Daddy Mojo

The Little Rabbit, a dreamy, optimistic bunny tail for spring (and kids 4 & up)

Nicola Killen warms the heart. At least that’s the case with her two most recent children’s illustrated books that we’ve received. The Little Reindeer was a book that we loved due to its old soul, rabbit-hole illustrations and desolate winter vibe. I know that ‘desolate’ isn’t exactly an adjective the springs to mind when one says a great children’s book. The Little Rabbit is the spiritual (and actual) sibling to that book. It shares many of its characteristics, the cut-away pages, two color schemes with the occasional third color to punctuate characters and illustrations that fill up each page.

The little rabbit, young reader, elementary school, young readers, Nicola Killen, the little reindeer

Ollie is the main human character in The Little Rabbit and she’s dressed up in a rabbit costume. She’s got her rain boots on and is waiting for the storm to end while Bunny, her rabbit doll is dressed in a yellow scarf beside her. When the rain ends Ollie carries Bunny out in her basket as the wind blows flower petals past them. As that happens Bunny starts to move her ears, or does she?

What follows is a magical, dream pop of a children’s illustrated book that effortlessly engages pre-K and early elementary school ages. Ollie follows Bunny as she joins in the rabbit hop that the forest bunnies are doing. Distinguished by her yellow scarf, the two are reunited, but still have a couple more adventures to get through in order to get back home.

As their journey in the forest continues we see distinct gold pops in the flower petals that float around some pages. Older readers will alternate between the dreamy illustrations, perfect colors and economy of words as to what they like best about The Little Rabbit. It’s a children’s illustrated book, yet between the well chosen words and the big scope illustrations it tells a big story. Large aspects of the story are filled in with our imagination. We think about what the rabbits are doing when they’re underground and what other animals we could meet during the trip.

Younger readers will also let their imaginations do most of the work with The Little Rabbit Ages 4-8 have a lovey, stuffed doll or action figure that comes to life and does stuff. Those young readers will immediately understand the energy and hidden story that The Little Rabbit is bring out. Every night when we put our 7 YO to bed he tells us about the adventures that his stuffed animals get up to while he’s asleep.

The Little Rabbit gets into that particular spirit that young readers have and put it in a gorgeously illustrated book. The text is such that a second grader will be able to read most of it. Ages much younger than that will love the pictures and marvel at how one page immediately blends into the next. This book is a keeper, it’s one that your kids will want to read and will remain in the children’s library for the next generation.

MomoCon is coming to Atlanta May 23-26-great for families

A con to a kid can be a fabulous and our kid’s favorite one is MomoCon. They’ve been attending MomoCon since they were 4 and 6 years old. As each year has passed they’ve been more eloquently able to say, “When is the next MomoCon?” True to previous years, MomoCon 2019 is right near the end of their school year. I’m not sure if they’re more excited about the end of school or going to MomoCon.

MomoCon is held in Atlanta and is utterly family friendly. There is a massive amount of cosplay and unlike some other cons that you might have attended; these costumes are mostly family friendly. You won’t see any creepy clowns or costumes that don’t leave much to the imagination. Instead you’ll see cosplay that’s inspired from manga, video games and some classic anime characters.

From its parent’s guide, “MomoCon is intended to be an all-ages event”. The art dealers and vendors on the floor don’t sell adult material and the panels that might have language you don’t want kids to hear will be clearly labeled with a warning. Of course, kids won’t even notice these things. I mention them to you because you might have hesitation about taking a kid to a con, much less a huge con that will attract tens of thousands of people on a given day.

For our kids it’s all about the games and MomoCon has over 180,000 sq ft of open gaming. That amount of video game space is among the largest of any convention in the United States. When we go, it’s an area that we could easily spend hours in that space alone. This includes classic video games (hello Robotron!!!), pinball and the latest full size arcade games from Japan. It’s worth noting that all of these games are also OK for the kids, our boys, now 7 and 9 loved going from game to game and trying them out. Yes, all of these games were free, no quarters needed, just a little patience for those more popular games that might have a line.

