Because trouble comes in all sizes.
The animated feature film “Escape from Planet Earth” produced by Rainmaker Entertainment and distributed in the United States by The Weinstein Company, can best be described as a slick formulaic comedy adventure movie aimed at pleasing the masses. Yet what lifts “Escape from Planet Earth” from the shallow depths of junk food like mediocrity is the tremendous heart of the actors’ performances.
We spent countless hours this year at the 2013 New York Toy Fair walking from aisle to aisle scrutinizing hundreds of the latest and greatest toys. From the toy manufacturing giants such as Mattel to the tiniest independent toy makers, we focused in on the best combinations of innovation and fun. The following list represents what we feel to be the best of show at the 2013 New York Toy Fair.
In the past 3 years of attending the New York Toy Fair, I’ve found the experience to be informative about the industry’s direction. Without question, the integration of technology has become pervasive in almost every toy category. Yet there’s also been a considerable amount of stagnation in respect to big ideas. Instead, innovation seems to occur not from the larger well established companies but rather the small independent upstarts who have the hunger and flexibility to take huge risks.
At a recent media even held at the New York Times building , Hasbro unveiled its toy lineup for 2013. As with the toy industry as a whole, technology continues to play an increasing role in the innovative products being offered by this heralded toy maker. Based on our first impression of the previewed toys, we’ve selected what we feel to be the best of Hasbro Toys for 2013.
Despite cold rain, slush, and an overcrowded Metro North commute into Manhattan, we gladly made our way to the Jacob Javits Center to attend a Disney Pixar “Monsters University” Press event at the 2013 NY Toy Fair. Although one of the featured attendees, Billy Crystal, was absent, John Goodman was on hand to discuss reprising his role of Sully. We also received a firsthand look at the latest “Monsters University” toy lineup to be released in conjunction with the movie.
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t understand the hype attributed to kids show “Yo Gabba Gabba”. After all, the costumed characters seemed like a retro throw back to the psychedelic Sid and Marty Kroft children’s shows of the 1970s such as “H.R. PuffnStuff” or “Sigmund and The Sea-monsters”. Despite my own offspring liking “Yo Gabba Gabba” which they demonstrated with their giggle ladened dancing, I paid no mind to it. As fate would have it, this past weekend I was given complimentary tickets to review the “Yo Gabba Gabba Live!” touring show. Let’s just say it’s difficult to not crack a smile when your kids are moving and grooving to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.
Educational television programs for young children can prove to be invaluable for both kids and their parents. Not having to rely on any television station’s program schedule for kids to view their beloved shows improves the value aspect exponentially. Enter online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus which for a relatively inexpensive subscription price of about $8 per month can provide your kids with the shows they love at any time during the day. Given the vast amount of online kids shows currently available on these services, we’ve selected the top 5 shows which possess the right mix of entertainment and education.
There are lots of games for boys and girls available on the internet today. This is great because it provides them with entertainment for hours on end. Nevertheless, games can also be good for other reasons as well. For example, online games can be useful when it comes to improving a child’s critical thinking. This is because certain games encourage children to use their brain effectively in order to level up.
PlayJam, an award winning company best known for bringing games into the living room via the Smart TV platform, has initiated an intriguing KickStarter campaign for a device they call GameStick. With an estimated retail price of just $79, PlayJam aims to bring an affordable, portable console gaming experience to the masses.