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Disney Moana

Disney’s Moana Review

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I took my daughter to go see Disney’s new feature film, Moana, and we both absolutely loved it! While it may not have the same powerful soundtrack that a movie like Frozen had, Moana was fun and exciting from start to finish while also having an amazing message that even my 6 year old could grasp.

Besides Moana, who is a strong, ambitious and bright young girl, my favourite character was Maui, who is played by The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. His arrogance made for some hilarious scenes but his kindness keeps you rooting for his character throughout the movie. As you will see in the video from our experience, my daughter’s favourite character was Moana’s grandmother who is another bright spot throughout the movie.

The one thing that always strikes me about Disney’s movies is that there always seems to be an underlying message for viewers to think about. Whether it’s a strong political message in a movie like Zootopia, which I was lukewarm about, or the emotional roller coaster that was Inside Out, Disney seems to to want to make more than fluff piece movies that you will forget about in a week or two. Moana was no different as it delivers a strong message about the environment and the effects of taking from the land without giving anything back.

I really hope you get a chance to check out Moana because outside of Big Hero 6, this was my favourite Disney offering in a long time. Yes, I enjoyed Frozen, I am not a monster, but this one had so many great scenes that we will definitely be buying the DVD when it comes out so we can watch it over and over again! Feel free to check out the video I put together of our experience at the screening and I’d love to hear what you thought of Moana once you get a chance to see it!

Canadian Spotlight: When Children Inspire – Earth Hour Edition

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Earth Hour Pledge

I’ll cut right to the chase here, I am no environmentalist. I know about Earth Hour but I really don’t know anything ABOUT Earth Hour, if you catch my drift. I try to be conscious about the usual things, such as turning off lights, not littering and conserving energy where possible but overall I am pretty clueless about the process. To my credit, I am interested in learning more about Earth Hour and began to do some research. That research quickly brought me to a 10 year old girl named Hannah Alper.

If that name sounds familiar it is because I just wrote about her Mom, Candace, on this very site last week. Hannah has decided to start an Earth Hour pledge, called the “Stop, Start and Continue Pledge“, that stretches out far beyond the one hour allotted for the Earth Hour event. Hannah is asking people to fill out one of her pledge forms, where you will commit to stop, start and continue doing something that is good for the environment.

It’s an incredibly smart initiative for a 10 year old and when I saw this interview she did on CTV, I was blown away by how comfortable she was with being on camera and explaining what her pledge was all about. After reading through her blog a little, I can now say unequivocally, that Hannah is an amazing young lady and her parents should be extremely proud.

Now, all that said, I never did get around to reading more about Earth Hour because I got sidetracked by all this awesomeness! I did, however, find a great article on Earth Hour from Yummy Mummy Club writer, Gwen Leron, and will be checking that out later this evening. I have also started filling out my Stop, Start and Continue Pledge, which includes the following:

1. I will stop throwing out what can be donated or reused (clothes, toys, books).
2. I will start using my voice, as young Hannah has demonstrated.
3. I will continue to read up and share amazing stories of people who are going out of their way to make a difference in the world.

I want to close by saying thank you to kids like Hannah and the charity group kids I have previously featured, for being the young voices that are going to lead the next generation. Your work does not go unnoticed and I commend you for everything you have done and I’m sure will continue to do. You have inspired at least guy to take a more active look at what I contribute to the earth, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I encourage you all to stop by Hannah’s website and take her pledge. It only takes a minute and it may even inspire you to take action for yourself.