We also enjoy the gaming area. There is a massive board game area where you can check out almost any board game you want to play. When we sat down I was unsure how to play the game that our boys had requested. I fumbled around for a moment when a MomoCon volunteer sat down beside us, set up the board game for us and played along so that we’d get the hang of it. There are also plenty of LARP events, D&D and other RPGS happening, plus any card game that people are collecting.

And those are just the games. For kids under 10 those things, plus simply walking around and enjoying the costumes will be their entertainment. If you’re a fan of things anime, nerdcore, cosplay, Japan, Disney, cartoons or more then there is a panel for you! These panels will vary as to when they are and younger audiences won’t have the patience to sit through them, but those middle school audiences who want a deeper dive into what interests them will love going to some of them. Obviously, that age will need to have an adult present with them, but those moms and dads can simply sit a couple rows back.

Factor in some cosplay, a photo shoot around every corner, cool people everywhere and you’ve got an amazing time out with the family. This is a con done right for the family. It does have some older elements, but they’re scheduled late at night, so the kids will be home long before then.

Ages 9 and younger are free to MomoCon and prices increase on May 9, so get your badges before that happens. Entrance will vary from $35-$80, depending upon when you order your tickets, how many days you want to go and so forth. It happens May 23-26 in Atlanta at Georgia World Congress Center.

Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is an elementary school go-to

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Inspector Flytrap approves. For that matter, so do Princess Labelmaker, Emperor Pickeltine, Origami Yoda and many others. Tom Angleberger is the author that lives in your child’s library. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and its series is what your middle school student knows the best. That series of books has sold more than four million copies. The elementary school reader knows Inspector Flytrap and laughed along the way with this very enjoyable series. Now, from the pages of Inspector Flytrap comes Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster. This is the first in a three-book mini-series about a spy who is also a dodo and your first through fourth grade readers will love this book.

Our fourth grade student took the book from my office and promptly misplaced it. Coincidentally, he lost it after he read it, so he was able to tell me that it was great, very funny and much like Inspector Flytrap. I asked him to go into detail about the book and all he could remember was that it was about Didi Dodo and a stolen brownie recipe. “Oh, but you’ll love it”, he reassured me.

Sure enough, after finding the book he was right. Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is just the sort of book that kids in fist through fourth grade will love. Those on the younger side of that range will need to read it with someone older, but those third graders will be able to breeze through the book and enjoy every moment.

It has the same vibe as Inspector Flytrap and that’s because Angleberger wanted this character to live in the same world as her erstwhile bug eating friend. He’s creating his own elementary school, early chapter book universe where they can cross over, ever so briefly for a cameo, guest spot or assistance solving crimes. There is a little crossover in this book, but for the most part it’s all Didi Dodo, plus Koko Dodo-who is a great baker, Cousin Yuk Yuk, Penguini and a couple others.

The chapters in the book are short enough for struggling readers to read one and feel accomplished. They’re also short enough for. The book is also complimented with illustrations by Jared Chapman. Chapman has a way of drawing characters that perfectly capture the chaos and mayhem that they’re thinking. You’re looking for an angry yak that looks like Slim Pickens mixed with a James Bond villain? No problem he’s in the book and provides horsepower of energy to keep our future spy hero on the run towards success.

Didi Dodo: Future Spy, Recipe for Disaster is great. Kids will reread it a couple of times and then ask when the next one comes out. This is where you can recommend Inspector Flytrap if they’re in elementary school or age them up a bit for the Origami Yoda series. Either way they’ll have a hoot of a time while they wait for the next one.

Master Z, Ip Man Legacy succeeds as a film, not just a martial arts movie

I do love martial arts films. Even when they’re bad, they have entertainment potential for me. It’s some of those films, as well as, James Bond films that require them to be graded on a curve with a caveat. Master Z stems from the Ip Man films, which are entering their fourth incarnation, but have required the “good for a martial arts movie” caveat since the second one. Master Z has a title that belies its quality. This is a grade A martial arts movie that entertains martial arts fans, action movie audiences and might just convince casual movie goers to give these films a chance.

Master Z starts out with our titular character (played by Max Zhang) announcing that he’s giving up the fast-hands-for-hire game and going legit, but not before he’s challenged by an equally fast paced opponent. He’s done some bad things for good reasons, but now Cheung Tin Chi wants to go straight and narrow, spend some time with his son and avoid danger and the police. He opens up a grocery store, but danger, the growing crime scene and a drug underbelly can’t avoid the man who almost beat Ip Man.

Granted, I’m glossing over some of the plot details. Part of that is because martial arts fans know what to expect from these genre films. The other reason is that Master Z swims in some of these tropes, but it also splashes headlong against them.

The women are victims. Yes, there are some weak women in Master Z; but one of the baddest, strongest characters is a woman (the legendary Michelle Yeoh) and there is also a great scene where Liu Yan helps defend her friend against a gang of thugs.

Children as ploys are another tropes in films, not just martial arts films, and this is no exception. However, in Master Z it’s handled quite well and the audience is given just enough exposure to believe that he’s a father who loves his son, without it being child endangerment.

Yeoh is a pleasure to see on screen. She’s speaking her native tongue and crackles in every scene that she’s in. Max Zhang also does a great job balancing the drama of caring for his son, adapting the western nightlife of Bar Street and the eventual villains that make their way in.

There is some stunt casting in Master Z that might not pay off as well as you’d like. Tony Jaa is in the film, but it’s only for a couple sequences. Having said that, he’s still great to see and anytime he can be seen in a quality vehicle, even for a couple of minutes is welcome.

What ties all of this together is the action. The fight sequences are amazing and rarely let up. A great example of this is when I left the screen for: 30 to get a snack and came back in to a full on battle. It was that natural down time in martial arts films where the characters get together, talk about their family and then figure out what to do about the town bad guy. I took a snack break then, but it was a fake out from Master Z that just served up more action.

Master Z is directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, the legendary Hong Kong director who did the action choreography for The Matrix trilogy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and more. From watching Master Z, even if you haven’t seen his other work, it’s obvious that there’s something different about this film. This is fun. It’s quickly paced, has some great humor and photography that makes you take notice. If you enjoy martial arts films you must put Master Z on your to-be-seen list. If you’re a casual action film fan this is one that you’ll want to check out.

The rating for Master Z is probably PG-13, and it’s a middle PG-13 rating. There are life and death elements, but they’re presented in ways that aren’t graphic. Ages 12 and up should be fine with everything here.

All age comic books for April 17

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New comic book day is every Wednesday. As part of this day there are dozens of great all age comic books, many of which will be great for ages 6 and up. Yes Virginia, comic books for the elementary school age audience. They exist and are easier to find than you might otherwise think. In the podcast we’ll chat about buying children’s books by the pound, Steven Universe, DC Super Friends, William the Last, Detective Comics the Complete Covers and more. For now let’s look at three comic books that will entertain those elementary and middle school students who are looking for a cool read.

Star Wars Adventures, #20

Star Wars Adventures brings the fun back to a galaxy far, far away. This monthly series from IDW publishing covers all areas of the Star Wars universe with a very kid friendly twist. The art and content are OK for elementary school aged and up, but because it’s also Star Wars, those older kids might want to dig into it too. There are usually two stories in each issue, a longer one that is more action oriented and a shorter one that’s more comedic. This is one of the gateway reading vehicles that kids will love and it’s also a great comic book and the fact that it has both characteristics is quite the treat.

Adventure Time Marcy & Simon

What happened after Adventure Time ended its run on Cartoon Network? Well, the characters are still producing new mini-series of comic books on Boom! Studios. Adventure Time, Marcy & Simoon #4 of #6 is out this week and sees Simon and Ice King fighting to see who’s the top dog. Fans of Adventure Time, those middle school students (or older) who are looking for something fun and tripp will dig this.

Lumberjanes

Lumberjanes is a great comic book. The fact that’s it’s one of the great all age comic books is even more impressive. It’s as much a comedic comic book as it is jammed with science-fiction. In this issue our campers discover a dangerous creature in the woods. Toss in lots of friendship, great art, quick wit stories that upper elementary school and up will love and you’ve got Lumberjanes. Pick up any issue of this series from Boom! Studios and you won’t be disappointed.

Humor

Superhero Science-fiction/Action

Missing Link will wow, impress and entertain ages 7 and up

We look forward to every film that Laika puts out. It’s ironic that as a youth stop-motion animation scared me, but now it’s an art form that I’ll go out of my way to view. It’s even more ironic that our 9 year-old loves the medium also. He was all in from the moment he saw the trailer for Missing Link. I was in also, but much like when we saw Kubo and the Two Strings, we had to check our reviewer hat at the door.

Sir Lionel Frost (left) voiced by Hugh Jackman and Mr. Link (right) voiced by Zach Galifianakis in director Chris Butler’s MISSING LINK, a Laika Studios Production and Annapurna Pictures release. Credit : Laika Studios / Annapurna Pictures

First off, as a technical exercise in film-making, Missing Link is masterful. The film employs stop-motion animation, 3-D printing, puppets and more. From a movie wonk perspective the film is stunning, but movie geeks are looking for these things. Impress me, I say to myself as I see a film from Laika-and they never fail to do so. Missing Link raises the animation bar from its already high standard from Kubo.

Did you ever see Wallace and Gromit, The Wrong Trousers? There’s a sequence in there where Wallace is chasing the penguin while riding a train set. When I first saw that I was amazed. There is so much movement in each shot, coupled with entertainment and laughs for an almost silent film that it (still) blows me away.

There are multiple scenes in Missing Link that gave me that same feeling. Early in the film our explorer, Sir Lionel Frost, voiced by Hugh Jackman, crosses a shallow pond to meet the mysterious author of a note that was sent to him. When Frost’s foot enters the pond, as well as, a couple other water/ice scenes were jaw dropping. I know it’s a scale model clay figure, but they feel human and make us care about them.

So, the film was a technical marvel, we kind of expect that from Laika. I took two 9 year-olds to see the film, did they like it? One of them had never seen a stop-motion film before and was a bit confused. They both enjoyed the film, as much as a 9 year-old can, but they weren’t doing cartwheels as they left the theater.

On the other hand, I was reeling in its moments, the obvious humor, the very dry humor (courtesy of Zach Galifiankis as Mr. Link), the dry/icy puns put forth by Emma Thompson and more. As an adult, who loves great movies, this was a great time at the cinema that will be repeated many times at home. We also took a 7 year-old to the theater and he laughed the loudest. Perhaps most surpsingly, he laughed at the dry part of the film, which promptly led us to go home and watch some episodes of Mr. Bean or Monty Python.

Personally, this is the best Laika film. It’s wildly entertaining, varied and has a cohesive, linear story that checks off all of the stop-motion dots. It’s a gorgeous time at the cinema for fans of Laika, stop-motion movies. For those outside of those camps it’s still entertaining. For example, our neighbor saw the film and thought it was ‘cute’, while his 9 year-old daughter thought that it was entertaining. We’ll invite the two of them over to watch Kubo or Wallace and Gromit later.

Missing Link is art, yet it’s approachable art for elementary school ages and up that like entertaining films. The curve ball happens because Laika has produced something so different to what most audiences have seen. It’s not different as in ‘challenging’, it’s just a form of animation that they may not be used to seeing. Case in point, Missing Link is leagues above the most recent PG rated film that they saw, which was computer animated. This is heart, soul and fun, but some younger audiences might not see it over the clay skin that they’re wearing.

All age comic books for April 10

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This week the new all age comic books are laden with some great choices for readers as young as 6 years old. To be clear, this is a laden swallow, whose airspeed velocity is certainly comprised, especially if it’s an African Swallow as they don’t migrate. Over in the podcast we’ll chat about a cool coloring book from Disney for older audiences, Science Comics: Weather from :01 First Second, Wonder Twins and much more. For now, here are three great releases that will tickle the reading fancy of those 6 and up.

Clyde, by Jim Benton

You know Jim Benton’s work. Dear Dumb Diary, Dog Butts and Love, Franny K. Stein, Victor Shmud and more he’s an artist and author whose style you’ll recognize. Catwad came out last week. Clyde is out this week and is flat out funny for in second grade and up. It’s an original graphic novel about a grizzly bear who leaves his comfortable cave for the city, where he meets a butterfly from the wrong side of the tracks.

The Mutts Summer Diaries, by Patrick McDonnell

It’s Mutts, but with each comic strip set in the summer, take my money. We love Mutts, it’s a classic comic strip that can be funny one day, even funnier the next, remind you that cats (and dogs!) are awesome and make us laugh or possibly even adopt one. The Mutts Summer Diaries is a collection previously released strips that will appeal to those 6 and up.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, #43

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the equivalent to all age comic books of Deadpool. She’s irreverent, funny, faces danger and deals with bad guys in her own particular, squirrel way. There is some reading in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, so it might be too much for seven year olds. However, those reading eight year olds or older that want something fun, hip and impossibly cool need to read this series. Each issue of this monthly series is trippy and lots of fun.

Humor

Superhero

Action/Science-fiction

Bumblbee morphs into quality entertainment in an unlikely IP universe

I didn’t believe the hype. It’s the best Transformers film yet is what all of my friends (and critics) said about Bumblebee. I was burned once too often by a Transformers movie that promised entertainment; but instead delivered robot mayhem that made the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television show seem like high theater. Now that we’ve seen Bumblebee, we can attest that the word is correct and this film quickly leaves all of the other films by its namesake in its rear view mirror.

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I get the feeling that there is more to this box than meets they eye. #bumblebee, #productprovided, #transformers The movie review is coming up tonight.

A post shared by Daddy Mojo (@treyburley) on Apr 8, 2019 at 5:51pm PDT

Why was Bumblebee so entertaining? The film takes place in 1987 and certainly benefits from some of the time warp gags that the 80’s can bring, but that’s not the main reason. The lead character is Charlie, played by Haliee Steinfeld, but the movie doesn’t succeed solely because the lead character is gender swapped, a la Ghostbusters 2016.* The soundtrack in Bumblebee is great, even if you’re not an 80’s aficionado.

Nay, the reason why Bumblebee is great is because of the one thing that people who had seen the previous films in the Transformers universe seem to have forgotten, the importance of plot and character development. Early in the Transformers’ films history we were hypnotized by huge robots, excising damage to cities and feigning some human drama in hopes of making the plot stick. After two films the produces were simply trying in vain to get Megan Fox to sign back on in hopes of bringing the teen boys back to the theater.

Because Bumblebee takes place in 1987 it doesn’t have that baggage of needing to acknowledge any of the other films. That is one of the film’s biggest blessings. Pardon the pun, but this is a fresh, fun and unexpected vehicle that will exceed your expectations.

Our 9 year-old saw Bumblebee and absolutely loved it. One of his friends, who had seen some of the other Transformers films, was restless and wanted more chaos (see: stupidity). Bumblebee has lots of action, but it also takes its time setting up the large action sequences with characters that you actually want to see. It’s a film that is able to cross over to those action movie fans, but were scared of the cheese that the previous films in the Transformers universe put forth. It’s a much of a paradigm shift for the Fast and the Furious series when The Rock joined them and catapulted them to the billion dollar level. Bumblebee saves the franchise from going down the gorgonzola highway, now if the next movies can follow suit we’ll readily encourage his younger brother to seek them out.

We were also sent a handful of Transformers toys to play and with and (spoiler alert) the kids loved them. The younger one already knew Transformers, but hasn’t seen any of the films. He had read some of the comic books, like the Star Trek Vs. Transformers series (that was fabulous!), but it’s the toys that have carried these characters from the 80’s to where they are now. All of them were durable, very well constructed and simple for a 7 year-old, who isn’t quite old enough to see the films yet, to use on their own.

*which was horrible