Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana, JONAS Rockin’ The House

I have a confession to make. I might be a 42 year old Mom, but I think Wizards of Waverly Place is a cute and funny show. Sometimes I watch it even when the kids aren’t around! And I also started watching JONAS with Nathan and I have to admit, those boys are cuties and the show’s kind of funny. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released two new DVD collections on September 22nd that I said “yes” to reviewing because I knew I would like them as much as my boys would :)

Wizards on Deck

Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana combines the casts of three Disney Channel shows into one full-length movie adventure. Wizards of Waverly Place character Justin Russo (David Henrie) wins an essay contest and his prize is a Teen Cruise to Hawaii for himself and his siblings Max (Jake T. Austin) and Alex (Selena Gomez) on board the S.S. Tipton. That’s the boat that the show Suite Life on Deck takes place on, in which twin brothers Zack and Cody Martin (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) and hotel heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song) enroll in a semester-at-sea program. As if that wasn’t enough Disney Channel stars, who should show up but Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus), on her way to a sold-out concert in Hawaii.

There are plenty of pranks and magic-gone-wrong (someone turns Justin blue!), crazy schemes (Alex sneaks best friend Harper on board to take her make-up science test), and a little mystery (Miley Stewart loses her lucky charm ankle bracelet AND her Hannah wig!), plus of course, lots of laughs. I’ll be honest, it surprises me how entertaining I find these kids, especially Selena Gomez, who I think is just adorable and has great comic timing.

Here’s a funny clip with Selena Gomez called Mistaken Identity:

And of course my favorite, Bloopers:

If your kids (and you too!) are fans of Wizards of Waverly Place, Suite Life on Deck and/or Hannah Montana, I highly recommend picking up this DVD. It’s $14.99 on Amazon.

JONAS rockin the house

Also available on DVD is Jonas Rockin’ the House (Volume 1) combines five episodes from the TV series with two “world premiere on DVD” bonus episodes (I assume that means they weren’t shown during the regular season) and DVD feature called “You’ve Just Been Jo Bro’d” in which the guys play a prank on costar Chelsea Staub. The DVD also contains a Collectible Card that MAY be signed by Nick (ours wasn’t). The episodes are:

  • Groovy Movies
  • Wrong Song
  • Pizza Girl
  • Band’s Best Friend
  • Chasing The Girl
  • Bonus Episode- Beauty and the Beast
  • Bonus Episode- Cold Shoulder

What I like about this show is that it’s not overly-acted. The Jonas boys are naturally funny, really comfortable on camera, and not afraid to poke fun at themselves, their looks, their celebrity status. It might be a little hard to buy the premise that they are high school students, since Kevin is 21 and Joe is 19 (Nick is 16), but it’s a good quality show that’s appropriate for any age. Okay, I like it!

Here’s a JONAS clip called Kevin’s Guitar:

And a bonus feature called The Prank:

Surprise the Jonas Brothers’ fan in your house by picking up this DVD or hiding it in a Christmas stocking! Jonas Rockin’ the House (Volume 1) is available on Amazon for $14.49.

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Disney’s MINUTEMEN on DVD

MINUTEMEN is the awesome adventure of three high school seniors united in their outcast status. With the invention of a time machine, Virgil (Jason Dolley) and his buddies decide to go back in time to right the wrongs that defined their fellow high school misfits! There’s just one small problem…they accidentally open a black hole that jeopardizes future of the universe. This hi-tech quest for heroism includes a never-before-seen extended ending, an innovative Behind-The-Scenes featurette, and High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu’s latest music video. Join the MINUTEMEN on their outrageous journey from zero to hero on DVD May 27, 2008!

I’ve discovered that the best way to get the boys to watch a DVD that I need to review with me is to just put it on and start watching. If I make too big of a fuss about how they NEED to watch it because Mom got it for a REVIEW and we are a review TEAM and it’s a KIDS movie and they are KIDS and don’t they LOVE me?, it usually backfires. So, I started up Minutemen and didn’t say a word. And they both watched it all the way through! Woo hoo! Success!

It’s a fun movie, slow to get started, but with good characters and an authentic tone to the dialogue. There’s a good message behind the plot, and the jokes are funny without resorting to pranks and pratfalls. The DVD includes a bonus featurette “The Making of Minutemen,” which gives you details on how the movie was made (including the stunts and special effects). There is also a music video by Corbin Bleu (“High School Musical”). I was happy to watch this movie WITH my kids! Pick it up on Amazon or at retailers.