Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast - Movie Review

 "...deep down in the darkness, something awakes." 

Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast

   So, I first heard of Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast from a host of blog friends going to a press conference for the film. With an amazing list of voice talent including Ginnifer Goodwin, Mae Whitman, Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Pamela Adlon, and Raven-Symoné, I had high hopes for our family's viewing. The official plot summary is: "Fun and talented animal fairy Fawn believes you can't judge a book by its cover, or an animal by its fangs, so she befriends a huge and mysterious creature known as the NeverBeast. While Tinkerbell and her friends aren't so sure about this scary addition to Pixie Hollow, the elite Scout Fairies set out to capture the monster before he destroys their home. Fawn must trust her heart and take a leap of faith if she hopes to rally the girls to save the NeverBeast." (Written by DisneyToon Studios).

   The thing you notice in the first 10 minutes is that the story is more about Fawn, and her adventures with the Neverbeast. Tinkerbell is a supporting character, and that scared me for a minute. That melted away as our family got caught up in just what the Neverbeast was up to. While the Neverbeast himself was the highlight of the movie, I thought the Scout Fairies were pretty darn cool. Brave and dedicated, skilled and professional, this troop makes you want to sign up for the cause of protecting Pixie Hollow! The Scouts gave my daughter another example of girls that can kick butt, and I'm veryokay with that.

   (Mild Spoiler) In the end, we say goodbye to the Never beast. While I won't give away any major details, I will confirm that Disney does what it does best, which is give you a great ending that lures out the tears. By the time the incredibly sad and touching music plays over the slow rolling credits, my 9YO daughter was in tears, not wanting to say goodbye, not wanting it to end, and not wanting to ever watch that ending again. (*UPDATE* - Upon the second viewing, when the end scene came, she ran out of the room and sat at the bottom of the stairs in order to not go through the emotional gauntlet like before) We all loved the movie, and have had SEVERAL viewings since. It's fun, powerful, cute, lovable, and everything you'd expect from a great Disney flick. While I thought featuring one of the sidekick fairies would detract from the "Tinkerbell" theme, I was pleasantly surprised, and so were the kids. So check it out! It's worth the ride.

J.

Friday Flush #18

 Friday Flush #18

    I've been saving today's Friday Flush entries for a little while now. It's time to share. If there's something that the past dozen and a half Friday Flush posts has shown me, it's that there is SO MUCH cool stuff, cool people, and overall coolness in the world, that I'm glad I have a place to reference them all. So today we look at old time new technology, little critter home swapping, and plants you can't kill unless you really try. 

Runcible, The Smart Pocket Watch

Like most people these days, I loves me some technology. I also love antiques and old wares, with an affinity for pocket watches. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across the Runcible, a smart pocket watch by Mohohm. George Arriola, founder and CPO of Monohm, said "the Runcible is meant to remove us from how we're so buried in our phones." See the full article by Sean O'Kane at the above link. The features I got excited about were the swappable backings that came in tin, copper, brass, and several types of wood. Also, to add a bit of fun and diversity, pictures and video will be in a round format. In a fun twist of functionality, users will be able to rotate the Runcible to focus and zoom. I got put on the mailing list to be made aware when it was ready for purchase. I'm already starting a change jar.

Hermit Crabs' New Shell
While I've never owned a hermit crab, I've always been fascinated by them. They're adorable in their little shells, and scoot across the ground with such purpose (when their not just chilling there, doing nothing). I've had cousins, nephews, and friends who've had them as childhood pets, and I'd always wondered a few things. Like, are they born that big? If not, does the shell grow with them? Mostly common sense and what little my associates knew filled in the blanks,.....until now. A wonderful little documentary on Vimeo titled "Crabs", dispelled any myths and took me on a fun journey around what these little guys go through as they get bigger. Funny enough, at a time in my life where I'm needing to appreciate what I have as opposed to what I don't, there was a line in the documentary that stood out to me when the littlest hermit crab's new home had a hole in it. The line went, "...but even a bad shell is better than being homeless." 

No Kill Plants 

Yahoo! Makers ran an article called 6 Spring Plants You Can't Kill (Unless You Really Try). I love mother nature. I love the foliage this planet is blessed with. I love the rich colors and the diverse shapes. I love the smell of the flowers and the oxygen our trees produce. I DON'T, however, like that I can kill just about anything that comes into my home. I feel like I could probably kill a fake plant at this point. As a couple, my wife and I are trying to add more green to our front porch, so this article came at the right time. I plan on talking with our local nursery to make sure I'm choosing the right plants for our region, but the point is still the same. There are plants out there, resilient to the torture I'm ready to provide (even if it's unintentional). So I give the advice to you that I give to myself. Be brave, get out there, and get your hands dirty. The payoff is quite satisfying.

   I leave you with a clear mind going into the weekend. We talked about making technology fun, being not too crabby, and being brave to plant some foliage.  This post will begin the kids' week off for Spring break, sooooo..........wish me luck!

J.