With the holidays here, my Netflix watching goes into hyper drive. After braving Black Friday, putting up the tree, taking down the decorations out of the attic, putting the decorations up… You get the picture. I’m ready to crack open a carton of Egg Nog, put my fuzzy socked feet up and just relax. Here are some of the movies/shows the you and the elves need to watch on Netflix in December.

What I’ll be Watching on Netflix in December

The Jungle Book (Nov. 30) - Raised by a family of wolves since birth, Mowgli (Neel Sethi) must leave the only home he’s ever known when the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) unleashes his mighty roar. Guided by a no-nonsense panther (Ben Kingsley) and a free-spirited bear (Bill Murray), the young boy meets an array of jungle animals, including a slithery python and a smooth-talking ape. Along the way, Mowgli learns valuable life lessons as his epic journey of self-discovery leads to fun and adventure. Director Jon Favreau creates a completely immersive movie that literally makes you feel like you have been dropped in the jungle. Great for the whole family!

 

The Angry Birds Movie (Dec. 1) - Flightless birds lead a mostly happy existence, except for Red (Jason Sudeikis), who just can’t get past the daily annoyances of life. His temperament leads him to anger management class, where he meets fellow misfits Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb. Red becomes even more agitated when his feathered brethren welcome green pigs to their island paradise. As the swine begin to get under his skin, Red joins forces with Chuck and Bomb to investigate the real reason behind their mysterious arrival. Everyone’s favorite app becomes a hysterical animated feature and some really fantastic actors decide to lend their voices to the all of the fun.

 

Trollhunters: Season 1 (Dec.23) - When ordinary teenager Jim Lake Jr. stumbles upon a mystical amulet on his way to school one morning, he inadvertently discovers an extraordinary secret civilization of mighty trolls beneath his small town of Arcadia. Strong-willed and seeking adventure but wholly unprepared for the responsibilities thrust upon him, Jim is forced to take on the exalted mantle of Trollhunter, sworn to protect the good trolls from powerful enemies bent on revenge. The first human ever to hold the honor, Jim abruptly goes from fighting his way through the daily mayhem of high school to joining a war that has raged for centuries, a conflict that now threatens all of mankind and troll-kind alike. I’ve been ACHING to see this since it was announced. I’m a big Guillermo del Toro and this sounds like a lot of fun for kids and parents alike.

There’s a ton of new stuff that will be up on Netflix in December, so be sure to pace yourself.

Happy Watching!!!

My family and I got invited to see an advanced screening of Disney’s Moana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort in Walt Disney World and we had an absolute blast! If you haven’t seen Moana, you need to. It’s beautifully animated, funny, heart warming and has some of the best songs in a Disney film ever (yep… better than Frozen). But, it’s also a really important movie. It solidifies a creative streak of near perfect animated films that began over six years ago. So, how has Moana reinforced Disney Animation’s New Golden Age?

How Moana Has Reinforced Disney Animation’s New Golden Age

First Golden Age of Disney Animation

The First Golden Age is where everyone is going to disagree. From 1937-1942 Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. All impressive films that laid the foundation for animation being taken seriously as an art form. But, I’m going to argue that 1950-1961 is where we see the magic start to happen. Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. During this time we see two of the most important aspects of Disney animated movies really bloom. The heroine and the villain.

Second Golden Age of Disney Animation

A lot of the films that Disney made from the mid 60’s to the mid 80’s took a lot of backlash. Not that any of us should EVER listen to critics, but “uninspired’, “unoriginal” and “lack of creativity” were thrown around quite a bit. Personally, I’m a huge fan of The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Rescuers and The Black Cauldron. All were great movies, but they certainly broke away from some of the formulas that people had come to expect from Disney. Then, in 1989, The Little Mermaid jump started the Second Golden Age. It was a beautiful film that won over critics and movie goers. People who didn’t have kids were going to see it. You would walk down the street and people were singing the songs. It was an instant hit! What followed was of string of animated classics that is almost mind boggling. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. All of them are as close to perfection as any film can get. Wonderful story telling with accessible, lovable characters, fantastic music and jaw dropping animation. The creativity literally poured out of the screen… Then Pixar happened.

