by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
The holiday season can bring some downtime to families, if
major traveling isn’t involved. If that’s true for your family, or if you’re
looking for some entertainment for the cold days of January, these new DVDs at
the Litchfield library might be right for both the kids and the grownups in the
house.
The animated film “Abominable” has a “Common Sense
Selection” seal of approval from Common Sense Media and a “Certified Fresh”
rating from Rotten Tomatoes. That adds
up to it being a quality movie that’s recommended for families, specifically
kids ages 8 and up. Reviews say the
general storyline about a kid finding an unusual creature and teaming up with
friends to protect it isn’t anything new, but it has the interesting element of
being set in Shanghai with Chinese teen characters. The animation is also supposed to be
beautiful. The movie is called
“Abominable” because it’s about a yeti.
“Dora the Explorer” is a popular animated series that has
been airing for many years. It was a
staple at my house in the early 2000s.
The new movie “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” is a live-action feature
film starring the same character. Like
“Abominable,” it’s certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, meaning the reviews are
very good. Dora has left the jungle
where we usually find her adventuring in the cartoon, and now she’s learning
about the adventure of high school. But
when her parents disappear, Dora leads a group of her new high school friends
into the jungle to find them. Common
Sense Media recommends the movie for ages 8 and up.
The “How to Train Your Dragon” series of movies is beloved
by many. “How to Train Your Dragon:
Homecoming” is a holiday television special that aired this year. It takes place just before the last scene of
the last movie of the trilogy. Viking
Hiccup puts together a holiday pageant to celebrate dragons and has an
adventure with his beloved Toothless the dragon.
An interesting documentary can sometimes appeal to the whole
family. “Maiden” is a documentary about
the first all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World sailboat
race. Reviews say it’s an exciting and
inspiring movie even for those who don’t otherwise care about sailing. Common Sense Media gave it its seal of
approval but recommends it for ages 11 and up because of profanity plus sexist
language. Rotten Tomatoes has it at a
98% positive rating.
“Life from Above” is another family-friendly documentary,
this one from PBS. Footage taken from
space shows the earth from a new perspective, allowing us to see patterns, colors,
and movements on a large scale.
Mister Rogers is getting renewed interest these days, with a
beloved documentary last year and a feature film this year. If you’d like to revisit the original show,
you could check out “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Mister Rogers and Making
Mistakes,” a newly-released collection of episodes about how everyone makes
mistakes sometimes.
Other recent DVDs that your family may enjoy include the TV
series “Fuller House,” “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” “Descendants 3,” “Harry
Potter: A History of Magic,” and “Toy
Story 4.”
Pioneerland libraries will close at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
December 31, for New Year’s Eve, and will be closed on Wednesday, January 1,
for New Year’s Day. Happy New Year!
