Paddington 2 Review

Disclosure: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the movie I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.

My boys loved the first "Paddington" movie and why wouldn't they? It was about an adorable bear and it was full of adventure. When they heard that we were going to receive a review copy of "Paddington 2" they could not wait for it to arrive in the mail. When it did arrive, we cuddled up on the couch and enjoyed a family movie night together. 

In this movie, Paddington has his eye on a birthday present for his Aunt Lucy and decides to earn money by getting a job. My boys loved watching Paddington try to be a barber and then a window washer and found his behavior at each job amusing. One night, however, Paddington discovers someone stealing the pop-up book he is saving to buy. He chases after him, but instead of the thief being caught, Paddington is arrested for the crime himself and put in jail. Fortunately, his family and his fellow inmates believe he is innocent, and in a combined effort, work to bring down the real criminal.

Both my boys loved the movie and my youngest laughed throughout. I loved watching the effect that Paddington has on the people he meets. Although, he can't please everyone, in most cases he is beloved by all. I did enjoy the movie, but I chuckled at times at a few of the unrealistic moments. For example, Paddington helps transition the jail he is assigned to into a cozier atmosphere with  tablecloths for dining and the prisoners creating meals. 

"Paddington 2" is full of adventures and laughs and is a great movie to share with your family. You can buy the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on April 24.

Oriental Trading Company- Candy Review

Disclosure: I received the following products in exchange for a review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are my honest opinion of the products.

When asked to write a review for the Oriental Trading Company about their candy, I felt like a little kid in a candy store. Since there are so many options to chose from, it was hard to pick. As I browsed their website for candy, a few options stood out among the rest: lollipops, mints, and Valentine's Day candy.

Now you are probably wondering why I didn't mention chocolate. I love chocolate. However, I am a teacher and my students love it when I have lollipops for rewards. In particular, they love the Tootsie® Caramel Apple Pops. Now while these lollipops are available at some of my local stores, Oriental Trading Company is the only place that I have seen these lollipops offered in three flavors: Golden Delicious, green apple, and red Macintosh. These lollipops are always a hit with my students.

Besides the Tootsie® Caramel Apple Pops, I picked Charms® Mini Pops. The bag comes with approximately 325 pops in twelve flavors, including cotton candy which is a very popular flavor with my students. I also chose Dum Dums® because my youngest son absolutely loves them. Lollipops are they only candy he likes. I chose assorted Dum Dums® and others that came with Smarties®. What caught my eye, however, were the bags of solid color Dum Dums®. I chose the Blue Solid Color Dum Dums®, but there are a variety of colors to chose from including black and white. These would be perfect for any party with a color theme. The Blue Solid Color Dum Dums® are blueberry flavor.

The next thing I chose was candy for my kids to hand out on Valentines's Day. My middle son chose Wonka® Lik-m-aid®Fun Dip Valentine Candy Card Kits. For my youngest, we chose Lifesavers® Hard Candy Lollipops, as well as the Owl Lollipop Covers Craft Kit. My son enjoyed putting together the lollipop covers for his classmates and can't wait to pass these out to his friends. I think they are adorable. However, the Lifesavers® Hard Candy Lollipops did not fit good under the covers so we are going to use Dum Dums® instead. 

Of course, after picking out candy for my students and kids, I decided to pick one of my favorite mints for myself, Bobs Sweet Stripe Soft Peppermint Balls. I love these mints as they melt in my mouth.

With a large selection of candy that would be perfect for a party, holiday, your classroom, office, or home, check out the Oriental Trading Company.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: 20% off Mrs. Fields

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and Mrs. Fields is celebrating with Angry Birds Cookie Cakes and Milk-&-Cookie Boxes. My boys love both cookies and Angry Birds so these would be a big hit with them. As a sweet treat, they are also offering 20% off from now until May 20 with the promo code: NCCCD. So if you need an excuse to indulge in a chocolate chip cookie, this is the perfect opportunity!

LEGO® Scooby-Doo!: Blowout Beach Bash!

Disclosure: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the movie I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.

