“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.

Chances are that your kids are clamoring to see “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” this weekend. It’s the big family release, the commercials have been everywhere and many of them might be fans of the book.

Well, we reviewed the movie itself right here. Basically, your kids will like it, but they aren’t going to connect to it very easily. Still, the film is most certainly appropriate for kids. It’s rated PG for “some rude humor and language” so be aware of that. There are a lot of gross scenes, scenes of menace (The kids get chased. A lot.), scenes of embarrassment and a whole bunch of language that sounds like it’s straight off the SATs rather than a middle schooler’s journal.

So be sure to know all of that before going into the film.

Also opening these weekend, on a much smaller scale, is “Hubble 3D.” This IMAX movie is playing on a few IMAX screens across the country and, with its G rating, is certainly worth searching out. It’s part educational and part jaw dropping visuals of the universe around us. Plus it’s narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Also still in theaters are “Alice in Wonderland” and “Remember Me,” which were the subjects of the last two FEAK columns. Check those out by clicking the links.

Next week: “How To Train Your Dragon” in 3D.

That is just one of the problems with the film adaptation of “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.” Based on a popular series of books by Jeff Kinney, the film stars Zachary Gordon as Greg, a kid just about to start middle school who is writing in his diary, even though he doesn’t like to call it that. So the audience hears all of his inner most thoughts as he tries to adjust to a very new time in his life: cliques, girls, after school sports, etc.

Great idea, right? Without a doubt, middle school is an awkward time in a young person’s life and is ripe with comedic situations. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” has plenty of those. And while many of them are a little too cliched, others – such as “The Cheese Touch” – are new and really, really funny.

Still – it’s hard to get into this semi-awkward film, funny as it may be, when the main character is so unlikable. And that’s not a knock on Zachary Gordon’s performance – the kid has charisma – but the character himself is near impossible to get behind. Through him, the audience is meant to learn the message “being yourself is cool.” But instead of making it easy and him learning the message in a simple way, the film makes us dig around for it through his interactions with the side characters. That kind of complicated characterization would be fine if “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid” was a low budget, independent film, but this is a big budget kids movie. It’s way too difficult for kids to appreciate in the way they should.

Plus, the film constantly feels a little too smart for its own good. Many of the characters in the film are way too worldly. Somehow, even though they are only 13 years old or so, they have the knowledge that middle school is nothing but a pointless stage between childhood and your teen years and should be treated as such. It’s almost as if they’re the adult versions of themselves, transplanted back in school like in films “17 Again” or “Never Been Kissed.”

There’s a lot to like in “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.” The casting and characters are awesome, the drawings and humor are winning and the film – based on the first book – leaves you wanting more. But, still, it feels more like a film about middle school for adults than a film about middle school for middle schoolers.

Earlier this week, a band called Back of the Class released the above, hilarious music video called “My Mom’s On Facebook.” Then, thanks to the fine folks over at Mashable, it blew up.

Now, we present it to you: the parents.

The lyrics aren’t exactly safe for work, or for your little ones, but this R-rated song gives a funny and truthful take on how kids feel about their parents joining their favorite social networking site.

Check it out.

“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.

Sure it’s not technically a “Twilight” movie, but “Remember Me,” one of the films that opens this weekend, sure feels like one. First of all, it starts Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the “Twilight” films. Second, it’s about a romance that may not be destined to be and third, it will have the trailer for “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” attached to it.

All of those factors are sure to make the little girl in your family beg, beg, BEG to take you to see this film. But…is it appropriate for them?

“Remember Me” is rated PG-13 for “violence, sexual content, language and smoking.” So, right there, the film is giving parents a little bit more than they bargained for, especially compared to the wholesome values in the “Twilight” films. Those films have some violence, but the sexual content and language is basically non-existent.

Still, PG-13 is okay for many parents. In this case, though, there are things that rating doesn’t say. The most important thing for parents to know about “Remember Me” – the thing that isn’t being mentioned in the marketing or commercials of the film -  is that it has a bit of a swerve at the end that their young children might be confused, or even, deeply upset by.

Basically, the film stars Pattinson as Tyler, a young man with some serious daddy issues. He falls for,and has a summer fling with Ally, played by Emile de Ravin. The two are just a young couple living in New York, trying to come to terms with things like their budding relationship and their parents. There’s obviously much more too it, but that’s not important to you.

