Need a break from the same YouTube channel videos over and over? The Minions are starring in their first-ever animated LEGO short and it’s out now! Minions: The Kung Fu Master is available to watch on YouTube now and might give your kids some brick-building inspiration.
The LEGO Minions are attempting to be Kung Fu masters in the new short film—but it’s easier said than done. Can they break the board or will they be broken? Teamwork and LEGO bricks combine for the successful recipe!
For even more fun, you can pre-order a new LEGO Minions Kung Fu set. It comes with 4 minifigures, including Bob, Kevin, Gru and Belle Bottom. Accessories include a practice dummy, a chain and a sticky gun. Or snag the LEGO Kung Fu Battle set complete with a toy temple and shooting “fireworks.”
Illumination created the world of Despicable Me and the Minions movie is the fourth-highest-grossing animated film of all time! Other franchise hits include Despicable Me 2, which was nominated for an Academy Award and Despicable Me 3, which made more than $1 billion worldwide. Now there’s one more way to enter their ever-popular universe!
Someone’s cutting onions! Kevin Hart’s newest movie finds him as widowed new dad navigating life with a baby girl. Based on a true story, Fatherhood is fittingly set to premiere over Father’s Day weekend, June 18 on Netflix.
The official trailer dropped this week and Hart took to Instagram today to express his excitement about the film. “Can’t wait for y’all to see how special this one is. You guys are going to love it!!!!” he wrote, accompanied by a short movie clip.
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, will present the film along with Netflix and Sony. Fatherhood is directed by Paul Weitz (About a Boy) and also stars Academy Award nominee Alfre Woodard and Emmy Award nominee Anthony Carrigan. It’s based on the book Two Kisses From Maddie: A Story of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin.
Dads are special and this Father’s Day weekend you can bond together over the beauty and pain of Fatherhood. Save the date and add this one to your Netflix queue!
—Sarah Shebek
Featured image courtesy of DFree / Shutterstock.com
Theater kids rejoice!. Today, Disney+ released the trailer for High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, which premieres Fri., Dec. 11 on the streaming service. Later this week, on Fri., Nov. 20, the soundtrack from the special will be available on all streaming services.
The trailer includes a preview of “The Perfect Gift,” a new song from the highly anticipated second season of the series, written and performed by Joshua Bassett.
In addition to “The Perfect Gift,” the soundtrack and special will provide fans a sneak peek of “Something In The Air,” the first major musical number from the upcoming second season of the series.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special will also feature Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Joe Serafini, Mark St. Cyr and Kate Reinders sharing their childhood holiday memories, best – and most embarrassing! – gifts, favorite traditions and family photos.
The track listing for the special and soundtrack is as follows:
“This Christmas (Hang All The Mistletoe)” – performed by Sofia Wylie
“The Perfect Gift” – written and performed by Joshua Bassett
“Feliz Navidad” – performed by Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Serafini
“The Hanukkah Medley” – performed by Julia Lester
“Last Christmas” – performed by Matt Cornett
“White Christmas” – performed by Larry Saperstein
“Little Saint Nick” – performed by Joshua Bassett and Matt Cornett
“Believe” – performed by Dara Reneé
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” – performed by Kate Reinders and Mark St. Cyr
“River” – performed by Olivia Rodrigo
“Something In The Air” – performed by the season two cast of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”
“That’s Christmas To Me” – performed by Frankie Rodriguez, Kate Reinders, Julia Lester and Joe Serafini
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” – performed by Dara Reneé
High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special is executive-produced by High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator and executive producer Tim Federle (Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated Ferdinand) and Ashley Edens (Dancing With The Stars). The series has been “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes as measured by a consensus of reviews by top critics and audience members, and recently received the 2020 GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Kids & Family Programming.”
Christmas carols meet the high school drama club. The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series are coming together to perform their favorite Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s songs and share their fondest holiday memories in High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special. The 45-minute special premieres on Fri., Dec. 11 on Disney+ and will also feature a sneak peek performance from the highly anticipated second season of the popular series.
