It's My Screen Time Too

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Grab your everlasting gobstoppers for our holiday season review of Wonka, the musical prequel to the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We welcomed Alex and Kelly, hosts of the Dirt Nap City podcast, to explore our thoughts on prequels, musicals, oompa loompas, chocolate that doesn't look like chocolate, whether Timothee Chalamet is a worthy successor to Gene Wilder, and much more. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss why marketing departments are leaving the music out of trailers for musicals.

We review the latest Disney animated musical Wish. Find out how it compares to favorites like Frozen and Encanto. Katie takes us on a journey through the recent history of Disney musicals to see where this one fits, and we discuss whether tying this movie to Disney's 100th anniversary celebration was a smart move. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss an episode of the podcast Struggle Care about the dangers of family vlogging.

We depart from our regular format to bring you our takes on the new family movies premiering on streamers and in theaters during the holiday season. What deserves our screen time as 2023 comes to a close? We have plenty of options, from the newest Disney animated musical to a family body swap comedy to Adam Sandler's latest silly voice. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss an article that asks why none of the newer holiday films feel like they'll truly become classics like Elf and Love Actually.

Harriet the Spy, the novel beloved by generations of young readers, has been adapted into a multi-season animated series on Apple TV+. We discuss whether Harriet's antics are appealing when spread over twenty episodes, whether today's parents are comfortable with their kids admiring a character who spies on others, free range parenting, and more. In Screen Time in the News, we confront our fears about AI being used in PBS's upcoming interactive show Lyla in the Loop.

We review Spy Kids: Armageddon, the fifth and latest installment in the Spy Kids franchise. Does the soft reboot on Netflix feel fresh or is Spy Kids better left an artifact of the aughts? In Screen Time in the News, we're just not ready to give up on spooky season, so we discuss a MovieWeb article extolling the 90s banner days of horror for kids.

Star-studded casts have propelled previous movies based on Disney theme park rides to success (Jack Sparrow ring any bells?). In our review of Disney's second attempt at a Haunted Mansion movie, we consider whether kids even care that the cast includes heavy hitters like Lakeith Stanfield and Jamie Lee Curtis as well as whether the grim grinning ghosts in this new PG-13 Haunted Mansion are too scary for kids. In ScreenTime in the News, we bemoan the state of the magazine industry while discussing a Good Housekeeping article about the benefits of scaring our kids.

We check in with Apple to see how they're handling the Peanuts legacy with a review of Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie. Does it have the charm and weight of the Peanuts specials we remember from our childhoods? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss the state of the family film in theaters.

In our latest review, we try our best to follow the plot of the overstuffed animated adventure The Monkey King on Netflix. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss the evergreen newsworthiness of parents expressing befuddlement at their kids' tastes in media by way of a Wall Street Journal article about popular Youtube channels.

We debut a new segment called One For Me, One For You in which we pair YouTube channels beloved by our kids with ones we think have a greater appeal for parents. This week's theme is animals, and we review Hammy and Olivia and Nat Geo Kids. We discuss a Wired article about YouTube as the future of kids TV, and Katie has an update about her kids and the music of Parry Gripp, a musician we first discussed way back in episode 90 in our review of Emily's Wonder Lab.

We didn't expect to have quite so many complicated feelings about the new Apple TV+ preschool show Frog and Toad. Find out whether we thought the Frog and Toad stories, originally penned in the 1970s, made a successful transition to the small screen. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss PBS Kids' expansion efforts into streaming, gaming, and podcasts.

We observe our annual summertime tradition of covering a made-for-streaming Disney live action musical with our review of World's Best. Utkarsh Ambudkar's tale of a math-loving tween exploring his dead dad's love of rap had us considering some weighty questions about the legacies we leave our children, but it also had us bobbing our heads to some seriously catchy tunes. Find out whether you should factor this one into your family movie night schedule.

We're joined once again by Julia Washington of Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous for our review of Barbie. We discuss PG-13 movies, when and why we feel comfortable sharing them with our kids, and whether Barbie can be enjoyed by the whole family. We represent a full range of Barbie fandoms - from superfans to casual observers - and cover everything from the appeal of midcentury dream house architecture to the importance of Alan to dream ballets to what actors could best represent aging Barbie and Ken.

