead.) As I was saying: Not fair.

I have no idea why that’s on my mind right now. Oh, why, helloooooo there, Harrison Ford! When Raiders of the Lost Ark burst onto the big screen I was not yet old enough to appreciate the excellent eye candy that Ford presents, but as the movies continued I began to see the appeal. And now—with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opening this weekend—I must say that I think he’s still looking mighty fine. See for yourself:

If you, like me, grew up on Indiana Jones, you’re now looking at a childhood treasure come full circle. With this latest installment, it’s your chance to share the adventure with your kids, and to listen to them hoot and holler and roll your eyes when you tell them that you saw the first movie back in fifth grade when the big boxes of candy only cost $.75.

Checking The Tomatometer yields excellent news; it looks like the new movie will not disappoint. But PG-13? Hmmmm. I’ll have to do some thinking, as I’m not sure my kids are ready for that yet. Maybe I’ll have to go see it without them, even. (Hey, the Indiana Jones LEGO sets are all on sale. I could assuage my guilt with one of those.)

And then there would be no eye-rolling and and I could just enjoy Harrison Ford, erm, I mean, the movie, in peace.