Bad Hair Day

This movie came out earlier this year on The Disney Channel. I like DCOMS so this was right up my alley. The girl is a bit awkward and funny trying to figure out her life and the cop is hilarious and also trying to figure out her life. It is a cute movie and I enjoyed it. The kid enjoyed it as well, especially because the actress in it is in one of his favorite Disney Channel TV shows right now. 

Taking our inspiration from the beautiful and sparkly necklace in the movie, the kid made his own necklace with sparkly beads. 

Back Home

In this movie, a young girl is evacuated to America at the start of World War II and has just returned after the war to England. Adjusting to the lifestyle and culture of England after spending her formative years in America seems to be a big struggle as she now considers herself American. 

It wasn't a very entertaining movie but I suppose it was a bit educational. The girl liked to use stencils, especially on the walls, so I took inspiration from that and used some circle stencils and paint on my scrapbooking project. 

Babes in Toyland

YAY! We finally made it to movies that begin with the letter "B"!! I watched Babes in Toyland for the first time with the kid.

I don't know where to begin. I might have been really tired, but I didn't follow this one at all. It felt so scattered... I really couldn't tell what the story was about! Where are we? Why didn't this girl know she had money? Why did she just believe and accept what these people said about her fiance and then go and say yes to some other guy's proposal? And suddenly we are in a toy workshop... I'm lost. 

Anyway, I decided to start on my annual Christmas Activity Calendar or December Bucket List. I have some pretty fun activities planned for this year. Can't wait! 

The Return of Jafar

It is time for The Return of Jafar - a sequel to Aladdin!

I love every song in this movie, too! There were so many pop culture references in this one, which is always fun for the adults. The kid loved it and was giggling throughout the whole movie. Robin Williams wasn't the Genie in this movie, and while the man who voiced the character this time tried his hardest to mimic his style, I still found myself missing Robin. No kid is going to notice, though! All in all, it was a fun sequel with a different story line. I like when sequels have a different or continuing story line instead of just repeating the first movie over again! 

We made genie lamps out of small glass jars and glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. I accidentally dropped my phone in the glitter. I'm hoping a genie will appear every time I swipe the screen. 

And look! Left over glitter that can be used as Pixie Dust for a later film! 

A Tale of Two Critters

Time to watch one of Disney's most random movies: 

This movie. I think they just followed some animals around the woods and then made up a story about them. It was very random and the narrator's voice was putting me to sleep. And I just could not believe that the end of the story was just like "the raccoon forgot all about the bear and the bear forgot all about the raccoon, it's just in their nature". How depressing that they forget their friends! I guess it is more realistic but still, I was sad. 

Since I didn't make the boys watch this one with me I decided to do the craft alone today. It was National Scrapbooking Day (yes, it's a thing) so I created a woodsy layout. 

Obviously I had to use a bunch of bears because of this movie. 

A Saintly Switch

This week we watched A Saintly Switch, which was produced by Walt Disney Entertainment and premiered on ABC. 

I thought the movie was funny, but how unfair was it that Sara had to go back into her own body just in time to give birth?! Ouch. The message in the movie is pretty clear - don't talk about others having it so easy when you don't know what they go through every day. Everyone has their own bag of problems. 

We took inspiration from all of the football in the movie and taught the kid how to play paper football. We made field goals out of Popsicle sticks and quite a few different paper footballs until we finally got a good one. The kid needs to work on his flicking skills. 

A Ring of Endless Light

This week everyone ditched me and I watched a Disney Channel Original Movie on my own. Whatever, guys, I can have fun, too. 

This movie had a crazy cast with people who later went on to make some teen drama TV shows. I loved the part about dolphins, because dolphins are cool, but the rest of the story was a little off. And that grandpa who was denying he was sick sure sounds like some people I know! I think I would have liked this movie more if I were maybe 11 and really into the beach and ocean. 

For our activity/craft, the kid and I painted oceans. They are lovely and different. :) 

A Mom For Christmas

I was on my own this week to watch A Mom For Christmas, way after Christmas. 

