I’ve talked about Skottie Young before here at Kids when we talked about the The Marvelous Land of Oz (see a preview for issue #2) where he continues to team up with Eric Shanower to retell Baum’s Adventures of Oz. Everybody needs to go buy the now collected version of their The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (published by Marvel & a NY Times bestseller and a School Library pick for best of 2009). Recently on twitter he posted a couple of test images for a “kids adventures graphic novel” and he kindly gave us permission to repost them here (didn’t even have to send BSC-agents to the home or anything!).

As you can probably tell, Young calls this his ‘villain test’. I used to listen to a podcast rather religiously that Young guest-hosted and while I’m not sure we can call everything on it Kids safe (very funny for teenagers and adults though!), but when the topic turned to kids and childhood related books and animation you really could tell that it was a passion of his.

Can’t wait to see more!

It’s time to name the winner of our ABC FAMILY 5 Days of Christmas Giveaway! The winner is Kerry from Tallmadge, Ohio! Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Big thanks to ABC/ABC Family for help spreading the holiday cheer! Be on the lookout for more contests coming soon from BSCkids!

Sometimes you just have to call the team together for a special BSCkids Synergy where you talk about your favorite holiday specials.  Well what we have is a special first edition of Synergy from the reviews, editors, and owners of BSCreview.  As everyone knows this is a topic that is very close to my heart, plus it is always interesting to see what people have to say.  There are a lot of classics out there, but which one of those classics makes it to the top of your list?

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My two favorites are, and pretty much always have been, A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In these two minimal animated features, all that is pure with Christmas and all that is wrong is revealed. In fact, the first (of two) airings of the Peanuts special this year was edited for time…to allow more commercials. How wrong is that?

For as much as I love those two shows, there are two movies (actually one done twice) that I only watch during this season and I only watch them once per year. Usually, I prefer to watch the first one on Thanksgiving night and the second a day or two later. Together, they kindle the holiday spirit and really get me in the mood. They are Home Alone 1 and 2. Capturing the heart of the Christmas season, these two movies show what’s really important: family and the love within, despite all the trials and tribulations that go with family. John Williams’ score (namely the theme “Somewhere in my Memory”) is imbued with magical Christmas dust so much so that you can almost feel the warmth of a fire from the melodies being played.

If you just had that aspect of the movies, they would be mere sugary treats to be slurped with abandon and forgotten easily. The slapstick portion of the films is what makes them truly memorable. I start laughing at the coming scenes as I put the videotape in the player. I laugh a Daniel Stern’s shriek in the first film as Macaulay Culkin places the tarantula on Stern’s face. I laugh in the second film as Tim Curry, as the hotel manager, had to get on his knees and tell the man he can’t see how much he loves him.

To be honest, the second film is almost the exact same as the first. But the heart is still there. The laugh-out-loud, tear-inducing pratfalls are there in both. They are the can’t-miss movies every Christmas season for me.

~Scott D. Parker

Scott D. Parker is a technical writer living in Houston, Texas. He writes about pulp fiction, crime fiction, music, and other things at his crime fiction blog. He writes about science fiction & fantasy at SF Safari and he has a weekly column at Do Some Damage. He has published a story at Beat to a Pulpand has written the historical mystery Treason at Hanford: a Harry Truman Mystery. A native Texan, one of his professional goals as a writer is to help put Houston on the crime fiction map.

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Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – I love that the narrator is Fred Astaire, I love the stop motion animation, the Winter Warlock rocks, the town with no toys is suitably sad but amusing and the romance between Jessica and Kris who become Mr. & Mrs. Santa is just really sweet.  Actually all the Rankin/Bass stop motion specials are great but this one is my favorite.  However, the special that has my favorite Christmas song (Holly, Jolly Christmas sung by Burl Ives) is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

I still watch them all and the new ones that come out every year.  I’m just a kid at heart!

~April

I’m a 40 year old desk jockey who amuses herself with lots and lots of reading. My favorite things in books are dragons, steampunk, wizards, comedy, and lots of action!

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon and book).  It’s got so much going for it.  First, Dr. Suess–win already. Then it’s got that adorable dog who has to dress up like a unicorn reindeer.  Then it’s got one of the most fabulous villains of all time, the Grinch, who not only thinks up an insidious plan but ACTUALLY MANAGES TO PULL IT OFF.  Then it’s got the wonderful ending where, despite the Grinch having stolen the material trappings of Christmas, the Whos of Whoville come together to show that underneath all the trees and the lights and the presents, what Christmas is still (and, hopefully, always) really about is community, family, love, forgiveness, and peace between men. And food, since the whole tops off with carving the roast beast. Mm. Brilliant.