However, and this is a MAJOR SPOILER so if you don’t want to ruin the ending of the movie, STOP READING….

…

…

…

…. but, it turns out that at the very end of the film, we find out that Tyler’s father died on 9/11 and the film uses the images of those buildings to evoke a strong, almost forced, emotional response from the audience.

If you feel your kids can handle such images just so they can see Robert Pattinson fall in love all over again, then go for it. “Remember Me” is getting the type of reviews that one would expect from a simple romance starring young actors like de Ravin and Pattinson. Chances are, the film is fine and you’ll get your moneys worth. But, in the end, “Remember Me” is not all it is cracked up to be an, as a parent, one should decide for themselves if a film with such strong images is truly appropriate for their kids. It very well may be.

And, if you decide it’s not, there’s always “Alice in Wonderland” that you and your family can check out.

If you are reading this Web site as a parent, then it’s a very safe bet that your kids aren’t that familiar with “Tron.” The 1982 film was a technical marvel at the time and to this day still inspires people of a certain age to get excited at the mere mention of its name.

Well, almost 20 years later, Disney has crafted a sequel. “Tron Legacy” will hit IMAX 3D, Disney Digital 3D and regular screens on December 17 and continues the story of a man who is sucked into a video game. Jeff Bridges will return to play Flynn, but this time, his son is in on the action too.

Check out the trailer above to see how “Tron” has progressed in the last two decades and maybe break out the old one because your kids are going to want to see this when it comes out this Christmas.

“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.

It’s finally here! After several weeks of films deemed not at all good for kids, Hollywood has finally heard your call and released a family film.

That film is “Alice in Wonderland” and it is now playing in Disney Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and regular screens from sea to shining sea.

Earlier today we posted a mildly negative review of the PG rated film. It’s rated that “for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar.” Yes, you read that right, “a smoking caterpillar.” But there was a smoking caterpillar in the first film and that was rated G, so let’s pretend that’s fine.

By its very nature, “Alice in Wonderland” is a little darker than most normal children’s fare and this version is no different. Alice is separated from her family and finds herself in a new world, all alone. However, in his new version, the world of “Wonderland” isn’t as scary as before. Alice has friends – that’s because she has already been before and this time they need her help.

There are a few very scary scenes though. A mouse stabs the eye of a large animal, Alice walks on a river of skulls and she *Spoiler Alert* cuts the head off of a dragon. Each of these parts of the film is certainly going to be a little too much for most kids but, if you took them to see “Alice” in the first place, it should be okay.

Overall – “Alice in Wonderland” is definitely appropriate for kids. It has its moments but it’s no darker than, say, “Coraline” or something like that.

“Why,” do you ask? Well first, because, that’s the “Alice in Wonderland” you are hoping for: light, sweet and kind of eerie. Also, because Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland,” starring Johnny Depp, is nothing more than a glorified sequel to the 1951 classic. Yes, you heard that right. Despite its title, the 2010 “Alice In Wonderland” should really be called “Alice In Wonderland 2.”

And even though that idea sounds downright inspired, what with the huge wealth of Lewis Carroll’s literature Burton and his team could mine, the film is nothing more than a by-the-numbers adventure story populated with all the characters you know and love from the original.

The film starts with young Alice waking up from a nightmare where she remembers falling down a hole, seeing a rabbit in a waist coat and then meeting a blue caterpillar. We flash 13 years later to meet our teenage Alice (Mia Wasikowska) on the way to a very important date. No, not the one you are expecting; this is a very elaborate party with the London elite. Without ruining the surprise, Alice finds herself flustered and winds up following the aforementioned rabbit down a hole and then, well, you know where the story goes from there: Drink Me, Eat Me, etc.

However – that’s where the film deviates from the original. Alice is in Underland (Yes, Underland) for a reason. She is back to help all of the inhabitants defeat the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). So she teams up with the Mad Hatter (Depp), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, March Hare, Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum and the rest to complete the task.

Where most people expect magic and whimsy from “Alice in Wonderland” the only place Burton’s film gives us that is with the visuals. The effects and sets are incredibly impressive and, if you see the film in 3D, it’s way more in your face and aggressive than films like “Avatar” and “Up.” Other than that, though, it never feels like much is at stake or that there’s any real excitement to be had.

