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Disney

Exclusive Delivery Man Trailer Debut

by Deborah Cruz 2013/07/02

Vince Vaughn has a new film, Delivery Man, coming out on November 22, 2013 but today, I, along with 532 of my fellow bloggers, will be exclusively debuting the trailer not yet released. I’ve seen it and before I give you the synopsis, I need to tell you that I think this movie tells a wonderful story of the human situation. I’ve never seen Vince Vaughn play a more likable or endearing character. The film is funny and heartwarming. I can’t wait to see this movie on the big screen.

In the film, Delivery Man, Vince Vaughn plays David Wozniak, an affable underachiever with a knack for making bad decisions in his life. He is unreliable to those who depend on him; his father, his friends and his girlfriend. He’s been stuck in a rut but believes that everyone has a purpose in life; he just hasn’t found his yet.

In 1994, David Wozniak anonymously donated to a fertility clinic but to his shock, due to a mix up at the clinic, he is the biological father to 533 children. Now, he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them are suing to meet their biological father.

David is given an envelope containing the files and information on the 142 children who want to know who he is. Curiosity gets the best of him and soon, against advice from his friend/attorney, he opens the envelope and begins to secretly insert himself into his children’s lives, acting as their “guardian angel”.

Suddenly, the scariest thing to happen to David Wozniak has become, what he believes may very well be, the most beautiful thing to ever happen to him. The children he fathered need someone to look out for them and in the blink of an eye, a selfish, purposeless man, David, has found the greatest purpose of his life, fatherhood. For the first time in his life, he is doing the right thing and life is great.

The movie reminds us, what many parents already know, you are never quite ready for what life delivers but sometimes the best day of your life is embracing the gifts you are given, no matter how unexpected or unplanned they may have been.

In the end, David Wozniak has everything, he never knew that he always wanted; a strange, oversized, amazing family and life. Finally, his life has a greater purpose than himself.

Family comes in all shapes and sizes and even though what we have may not be what we expected our life to look like, it may just be exactly what we needed.

Finally, without further ado, here is the debut of the official Delivery Man trailer:

DELIVERY MAN stars Vince Vaughn, Cobie Smulders and Chris Pratt and will be in theaters November 22. This movie is for adults and not small children. It is rated PG-13 for mature themes.

2013/07/02 0 comment

Disney Entertainment

Monster’s University Teaches Us What Friendship is Really About

by Deborah Cruz 2013/06/21

written by Deborah Cruz

One of my daughter’s favorite Disney features ( aside from princesses, of course) has always been Monster’s, Inc. I think they related to Boo. Makes sense with all the nightmares of chickens and lemurs. Boo was there people. Well, there is a new film in the series, Monster’s University and my girls can not wait to see what Mike, Sully and Boo are up to!

The heartwarming story of two “monsters” Mike Wazowski and his best friend, James P. Sullivan who work as “scarers” at Monsters, Inc. but somehow one night while on duty, a toddler, affectionately known as Boo by Sulley, follows the two back and changes their lives and perspectives on scaring forever.

Mike: “Boo? What’s Boo?”
Sulley: That’s… what I decided to call her. Is there a problem?”
Mike: “Sulley, you’re not supposed to name it. Once you name it, you start getting attached to it. Now put that thing back where it came from or so help me!”
—Mike and Sulley, Monster’s Inc.

Ever since college-bound Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) was a little monster, he has dreamed of becoming a Scarer and everyone knows the best Scarers graduate from Monsters University (MU). Mike is realizing his dream and attending Monsters University when life throws him a curve ball.

Unfortunately for Mike, during his very first semester at MU, his plans go awry when his life becomes entangled with hotshot James P. Sullivan, “Sulley” (John Goodman), a natural-born Scarer. There is nothing more frustrating that trying your best to reach your goal in life and having someone who it comes so easily too as your competition.

Mike finds himself working twice as hard as he ever thought he’d have to.

The pair’s super competitive spirit and accompanying hi-jinks gets them both evicted from the University’s elite Scare Program. To the chagrin of both Mike and Sulley, being evicted from the program was the last thing either had on their minds.

To complicate the situation even more so, they realize they will have to work together, along with a very odd bunch of misfit monsters, if they ever hope of having any chance to get back into the program.

I’m sure the movie is hilariously cute, like Monster’s Inc., and will most likely leave you with a lesson on friendship, working together and a serious case of the warm fuzzies, just like its predecessor.

Disney Pixar’s Monster’s University is directed by Dan Scanlon, who directed Cars, produced by Koi Rae, who produced Up and the Incredibles, and features a score by award-winning composer Randy Newman, who’s scored more films than I can recall, but he did score Monsters,Inc., and even more memorably, the Toy Story series.

There is just something about a giant, hairy blue monster with purple spots that makes you want to cuddle him right up like a giant teddy bear, and Mike Wazowski with his what should be one-eye gouging constant “I told you so” monologue is as endearing as ever.

Monsters University defies logic, so forget what you’ve always been taught about monsters and prepare to fall in love with Mike and Sulley all over again.

The Oscar nominated Monsters, Inc. was originally released in theaters on November 2, 2001. The new film in the series, Monsters University will be in U.S. theaters nearly 12 years after the original Monsters, Inc. making its theatrical debut on June 21, 2013.

If you can’t wait until then, here is a sneak peak.

Photo Source: Disney Pixar

2013/06/21 0 comment

Disney Entertainment

Finding Dory

by Deborah Cruz 2013/04/04

written by Deborah Cruz

Did your kids love Finding Nemo? Mine too! They we’re particularly taken with Dory. I wonder what ever happened to Dory? Did her short term memory every recover?

Word is Disney Pixar has a new animated picture in the works that many of us have been waiting a decade for: Finding Dory. Finding Dory will be the second film in the Finding Nemo series.

Ellen Degeneres, the voice of Dory the blue tang fish with no short-term memory in Finding Nemo, will be starring in her very own feature film coming November 2015.

For me, Dory stole the show in finding Nemo. Ellen Degeneres’ voice endeared Dory to our hearts with her forgetful memory and sweet disposition. When Dory said her famous line, “just keep swimming” in Finding Nemo, she could never have imagined where that phrase would take her.

The story takes place in the same extraordinary underwater world created in Finding Nemo. One thing everyone has wanted to know since Dory first appeared in Finding Nemo was why was she all by herself in the ocean on the day she met Marlin.

In Finding Dory, the question will be answered and Dory will be reunited with her loved ones, meanwhile learning a few things about the importance of family.

Finding Dory will take place about a year after the first film and feature Finding Nemo favorites like Marlin, Nemo and the Tank Gang from 42 Wallaby Way. The movie will partly take place along the California coastline. Finding Dory will also welcome new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life.

My girls cannot wait to see Finding Dory in theaters and neither can I. We loved Finding Nemo and cannot see what new adventure the group will embark on.

**UPDATE 12/09/14

The primary setting of Andrew Stanton‘s 2016 Pixar sequel, Finding Dory, has been revealed. A new interview with Pixar President Jim Morris revealed that the bulk of the movie – which follows Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) on a quest to remember her past and find her parents – takes place in another aquatic location.

The film takes place several months after the first movie. Dory (DeGeneres) is living with Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo on their reef; she goes with Nemo on a school trip. On the trip, memories are triggered, and they begin an adventure that will lead her to her family.

The majority of the movie takes place at the “Marine Biology Institute of California,” described as “a huge rehabilitation complex for marine and aquarium life. Dory learns that there she was born and raised and was released in the ocean still young.”

By setting the story at the Marine Biology Institute, the door is opened for a ton of new characters. There are Dory’s parents Charlie and Jenny, voiced by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton, as well as a funny beluga whale, Bailey, voiced by Ty Burrell. We’d also heard Idris Elba and Domenic West will lend their voices to the film. Of course, there’s still the possibility of Dory, Marlin, and Nemo running into some old familiar Finding Nemo faces. We’ve already heard Gill and Deb will be making the return.

Finding Dory opens June 17, 2016.

Are you excited as I am??

2013/04/04 0 comment

Disney

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy Giveaway

by Deborah Cruz 2013/03/24

written by Deborah Cruz

Guess who’s taking her girls to see Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy? This Mommy. My family loves all things Disney so I was pretty stoked when I was invited to attend and review the show. It’s always a special treat when your work can include your children. It’s the best of both worlds, really.

2013/03/24 0 comment

Disney Travel

Cool Things to Do at Disney World with Kids

by Deborah Cruz 2013/03/22

written by Deborah Cruz

We all know that Disney World is a magical place filled with fairy dust and fueled on the laughter and happiness of children. It happens to be one of our favorite places, and when I say our, I mean my husband and I.

For some reason, it seems like since we had children we just haven’t had the time or money to go. Nonetheless, we love Disney and our girls desperately want to go.

We are actually planning on surprising them with a couple days in Disney World in June, as a side trip on a surprise visit to Orlando. I plan on filming them when we tell them. Stay tuned. I am pretty sure that my 7-year-old might just faint on the spot and my 4-year-old, I am fairly positive that she will do a happy dance along with some woohoo! followed by some, ” You’re the best mommy I ever had!” I can’t wait.

But it made me think, with only two days to blow my little girls’ minds, I better figure out what the coolest things to do at Disney World with little kids actually is.

The Magic Kingdom and the Main Street electrical parade and fireworks
Explore Cinderella’s castle
Meet the Princesses and get their autographs
Go see Cirque du Soleil
Take a Ride on a Fringe-Topped Surrey, family style
Sushi and Karaoke at the Swan and Dolphin
Go to the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater at MGM
Pirates of the Caribbean
It’s a Small World
Mad Tea Party

I am sure there are loads more that I am forgetting, but for right now, these are on my list.

What do you recommend as a must see at Disney World for a 4 and 7 year old?

2013/03/22 1 comment

Disney Entertainment

Oz the Great and Powerful, Will it Live up to the Original

by Deborah Cruz 2012/07/13

written by Deborah Cruz

Oh my Goodness! I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it. Oz the Great and Powerful is coming to a theater to you next year! I can’t wait to see what Disney is going to do to up the Wizard of Oz game. It’s going to be hard to live up to the standard but I can’t wait to see them try!

As a child, every Thanksgiving when I was growing up, watching the Wizard of Oz as a family was a yearly tradition.

After dinner and all the family had gone home, my mother would sit with my brothers and sisters and I and we’d snuggle into palettes on the floor and watch on in enchantment as Dorothy left Kansas and found her way atop the witch and her magical adventure to find her way back home through Oz. I still get the warm fuzzies when I think about it.

I’ve since watched the Wizard of Oz several times with my own children, and I still find it as endearing at 40 as I did at 3. I’ve even read the girls some of the L.Frank Baum books. When I heard that Disney was coming out with a movie Oz the Great and Powerful, I was thrilled. I can’t wait to see what it is all about.

Disney’s new fantasy adventure, Oz The Great and Powerful, the prequel to the beloved Wizard of Oz, was directed by Sam Raimi. The movie brings to life the story of how Oscar Diggs, played by James Franco, comes to Oz.

Diggs is a circus magician with questionable morals. He is hurled away from Kansas (much like Dorothy is in the Wizard of Oz) to the Land of Oz, beautiful vibrant land.

At first, he believes that this is his opportunity for fame and fortune until he encounters three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams). The witches are not sure that Diggs is the great and powerful wizard that everyone in Oz has been expecting, but they cautiously allow him to prove himself .

Before long, Oscar Diggs finds himself immersed in all the issues that are facing the people of Oz and he must race against time to determine who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Using his magic of illusion and a bit of wizardly ingenuity, Diggs soon transforms himself into the great and powerful Oz and a better man, as well.

I’m excited to see this movie. I’ve seen several clips and the colors and cinematography definitely lend themselves to making the land of Oz a beautiful and fantastical setting.

This movie will be something that we can start a new tradition with our own children. The beauty of the scenery and the engaging storyline will definitely transport you to the land of Oz while you are watching the movie. The bar was set high with the original, but from what I’ve seen, this prequel will definitely live up to its namesake.

Oz The Great and Powerful opened in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013. It opened two days before my daughter’s birthday and she’d already planned that we will be going to see this as a family. I can’t wait to see the expressions on my girls’ faces as they watch the movie for the first time.

I still remember the first time I saw the Wizard of Oz, it was magical and I have never forgotten it.

We’ll be seeing it on March 14, 2013. Will you? Will you take your children to see it?

Photo Source: Disney

2012/07/13 0 comment

Disney Entertainment

Disney’s Brave; A Closer Look at the Mother/Daughter Relationship

by Deborah Cruz 2012/06/22

written by Deborah Cruz

I’ve been waiting an entire year to see this movie. This is the only caveat to being privy to Disney media. You get all the buzz early but that usually means an entire year waiting for movies to come out. Well, Disney’s Brave finally came out a couple of days ago, and I have been waiting patiently for it. I was not disappointed.

We took our girls to see Brave and it was everything I hoped it would be and more than I expected. It was the first Disney princess movie since The Princess Frog that felt, to me, like it sent the message of strong female empowerment. It was an amazing thing to watch with my girls andI won’t lie, I cried!

The message was about empowering our young girls to be who they are and to stand up for themselves when it really counts. It’s also a beautiful and thought provoking commentary on the complicated relationship between a mother and a daughter. We love one another so fiercely and hold on so tight that sometimes we don’t allow our children to grow into who they are meant to be.

Disney and Pixar have outdone themselves this time. I was impressed with Tiana in the Princess Frog because she was independent and self-made, hard working and driven. I thought the latest version of Rapunzel in Tangled was brilliant because she did not let herself be defined by her beauty. Merida was all of these things and more, exemplifying that a woman can be strong-willed and determined, make her own choices and forge her own way in the world, despite traditional roles.

I loved the storyline and think it was brilliant that Disney and Pixar have finally sent our little girls the message that they can do anything. Happiness does not lie in the hands of a man and is not dependent on the kiss of a prince.

More importantly, I was touched by the skillful way that Pixar and Disney brought the mother-daughter dynamic into play. When we were teens, at some point, we all wished our mothers would just go away or at the very least, get out of our business. But what if she actually had? Where would we have been?

Some of us don’t realize how dear our mother’s are to us until we become mothers ourselves. Merida is faced with the possibility of her mother never being the same and in that she realizes how very much her mother meant to her.

I won’t lie, I was crying in the theater. Partly because I have been Merida and I know the feeling of trying to prove to your parents that who you are is good enough, partly because I know soon I will be Elinor (Merida’s mother), the one being dismissed as not knowing anything and partly because one day, we all lose our parents and we can not change that fate, no matter how much we may want to.

Be kind to yourself and kind to one another. Go see Disney and Pixar’s Brave; you will not be sorry. It is an amazing movie that can be enjoyed by parents and children of all ages. Will you be going to see Brave?

Photo Source: Disney

2012/06/22 0 comment

the Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Disney

Disney Entertainment

The Lone Ranger is Back

by Deborah Cruz 2012/03/10

written by Deborah Cruz

When I was a kid, I loved watching The Lone Ranger. My brother and I would pull up our kids sized chairs, mine a red teddy bear and his a rocker, and sit quietly waiting for the Lone ranger to start and then we would immediately start running around the house, pretending to ride horses and shoot bad guys. I remember it being a black and white television show from the 30’s and by the time I watched it for the first time, it had been in syndication for over 40 years but it was new to me and I loved it.It ranked right up there with the Monkees, New Zoo Revenue and the Captain ( Kangaroo to you).

I remember my brother and I running around the house, one playing the Lone Ranger and one playing Tonto and riding our imaginary horses, saving the world from the bad guys; yelling “ Hi-yo Silver!” and the other saying, “Yes, Ke-mo sah-bee!” I loved playing Tonto.

In case you are not familiar with the Lone Ranger, he was a fictional character; a masked, ex-law man who, along with his Native American companion Tonto, fought injustice in the Old West. It was such an awesome show because, not only did it show that the good guys always won, it showed that through tolerance and acceptance we could do the right thing and be the good guy.

Departing off into the sunset on his white stallion, Silver, the Lone Ranger would shout, “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” As they galloped off, someone would ask, “Who was that masked man anyway?”

Now, Disney is bringing The Lone Ranger to the big screen for a whole new generation and I cannot wait to go see it with my own girls.

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes.
Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption. ~ Disney.com

The Lone Ranger also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter.

The Lone Ranger releases in U.S. theaters on July 3, 2013. I will be there to see it. I can’t wait. Can you, Ke-mo Sah-bee?

Photo Source: Disney

2012/03/10 0 comment

Disney Lifestyle Little Kids

Bella in Wonderland

by Deborah Cruz 2011/03/17

written by Deborah Cruz

Every year since Bella has had a birthday party, it’s always been a really big deal. I believe it has something to do with the fact that when I was little I seldom remember having a party.So,when it comes to my girls, we love to celebrate the party in a big way. I mean, who doesn’t love a party? I am fully aware that the Bellapalooza of 2009, when she turned 4, was a bit excessive. I do recall something like 4 parties being had in a one week span of time. There was the family party on her actual birthday, the Fancy Nancy tea and spa experience with her fellow ballerinas, then there was the birthday play date celebration and last but not least the extended family and traveling friends party. It really was Bellapalooza but it was so much fun & Bella has since referred to her birthday week as Bellapalooza.

The cakes made by the Big Guy!

This year, Bella was adamant that she wanted a Alice in Wonderland birthday party.This girl always wants a theme that is “not available” in stores. Of course you can’t find party favors for Alice in Wonderland, so we improvise..as always. But this year, I was determined to keep the party to 1! After 6 years of birthday parties, I’ve come to the realization that the party is about the birthday girl having fun..the rest is not important. So, after much searching and creativity, we found just the right decorations. It was a small party with all the immediate family and a few friends and classmates.

Obviously, Bella dressed as Alice.She dresses in costume for every theme party.

The Wonderland aspect of this party was really the friendship and family. Bella was over the moon that her friends from school and her play date friends were all there to celebrate with her. She was also over the moon because her Grandpa Manny, my Dad, who normally comes and serenades her on her birthday ( this is a long standing tradition in our home. He has serenaded me and my sisters every birthday with Las mananitas (traditional Mexican birthday song) since we were born. Bella was absolutely devastated that he would be out of the country for this birthday party) called from Mexico to play the guitar and serenade her.All was right with the world!

Bella (Alice) & her best friend.By sheer coincidence, he came as the Mad Hatter (her favorite character).*Awwww,swoon*

Party was a huge success and birthday girl was over the moon! The.End!

Wonderland punch!

2011/03/17 8 comments

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