Series regulars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Joe Serafini, Mark St. Cyr and Kate Reinders will get viewers in the holiday spirit with their renditions of holiday classics, popular hits and a medley of Hanukkah favorites. They will also share anecdotes of memorable holidays from their childhoods, best – and most embarrassing – presents, favorite traditions, family photos and poignant New Year’s resolutions. Bassett will also debut an acoustic version of an original song which he wrote for season two of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
“The holidays remind us of the universal importance of family and loved ones,” said Tim Federle, executive producer and director of the special. “The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is its own kind of family, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share their favorite holiday music and traditions with our viewers.”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special: The Soundtrack, featuring holiday songs performed by the cast in the special, will be available beginning Fri., Nov. 20 on all major music services and streaming platforms.
The special is executive-produced by High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator and executive producer Tim Federle (Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated Ferdinand) and Ashley Edens (Dancing With the Stars). The series has been “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes as measured by a consensus of reviews by top critics and audience members and recently received the 2020 GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Kids & Family Programming.”
Season one of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is currently available on Disney+.
The odds are your kids have heard names like Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross in history class. This year, make sure your children know and appreciate some heroes from history and present day that deserve a standing ovation. From activists to actresses to incredible feats of heroism and patriotism, read on and click through the links to learn about more than sixty heroes who have changed the world, forever and for better.
Perhaps you've heard of Sean Sherman aka The Sioux Chef who marries his passion for cooking with his rich heritage by raising awareness of indigenous food systems. As a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, the work Sean does is deep-rooted in a sense of pride and connection to his people.
New Yorkers may recognize the name of the sculptor Edmonia Lewis, who was born in 1844 to indigenous parents—her father was African-American and her mother was a Chippewa Indian.Though many of her sculptures depicted prominent American figures, Edmonia never forgot her heritage, paying homage to both her African American and Native American origins in sculptures such as “The Arrow Maker” (1866) and “Forever Free” (1867).
Not many kids history books talk about the Haida peoples of the Haida Gwaii archipelago, located off the west coast of British Columbia. Their preservation of land and water are admirable environmental achievements. Having a deep respect for his mother’s heritage,Bill Reid dedicated much of his work in the arts to the Haida peoples. Bill created, alongside other native artists, a sculpture depicting the story of human creation as passed down by Haida legend, among others. His work in bringing awareness to and preserving the stories of the Haida peoples is remarkable.
Mae C. Jemison is an American physician and astronaut. In 1987, Jemison was the first African American woman to be accepted into NASA’s astronaut training program. In 1992, Jemison was also the first African American woman in space, flying there aboard the spaceship Endeavor with six other astronauts.
Arturo Schomburg was a writer, historian and activist. As a leader of the Harlem renaissance, Schomberg collected art literature and other artifacts belonging to people of African descent. In 1926 his collection was purchased by the New York public library, and today the Schomburg Center is a research division of the NY public library. With more than 11 million items in the collection, the Schomburg center is devoted to the preservation and exhibition of Black history, and the arts and culture of the African diaspora.
Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first Black female White House Correspondent. She was also chief of the Associated Negro Press, and in 1948 she became the first Black woman to follow a Presidential campaign (Harry Truman’s) on the road. Years later, Alice Allison Dunnigan served as an education consultant on JFK’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
In 1862 during the Civil War, Robert Smalls commandeered a confederate transport boat freeing himself, his crew and their families. Later, Smalls was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Robert Smalls was also instrumental in convincing President Lincoln to let free Blacks serve in the Union Army.
Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian descent to go to space, having served as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator on the space shuttle Columbia. Sadly, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2003 following the space shuttle Columbia’s 28th mission. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities and institutions have been named in her honor. She is regarded as a national hero in India, where she was born in East Punjab, in 1962.