With or without 3D though, there’s a good chance that kids might be confused by many of the long names of characters, some of the dull moments and trying to figure out exactly how this movie relates to the original. The script does an adequate job of weaving in how Alice doesn’t remember the first film but it still feels forced.

From a filmmaker and stars of such a pedigree, one would expect more from “Alice in Wonderland.” Visually, it’s stunning, but story and character wise, it feels more like a bad version of “Shrek.”

One more day until “Alice in Wonderland” hits theaters everywhere in glorious 3D. Here at KidGlue, we’ve basically converted to Wonderland, what with our awesome giveaway, sick gallery of pictures, cool videos and much more.

Today, we’ve got another rockin’ gallery: it’s a series of behind the scenes photos that show progression of how director Tim Burton and his team built several of the characters and backgrounds that make up the film.

So check these out and tomorrow, check back for our review of the film.

With all her television appearances and movie roles, it’s easy to forget that Miley Cyrus is primarily a music artist.

So, in conjunction with her upcoming film “The Last Song,” she’s released a new song called “When I Look At You.” The music video is above.

Based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks (”The Notebook”) it’s about a rebellious Southern girl who comes to odds with her father when she is forced to spend the summer with him. It hits theaters on March 31.

“Alice in Wonderland” week continues here on KidGlue leading up to the film’s opening on March 5.

The clip above features Tim Burton’s new take on quite possibly the most classic and well known scene from “Alice,” the tea party. It features Johnny Depp and that pesky white rabbit.

After you watch, check out these photos and check back tomorrow for an exclusive, awesome giveaway.

You’ve probably played Mouse Trap with your kids before. You might have even let them line up some dominos and then knock them down in succession.

Well, the band OK Go has taken that to a whole new level. This video for their song “This Too Shall Pass” is just insane and will have your and your kids picking up your jaws from the floor and asking question after question after question.

Here’s hoping someone does a physics lesson that uses this video. Check it out above.

At the end of March, be prepared for another overdose of Miley Cyrus as her new movie, “The Last Song,” hits theaters.

Based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks (“The Notebook”) it’s about a rebellious Southern girl who comes to odds with her father when she is forced to spend the summer with him. You can see the trailer for the movie by clicking here.

But above, the filmmakers and stars talk about their star – Miley Cyrus – and why she’s perfect for the role and how this could be her first step out of the shoes of “Hannah Montana.”

Later this week, we’ll post the new music video by Miley from “The Last Song” which hits theaters on March 31.

It’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ week here at KidGlue and we’re kicking it off with this awesome gallery of images from the film that opens this Friday, March 5.

Of course, we’ve already hosted live video from the premiere, live video from the Hollywood event (see photos here), posted clips from the movie, shown you the full trailer and much, much more. But this week, we take it up a notch. We’ve got MORE footage, FREE stuff and even – of course – the full review on Friday.

So, to kick it all off, let’s get acquainted with the cast of character for this wacky adventure starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton.

“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.

Another weekend at the movies, another two R rated films. The two big film releases this weekend, “Cop Out” and “The Crazies,” both might register on your child’s radar but – whether they are good or bad films – neither is appropriate for those kids.

“Cop Out” stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan and is rated R for “pervasive language including sexual references, violence and brief sexuality.” The film is supposed to be a throwback to the ’80s buddy cop movies like “Lethal Weapon” and “48 Hours.” So if you let your kids watch those, this is fine. But since you probably don’t, you should probably wait on this one.

The other film, “The Crazies” is a hyper kinetic zombie movie starring Timothy Olyphant. It’s rated R for “bloody violence and language.” Think “28 Days Later” or “Zombieland.” It’s not totally serious, but it’s seriously violent and gory so be very aware.

With those two films, and “Shutter Island” last week, there haven’t been many good family films out in the last few weeks. There’s “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” and, next week, “Alice in Wonderland.” Check out some of the photos and videos we’ve already posted with much more coming.

We’re just about three months away from Jake Gyllenhaal storming screens in Disney’s “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” based on the popular video game.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) and directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter 4″) the film plans to be one of the Summer’s biggest family action extravaganzas. In the video above, you’ll get a good idea of what went into making this huge, epic film.

You can watch the original trailer here, become a fan here, and keep checking back to KidGlue for more as we get closer to the May 28 release date.