~Elena

Elena Nola reads things, watches things, and edits things. She writes her BSC Review column, Elena’s World, to tell you all about it all.

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Charlie Brown Christmas.

The pageant reharsal with everyone dancing is a classic.  If you mention this scene to anyone, they can more than likely bust out one of the dances the kids are doing.  A couple of which are physically impossible to do if you’re not animated.  Plus you got Pig Pen on bass.  Also, those same people have probably used Charlie Brown’s pathetic tree as a metaphor for something disappointing in their life.

Rudolf was weak, Frosty made me sad and The Year Without a Santa Claus was too obscure, even though Heat Miser was awesome. 

Charlie Brown, FTW.

~Mark

Mark does the CSS and design work for BSCreview and BSCkids

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My favorite winter holiday special would have to be Rankin Bass’s Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer between the island of misfit toys (especially the king of the island and the polka-dotted elephant), and the Bumble, it has some of the coolest characters of any holiday special. All of that, and Burl Ives singing “Silver and Gold”-what’s not to love?

~Patricia

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My favorite winter holiday special has always been the 1938 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, starring Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit and Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge. The movie was redone in Technicolor some years later, but I recall watching both versions as a child. I don’t see this version played on television much these days, but it’s still my favorite adaptation because of the emotional impact it had on me as a small boy; the characters’ performances, combined with the impeccable soundtrack, drew me in and I used to watch it over and over again. Perhaps it’s nostalgia that renders this version my favorite – it’s long before my time, as I’m only 32 years old.

~ B.T.

B.T. Robertson is a writer, published author, and avid gamer, and has been playing video games his entire conscious life. Currently, he resides in Pittsburgh, PA with his family and is awaiting the launch of his third fantasy novel. Visit him online at www.btrobertson.com.

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My favorite winter holiday special is the Charlie Brown Christmas one, because it’s one of the first I saw growing up, and I like how Charlie Brown’s selection of a Christmas tree that everyone criticizes is eventually one they all think looks great, once they decorate it.  It gives me a warm feeling, and helps me get in the Christmas spirit.  My teen daughter’s favorite is How the Grinch Stole Christmas,because she likes how the Grinch’s heart gets larger after he realizes that there’s more to Christmas than just receiving presents and eating feasts.  She also likes the scene where the Grinch carves the roast beast for the whos.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas, from

~ Douglas

Professor Crazy here! I have obtained degrees from numerous colleges & universities both Major and Minor, with an emphasis on all of the Various & Sundry schools of Thought & Discipline. I majored in Rhetoric at the University of Illinois, obtained a Master’s degree in English at Arizona State University In Tempe, AZ., and another Master’s in Secondary Education at UALR, in Little Rock, AR.

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We adore Elf!  KatieKat is in complete agreement with Buddy on the four food groups, which she tries to eat plenty of on a daily basis: syrup, candy, candy corns, and candy canes, but easy on the candy canes, because she isn’t too crazy about mint.  Medora loves Elf’s outlook on life – “smiling’s my favorite!” – and tries to remember it when she is annoyed by crazy co-workers or screaming children in the library where she works.  We both think Buddy’s decorating abilities are amazing.  Who else could transform Gimbel’s into such a stunning winter wonderland?  Medora thinks that KatieKat sounds a lot like Buddy, who likes to scream everything instead of just talking, because she has to remind her to talk instead of yelling all the time.  No matter what kind of day you have at school or work, or how tired you might be, Elf is the movie to put you in a better mood, no matter what time of year it is. 

~Medora and daughter, KatieKat

I am a librarian and a doctoral student in American Literature. I like cats, chinchillas, and moogles. When I go to a big city, I have to go to Chinatown. I eat lemons. I love love love NASCAR. This may be all you need to know. Medora’s Blog

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This really is a tough call as I am a fan of so many holiday specials.  I am going to have to give you my top three choices that I am feeling currently.  Charlie Brown Christmas because it is actually one of those specials that manages to push strong morals and even throws in religion.  For me Christmas has the religion piece to it to make it fully complete.  Second would have to be The Year Without a Santa Claus because Heat Miser and Snow Miser songs are just awesome.  Yeah Bumble is cool, but he can not top those two guys.  Lastly I want to say that I just loved Yes, Virginia that they released this year, I really like the animation, characters and the message.  If I had to pick a favorite version of A Christmas Carol I go with the Mickey version.  Darn, I forgot about ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with the mice that fix clocks, I love that also.  Ok, I give up, I just like too many of them.

