About a year ago Nick Jr. launched a new show called Pinky Dinky Doo. Sounds kind of girly, but my son insisted on watching it. After watching it a couple times with him I began to realize what a great unique show it is. Pinky Dinky Doo revolves around a girl named..you guessed it…Pinky Dinky Doo. Typically there is some real life problem or issue that needs to be addressed. An example is what to do if you have to try a new food at a friends house. Once the problem is identified Pinky and her brother Tyler go to the Story Box where Pinky makes up a story and tells it to her brother. The story has to do with the current problem identified earlier and is resolved at the end.

What makes this show unique is its focus on language skills. Each episode features a vocabulary word, which is not your typical preschool word. For example, Tyler was really into playing his video game one episode. Pinky taught everyone that he was “engrossed” in the game. I have always felt it is good to challenge kids like this. If there is an episode they really like, chances are they will remember that word forever.

Each story ends with Pinky thinking hard and having a big idea. She goes through the process of how she came up with the idea and everyone is happy. The nice part about this show is that it doesn’t end there. After the story Pinky quizzes the kid with questions about her story, testing their comprehension. She will ask questions like what event came first; who was this character and what did he do; etc. After a few episodes the kids pick up on the fact that they need to pay attention to the story so they can answer the questions right afterwards. This concept really gets the kids involved and ends up teaching great listening and language skills.

I would definitely recommend this show for anyone with a kid between the ages of 3 and 6. It’s pretty gender neutral as some stories focus on things Tyler likes to do as well. Check out Nick Jr’s Pinky Dinky Doo site to learn more.

Now that our son is getting a little bit older we can take him to a movie every once in awhile. For the most part he can sit still and get through the movie as long as the movie interests him somewhat. He has been asking us to go see Disney’s newest movie, The Princess and The Frog. Going in to the movie I was very excited by the fact that Disney went back to what made Disney movies so great in the golden ages. Over the last 15 years we have been force fed stories that aren’t bad, but aren’t great. Movies like Meet the Robinsons, Cars and Chicken Little seem to be more about technical merit than charm. I remember back in the ’80’s and ’90’s you could pick out a Disney movie without hesitation. There was just a special quality that other studios could not repeat. In today’s technological based world, most Disney animated movies differ little from those made by other studios such as Dreamworks.

The Princess and The Frog features hand-drawn animation and plenty of music; the formula which made movies such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid into classic treasures. The movie is set in 1920’s New Orleans. This time period allows for the incorportion of some great jazz style music throughout. The music is fun, lively and is for the most part always accompanied by some great colorful animation. This is the first Disney movie since the Lion King in which I would consider buying the soundtrack.

The characters in The Princess and The Frog are colorful and unique. They do tend to draw on some stereotypes, but never in a derogatory way. I particularly like the villain of the movie, a voodoo man who has made so many deals with the devils that he has very little soul left to deal. In addition, one of the characters meets their untimely end which turns to be out one of the most touching moments I have experienced in a kids movie in a long time.

I would absolutely recommend this movie to those looking for some parent – child time at the movies. I look forward to seeing it again in the future and adding it to our collection. The only thing I was disappointed in was the fact that it cost us $35 dollars to see the movie at a 9:30 am showing. I walked out thinking…wow if we could have waited, we could have bought the blu-ray version … twice!

I recently saw the movie Avatar at a local IMAX theater. Despite already seeing the movie back in the 90’s (Dances with Wolves cough cough), I was truly blown away by the way the 3D effects along with the sound brought out the intensity of the situation. The last couple movies I have seen at the theaters have been in 3D. By looks of it, 3D is back and here to stay. The one thing about Avatar that I quickly realized was that once it is out of the theaters, it will be just another movie. Sure it will look pretty on Blu-Ray, but the experience will just not be the same with out the 3D visuals.

This week at the Consumer Electronic Show, several companies were debuting 3D televisions. This frustrates me. I just barely caught up to converting all my TV’s to flat panels…..OK you got me, I can’t wait for newer technology. In my mind the newer the technology the better. I look forward to viewing movies in 3D from the comfort of my living room. Even more so I can’t wait to get my hands on some 3D video games. I remember the feeling when I played my Nintendo 64 for the first time and saw the 3D graphics (not viewing in 3d, just a 3 dimensional world). My heart pumped with every new world I got to explore. I think bringing a 3D viewing experience to games will give me that feeling again….until it wears off…again. In the very least it will be a new experience.

Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before 3D becomes the standard. This week we have seen that three 3D channels are set to launch in the next couple years (ESPN, Disney and Discovery).  It’s a step, but in reality right now I see 3D technology at home no different that using it at the theater.  It will be fun once in awhile, but not all the time. The biggest hurdle is the fact that you must wear glasses. The glasses are needed to produce the 3D image, Unfortunately, what you get in terms of a 3D image, you loose in viewing the rest of the world around you. Many times at home movies, video games and even night time television is a social event. We get together with our friends or family members and sit around watching the tube and talking. It is a very come and go activity where at any time you can get up to do something, or talk to another person. These times will be incredibly awkward with 3D glasses. At least in the theater, our goofball appearances are hid by the darkness and the fact that everyone is tuned into the movie.

The glasses also may come at a steep cost. Many of the TV’s will not come with glasses so you will need to shell out extra. Each will most likely work in a different way, so what may work on one TV will not work on another. There also lies the problem where you may have guests over. They aren’t going to have to their own glasses, and given the cost, you probably won’t have an extra 3-5 pair just lying around for each TV you own.

3D technology is very exciting and is one step closer to a holodeck (for you Star Trek fans out there), but for now it is just a novelty. When science can come up with a way to produce a 3D viewing experience without the glasses, we will finally up the standard viewing experience from HD to 3D.

Earlier this week a good friend of mine posted on his Facebook account about his lost innocence when it comes to Disney movies. Along with this post he shared this clip which shows some off some of Disney’s methods to increase productivity in their animation. Who would have thought? This doesn’t really change my mind about Disney however. I still love their movies, cartoons and theme parks!

About 6 months ago I discovered Hulu.com. I had seen advertisements on it, but always figured it was just a knock off of you tube. One day I finally decided to check it out. I found osme interesting clips on there but overall I wasn’t too impressed. Then something changed. It seems as the site gains popularity, they are starting to add some real content to their media library. By real content I mean full tv shows. This is not all that exciting in the fact that many of the major networks put up their shows on their respective websites the day after it airs on network television. If I miss this weeks episode of How I Met your Mother, I can go to cbs.com and watch it at any time. Hulu seems to take it a step beyond that however.

I have always been kind of techy person. I strive for new technologies that make our lives easier and more fun. Hulu is bringing one of the things I have longed for to reality. They have made deals with production companies to distribute full seasons of different shows. These shows do include some of the current network offerings, however they also incude shows from the past. It is very hard to keep up with every show currently on television. Having a resource like Hulu allows one to go back in time say 10 years and watch that series you were always interested in, but just didn’t have the time to get into. I almost feel it is a better way to watch because you don’t have to wait a week for the next episode. I dream of the day when I can use some type of internet connected device and at any time find any episode of any show I want and watch it instantly. Hulu is a great start to that. I am hoping for the company to grow and therefore add more content, creating a large media library for the world to enjoy.

In order to grow, money needs to be made. Advertising is something that I feel is one of Hulu’s strong points. Many people do not appreciate their shows getting interrupted by commercials. I am a part of this majority, however the way hulu has used advertising is definitly a large improvement over network television. For those who have not used Hulu, they usually have a couple different ways of showing ads. The first is just like normal television. They show you an ad every 8-10 minutes during your show. The difference is, they show you one ad that is maybe 20-30 seconds long. When watching hour long episodes these ads actually serve as a refreshing moment to catch your breath, stand up stretch and take a mental break. With just one ad, the “lets get on with it” feeling doesn’t have a chance to set in. You see the ad and you are back to watching the show. It is my opinion that the ads are more effective as well because the one ad sticks with you where as with multiple ads one right after another tend to get blended and are forgetful. Hulu’s other option is to watch a longer ad at the beginning of your show and then no ads during. This ad is usually around 2 – 2 1/2 minutes in length. This option is nice because you get your ad viewing done quickly. I actually prefer the ad breaks, but this option can appeal to those who really do not like advertisements.

With any luck, more of my favorite series will start popping up on Hulu along with some of those I missed along the way. With websites like Hulu those times where “There is just nothing on TV” are a thing of the past because in the future, everything will be on TV.

Here are some examples of great shows on Hulu that you may remember or may have wanted to see:

Stargate: SG1

Inspector Gadget

Doogie Howser M.D