Thursday morning, the stars are shining brightly in London’s Leicester Square for the world premiere of “Alice in Wonderland.” Can’t make it across the pond? You can watch the entire thing LIVE above and over on www.facebook.com/aliceinwonderland starting at 10:15 PST.

The red carpet will be star studded with people such as Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonhan Carter and even the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

We’ve been posting clips from the film, photos and we’ll have more tomorrow and next week leading up to the release of the film on March 5.

Last week in Hollywood, Disney presented a huge fan event centered on “Alice in Wonderland” which opens in theaters everywhere on March 5.

It featured performances by 3OH!3, Metro Station, Family Force 5, Kerli, Never Shout Never and Avril Lavigne and all of the stars of the film showed up too.

Check out the photos of the event by clicking above and keep coming back to KidGlue for more “Alice in Wonderland” over the next week.

“Alice in Wonderland” is only days away and KidGlue is going straight down the rabbit hole.

Today, we’ve got a full clip from the film featuring Alice, The Red Queen and the White Rabbit. Later this week, we’ll have some photos and next week we’ll be among the first to let you know how the film finally is as we’ll be seeing it before it open on March 5.

So check out the video above and keep checking back here on KidGlue for more “Alice in Wonderland.”

To that end, IHOP is hosting “National Pancake Day” on Tuesday February 23 at all locations. Here are the details on how you can get your free pancakes.

“Join IHOP to celebrate National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., we’ll give you one free short stack (three) of our famous buttermilk pancakes.* All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children’s hospitals through Children’s Miracle Network, or other local charities.”

For a whole bunch more information, including how to find an IHOP near you, visit http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/

Being an editor means each day a bunch of writers come up with articles, send them to me and I put them up on this site. I’m also supposed to give the site an overall tone, feel and purpose. The purpose I’d like the site to have, but so rarely achieve, is giving parents information about things their kids are interested in so that they can use that knowledge to engage them in a healthy and meaningful dialogue. And, let’s face it, most kids are into music, movies, television – in short, pop culture. So we try to be on top of what all the kids are talking about for you, the parent.

When I’m not editing this site I’m a huge movie junkie and freelance entertainment journalist. You might even be able to discern that from some of the articles I write on this site. Anyway, in my infinite search for movie knowledge, I ran across an article today that not only enraged me; it made me realize that what I want to do here on KidGlue.com is extremely viable.

The story is as follows. One of the most well-respected movie news Web sites out there today is www.latinoreview.com. They break news stories on their own, they have around the clock updates and they have some of the best and funniest film writers out there. One of those writers, George Roush, recently reviewed the film “The Wolfman.” (I discussed the film briefly here but, since it’s rated R, it wasn’t delved into.) At some point after writing that review the author got an e-mail from a fan who thought she was writing to the people behind the film “The Wolfman.”

This letter has to be read and seen to be believed so I urge you to head over to Latino Review and read the whole thing in it’s entirety by clicking here.

The basic gist of it, though, is that this girl was mad at the people who made “The Wolfman” because this Wolfman was nothing like the original. You know, the one released last November in a film called “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Yes. This Twi-hard believed that werewolves were basically INVENTED for that movie. Here’s a short excerpt.

This movie was a complete waste and I feel that it offends ALL Twilight Fans around the world, that including myself. For one, it was a COMPLETE remaking of the Wolf Pack from the Twilight Saga: New Moon.

If you don’t get it by now, the 2010 Universal Picture “The Wolfman” is a remake of a 1941 film called “The Wolf Man” that spawned so many rip offs, spin offs and other offs that I can’t even begin to count. But this girl, who is obviously young and probably shouldn’t see an R rated movie anyway, has zero cultural context. Wouldn’t one hope her parents would explain to her that “Twilight” is actually ripping off “The Wolfman,” that a werewolf isn’t limited to being a brooding teenager with his shirt off or, better yet, that culture begets culture and everything has its own influences from the past?

Of course that’s too much to hope for. Just let her keep going on thinking that movie that came out 3 months ago invented everything and keep letting her see movies where wolves disembowel women and children.

So – that’s why I’m glad we are here. I hope that on occasion the things you read here on KidGlue give you pause and some talking points to help you engage your kids about pop culture, or the news or any other number of issues. They might even learn something. If that happens, you can probably avoid having your child’s words plastered all over the Internet in a complete act of justified mockery. And if we played any point in helping you avoid that? Then we’ve both done our jobs, haven’t we?