Synopsis: Scooby-Doo! and his pals Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy are no strangers to solving spooky mysteries filled with all types of ghouls and goblins. This time is no different. As Scooby-Doo! and his friends are on their way to Blowout Beach for a real swinging beach party in the Mystery Machine, the Ghost Pirates threaten to ruin the gang's good vibes. It is up to Scooby and the gang to get the party back on track, without missing a beat.

Our thoughts: My boys are big fans of Scooby-Doo movies, so they were excited to hear that a new movie was being released. In LEGO® Scooby-Doo!: Blowout Beach Bash, the gang has decided to go to Blowout Beach to relax and have fun, but instead get swept away by another mystery. As they arrive at Blowout Beach, they learn that the Ghost Pirates have scared away the tourists and so it is time to investigate. 

We all found the movie entertaining and enjoyed a few surprises along the way.  In particular I liked the fact that Fred and Velma seem intent to find ways to relax and have fun, while Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby are more interested in solving the mystery. We also loved trying to guess who the masked villains were and I'd say we were partially correct this time. Overall, we thought the movie was good. So if you are interested in buying this movie, it will be available tomorrow on Digital HD, Blu-ray™, and DVD.

The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-Wrestlemania! Review

Disclosure: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the movie I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.

Synopsis: Blast off to adventure in this all-new animated feature where our favorite space-age family, The Jetsons, meet the superstars of WWE! When George unearths WWE's Big Show, who has been frozen for 100 years, the futuristic face-off begins! Once thawed, Big Show wastes no time in taking the WWE Championship Belt from the current robot champ as well as taking control of Orbit City. It's up to The Jetsons to travel back in time and enlist help from WWE's brightest stars: Sheamus, Alicia Fox, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and the Uso brothers. Can this cosmic tag-team prevail and set this twisted time-warp straight? Tune it and see with The Jetsons and WWE!

Our thoughts:  My boys love wrestling, so although they have never seen The Jetsons before, they were excited to watch The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-Wrestlemania! As we began watching the movie, my boys were excited to see what wrestlers would appear. They were each happy to see one of their favorites in the movie. One enjoys watching Sheamus, while the other likes Vince McMahon. In the movie, my oldest son got a kick out of the idea that in the future humans are not expected to do much because robots pretty much do everything for you. My other son liked the idea that one of his favorite wrestlers was able to help save the day. For me, the best part of watching the movie was being able to share a cartoon from my childhood with my boys. 

Scooby-Doo Shaggy's Showdown Review

Disclosure: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the movie I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Press Release Synopsis: It's high action and spirited adventure when the Mystery Inc. gang visits the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, located in Sorghum City, an abandoned cowboy town-turned-tourist attraction. While visiting his cousin Tawny, Shaggy and his pals discover that the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, owned by Tawny's family is tormented by a ghostly cowboy named Dapper Jack Rogers, an ancestor who bears a striking resemblance to Shaggy!

The gang soon learns that Dapper Jack's ghostly apparition has frightened most of the visitors from the ranch and nearby Sorghum City, forcing many businesses in the area to close. Without any tourists, the Crazy Q Dude Ranch, which has been struggling, is sure to close its doors. Unless Tawny raises enough money for the next mortgage payment, the family business will be sold. 

Determined to save his cousin's ranch, Shaggy puts the Mystery Inc. gang on the case, and together they set out to solve the mystery behind Dapper Jack's haunting. It's an unforgettable adventure set in the wild West, filled with rodeos, barn dances and non-stop cowboy high-jinks!

Our thoughts: My boys love Scooby-Doo movies, so of course they wanted to review the movie Scooby-Doo Shaggy's Showdown. I was a little skeptical, as I am not really interested in Western movies. I'm glad they convinced me because I did enjoy the movie. As always, it doesn't matter where the gang goes, a mystery is sure to follow. In this movie, I liked how the masked villain looked like Shaggy's ancestor Dapper Jack. I also liked the fact that being a cowboy came naturally to Shaggy, who is able to use his cowboy skills to help save the day. This was a great family-friendly movie to watch with my boys and it kept us entertained from the beginning to the end.