Screen Scene Newsletter If you believe you are receiving this newsletter in error or wish to stop getting it, scroll down for the unsubscribe link. In This Issue: Find a great Halloween-themed DVD for kids and families in our Scream Theatre guide. Find online stories of the strange and bizarre, as well as ghost stories in Scream Scene's Scary Stories. Find the legends behind pumpkin symbols, coloring pages, pumpkin carving templates, instructions, and other Halloween crafts in Jack-o-Lantern's Pumpkin Patch. ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween is back with spooky movies for all ages every night from Oct. 19 through Oct. 31. Saturday and Sunday, there will be a marathon of scary movies beginning at 11:00am e/p each day. Titles include Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Casper Meets Wendy, the Scooby Doo! movie series, Teen Witch, the Addams Family movies, and others. HIT Entertainment has released Halloween Spooktacular DVD. Each episode of this collection of Halloween stories and activities is not scary and written for preschoolers and early elementary age children. The seasonal episodes are from Barney, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Angelina Ballerina, and Bob the Builder. Scholastic and Fox Home Entertainment have released three Goosebumps DVDs from R. L. Stine's writings: One Day at Horrorland; Monster Blood; and A Night in Terror Tower DVDs. Cartoon Network is airing Goosebumps episodes Monday through Thursday, 8:00pm e/p through Oct. 30th. Playhouse Disney's Big Halloween Party is Saturday Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 26, from 6:00am to 12:00 noon e/p both days. New episodes of Happy Monster Band, Imagination Movers, and Charlie and Lola will air Saturday, during their regular times. ABC will air It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8:00-9:00pm e/p. The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween, with Linus hoping that he will finally be visited by The Great Pumpkin. Charlie Brown is invited to a Halloween party. Food Network will air Halloween specials throughout the week. The Secret Life of .... Halloween airs Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7:00pm e/p. Learn how candy corn is made so there three colors in it and that medieval revelers prepared a cake with special treats baked in it. Other FN highlights include it's Paula's Party - Halloween Party, Oct. 25, 8:00pm e/p; Food Network Challenge - Spooky Cake & Candy Cookoff, Oct. 25, 9:00pm e/p; Food Network Challenge - Haunted Gingerbread House, Oct. 25, 10:00pm e/p.; and Food Network Challenge - Outrageous Pumpkins, Oct. 26, 8:00-9:00pm e/p. Of course, History Channel will air Haunted History of Halloween on Sunday, Oct. 26, 7:00pm e/p. History Channel also presents MonsterQuest Saturday and Sunday: The Real Hobbit - Oct. 25, 8:00pm e/p; MonsterQuest - Giant Killer Snakes - Oct. 25, 9:00pm e/p; MonsterQuest - Boneless Horror - Oct. 25, 10:00pm e/p; MonsterQuest - America's Lochness Monster - Oct. 25, 11:00pm e/p; MonsterQuest - Unidentified Flying Creatures - Oct. 26, 8:00am e/p; MonsterQuest - Mega Hog - Oct. 26, 9:00am e/p; MonsterQuest - Swamp Beast - Oct. 26, 10:00am e/p; and MonsterQuest - Chupacabra - Oct. 26, 11:00am e/p. Nickelodeon will also air specials in the next week. Saturday, Oct. 25, kids will see repeats of iCarly - iScream on Halloween - 7:30pm & 8:00pm e/p; Drake and Josh - Alien Invasion, 8:30pm e/p; Zoey 101 - Haunted House, 9:00pm e/p; and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide - Halloween; Vampires, Ghosts, Werewolves and Zombies, 9:30pm e/p. Sunday, Oct. 26, it's The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - The Incredible Shrinking Town, 1:00-2:00pm e/p; Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide - Halloween; Vampires, Ghosts, Werewolves and Zombies; 7:00pm e/p; iCarly - iScream on Halloween; and oey 101: Curse of the PCA, 8:00-9:00pm e/p. More Halloween TV Highlights >> On Oct. 23, 1958, a Belgian magazine's comic series introduced a little blue gnome, who interspersed its conversation with the word "smurf" and its derivitives. The characters became an international phenomenom. On the day before their 50th anniversary, it was announced that the Smurfs will be a part of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 27. There will be both a balloon and a float. The latter will feature Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and a Smurf home. This year's Holiday Ambassador for Macy's is Horton from the Dr. Seuss book and animated feature film, Horton Hears a Who. The parade is broadcast on NBC, 9:00am to 12:00 noon in all time zones. CBS also airs the event. High School Musical 3: Senior Year Synopsis, Photos, and Cast >> WDSHE released School House Rock! Election Collection this DVD includes several American government and history cartoons