At 5 p.m. PST Friday evening, Walt Disney is hosting a huge “Alice in Wonderland” live event featuring all the stars from the film as well as live musical performances.

You can read all about the event by clicking this pretty blue link you’re reading right now.

And you can also watch the event LIVE right in that window above. It’s like going down a rabbit hole straight to Hollywood & Highland.

“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.

There’s one big movie out this weekend, Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and – long story short – it’s not appropriate for children.

Rated R for “for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity” this is definitely one to go to with your friends (the movie itself is phenomenal) but not something the kids can see, even if they do love them some Leonardo DiCaprio.

Instead, there is still plenty of kid friendly fare out in theaters.

They will almost surely love “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” for example. “Avatar” is playing in IMAX 3D for only another two weeks and, if you can find it, we don’t necessarily recommend it, but “The Tooth Fairy” is still lingering around.

Next week the mature themes continue but, on March 5, you guessed it.“Alice in Wonderland.”

This week’s giveaway for a $25 Toys R Us Giftcard has come to a close, and it’s time to announce the winner, who’ll now be getting $25 of cool for free.

After much tweeting, following and commenting, the winner is….

Belinda B

Congrats! Check your email for further instructions on claiming your prize. Everyone else, check out the Free Stuff Page to for our newest giveaway that started this morning!

Who hasn’t gone to a zoo and taken photos of animals? And while doing it, most of us have probably wondered, “What would happen if the animals knew what we were doing?”

Well, this video has the answer. And also provides a few chuckles along the way for you and your family.

Not only did Friday February 12 mark the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic games from Vancouver, British Columbia, it marks the world premiere of this brand new version of “We Are the World.” It’s written by Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones and features some of the most popular artists out there today.

Enough reading. Watch it already.

If you want to download the song, visit http://wearetheworldfoundation.org/ and all proceeds go to Haiti Earthquake relief.

The complete list of people who sing in the song is as follows:

• JENNIFER HUDSON
• JAMIE FOXX
• SUGARLAND
• ADAM LEVINE
• JASON MRAZ
• EARTH WIND & FIRE
• NATALIE COLE
• THE JONAS BROTHERS
• T PAIN
• BRIAN WILSON
• JUSTIN BIEBER
• NICOLE SCHERZINGER
• INDIA.ARIE
• JULIANNE HOUGH
• MARY MARY
• MELANIE FIONA
• BEBE WINANS
• MYA
• TYRESE GIBSON
• ANTHONY HAMILTON
• RAPHAEL SAADIQ
• GLADYS KNIGHT
• KERI HILSON
• JOEL & BENJI MADDEN
• HEART
• BRANDY
• P!NK
• MUSIQ SOULCHILD
• MILEY CYRUS
• AKON
• JORDIN SPARKS
• CELINE DION
• ROB THOMAS
• KATHARINE McPHEE
• JEFF BRIDGES
• RANDY JACKSON
• PATTI AUSTIN
• KID CUDI
• USHER
• WILL.I.AM
• KANYE WEST
• LL COOL J
• ISSAC SLADE (aka The Fray)
• SNOOP DOGG
• NICOLE RICHIE
• TREY SONGZ
• ETHAN BORTNICK
• TARYLL JACKSON
• TAJ JACKSON
• TJ JACKSON
• VINCE VAUGHN
• DRAKE
• FREDA PAYNE
• FAITH EVANS
• ROBIN THICKE
• RASHIDA JONES
• BARBRA STREISAND
• JIMMY JEAN LOUIS
• ENRIQUE IGLESIAS
• ZAC BROWN
• LIL WAYNE
• TONY BENNETT
• JOSH GROBAN
• SEAN GARRETT
• HARRY CONNICK, JR.
• AL JARDINE
• BONE THUGS AND HARMONY (BIZZY BONES)
• AR RAHMEN
• FERGIE
• MARY J. BLIGE
• ORIANTHI
• MANN
• NIPSEY HUSSLE
• IYAZ
• KEITH HARRIS
• NIKKA COSTA
• TONI BRAXTON
• FARNSWORTH BENTLEY
• PLAIN PAT
• IL TRIO