Combining amazing scenery, some pretty imaginative dialogue, and an adorable bear family, DisneyNature brings Alaska’s Brown Bears to the screen for viewers to get a peek inside their lives. Bears is a fun live-action film that is a window opening on the wilderness of Alaska.

 

Before you read further, you’re probably wondering if the bears all make it through the film alive. That’s an important element when deciding on watching a film or showing it to sensitive children. Okay, spoiler alert – yes, they are all alive at the end of the film, so rest assured this is something everyone in the family can enjoy in peace.

 

The film follows a mother bear (named Sky by the filmmakers) and her two cubs (Scout and Amber) as they awaken from their first hibernation and leave the safety of their den to look for food and explore the great land of Alaska. The state has over five million acres of protected land, and it is gorgeous. Just looking at this Blu-ray is like a travelogue for the 49^th state.

 

The family ventures out to look for salmon, which is full of protein and something they need to stock up on in order to make it through the next winter’s hibernation. They must face dangers – an avalanche which is deadly however quite beautiful when watching in high def in the comfort of your home, wolves who are hungry for bear cubs, and other forces of nature.

 

The dialogue the filmmakers put over the scenes is entertaining. Of course, we don’t really know what the bears are thinking, but hey, why not make this entertaining as well as educational and enjoyable? Scout loves to frolic and Amber often hitches a ride on her mother’s back. These two little cubs grow quickly over the seasons. Then when winter comes, they return to the mountain to dig a den for the next hibernation. They sleep for six months before starting this process over again. Sky is a dedicated and adoring mother and everyone will enjoy this look at the lives of this Brown Bear family.

 

The bonus features are as interesting as the actual movie. “Welcome to Alaska” is a feature about the film crew and the majestic location in which they set up to film this extraordinary nature film. They had to arrive by plane and, as a cameraman says, “it’s just us and the bears” out here. Katmai National Park is scenic and impressive. It’s “rugged but beautiful terrain.”

 

“How Did They Film That?” is another feature looking at the two years it took to create this film. It was “a massive undertaking for the Disney Nature crew.” They say their greatest challenge was filming the three bears leaving their den high in the mountain. From the air, on the ground, and in the water, these dedicated filmmakers are responsible for bringing this amazing film to the screen.

 

“The Future of Bears” looks at the bears and their habitat. Dr. Jane Goodall visited the location during filming and was awestruck by the beats. They are smart, not ferocious, and are in a fight for survival. Not only do the bears need protecting, but also their habitat and their food source, which are salmon that live in the ocean so the oceans need protecting as well. This is the ultimate circle of life. Everything is interconnected.

 

“A Guide to Living with Bears” is the final feature describing how the film crew relied on their guides to predict the movements of the bears and help them safely film the extraordinary adventure of Sky and her cubs.

 

Bears is a beautiful look at life and nature. This combo pack includes both a DVD and a Blu-ray disc. I highly recommend viewing on the Blu-ray disc. Bears is rated G.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

Sofia the First is one of Disney Junior’s popular series bringing the fun of childhood together with royalty. Little Sofia is a Disney princess-in-training, and she, along with her family and friends, have some pretty fun adventures.

 

This new DVD includes five episodes from the hit series. The title episode, “The Enchanted Feast”, is filled with the magic and wisdom associated with this little princess. Fans of the show know that Sofia wears a special amulet that, when she needs additional help and inspiration, summons one of the other Disney princesses. In this case it is Snow White who makes an appearance when Sofia’s instinct tells her one thing and everyone else tells her something different. Sofia knows there is something not right with Sascha the Sorceress, who abruptly appeared in time for the Tri-Kingdom enchanted feast. In fact, Sascha is really the evil fairy Miss Nettle in disguise. It is Snow White who helps her trust in herself and ultimately save the feast and everyone there.

 

In another episode titled “The Buttercups,” Sofia goes with her troop (including two new members Peg and Meg) on a hike into the forest. Sofia was a Buttercup before she became a princess. Being overly concerned about his new daughter, the king is apprehensive about the hike and doesn’t want anything to happen to her so he instructs Baileywick to accompany he with the instructions not to let her get even a scratch. Unfortunately, in order for Sofia to earn her badges, she must perform tasks herself, but Baileywick insists he does them for her. In the end, everyone realizes that in order to learn and grow, kids need to do things themselves, even if it means a scratch or two.

 

 

“Two Princesses and a Baby” is a fun episode in which Sofia’s new sister and brother (Amber and James) are about to celebrate their birthday. Being twins they always celebrate together, but this year Amber wants the day to herself. A wish turns James into a baby, and with that comes a lot of trouble for the girls. Baby James is definitely a handful, but a cute one!

 

“Tea for Too Many” and “Great Aunt Venture” are the final episodes on this DVD. Just FYI, Aunt Venture is a hoot! She’s full of energy and exuberance.

 

A bonus included in the box is a small hand-held mirror. It reflects (pun intended) the storylines of the Morpho Mirrors and Snow White in “The Enchanted Feast.” It’s just a little extra fun that is included with the five enchanting episodes and original songs.

 

Sofia the First: The Enchanted Feast is rated TV-Y. Even though it is meant for young viewers, adults will enjoy it too. After all, who doesn’t love a little princess or a princess-in-training?