Happy Holidays

~Damon

One of the owners of this site, that site, and I handle all the server work for all the sites.  I am a kid at heart and love cartoons.

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This is what I am talking about!  ABC Family comes through on Christmas Eve with all of the good shows, one right after another to get you in the holiday spirit.  I have seen most of them already and my boys are already up and watching.  I do not know if I will be able to move them away from the television at all today.  I need to pack them off somewhere though to finish wrapping the Christmas presents.  We will have a Synergy article over here at BSCkids later today where a bunch of us talk about our favorite holiday specials.  We have two shows though that I am not familiar with.  The first on is The Leprechauns Christmas Gold, I’ll have to give that a watch this morning.  The second one though I just finished watching a bit of.  The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus, which I may have seen a while ago but did not remember.  I think that is the one thing that most Santa stories gloss over, how Santa became immortal so this little story explains that part.  It is based on a story by Frank L. Baum, the creator of Wizard of Oz.  Plus it is done in stop-motion animated puppetry which is always a plus.  It does not have the same commercial appeal though as the other stories which is why I do not think it became a classic.

(7:00-8:00 AM ET/PT) THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS

This delightful holiday special tells the story of how Santa Claus was once a mortal who, in his desire to alleviate endless examples of inhumanity to men, began giving gifts to children on Christmas day. His selflessness earned him a reputation as a saint and he was rewarded with immortality so he could continue doing his work, and in the process, fulfilling the Christmas wishes of boys and girls around the world. Based on the story by Wizard of Ozcreator Frank L. Baum and filmed using animagic (stop-motion animated puppetry). (Animated)

(8:00-8:30 AM ET/PT) THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY – (*See Saturday, December 12, for description.)

(8:30-9:00 AM ET/PT) NESTOR, THE LONG EARED CHRISTMAS DONKEY – (*See Saturday, December 12, for description.)

(9:00-9:30 AM ET/PT) THE LEPRECHAUNS’ CHRISTMAS GOLD

In this Christmas fairy tale, loveable leprechaun Dinty Doyle sets out to find the perfect Christmas tree for his family. After stumbling upon a mysterious island off the coast of Ireland, he takes a beautiful tree home to the land of Wee People. Little does he know the tree is actually a prison cell holding an evil banshee. With her bag of tricks, the banshee escapes from the tree and devises a plan to steal the land’s gold and ruin the Wee People’s Christmas. With the help of Lord Patrick, King of the Wee People, Dinty must stop the banshee before it’s too late. (Animated)

(11:00-11:30 AM ET/PT) MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL – (*See Tuesday, December 8 for description.)

(11:30 AM-12:00 PM ET/PT) WINNIE THE POOH & CHRISTMAS TOO – (*See Tuesday, December 8, for description.)

(12:00-1:00 PM ET/PT) PINOCCHIO’S CHRISTMAS – (*See Saturday, December 12, for description.)

(1:00-1:30 PM ET/PT) ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS – (*See Monday, December 7, for description.)

(1:30-3:30 PM ET/PT) RUDOLPH & FROSTY’S CHRISTMAS IN JULY – (*See Saturday, December 12, for description.)

(3:30-5:00 PM ET/PT) RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER AND THE ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS – (*See Wednesday, December 9, for description.)

(5:00-6:00 PM ET/PT) JACK FROST – (*See Monday, December 7, for description.)

(6:00-6:30 PM ET/PT) FROSTY’S WINTER WONDERLAND – (*See Friday, December 4, for description.)

(6:30-7:00 PM ET/PT) ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS – (*See Monday, December 7, for description.)

(7:00-8:00 PM ET/PT) RUDOLPH’S SHINY NEW YEAR – (*See Wednesday, December 9, for description.)

(8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN – (*See Wednesday, December 9, for description.)

(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS – (*See Tuesday, December 1, for description.)

(10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) A MISER BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS – (*See Tuesday, December 8, for description.) 

Get to bed early all you children, for Santa comes tonight.

We are getting to the point in the schedule where we have a bunch of repeats that we have seen earlier in the month, but we have a few new shows during the day and night that make their first appearance of the month.    I have never seen Stealing Christmas, but I am a Tony Danza fan, who can forget Who’s the Boss?  We also get Snowglobe, which I am sure has some pretty awesome singing in Christina Milian is the star, but another one I have not yet seen.  A few repeats after that, and then we get Miracle on 34th Street.  Excited, right?  Well I have to tell you that it is the 1994 version, not the 1947 version.  I personally think that it is one of those movies that never needed a remake and I refuse to acknowledge the existence of a second version of the 1947 classic.  Does anyone like the newer version more than the older classic original?  I will not have too much time today to watch anything with all the wrapping I need to finish. 