I feel like I've seen this before, but who knows. There are so many movies out there where mannequins turn to life so it is hard to say. There were some sad parts and some random parts. I don't understand the dad in this story. Why is he just letting this woman into his home to stay and play with his kid? And this sales woman - what sort of magic powers does she have and why? What is up with the rest of the mannequins? The whole thing is mind boggling. But I am pretty certain I would have enjoyed it as a young pre-teen girl, before cell phones and netflix and all that. 

I was drawing a blank for an activity/craft for this one. I'm not going to lie. I talked to the kid and told him it was a movie about moms. I mentioned Mother's Day is next month so he said he would make a Mother's Day present, and then he gave it to me a month early. I'll take it! And while he crafted, I was able to have some time to craft, too! Here is his masterpiece:

A Knight in Camelot

This week we did something completely different and watched A Knight in Camelot. 

Of course I'm being sarcastic. This movie and A Kid in King Arthur's Court, which we watched last week, were both loosely based on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Also, Sandy from this movie is played by the same girl who played Katey in the previous one. She must love knights or Old English...  

Whoopi was very lucky that random things from her desk were sent back with her after her machine malfunctioned. The old laptop ended up saving her life! Thank goodness it had enough battery. 

Overall, this movie felt random. There were some good parts, and I definitely love Whoopi, but I just couldn't understand certain parts of it, like why Merlin was so shady and then becomes her BFF in the end. 

We took inspiration from the castle and decided to paint our own. It doubles as a birdhouse, just in time for Spring. 

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A Friendship in Vienna

Today we watched an older Disney Channel Premiere film, A Friendship in Vienna.

This movie was educational. We learned a lot about what it was like to live in Vienna during that time. It was obviously sad, and sometimes scary. I didn't like how it ended - the girls just never see or talk to each other again. If this was present day, those girls would have just found each other on social media. It is crazy to think how many friendships just ended back then because of people moving away or losing touch. Nowadays you can stay friends with your preschool pals and catch up online. 

We were inspired by this movie to make friendship bracelets. I made one with thread for the kid. He made one with beads. 

A Far Off Place

Up next is a movie I had never seen before, A Far Off Place. 

This one scared me a bit - it was a more violent Disney movie. I wouldn't show this to the kid until he was much, much older. I liked some parts of the movie, and I definitely loved the cast - Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Embry long before Sweet Home Alabama. I guess I just love the fun and happy Disney movies over the dramatic ones. 

Since there was so much sand in the movie, I decided I'd let the kid play with some sand art I found in an old craft drawer. Simple and easy. 

A Christmas Carol

This week we watched Disney's film adaptation of A Christmas Carol. 

I guess you could say we are keeping Christmas all year long... 

I didn't like the animation on this one. I know it was 3D in theaters but it was bothering my eyes and I fell asleep! Frank didn't like this version as much as others that he has seen. I think my favorite version of this story is The Muppets version. Of course, the kid likes ghosts. 

Since it isn't Christmastime I decided to take inspiration from the past/present/future aspect of the story and asked the kid what his happiest memory was, what makes him happy now, and what will make him happy in the future. It was amusing. I'm going to put this into his current scrapbook and ask him the same questions next year. 

101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure

Continuing with the 101 Dalmatian series: 

This one didn't live up to the original for Frank, as the first was his favorite Disney movie. I thought it was cute and funny! Definitely some good parts in this movie, but I was disappointed not to get too much screen time with the other favorite pups- like Lucky. 

We were inspired by the funny artist in this film, who enjoyed painting spots on canvas. My son and nephew painted Dalmatian spots on canvases that I had with my craft things and they will be hung in my new house! 

101 Dalmatians

Today we watched the first movie in the challenge: 101 Dalmatians. 

I remember watching this as a kid and letting myself fall asleep to the sound of Pongo's British accent as he narrates. This is Frank's favorite Disney movie and it was the first time Chris saw it. He giggled at Jasper and Horace much like he giggles at Marv and Harry from Home Alone. 

I found some old shirts that were on their way out and decided we could use them for our movie inspired craft this week. 

We had a fabric marker already and we both just made dots all over and colored them in. Dalmatian spots aren't perfect, which made this project even easier.

A Cruella inspired outfit, a puppy in the middle, and my casual Dalmatian inspired outfit. Now we are ready for the sequel and live-action films!