from the award-winning short-form animated learning series. Still relevant in today's world, each three-minute episode uses humor and catchy tunes to succinctly explain our system of self-government. Ironically, the series premiered during the United States' bicentennial year, which was another turning point in our country's history. One of the most significant lessons in "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," which effectively explains the Electoral College process. The limited edition DVD also has an "Election Tracking Kit." Stickers in the kit can be used to track the actual voting results in our 50 states as returns come in on Nov. 4. WHV released You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. This episode originally airing on ABC in 2006 and will air again on Oct. 28th when ABC broadcasts It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8:00-9:00pm e/p. Charlie Brown runs for school president, but realizes he cannot win. So, he throws his support to Linus. All is well, until Linus begins talking about the Great Pumpkin. Elections for Kids Guide >> There's still time to order from BuyCostumes.com Peggy Smith
Vol. I, Issue No. 7
Oct. 24, 2008
* Scream Scene Halloween Highlights
* Kids TV - Sid the Science Kid, Happy Smurfday
* Movies - Passengers, High School Musical 3: Senior Year
* Elections for Kids - Classic Cartoons
* AD: Halloween Costumes, Props and More
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Halloween
Boo! It's that time of year! Check out Scream Scene's Haunted TV Highlights for today's and upcoming movies and special episodes.
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Kids TV
PBS KIDS prepares little ones for Halloween and its sweet treats by premiering Sid the Science Kid Health themed episodes Oct. 20 - Oct. 24. Preschoolers will learn why it's important to brush teeth everyday, eat more than sweets, exercise, and wash your hands. Check local listings for broadcast times on your local PBS Station.
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Passengers
In Theaters: Oct. 24, 2008
Drama / Horror / Supernatural / Thriller
Columbia TriStar
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some scary images, and sensuality. (Parents strongly cautioned.)
A plane crashes and only five passengers survive. Claire (Anne Hathaway) is a therapist assigned to guide them through their grief. The survivors' accounts vary. Some say there was an explosion. The airlines denies this claim. Of the surviving passengers, Eric, is more withdrawn than the others. Claire is attracted to him, and begins a romance. Her professional reputation is on the line, but that cannot stop her. Then, the other survivors begin disappearing. Claire realizes that Eric may have the answers to what is happening. Determined to find the truth, she will stop at nothing unravel the mystery, no matter what the consequences.
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High School Musical: Senior Year
In Theaters: Oct. 28, 2008
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Rated: G (General audiences.)
The story focuses on growing up and making life altering decisions during the last months of high school. The audience will watch as the friends face the pressures of the last year in high school, from planning for the prom to finals, graduation, and becoming young adults. Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) realize they will soon be separated. To express and share their emotions with the rest of the school, they put on a show! Things are complicated when Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi and Troy are up for the same Juilliard scholarship. Only one can receive it. Sharpay, of course, is determined to find a way to elminate the competition. Chad faces his own dilemma when Troy begins questioning the plans they had made. Now, he must re-evaluate the future he thought was a certainty. While her friends are busy making decisions, Taylor is in her element as she runs the school newspaper, prepares for her graduation, and dates Chad.
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Elections for Kids
Warner Home Video (WHV) and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) have released DVDs featuring classic lessons on our system of self government.
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Costumes & More
BuyCostumes is a leading internet costume and party supply store. They have thousands of costumes from baby and kids to Renaissance, Santa suits, and mascots to adult, plus size, and theatre costumes. They also carry a wide variety of makeup and accessories to make your costume complete. The store's party supplies range from wedding to Halloween and birthdays. You'll find favorite characters, as well as traditional costumes and parties themes. The website features a video fashion show and costume of the week.
