Manhattan East Side
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"The Oogieloves in The BIG Balloon Adventure"
This delightful romp is perfect for audiences of all ages!
The Oogieloves
With my 4 1/2 year-old daughter Sadie out of school the past few weeks, I've been stretched to my wit's end trying to find engaging and educational ways to occupy her time. Last Friday, I finally caved and agreed to take her to see a big box office animated movie she'd expressed interest in seeing (I won't name names, but it involved a little boy and lots and lots of zombies). What a mistake! Not only was the movie incredibly violent, but it also contained words that I had no desire for Sadie to hear or repeat (indeed, it seemed as though "stupid" was the only word most of the characters knew), and the lead character was bullied and mistreated by his classmates, sister and parents. Sadie seemed to take it all in stride, but I was cringing throughout the movie and left furious that I'd spent $24 for my daughter to be exposed to such inappropriate material.
Indeed, the experience left me wondering why filmmakers seem to think that, so long as the characters performing the action are animated, it's perfectly acceptable to include violence, bad words and other cringe-worthy material in movies marketed to children. Why does every movie have to have a "bad guy"? Can't a movie just tell a story? I just don't get it, and neither does Kenn Viselman, the producer of the new first-of-its-kind movie The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure. My daughter Sadie and I were fortunate enough to meet and speak with Kenn during an intimate roundtable and screening of this new movie a couple months back, and I was duly impressed by Kenn and his commitment to creating an entertainment option that parents could feel good about sharing with their kids, which is precisely what The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure is all about.
The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure is a unique, interactive movie experience for young children and their families. It's a family musical that allows children to be children, encouraging them to sing and dance with their friends on screen and to help “move” the adventure along. From the opening title sequence until the final song and dance number, children are invited to take part in this fun and fantastic Oogielove adventure. Indeed, Sadie loved following along with the various prompts in the movie directing her to get up out of her seat and dance - a rare occurrence, as I'm usually trying to keep her in her seat when we go to the movies.
The film follows the Oogieloves - Goobie, Zoozie and Toofie - as they set out to find five magical golden balloons in time for their good friend Schluufyʼs surprise birthday party. The Oogieloves live in LovelyLoveville, simply the most beautiful and joy- filled place in the whole wide world. A place so lovely that, like a throwback to the 1950s, all of its inhabitants support and bring out the best in each other. From the quirky human beings to the goofy animals to the adventurous Oogieloves themselves, everyone in LovelyLoveville knows how to have a good time! With the help of their best friends, J. Edgar, Windy Window and Ruffy, and the support of many extraordinary new friends whom they meet along the way (including none other than Toni Braxton, Cloris Leachman, Christopher Lloyd, Chazz Palminteri, Cary Elwes and Jaime Pressly), the Oogieloves travel throughout all of beautiful LovelyLoveville on their search. They’ll need plenty of creative thinking, teamwork and enthusiasm to rescue these one-of-a-kind balloons in time for the big celebration. But when the Oogieloves work together with the audience, they can achieve anything!
Although the film seems quite simple on the surface, I was impressed by the level of thought and detail that clearly went into each character and scene. Younger kids can take in each vignette as an individual, stand-alone story, while older kids will be able to follow the entire progression of the movie as a seamless adventure. And of course, with absolutely no bad words, scary moments or inappropriate innuendos, the movie is a refreshing break from the standard fare marketed to kids these days. Indeed, The Oogieloves and the BIG Ballloon Adventure is exactly what a children's movie should be - lighthearted, sweet and inspiring. Kudos to Kenn for making a movie that allows parents to sit back and witness the joy of their child experiencing and engaging with a movie that is entirely age appropriate.
In our family, the true measure of a movie's resonance with Sadie is her desire to see it again. She tends to get a bit obsessed with the films she enjoys, and demands to watch them over and over again (hence our four trips to Brave this summer). Sure enough, as soon as the closing credits started to roll, Sadie asked "Can we see it again RIGHT NOW?" If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is! For more information on The Oogieloves in The BIG Balloon Adventure, visit www.oogieloves.com.
Indeed, the experience left me wondering why filmmakers seem to think that, so long as the characters performing the action are animated, it's perfectly acceptable to include violence, bad words and other cringe-worthy material in movies marketed to children. Why does every movie have to have a "bad guy"? Can't a movie just tell a story? I just don't get it, and neither does Kenn Viselman, the producer of the new first-of-its-kind movie The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure. My daughter Sadie and I were fortunate enough to meet and speak with Kenn during an intimate roundtable and screening of this new movie a couple months back, and I was duly impressed by Kenn and his commitment to creating an entertainment option that parents could feel good about sharing with their kids, which is precisely what The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure is all about.
The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure is a unique, interactive movie experience for young children and their families. It's a family musical that allows children to be children, encouraging them to sing and dance with their friends on screen and to help “move” the adventure along. From the opening title sequence until the final song and dance number, children are invited to take part in this fun and fantastic Oogielove adventure. Indeed, Sadie loved following along with the various prompts in the movie directing her to get up out of her seat and dance - a rare occurrence, as I'm usually trying to keep her in her seat when we go to the movies.
The film follows the Oogieloves - Goobie, Zoozie and Toofie - as they set out to find five magical golden balloons in time for their good friend Schluufyʼs surprise birthday party. The Oogieloves live in LovelyLoveville, simply the most beautiful and joy- filled place in the whole wide world. A place so lovely that, like a throwback to the 1950s, all of its inhabitants support and bring out the best in each other. From the quirky human beings to the goofy animals to the adventurous Oogieloves themselves, everyone in LovelyLoveville knows how to have a good time! With the help of their best friends, J. Edgar, Windy Window and Ruffy, and the support of many extraordinary new friends whom they meet along the way (including none other than Toni Braxton, Cloris Leachman, Christopher Lloyd, Chazz Palminteri, Cary Elwes and Jaime Pressly), the Oogieloves travel throughout all of beautiful LovelyLoveville on their search. They’ll need plenty of creative thinking, teamwork and enthusiasm to rescue these one-of-a-kind balloons in time for the big celebration. But when the Oogieloves work together with the audience, they can achieve anything!
Although the film seems quite simple on the surface, I was impressed by the level of thought and detail that clearly went into each character and scene. Younger kids can take in each vignette as an individual, stand-alone story, while older kids will be able to follow the entire progression of the movie as a seamless adventure. And of course, with absolutely no bad words, scary moments or inappropriate innuendos, the movie is a refreshing break from the standard fare marketed to kids these days. Indeed, The Oogieloves and the BIG Ballloon Adventure is exactly what a children's movie should be - lighthearted, sweet and inspiring. Kudos to Kenn for making a movie that allows parents to sit back and witness the joy of their child experiencing and engaging with a movie that is entirely age appropriate.
In our family, the true measure of a movie's resonance with Sadie is her desire to see it again. She tends to get a bit obsessed with the films she enjoys, and demands to watch them over and over again (hence our four trips to Brave this summer). Sure enough, as soon as the closing credits started to roll, Sadie asked "Can we see it again RIGHT NOW?" If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is! For more information on The Oogieloves in The BIG Balloon Adventure, visit www.oogieloves.com.
© 2013 Macaroni Kid, LLC