Widely regarded as the first Chinese American actress of Taishanese descent to achieve superstardom in Hollywood, Anna May Wong was born in Los Angeles in 1905 and started acting at an early age. Her varied career spanned silent films, the first color films, television and radio. Although many of her early roles played into ethnic stereotypes, Wong was a vocal advocate for greater representation of Asian Americans in film and television, and she gained both critical and popular acclaim for her international acting roles. Wong famously lost the leading role of the Chinese character O-Lan in the film adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth to German actress Luise Rainer, who played the role in yellowface and went on to win the Academy Award for her portrayal.
Although Haing Somnang Ngor trained as a surgeon and obstetrician in his native country of Cambodia, he is best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for his debut performance in the film, “The Killing Fields,” in which he portrayed Cambodian journalist and refugee Dith Pran. Ngor is the only actor of Asian descent to ever win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and only one of two non-professional actors to win an acting Oscar. Born in Takeo Province, Cambodia, in 1940, Ngor survived the horrors of prison camps under the Khmer Rouge. Ngor harrowing accounts of torture and losing his wife during childbirth in Pol Pot’s prison camps, as well as his subsequent journey to the U.S. as a refugee, are told in his autobiography, Haing Ngor: A Cambodian Odyssey.
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is a transgender rights activist. In 2015 she became the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer for President Barack Obama. Freedman-Gurspan has worked on criminal justice and incarceration reform, homeless shelter policies and issues facing transgender people of color.
Sandra Cisneros is a writer best known for her book The House on Mango Street. She is generally acknowledged as the first Mexican-American writer to be published by a mainstream publisher. She is a key Chicana literary figure both in Texas and among the Mexican diaspora.
Cesar Chavez is best known as the civil rights activist and labor leader who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with fellow activist Dolores Huerta. His work led to the passing of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which granted farmworkers the right to collective bargaining. In 1994 he post-humously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Read up on these and 14 other Latinx activists, artists and astronauts you should know about here.
—Candace Nagy, Sharon Brandwein, Teresa Douglas, Kipp Jarecke-Cheng
Is it us or do you feel a Denver baby boom coming on? Whether you’re expecting or you just want to see how your kiddo’s name stacks up, we’ve got a list of baby names that honor Denver’s popular places, people and history. Scroll down for some mile-high baby name inspiration!
What could better convey a love for the great outdoors than naming your baby after a tree?
Brec
Ski destination Breckenridge is the source of this shortened name that could be good for either a boy or a girl.
Bronc
It's no surprise that this name is on the list of local favorites, after the Denver Broncos, of course.
Buffy
This name has a cool, retro feel and pay homage to the University of Colorado mascot, the buffalo.
Clara
Clara Brown was often called the "Angel of the Rockies" and is reportedly the first Black woman to cross the plains during the Gold Rush. She came to Colorado by working as a cook on a wagon train in exchange for her transport. In Denver, she opened the first laundry and used her profits to help formerly enslaved people relocate to Colorado.
Denver
It's never wrong to go right to the source and name your baby after the Mile High City. Plus, Denny is just too cute for a nickname.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Piper Ensley (three awesome ideas for Denver baby names!) was a Denver reporter for Woman’s Era, a newsletter of the National Association of Colored Women. Her tireless work campaigning for the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association is credited for helping the state to give women the right to vote in 1893.
This classic name is an homage to Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, the first female medical professor at Johns Hopkins. She retired to Colorado although her retirement was short lived as she was asked to help combat infant mortality, scarlet fever and diphtheria in the area.
Hattie
Isn't this just the cutest name? Actress Hattie McDaniel was the first Black person to win an Academy Award. The award was given for her role as "Mammy" in the movie Gone with the Wind.
Lark
The Lark Bunting is the state bird of Colorado and we think it makes a lovely girl name.
Miles
How better to pay homage to the Mile High City than with this classic name?