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

We’ve all thought about it. We’ve seen movies, heard stories, read books, and contemplated the idea of something more to life. Heaven is for Real is the true story about a boy who says he visited heaven. Based on the New York Times bestselling book, this movie tells the heartwarming story of four-year-old Colton Burpo whose story of his visit to heaven has changed the lives of countless people around the world.

 

Greg Kinnear stars as Todd Burpo, the father of this incredible young boy. Todd owns a garage door company, is a volunteer firefighter, coaches wrestling at the local school, is the father of two young kids, and is the minister in the local church. He wears a lot of hats, but the most important comes when his son is near death and he must gather the conviction to understand something no one knows exactly how to deal with.

 

Young Colton (Connor Corum) is a sweet little boy. He’s an average four-year-old. He likes to play and his patience for sitting still is lacking. He’s a busy little tyke. When he falls ill, his mother (Kelly Reilly) and father take him to the hospital where he is rushed into surgery to save his life. This little guy is near death. He ends up surviving and little by little he reveals what happened to him while he was in the operating room.

 

Colton has no concept that his story about visiting heaven would be controversial. After all, he’s just a little kid, and his experience was basically normal to him. His discussion about heaven does something to his father. Todd is torn apart by his son’s story. He’s a minister yet he has a hard time dealing with the story that Colton tells. Then Colton reveals things that he couldn’t possibly know. This is startling to Todd and his wife.

 

Colton is a sweet innocent child, yet his knowledge of things that happened before he was born is remarkable. How does he know these things?

 

This movie has touched people around the world. It is definitely slanted to the Christian side, but is still interesting to non-Christians. It provides people with not only hope, but also answers. Most of us want to believe there is more to life than what we see in the here and now. Colton’s story, and that of others, is something that adds comfort to anyone dealing with a tragedy, death, or facing adversity.

 

Bonus features include deleted scenes and a “making of” featurette. There is also a featurette about how the filmmakers created “their” heaven. What exactly does heaven look like? It’s interesting to see how they combined artistic elements to make the heaven we see in the film. The real Burpo family also discusses their experience and how it plays out in the movie.

 

This is young Connor’s first film. He is charming as the kid who discusses his experience matter-of-factly without any prejudice.

 

Heaven is for Real is rated PG for thematic material including some medical situations.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

This new collection of Grace Kelly films includes many extras for fans of the actress/princess. In her relatively short but definitely fruitful acting career, Kelly managed to climb to the height of her profession, winning several awards including an Academy Award for her performance in the 1954 film The Country Girl. Grace Kelly Collection contains six of her memorable films.

 

In the 1953 film Mogambo Kelly costarred with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. Grace Kelly was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in this film.

 

Her next feature film was the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery Dial M for Murder, in which she starred opposite Ray Milland. Kelly was the perfect Hitchcock blonde – cool and sophisticated.
Kelly was a busy actress in 1954, with four more releases that year, including The Country Girl (opposite Bing Crosby), and The Bridges at Toko-Ri (opposite William Holden). Her fourth release of the year, Rear Window, is not included in this collection.

 

Then in 1955 Kelly teamed up again with Alfred Hitchcock for the mystery To Catch a Thief. This classic film elevated her screen appeal when she played the love interest of a very dashing and cunning ex-cat-burglar, played by Cary Grant.
In 1956 Grace Kelly again starred with Bing Crosby along with Frank Sinatra in High Society, a musical adaptation of The Philadelphia Story.

 

Bonus features on the discs include features about director Alfred Hitchcock, wardrobe designer Edith Head, composer Cole Porter, as well as “making of” and behind the scenes featurettes. There are also thirteen photo cards.

Perhaps the most important additional feature is Grace Kelly’s final interview, which took place just before her untimely death in 1982. This July 1982 interview was conducted by Pierre Salinger and is over 50 minutes in length. Kelly was 52 years old when she died in a car accident. In 1956, just after completing the films High Society and The Swan, Kelly retired from acting to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco. From then on she was known as Princess Grace.

 

In this interview Grace discussed her feelings about royalty, which she said, “represents a continuity.” She liked tradition. She also said modern monarchs work hard at their jobs. In her principality, the royal family knows the residents of the principality and interacts with them. This, of course, is due to the fact that the population is quite small in that country.

 

Grace also discussed the differences between her upbringing and her children’s. They were brought up multilingual, and besides being fluent in French and English, some also speak Italian and German. The press and her feelings about them are part of the interview. She felt strongly about the freedom of people to express their feelings, but not to put words into her mouth. She detested the fact that the press often printed things about herself and her children that were completely false. She said people had “no freedom from the press.”
Princes Grace discussed disciplining her children, the heads of state she met, and the difference between Europe and America, including the fact that she felt America lost its influence overseas for a while due to “weak leadership.” She also compared the fact that people who came to America to live wanted to be completely American and associated with the country, disassociating them from their old lives. That was the melting pot of America, which is not the way it is today.

 

Finally, Salinger asked the princess how she would like to be remembered, which is a poignant part of the interview since she would be dead in just a few months. She wanted to be remembered as “understanding and kind.”

This entire interview is amazing, and anyone interested in Princess Grace should definitely watch it.

 

Grace Kelly Collection is a remarkable collection of Hollywood history and wonderful films, as well as the poignant final interview with Princess Grace of Monaco.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook