Turbo F.A.S.T. races to NETFLIX

One of my son's favorite movies during the summer of 2013's blockbuster movie season was TURBO, the story of a snail who wants to be fast and thanks to a freak accident is transformed into a speedy racer who competes in the INDY 500.  This premise has been used by the Internet movie/television service NETFLIX in its bid to transform itself from a re-broadcaster of media content to an originator of premium programming, as it made available it's first original programming series targeted to children, TURBO F.A.S.T. on Christmas Eve.  NETFLIX made 5 (23 minute) episodes available to its subscribers on December 24, 2013 and additional new shows will be added to the site for streaming in 2014.

I watched the first episode with my 5 yr old son and daughter and they both really enjoyed it - enough that as soon as the show ended they yelled out "let's watch it again!"  The first show in this new animated series has Tito, Turbo's taco truck driving buddy, bring the racing snail home after a world wide promotional tour celebrating his win at Indy.  They are greeted by Kim Ly (voiced by comedian Ken Jeong - who voiced the character in the movie) as they return to the Starlight Plaza strip mall in a short skit which serves as a segue from the movie to the cartoon series. Tito takes Turbo to a "City" for bugs that he has created next to the dumpster behind the strip mall and lets the snail off into his new home.  That is the last scene with "humans" in it as the show focuses on Turbo's adventures in the Bug City as he is also joined by his snail family and friends from the movie - Chet, Burn, Whiplash, Skidmark & White Shadow.

Check out this clip from the new animated television series:

The animation for TURBO F.A.S.T. is refreshing in that it has a bright neon glow to it reminiscent of 80s Saturday Morning cartoons like Pacman and The Smurfs with a 2D flat hand-drawn retro feel versus the CGI three-dimensional let's try to make the cartoon look like "real life" approach that many other animated series are doing at the moment.  This is also a departure from the movie which was in a 3-D high tech animated format itself.  See the difference between a scene from the movie and a scene from the new tv show:

TURBO - the movie

TURBO F.A.S.T

Of course, the tv show has a focus on racing and the name of Turbo and his friend's team which starts off as Fast Action Race Team but they change during the course of the first show to Fast Action Stunt Team because they like the name FAST better than FART plus they do some superhero stunts making them more than just a "race" team.  Thus the name of the show TURBO F.A.S.T.  Many of characteristics of the show including the voices ( though voiced by different actors) of the snails are very similar - that may be in part because DREAMWORKS STUDIOS created both the original movie and is producing the cartoons for NETFLIX. 

You may think that with a show that focuses on snails racing and doing stunts it might be a boys themed cartoon, but the producers do a nice job making it enjoyable for both genders.  My daughter liked the show as much as my son.  One of the reasons she liked the show was they incorporated as one of the major characters a female race named BURN that my daughter really appreciated.  Another fun aspect of the show is that they give each snail a score card with video game type 1-10  rankings for various categories that they flash on the screen.  It gives the characters a little more personality plus the viewers an idea of what each snail may be better at when it comes to a race or an adventurous task.  For example, BURNS' score card gives her a ranking of 7 for SPEED, 8 for ACCELERATION and 10 for SASS.

The only thing I really didn't like about the show was the opening music/song for the show which tries to give the program a Snoop Dog hip hop feel to kick it off which I didn't find very tasteful and my kids really didn't seem to like.  It wasn't a catchy tune that my kids would pick-up and sign which I find them doing all the time from some of their favorite PBS and Disney Junior shows - so hint hint to the producers you don't need to portray gangsta to present a cool vibe for a racing themed show.  Change the song!  I will note thought that there wasn't anything inappropriate about the song itself that would merit parent concern about a child hearing it or watching the show.

All in all TURBO FAST is a fun ride of a show that I give a nod to for children's viewing.  The few episodes we've seen so far from the initial 5 released show a pattern of promoting a theme of teamwork, overcoming obstacles, and following your dreams.  Both the movie and tv show send the message it is OK to dream BIG, which I believe is a great thing to communicate to our youth.

For more information, visit:  http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Turbo_FAST/70271773?locale=en-US

Make way for the extreme team.

Join Turbo and his posse on the Turbo Fast Action Stunt Team.  Filled with outrageous comedy, action and laugh out loud fun, "Turbo FAST" amps up everything to the extreme: extreme adventures, extreme challenges, and extreme excitement.

Genres: TV Shows, Kids' TV, TV Cartoons

This show is: Witty, Exciting

(Source: NETFLIX website) 

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A Dad's View: Sesame Street Live

We bought tickets and took our kids to see Sesame Street Live for the second year in a row last weekend.  From a parent's perspective I have to give the producers of this show kudos for an excellent production.  Sesame Street Live entertains the kids with age appropriate educational content that is family friendly.  In family friendly, I also mean that it throws in some inside jokes and content aimed at keeping the dads and moms in the audience entertained too.  This year's golden nuggets for the adults in the audience were a Jimmy Buffet inspired song number led by Cookie Monster and and a performance by The Count inspired from a classic 80's pop song.

This year's show was titled "Elmo Makes Music" and the premise of the show was that a new music teacher has just moved to Sesame Street. Oh no! the moving van with all her musical instruments never arrived so she can't teach the residents of Sesame Street.  Bert & Ernie come to the rescue by leading an effort for everyone to collect everyday items that can be used as instruments to replace the lost ones.  The catch is though they want to do this in secret for the new music teacher, Jennie, so they have various exploits as they look for items while trying to surprise her.  While Elmo is the headliner for this year's show it's Bert & Ernie who the show really centers around.  In fact, Bert & Ernie really steal the show from Elmo with several Josh Groban like ballad performances.

A big difference from last year's show "Elmo's Super Heroes" (see my past blog post) is that while Elmo plays a big part in "Elmo Makes Music" the production does not revolve around him.  In "Elmo's Super Heroes" the focus really was around Elmo while in "Elmo Makes Music" their is a fuller cast of contributing characters with Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, and The Count getting a lot more stage time.  My wife and I differed on which show each of us liked best.  She liked last year's show because it was filled with more of a story line outside the typical Sesame Street story lines with lots of special effects.  In comparison, "Elmo Makes Music" was more toned down but had more of a feeling like you were seeing a traditional Sesame Street tv episode being filmed right in front of you.  I enjoyed this year's show more than last year's because I appreciated that the tradition Sesame Street characters I grew up with (Cookie Monster, The Count, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie) had a bigger role while last year the focus was mostly on the newer trendy Elmo, Telly and Zoe that my kids loved but as a parent I didn't relate to as much.

The Cookie Monster is one of my all time favorite Sesame Street characters and while he doesn't get a lot of stage time when he is in the story he makes his presence felt!  In "Elmo Makes Music" he leads the Sesame Street gang in a Jimmy Buffet inspired rumba song and dance about cookies that was a fresh blast of Caribbean fun on a cold February day in Detroit.  Interestingly despite the title, Elmo only really sings during a segment meant to be just like the tv show's "Elmo's World" sketches.  This segment really didn't seem to catch the attention of the  kids in the audience despite Elmo being such a highlight attraction, maybe it was too much like what they regularly see on the tv show.  All in all "Sesame Street: Elmo Makes Music" did a great job of  keeping the audience's attention, often by having everyone interact in the songs and skits which made for a great time for everyone.  If you have a child between ages of 2 and 5 I highly recommend you check out Sesame Street Live.

Parent-to-parent though, if you go watch out for the over-priced souvenirs.  They have these awesome looking glowing wands and swirly light toys for sale that I went to the souvenir stand to check out for my kids but than I saw the price tag.  At $15 each that would have been a $30 purchase to get one for each of my kids (you know have to get one for each to avoid World War III from breaking out) for something that would have probably ended up in a toy chest or junk drawer the day after the performance.  Sorry kids but NO.  The fortunate thing is they really are discreet with the souvenir stands and you can easily avoid them and keep your kids from begging you for them as long as the parents sitting next to you don't buy them for their children.  Beware though, the one thing you can't avoid and they are NOT discreet about selling are the notorious Elmo balloons.  When they break for intermission  they bring these helium filled wonders out into the theater for every kid to see and want.  As a parent all I can say is "Oh the horror!" when you see these balloons being sold for $12 and you have to admit they are pretty cool but again looking at the sticker shock $24 is a lot of money for a couple of balloons.  Here's a secret ... you can buy the same balloon at Party City so surprise your child with one later on when it really is a special surprise. So if you don't want to loose a paycheck on souvenirs be prepared for them and know how you are going to address the situation with your kids before you go.

Your kids are only little once and Sesame Street Live is a nice indulgence for parents to thrill their kids with and enjoy some quality family time together.  Unfortunately there really is a limited time frame in which this show will appeal to children with the show being most age appropriate for ages 2 to 4.  So if your kids are in that age range don't miss out on what is a really great experience and check out Sesame Street Live the next time it comes to town.

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Little Passports opens up the world of travel to little ones

We received our first package in the mail from LITTLE PASSPORTS (www.littlepassports.com) and everyone was excited to rip open the package and see what we got! Little Passports is a subscription service that sends your kids a package in the mail each month to help promote an interest in geography, history, culture, and travel.  The premise behind the concept is that two children, Sophia & Sam, are traveling the world.  They want to include your kids in their travels so each month they send you a package filled with fun and informative stuff from the various locations Sam & Sophia have visited recently.  They also tie-in access with your subscription to online games that are associated with each month's package theme.

There are two subscription choices you can select from: World Edition or United States Edition.  If you select the global option each month you receive a package with a focus on 1 country. If you decide to tour the United States each month you get a package with a focus on 2 states.  We chose the United States Edition. Be aware that there are age guidelines for each of these categories. Little Passports World Edition is recommended for ages 5 to 10 while the United States Edition is suggested for ages 7 to 12 years old.  We didn't realize this when signing up and from our first impression it does seem that our 4 year old twins are a little too young for the materials that are being sent.

The first month you receive a welcome package to introduce you to Sophia & Sam and that will prep you for your Little Passports adventures.  I've posted a video that has us opening our first Little Passports package with our kids and than goes through its contents.  Out kids were excited to get something in the mail and had some fun with the contents.  I found the materials that are sent were nice to use as parenting tools to spend some quality time with my kids that is both entertaining and educational.  In future months the packages we get in the mail will focus on specific states.  Next month I will post a video and blog post on our first state specific package that comes in the mail - both the kids and myself are really curious what our first 2 states will be and will be keeping an extra special eye out for the mail carrier in March.

If you are interested in some creative tools to interact with your children that will help you encourage learning in a positive light check out Little Passports.  You can join the program for a monthly fee of $11.95 that you can cancel anytime. CLICK HERE for more information.

Here are the actual descriptions of the programs from Little Passports website:

Every month, follow our characters Sam and Sofia as they embark on a new country adventure. Your first month’s Explorer Kit arrives in a suitcase and contains everything your child needs to get started: a letter from Sam and Sofia, a map, a passport, stickers, access to online games and more. Country specific packages filled with fun souvenirs, letters, stickers, photos, activity sheets and more arrive every month thereafter.

With your USA Edition subscription, Sam and Sofia travel to and experience the wonders of all 50 states. Kick-off your USA adventure with the first month’s Discovery Kit which includes a letter from Sam and Sofia, a USA Field Guide, a USA scratch book, a map, and a camera. Sam and Sofia then travel to two new states every month and send an activity-packed travel journal with stickers, postcards, pop-out models and access to online activities.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary 3 month subscription of Little Passports United States Edition from Little Passports.  The views and opinions in this article are my own. 

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