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As Good As It Gets

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The Bad: Honestly, there's not much to complain about here. It's a short movie - more like a TV episode than a feature film. Possibly the pace is too slow for some, and the danger might be too much for sensitive children (a dragon threatens to each our nice witch!), but that's about it. The Good: Considering they adapted a very short book into nearly half an hour of movie, they did a fantastic job filling in the 'in between the words' with a visually interesting story that didn't feel like filler. Each character was fleshed out to have his/her own personality, making them all interesting and sympathetic. While I put the slow pace of this film in the 'bad' category, I will also address it here in the 'good' as well - the pacing is perfect for the pre-school/toddler ages! It doesn't flit between things too quickly to catch what is happening for developing brains. The visuals are excellent (it almost feels like stop-motion) and will hold up well as time goes on. The message of kindness, inclusiveness, and generosity is subtle and sweet. The Mom View: I would highly recommend this for all young children except for sensitive toddlers (due to the scary dragon)! It would probably be most popular for pre-schoolers. My little boy liked it, and I don't find it obnoxious (which is more than you can expect for a lot of shows for young children).

I find it amusing when adults review a piece meant for children. They yearn for a certain type of clever, complication and pace. This short is perfect in every way. I am the mom of two 3 year old boys who see themselves climbing mountains, racing motorcycles, putting out fires and driving excavators daily.Like most, the holidays had wrecked and exhausted us so we sat down as a family to watch TV. These boys don't get a lot of TV and especially not TV movies- Disney is still too scary and they just don't get most of it, so no Disney. Their TV is usually about 22-30 min in the morning while we drink coffee and check our email etc. So we ended up one day with this short on our TV.It was magical for the boys. It didn't move too fast so there was time for questions and answers as things were happening on the screen. They had time to read facial expressions! And best of all, the dragon wasn't too scary. They could actually watch it without worry and understand the story instead of "scary dragon gonna eat people". They understood not wanting to give up your seat, the kindness of the witch, how it's hard to have new friends sometimes, and that working together brings us all closer. They now see the foreshadowing of the mushrooms, the individual characters of the animals and instead of having only a few laugh out loud moments, after multiple viewings, they laugh out loud many times throughout with little comments thrown in.You can't beat every morning waking up to "Momma, I want to watch the witch". As a parent, you won't find a better 25 minutes of TV for your little ones. The story, the animation, the VO, the characters and especially the music is just the most lovely of combinations. I would urge everyone to watch it with a 3-4 year old!

'ROOM ON THE BROOM': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Yet another of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film is this British cartoon that debuted on 'BBC One' at the end of 2012 (and in America the following October, as a Halloween special on 'PBS Kids Sprout'). It's based on the kids' book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The film tells the story of a witch and a cat on an adventure that attracts the attention of multiple other animals (that want to join them on their broom ride). It features the voice talents of Simon Pegg, Gillian Anderson, Rob Brydon, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Martin Clunes and David Walliams. It was directed by Jan Lachauer and Max Lang and written by Lang and Donaldson. Lang and Donaldson also collaborated on the Oscar nominated 'THE GRUFFALO' (from 2009). I'd rate this short about the same as it (and it's sequel two years later). It's probably pretty amusing for young children but lacks any substance or clever humor (for adults). I'm also not a big fan of the animation in these movies.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAefz9rzS5w

Bob the Moo (whose reviews on IMDb I adore) described this movie as "Slight but enjoyable family animation" and I couldn't have said it any better myself. The short film is a wonderful thing for kids and parents to watch with them--and I'm sure they'll enjoy it immensely. But, I was perplexed that it was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short. It's good but nothing more. Plus, while I normally like to root for the shorts made by young filmmakers, the Disney film "Get a Horse!" is just light-years ahead of the pack--and I don't see how "Room on the Broom" could offer it any serious competition."Room on the Broom" plays like a kid's book because apparently it IS from a kid's book. This British production reminds me a lot of another nominee from the UK--"The Gruffalo". It also was a wonderful film for young kids (they'll adore it) but artistically I couldn't understand the nomination.The story is of a nice witch who is flying about with her cat. Through the course of the film, she picks up several new friends--a dog, a bird and a frog. But how can she carry them all on her broom--especially when it breaks?! Cute, fun and a treat for kids. But not a film that says anything more to me.