Mills
Enos Mills moved to Colorado early in his life and his love of nature permeated his entire life. He was the main figure behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Peyton
This gender-neutral name is a great option for Broncos fans, after Peyton Manning.
Pike
Winter sports fanatics, this one's for you.
Rocky
This name harkens back to times past and a love of the Rocky Mountains.
This vintage name is a great option that also shows a love for Colorado's Ruby Mountain Range.
Spruce
The Blue Spruce is the Colorado state tree and it makes for a lovely middle name.
Vail
This gorgeous name honors the gorgeous ski area of the same name.
Make sure to capture all the joyful moments with your Colorado kid—and share them with your family and friends near and far—with the Tinybeans app. The secure platform puts parents in total control of who sees and interacts with photos and videos of their kids.
Grab the popcorn because it’s movie night! ABC announced that “The Wonderful World of Disney” will bring a little bit of Disney magic into our homes each week. For four consecutive Wed. evenings, beloved titles currently available on Disney+, will be shown in prime time on ABC, beginning with the broadcast world debut of Disney’s Academy Award-nominated Moana on Wed. May 20 at 8 p.m. ET.
Additional titles include Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Dark World, Academy Award-winning films Up from Disney and Pixar and Disney’s Big Hero 6.
Also at DisneyMagicMoments.com, fans and families can find more entertaining stories, videos and activities from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic that inspire imagination and discovery.
Get ready to inspire a love of STEM thanks to a partnership between Bitsbox and Amazon’s upcoming family film Troop Zero.
Bitsbox, a STEM subscription box for kids that teaches them type-based coding to build their own apps, will be offering a special Troop Zero app project for free in boxes delivered next month. The giveaway is in celebration of the new film premiering on Amazon Jan. 17.
Set in 1977, Troop Zero follows the story of 12-year-old Christmas Flint as she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts in order to earn the chance to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record and become part of space history. The film stars Academy Award winners Viola Davis and Allison Janney, Mckenna Grace, Jim Gaffigan and Mike Epps.
“At Bitsbox, our mission is to teach all kids to code by providing challenges – just like life – so they learn how to overcome – just like the Birdie Scouts in Troop Zero,” said Scott Lininger, co-founder and CEO at Bitsbox. “Amazon has been a tremendous collaborator for us, so we are thrilled to build on our relationship with this unique initiative.”
The Bitsbox collab will give subscribers a FREE Troop Zero app project in every box delivered for the next month. Bitsbox will also be featured by Amazon as the Deal of the Day on Sun., Jan. 19, with an offer for 50 percent off the first box with the purchase of a new subscription. Fans can also check out a digital downloadable version of the free coding project, Troop Zero: The App.
Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway revealed she is pregnant with her second baby just a few weeks ago and now the celeb is stepping out with her growing bump in style.
Hathaway debuted her baby bump on the red carpet at the Broadway opening of the play Sea Wall/A Life decked out in a fuchsia, cut-out dress from designer Brandon Maxwell.
Anne Hathaway Debuts Baby Bump in Fuchsia Pink Cut-Out Dress at Broadway Opening https://t.co/m8z14H4pqT
As Hathaway later shared in an Instagram post, the dress was tailor-made for her new addition. As her photo of the inside of her custom-designed dress shows, it was made for “Anne +1.”
Hathaway announced her pregnancy via an Instagram post earlier this month, which not only revealed that she was expecting her second child, but also that she had struggled with infertility before both of her pregnancies.
Star of the Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway is pregnant with her second baby, but it wasn’t an easy road to pregnancy she candidly reveals.
Hathaway and her husband, Adam Shulman, are already parents to their three-year-old son Jonathan Rosebanks and now they are getting ready to welcome a new member to the family. Hathaway shared her exciting news in an Instagram post that also gave followers a look at her growing baby bump. “It’s not for a movie,” she quipped in the caption.
The Academy Award winner was very open in her post, sharing that not only this pregnancy, but her first as well, did not come easily. “All kidding aside, for everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love,” she explained.