(7:00-9:00 AM ET/PT) NAUGHTY OR NICE – (*See Sunday, December 6, for description.)

(9:00-11:00 AM ET/PT) STEALING CHRISTMAS

Tony Danza stars as Jack Clayton, a small town crook who finds himself in hot water after a botched heist at a shopping mall. In an attempt to elude the cops, he narrowly escapes by wearing a Santa suit and slips away on a bus. Jack arrives in the small town of Evergreen and in a case of mistaken identity, he lands a job playing Santa at a Christmas tree lot where he meets Sarah (Lea Thompson), a kind single mother. After gaining the trust of the town, Jack conspires to rob the local bank on Christmas Eve – but instead finds himself choosing between a big score and true love. (Live Action)

(11:00 AM-1:00 PM ET/PT) SNOWGLOBE

In the ABC Family holiday movie, a mystical snowglobe transports Angela (Christina Milian), who longs for the perfect Christmas away from her boisterous family, into an idyllic Christmas winter wonderland. But when the two worlds unexpectedly collide, Angela struggles to reconcile the situation and ultimately has to make a choice about what really defines her perfect Christmas. (Live Action)

(1:00-3:00 PM ET/PT) HOLIDAY IN HANDCUFFS – (*See Thursday, December 10, for description.)

(3:00-5:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA BABY – (*See Sunday, December 13, for description.)

5:00-7:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA BABY 2: CHRISTMAS MAYBE – (*See Sun., December 13, for description.)

(7:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) MIRACLE ON 34^th STREET

Everyone, especially children, knows that the holiday season is a time for miracles. However, six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood’s most enduring miracle…Santa Claus. This holiday season, Susan is going to receive the most precious gift of all: something to believe in and she’s about to discover that miracles do occur. When Kris (Richard Attenborough) is put on trial to prove he’s Santa, the youngster — and everyone around her — learns the true meaning of faith, the importance of family… and that even today, we all need something to believe in. (Live Action)

(10:00 PM-12:30 AM ET/PT) THE POLAR EXPRESS – (*See Thursday, December 3, for description.)

I think that these are the days we need to see thoseRankin/Bass classics, I personally would rather they get shown again as we get real close to Christmas.  The kids are super excited for Christmas now, so thank goodness we have DVR’d most of the shows that they like from earlier in the month.

The original Karate Kid is an all time classic–I don’t care what anybody says! I’m not going to even lie to you, I thought this film would look like a disaster. Starring Jaden Smith (The Fresh Prince’s boy!) and Jackie Chan, this trailer (the first one out) isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and I always give Jackie an chance regardless. We’ll have to wait and see as this comes out next June, but for now call me mildly surprised.

What’s it about?

12-year-old Dre Parker could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying – and the feeling is mutual – but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, and kung fu prodigy, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

Star Wars and Disney? Doesn’t get much better than that! You know it’s true, so now that the schedule for Disney’s Star Wars Weekend is out, get to planning! Clone Wars and the Magic Kingdom…I may need to go myself! 4 weekends planned for the festivities at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with fun events and special guests!

May 22, May 23, May 24
Ray Park, Warwick Davis, and James Arnold Taylor

June 12, June 13, June 14
Dave Filoni and Temuera Morrison

Read the full announcement over at Disney’s site!

Toy Story 3 takes time away from preparing their box office domination to wish all of us a Happy Holiday!

Yahoo Movies has released a teaser trailer for Marmaduke, which is hitting theaters next Summer. It’s being called a family comedy, and has a cast that’s going to be very familiar (and somewhat unusual) for viewers, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ron Perlman, William H. Macy, George Lopez, Damon Wayans, Amanda Seyfried and Jeremy Piven are just some of the faces you’ll see from this adaptation of the Brad Anderson strip that goes back to the ’50s. Owen Wilson will be giving voice to mischievous Great Dane. Remember this is only a tease!

Comingsoon recently was able to talk to some of the star of the upcoming sequel squeakquel to Alvin and Chipmunks. Not too long ago we brought you a video of Chipettes performing from the movie, but this is a live bit with Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler and Zachary Levi.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel comes out tomorrow!