Third Golden Age of Disney Animation

I’m not bashing Pixar, quite the contrary. I’m a big fan! Monsters Inc. makes me laugh like a crazy person and cry like a baby all at the same time. Pixar’s Toy Story took animated films into a whole different stratosphere. The stories were original, the animation was original, the characters felt real even though you knew that a toy spaceman and cowboy just COULD’NT be real! It was a new experience and it took Disney animation a while to find it’s footing. I remember being in an advanced screening for Tangled and watching my (at the time) six-year-old daughter just absolutely enthralled by it. Disney Animation seemed to be finding its voice again. Then came another rush of insanely creative and fantastic movies… Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and Big Hero 6. Then 2016 brought us Zootopia. It is the best written film this year by a landslide. Socially, it said what everyone in America needed to hear and then wrapped it up in a brilliant mystery that kept you going until the end. I love this movie! But, Disney didn’t stop there. Moana has some of the same traits as past films and then throws you a curve ball.

There is no romantic through line. There is, if you count the love that Moana has for her family and culture. A young girl senses her destiny, knows what she must do and ventures forth into the unknown. It helped that Auli’i Cravalho, who voiced Moana, was only 15-years-old when she began working on the film. She brings an earnestness and natural believability that sets her apart from every other Disney princess. Now, throw in the biggest movie star in the world (Dwayne Johnson), a man who has so much musical talent it’s unfair to the rest of us (Lin-Manuel Miranda), let the co-director of Zootopia write it (Jared Bush) and then let the directors of The Little Mermaid bring it all together (John Musker and Ron Clements).

Moana is the movie that blends everything that is wonderful about Disney Animation into one perfect experience. If this movie is any indication of what the future holds. I am looking forward to this New Golden Age.

 

My daughter and I are BIG fans of truTV’s Impractical Jokers. She’s a tween and she thinks it’s damn near the funniest thing on television. She’s a little young to remember when Nitro Circus was on, but I used to watch that show religiously. I always wanted to see it live and I never got the chance. But now, my kid and I are going to be able to watch both of these shows live and we won’t even have to leave our living room. Also, to get all of my readers as pumped as I am, I’m doing an Impractical Jokers Live: Nitro Circus Spectacular {Giveaway}!!!

truTV and Nitro Circus, the world’s leading youth action sports and entertainment brand, are coming together to produce a two-hour special live event, Impractical Jokers Live: Nitro Circus Spectacular, an ultimate celebration to cap off the fifth season of the popular truTV series. Hosted by extreme sports superstar Travis Pastrana and powered by the unmatched showmanship of Nitro Circus, the season finale will feature Joe, Murr, Q and Sal, collectively known as The Tenderloins, tackling their biggest challenges yet, including two high-stakes live punishments and a four-part obstacle course.

Set to air Thursday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. ET/PT., the Impractical Jokers Live: Nitro Circus Spectacular will be broadcast live from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ and will reveal which Joker can best overcome their nerves to claim victory for ultimate bragging rights – and their favorite charity. The Jokers have a great history with Prudential Center, having visited The Rock to film punishments with the New Jersey Devils and Top Rank Boxing.

 To further fuel fans’ thirst for all things Impractical Jokers on the night of the Impractical Jokers Live: Nitro Circus Spectacular telecast, truTV.com will stream a pre- and post-episode digital show, live from Prudential Center. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, the pre-show will feature guests, exclusive video and surprises leading into the night’s event. Immediately following the live special, the four Jokers will sit down with the truTV.com post-show crew for an exclusive interview to discuss their experience as well as answer questions fans have submitted via social media.