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Have a great week!
Family Screen Scene
http://familyscreenscene.com
Friday, October 24, 2008
Newsletter 10-24-08 - Scream Scene - Sid The Science Guy - Passengers - High School Musical 3: Senior Year - Elections for Kids: Classic Cartoons
Monday, September 15, 2008
Halloween DVDs for Kids and Family
Halloween began as a pagen harvest festival and considered the Celtic New Year. As Christianity took root, the Church instituted All Hallows Day, more commonly known in modern times as "All Saints Day," celebrating the lives and miracles of all the Catholic Church's saints. The night before All Hallows Day became known as "All Hallow Even," the evening before All Hallows Day. "Hallowe'en" replaced the Gaelic custom of dressing up as ghosts and spirits on October 31st. They believed a door between our world and the spirit world was opened for that day only. Evil spirits invaded the world to wreck havoc on human beings. The costumes were believed to appease the spirit world, lessening the destruction they brought. Since then, Halloween has become a day of revelry for all ages, and an opportunity to "play dress-up" as adults. Costumed children go begging door-to-door, calling "trick or treat," delighting their neighbors with their costumes, ranging from angels to devils and monster. Thankfully, the "trick" part of this custom is no longer considered acceptable.
Another favorite part of Halloween is watching scary movies, television episodes, and cartoons. Here are some of our old and new favorites for kids and family.
Scholastic and Fox Home Entertainment have released three Goosebumps DVDs based on R. L. Stine's writings: One Day at Horrorland; Monster Blood; and A Night in Terror Tower DVDs. The first title is part of the Stine's HorrorLand series that also includes books and video games. The Goosebumps book and television series receives a great deal of criticism some parents' groups. Nevertheless, they are entertaining scary stories for the preteens who love this genre. Stine's stories seem to be inspired by O'Henry's surprise endings and Twilight Zone's twists and turns.
Each episode of HIT Entertainment's Halloween Spooktacular DVD collection of stories and activities is not scary and written for preschoolers and early elementary age children. The episodes cover a variety of Halloween topics, including choosing a costume, safety carving and handling pumpkins, what to expect while trick-or-treating, good manners for trick-or-treating, owning up to one's mistakes, being a good friend, cooperative play, and slightly spooky ghost stories. Episodes are taken from Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, and Bob the Builder. A Fifi and the Flower Tots bonus episode is also included.
Nickelodeon Films and Paramount Pictures finally did justice to a movie adaptation of a children's book series when it released The Spiderwick Chronicles. When his parents separate, Jared Grace, his twin brother Simon, sister Mallory, and his mother, Helen, move from New York to a mysterious old house in the country. It is owned by their great great uncle Arthur Spiderwick and great aunt Lucinda. The brothers and sister soon learn that the Field Guide their elderly uncle wrote isn't a fantasy. These creatures actually exist! The only way a human can see these creatures is through a special seeing stone, or by being spat in the eye by an icky goblin. The Grace children desperately try to keep the key to the Unseen World out of Mulgareth's evil hands. As the Graces develop their powers and face these magical, sometimes frightening beings, they overcome their personal conflicts.
Don Knotts was best known for his roles as the suspicious, bumbling deputy in The Andy Griffiths Show and the suspicious, bumbling apartment manager in Three's Company. But, he also made a name for himself in family comedy movies, the best of which is The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
The magical adventure The Little Vampire is a delightful children's fantasy film, complete with flying cows. Kids will watch as an underdog gains confidence as he helps his new friends overcome a huge obstacle and evade a klutzy vampire hunter. The parents are loving and caring, but bemused at Tony's make-believe vampire friends - until they are introduced. In the end, good conquers evil. Those who were thought to be evil weren't so bad, after all. They were just stuck in a bad situation and needed a little help getting out of it. The acting and writing is remarkably good, compared to many kids' movies of this genre. The story keeps the attention of the kids. And, adults will catch themselves laughing along with the kids.