Storks delivers some really cute scenes (pun intended). It’s a clever animated film for the entire family.

A long time ago storks were the way people got babies. But things changed and the storks moved into another business – delivering packages. They hadn’t delivered babies in a very long time.

Little Nate Gardner is a lonely little boy. He’s an only child of two hard-working parents. The little guy is sad. He decides he wants a little brother so he abruptly informs his parents of that fact. When they tell him that that’s not going to happen, Nate accidentally discovers an old pamphlet in the attic advertising the storks delivery of babies. So, what does this little fellow do? He immediately writes to the storks ordering a baby brother – with Ninja skills.

The letter arrives at the storks’ factory and finds its way into the hands of the only human working in the facility. Tulip was going to be delivered to her parents 18 years ago but the location finder – or GPS – for her house was destroyed so she ended up staying with the storks. As a stork employee she’s a screw up, and when the letter arrives she sends it off to the baby factory. Poof! A baby girl is created. Now it’s up to Tulip and a hard-working stork named Junior to get this little baby to its home before anyone finds out that Tulip mistakenly turned back on the baby making machine.

What ensues is some fun action as they try to get the little bundle of joy to her appropriate home. Along the way they meet a pack of wolves that decide they want the baby for themselves. Who can resist that adorable face and sweet laughter? But the baby needs to get to her home and Junior and Tulip forge on.

Meanwhile, Nate is hard at work making a slide for the baby to be dropped into by the storks. When his parents see this they try to stop him but soon discover that their work is second to their child. The family bonds together and for the first time Nate is not lonely. He is happy spending time with his parents and they are happy being with him.

Well, through a bunch of screw-ups everything works out for the best, and the baby-making machine is back in business, at least for a while. You have to see all the cute little babies it creates.

Bonus features include deleted scenes and a “how to” featurette about taking care of a baby. It’s a little unconventional.

Andy Samberg, Kate Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, and Anton Starkman provide the main voices. Needless to say, this is a cute little film that is filled with imagination.

Storks is rated PG for mild action and some thematic elements. It’s available on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K packs.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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.

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From the studios of Disneynature comes another interesting and educational film about life in the wild. Growing up Wild is available on VOD and Digital HD. Check out Disney Movies Anywhere to get your copy to view on your devices.

The film follows five young animals through their first years of life. The cameras are pointed at brown bear cubs in Alaska, cheetahs in Arica, lions in Africa, Chimpanzees in the African rainforest, and Macaque in Sri Lanka. The film has an interesting narration and storyline for each group of animals, and although the individual stories are fictional, they are based on the true-life adventures of these animals.

Every one of these animals faces various challenges however they all have their families for initial support. The first year of a brown bear cub’s life is the most important as many of them don’t survive. It’s a dangerous country.

The cheetahs have a close family to help them and especially their mother who teaches them the ways of life in the wild. The young animals learn from their mother and the others in the group. The lions stay together as large extended families for a long time until the time comes when one must go out on his own. The macaques live in large groups and the chimpanzees keep their collection to about 30 family members. With all these families supporting their young, there are similarities and differences between each of them.

Hierarchies exist among the macaques, and if you’re not born into a prominent family, you’re low on the totem pole. Sad but true.

These five young animals will steal your heart as you watch them mature and learn how to survive in the wild. As they say, “Life is an adventure,” and especially for the little brown bear cub, the young chimp, the young macaque, the lion, and the little cheetah.

Disneynature began making films in 2008 with the intent on bringing together top filmmakers with wildlife stories to entertain and educate viewers. Although Walt Disney began wildlife filmmaking and aired his movies on TV (1948-1960), these feature films began with Disneynature’s Earth, Oceans, African Cats, Chimpanzee, Bears, and Monkey Kingdom. Not only does Disneynature bring the stories to the screen, the company has a Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund that supports many initiatives.

Disneynature’s Growing up Wild is a fun film for families to view and discuss.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

This new version of the classic 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven, stars Denzel Washington as the leader of a gang of misfits who are just hanging on after the Civil War. When a woman (Haley Bennett) approaches him about retaking her town from a ruthless mining mogul (Peter Sarsgaard), he decides to help her and recruits six others to take back the town and help the law-abiding people who simply want to keep their land and make an honest living.

Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo join Washington as the seven gunslingers who march into the town and set up a plan to take it back from the “bad guys.” The original movie starred some of the top actors of the time: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Brad Dexter as the seven, with Eli Wallach as the head of the gang terrorizing a small Mexican town.

The Blu-ray contains both the theatrical film as well as a “Vengeance Mode” in which the director and cast discuss the background of the production as the scenes are playing on screen. In the six featurettes viewers see how the story came to be and how the cast was assembled. This post-Civil War era was a time of confusion for many of those who fought. The band of misfits found “something to fight for” again as they banded together for the sake of the small town pf Rose Creek. The movie town was built in Louisiana, and the cast describes shooting in the heat of the South.

Chris Pratt loved the “horse and gun training,” and said it was “so much fun” for him and the rest of the cast. They were, in his words, “a bunch of big kids” while filming the movie.

Plenty of physicality was required by the case even though there were stunt doubles. And shooting guns was something they all enjoyed practicing.They all enjoyed “playing” gunslingers and twirling their guns.

The Magnificent Seven is available on Blu-ray as well as in a 4K Combo Pack and a DVD. It’s rated PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence, and for historical smoking, some language, and suggestive material.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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