We review Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, the somewhat improbable animated adaptation of Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. We discuss the place of sanitized remakes in our family screen time canons, whether and when we'll feel comfortable sharing Mel Brooks movies with our kids, and the timeless hilarity of cat jokes. In Screen Time in the News, we revisit the current state of Pixar, and Katie shares her recent forays into PG-13 movies with her kids by way of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

We review Pixar's latest blockbuster: Elemental. Are we ready for animated rom coms? We also get into our feelings on the throwback short before the feature, Carl's Date. Katie is not interested in an Up story without Russell and Kevin, but we are both interested in a lot of the trailers we saw before the movie. We talk about the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles installment, the newest Paw Patrol movie, and Disney's upcoming musical Wish. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a Hollywood Reporter interview with one of our favorite creators for the preschool set, Chris Nee.

This week's lightning round episode is jam packed with our reviews of The Little Mermaid; Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse; and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai as well as some follow-up about American Born Chinese. In Screen Time in the News, we speculate about the strategy for kids' content at Max (formerly HBOMax) and where it will fit in the hierarchy of streamers with family-friendly fare.

We review Disney's star studded adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese and discuss how the writer's strike might affect kids' movies and television.

In our latest episode, we discuss whether Disney's Peter Pan and Wendy is just another in their long line of largely disappointing live action remakes and if we really needed yet another retelling of the Peter Pan story. Is the idea that boys never really want to grow up all that charming anymore? In Screen Time in the News, we talk about frame rates and whether they should really be of concern to toddler parents.

We review the conservation-minded Apple TV series Jane. Are an adorable 9 year old's efforts to save endangered species enough to make a dent in Deborah's climate pessimism? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss The Super Mario Bros. Movie's box office dominance and whether it means we'll see greater investment in family films.

This week, we review The Super Mario Bros. Movie - a box office smash we saw in actual theaters and not on our couches. Find out whether it was as big a hit with us as it was with our kids. In Screen Time in the News, we speak with author Phillip Maciak about his upcoming book and how having kids has changed our attitudes toward and relationships with the screens in our lives.

We review the animated adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant and get into what makes a good book-to-screen adaptation in general. In Screen Time in the News, we add our two cents to Matt Singer's complaint in ScreenCrush that there are no movies for kids in theaters.

We return to our first love - preschool television - to review the Paw Patrol spin-off, Rubble & Crew. Can the charm of Rubble's construction-loving family match that of the original heroes of Adventure Bay? In Screen Time in the News, we talk over an interview with Paw Patrol's creators celebrating the show's ten year anniversary and its seismic impact with the under-five set.

For our 150th episode, we take a moment to look back at how our approaches to screen time have changed and how the landscape of children's movies and shows has changed. We talk about the things we thought would be major hits that never panned out, the things we're surprised have caught on, and the things we wish would go away already. To celebrate the upcoming Oscars, we look back on past episodes and give out our awards for best movie, best show, best voice talent, and more.

We get back into the baby game thanks to a listener's suggestion that we check out Ms. Rachel's Songs for Littles YouTube channel. How does this educational baby content stack up against the ones we've covered in the past (like Cosmic Kids Yoga or our old nemesis, Blippi) or the ones that were popular when our kids were younger (like Cocomelon)? And do we detect shades of the idealism embodied by Danny Joe's Treehouse (check out our interview with Danny LaBrecque way back in episode 91)? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss an article about the perils of YouTube for its young reality stars.

In our latest episode, we review the big screen adaptation of the stage musical based on Roald Dahl's Matilda. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a Michigan State University study of teen self esteem in rural communities with limited internet access and tightly controlled screen time. We also catch one another up on two Asian imports we stumbled upon via Netflix: Gudetama and Brown and Friends.

We've got so much to cover after our holiday break. We catch up on what we watched with our families (Strange World, Avatar The Way of Water, National Treasure: Edge of History, and Trivia Quest). We're pretty nervous to watch Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, so we have friend of the pod Amy Padden on to discuss how to introduce scary content to our kids before we jump into our main review. Our gritty recastings include Awkwafina, Aubrey Plaza, and Jennifer Coolidge, and we somehow manage to compare this dark, twisty take on Pinocchio to Dirty Dancing. Happy New Year!