Who’ll get punished at Impractical Jokers Live: Nitro Circus Spectacular?  For the 1st time, FANS DECIDE. Vote using #Fanshavethelastlaugh and #PunishJoe #PunishMurr #PunishQ #PunishSal.

Here’s the best part… One lucky winner is going to win a Impractical Jokers T-shirt AND a $100 Visa gift card to host a live viewing party on November 3!!!! Just enter below.

I remember the first time that I saw Animal House. I was thirteen-years-old and at that point in my young life it was the funniest movie I had ever seen (It’s still in my Top 10 favorite movies of all time!). Every generation deserves a movie like that! If you’re under 25 (or if you want to be!), you know the Website TotalFratMove.com. Now, one of the most popular Websites for college students is moving from the phone and computer screens to the big screen, with Total Frat Movie.

Total Frat Movie is unapologetically raunchy. Don’t watch this film with your parents or your kids! It begins with a stoked Charlie Martin (Justin Deeley) as he is initiated as the newest member of Alpha Chi Gamma. The fun is quickly terminated when the Kappas, their frat rival, secretly sabotage their celebratory fireworks and burn the Alpha house to the ground. Dean Kravitz (Tom Green) disciplines them by revoking their chapter, and just like that, Charlie’s dream of following in his late father’s footsteps, one of Alpha’s most legendary members, goes up in smoke. Three years later, Charlie discovers a loophole in the college’s Greek Life guidelines, so the Dean agrees to reinstate the Alphas under one condition: get 15 members by the end of rush week. One problem… rush week starts in 24 hours.

It’s the current generation’s Animal House, and the back story is as fun as the film itself.

Four years ago, Executive Producer Robert Sanitsky received a call from his then 19-year-old daughter, from her sorority house at the University of Texas. Sanitsky recalls, “She said, “Dad, there’s this new website. I don’t know where it came from, but in the last three weeks it’s all anybody’s talking about.” She said, “Dad, I think it would make a great film or TV show.”

A few weeks later Sanitsky and co-executive producer Brian Ross were on their way to Austin to meet the owners of the Website, fraternity brothers Madison Wickham and Ryan Young, to discuss bringing the site to the movies, television and more. Three years later, when TotalFratMove.com had  reached 12 million unique monthly views and was listed in the 10 most watched websites for college students, just behind Google, ESPN and Nintendo, It was finally time to make a movie.

This is a Red Band Trailer and shouldn’t be viewed at work or around the kids… Enjoy!

You can purchase Total Frat Movie on iTunes or on Amazon.

 

This is a sponsored blog; while the views expressed here were genuinely mine, consideration was paid to me by Gravitas to review this product.

 

 

 

Starting in September, the contract between Netflix and Disney will kick in to high gear. Netflix now holds exclusive U.S. rights to Disney’s films. Now here is where it gets REALLY exciting! This includes not just films under the Disney brand, but also Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar. It looks like Disney films have found a new home at Netflix.

Amazon Prime and Starz will no longer carry Disney’s new releases. Viewers will still be able to stream previous Disney releases, but moving forward, all future films from Captain America: Civil War onward will only be able to be viewed on Netflix. The Marvel geek inside of me just did a dance. This will also apply for films under Disney’s other subsidiaries, such as Zootopia, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Here are the Disney movies that my family and I are watching right now:

Zootopia – “In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.” My daughter and I saw this twice in the theater and have watched it three times on Netflix. It quickly became my favorite animated film since Finding Nemo.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – “Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.” An instant classic from the minute that Johnny Depp stepped into the first frame. After over a decade, it holds up on every level.

Brother Bear – “When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.” One of the most underrated Disney films of all time. There are a lot of deep themes in this movie. But, it isn’t heavy handed or overbearing. It’s a beautifully written and animated film that is more in the tone of a Studio Ghibli film. This is one that the whole family needs to see.

There are going to be so many great Disney films to look forward to…

 

Which Disney Film Do You Want to See On Netflix!?!