It's a super-sized episode to get you through the holiday season! In our main segment, we review Disenchanted, the long awaited sequel to the 2007 musical Enchanted. Was this story of after “happily ever after” worth the wait? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a roundtable conversation between directors of some of the year's best and most anticipated animated films like Pinocchio, Strange World, Turning Red, and My Father's Dragon. We wonder whether the complex stories they'd like to tell are a good fit for their audience and whether it's fair to expect kids and families to always be ready to tackle weighty topics. In a bonus interview, Katie talks to her favorite boomers (her parents) about A Christmas Story Christmas, and in her gritty reimagining Deborah casts Katie's nightmare - a mumblecore princess movie.

The holidays have brought us tremendous screen time riches, so we're sharing quick reviews of four new holiday releases: A Christmas Story Christmas; The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special; The Santa Clauses; and Spirited. As a bonus, Katie gives a mini-review of the latest Disney animated release: Strange World. In Screen Time in the News, we chat about the Canadian Pediatric Society's decision to ditch strict time-based recommendations for toddler screen time.

For the second episode in a row, we review content inspired by a children's book from the 1940s. Come to hear us talk about how beautiful Netflix's My Father's Dragon is; stay to hear Deborah dunk on the Despicable Me franchise and Katie wonder what the appropriate term is for a group of tigers. We take issue with extreme poverty as a plot device in children's programming and delve once more into the “animation for adults” vs “animation for kids” debate. In Screen Time in the News, we wonder what it means that Disney's latest live action remake - Hercules - is being made to appeal to TikTok users.

We tie ourselves in knots trying to find good things to say about the bland Pretzel and the Puppies on Apple TV+. Gritty reboot casting throws a bone to Conan O'Brien and the cast of the dear, departed Togetherness. In Screen Time in the News, we wonder whether the inclusion of ads will make us want to banish streaming services to the doghouse.

It's been awhile since we reviewed a total stinker, so we were probably overdue for a show like Netflix's Phantom Pups. The latest entry in the Air Bud franchise inspires us to mention 1995's Casper a whopping 3 times, question Netflix's PR machine, and wonder why this couldn't have been just a scary movie about the perils of DIY home renovation. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss the lack of family friendly live action movies being released in theaters and streaming's efforts to fill the gaps.

Like every mom of our generation, we were super excited for the return of the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus 2. They're back, looking as good as ever, but does the new movie live up to the 1993 original? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss Romper essay that argues for the upsides to eating in front of the TV.

In our review of Secret Headquarters on Paramount+, find out whether Katie's superhero fatigue extends beyond the MCU to Owen Wilson's new family flick. We lament the underuse of Michael Pena and finally reintroduce John Cho into our imaginary reboot casting. In Screen Time in the News, we address the disappearance of animated titles from HBOMax. RIP Esme and Roy.

We review our first ever kids' reality competition show: Junior Baking Show on Netflix. How does it compare to the much loved grown-up version? Is even the gentlest of children's competition shows too much for Katie's nerves?

We travel to infinity and beyond in our review of Pixar's latest blockbuster: Lightyear. Is it a valuable extension to the Toy Story brand or just another run of the mill space adventure? In Screen Time in the News, Katie apologizes to Deborah (and our listeners) for neglecting to cover every parents' current favorite preschool show: Bluey.

We have a lot to say about Screen Time in the News this week. Deborah fills us in on a new Minnesota law about screen time in preschools, and Katie wonders about a once-loved Pixar executive making new (and maybe better?) movies at a different studio. We review the third installment of the Zombies franchise on Disney Plus. Our favorite cheerleader and zombie couple survived werewolves, but can they survive teenage aliens? And do we care? Find out!

This week, we bravely explore one of our kids' favorite YouTube genres: Minecraft videos. From narrating gamers to intrepid hamsters, we desperately try to find something to like in the endless sea of content about everyone's favorite block-based video game. In Screen Time In the News, we turn to an article by statistics guru Emily Oster to interpret the study behind those attention grabbing headlines about IQ and video games.

Katie is dragged kicking and screaming into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to review Ms. Marvel, and we feature a fascinating interview with a mom who watches everything MCU with her kids.

We're excited to introduce our kids to the structure of mystery shows with Netflix's new Creature Cases from some of the team behind Octonauts. Two animal detectives teach us things we didn't know about the more bizarre members of the animal kingdom, and Deborah accidentally invents the best crossover ever: the crime-fighting duo of Julia Child and Jason Bourne. Genius! In Screen Time in the News, we give some recommendations to the author of a moms.com article who is afraid to branch out from her kids' tried and true preschool favorites.

Can Sneakerella rescue the modern Cinderella tale in Katie's eyes? Spoiler: put in enough good dance sequences, and she'll love anything. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss our collective terror at the prospect of an upcoming Web3 series that aims to familiarize preschoolers with the metaverse. Our reboot castings are full of favorite pairs we'd love to see tackle a musical romance like Bowen Yang & Joel Kim Booster and Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani.

We dive into the endless pop culture references in the new Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers on Disney Plus. Is it a movie for our kids or is it really for us? Deborah gets into the for-bros-by-bros vibe, and Katie can't get enough of Captain Putty. In Screen Time in the News, we wonder if a new study claiming video games can actually raise kids' IQs is too good to be true.

Join us as we indulge our inner theater kids and tackle the important issues in Disney's Better Nate Than Ever, like “Are rabbit's feet still a thing?” and “How short are the layers in the classic Rachel hairstyle?” In Screen Time in the News, we talk more about what it means for animation to be made for grown ups and get into the turmoil at Netflix.

We're re-releasing a favorite from our archives this week. Educational TV can be a slog for kids and their grown-ups. Not so with UK export and Katie-favorite, Numberblocks. Listen as she raves about twelve, bags on three, and convinces Deborah to give nineteen a chance. In Screen Time In the News, we discuss Slate's call for media mentors in this age of rampant online disinformation.

It's time for another lightning round! We review four shows that have been lingering on our watch list and let you know whether they're worth your time: Making Fun, Ridley Jones, The Snoopy Show, and Head of the Class. We've got some scathing criticism, some overly deep thoughts on the origins of children's museums, and a spirited defense of grumpy women. In Screen Time in the News, we reflect on what was undoubtedly the most talked about moment from this year's Oscar telecast: the assertion that animation for adults exists and should be called cinema.

In our first in-person recording in far too long, we excitedly welcome back our friend Leah to discuss the ABC remake of a childhood classic: The Wonder Years. The new version takes place in 1968 like the original but follows a black family in Montgomery, Alabama instead of a white family in the nameless suburbs. How does it stack up against our childhood memories of Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss Nickelodeon's upcoming projects.

Pixar may have burned us in the past, but we are still excited for our review of their latest - Turning Red. We get into the controversy over critiques of the film and have some truly great comparisons to movies made for grown ups (has anyone seen Nice Girls Don't Explode?) and gritty re-castings (spoiler: we cast one of our favorites not once, but twice!). We have a brief aside about Netflix's new show Making Fun and the potential appeal of extreme building shows for kids.

Ep126 Big Nate by It's My Screen Time Too

We jump in late to another long-running franchise and review Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Are the classic sight gags enough to keep us interested in the antics of Drac, Mavis, and Johnny? Spoiler alert: we love Drac's dad bod and are always on board with jello-related humor. In Screen Time in the News, we cover a variety of topics including William and Kate's screen time policies and the fact that you don't need to wait for black history month to enjoy Hidden Figures.

We cover a lot of ground in our latest episode: a Slate article about the mental gymnastics parents go through to make preschool TV interesting; Pixar's Turning Red and whether or not there is still an artistic judgment made against movies that are released on streaming instead of in theaters; our enduring hatred of Blippi; and - in our main segment - a review of the Apple TV+ reboot of the fraggles in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Deborah, our longtime fraggle fan, explores how the new version stacks up against the original, and Katie tells you what all this has in common with Grey's Anatomy.

We finally review something from the How To Train Your Dragons universe! Dragons: The Nine Realms tries to live up to the franchise's legacy, but we're not so sure about the reckless teen protagonist and the 1300 year time jump. We speculate once again about why famous actors choose the children's projects they do and wonder briefly what Netflix will look like without new contributions to their kids catalog from Dreamworks Animation. In Screen Time in the News, we tackle the recent New York Times Magazine profile of Ryan Kaji of Ryan's World fame (with commentary from two of our kids).

Sometimes we unearth hidden gems, and sometimes we simply must review the latest splashy Disney musical. In this week's episode, we consider Disney's Encanto. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss the troubling idea that for animation to be deemed “good,” it has to leave the realm of kids' entertainment and be made for grown ups.