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WONKA

by Kathy O'Connell

The third movie telling of Willie Wonka’s story tells how he evolved from an orphan boy in debt to the world’s greatest chocolatier. With songs, beautiful color, a kid sidekick and a little help from his friends.

Summer 2023 saw me in movie theaters a lot of the time. It was the summer of “Barbie” and I went alone and with family to see “Barbie” several times. Movies never start on time because they show trailers for upcoming films. I saw trailers for “Blue Beetle” and “Trolls Band Together” so often I felt like I saw the movies. But one film’s trailer got me curious: WONKA. And then “Barbie” started and I forgot about it.

I finally saw WONKA recently at home. I loved it. It is beautifully filmed with imaginative colorful settings. The songs and dances are fun. The cast is wonderful. Timothee Chalamet plays Willie Wonka with joy and a sense of wonder. There is no competition for a Golden Ticket. He just loves chocolate and is able to do magical things with the stuff. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that he is in enormous debt to a crooked landlady (played by Olivia Colman); he is persecuted by the crooked Chief of Police (played by Keegan-Michael Key) and worst of all: the crooked (and evil!) Chocolate Cartel is his enemy. who wants to wipe out Willie Wonka.

With the help of the community he builds in the midst of horror and the special assistance of an orphan named Noodle (or is it?), WONKA earns the happy ending I always want.

Throwbacks to Roald Dahl’s original story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well the first two Willie Wonka movies include the Oompah Loompah (Hugh Grant) and a beautiful song from the original movie (“Pure Imagination”). And have I mentioned Timothee Chalamet??

Best…Willie Wonka…ever…

Gay Purr-ee (1962)

by Kathy O'Connell

I saw “Gay Purr-ee” at the Whitman Theater when it was released in 1962. I took Georgie MacLaughlin from the neighborhood because I thought I was too old to see it and Georgie was the perfect age. He didn’t like it, and I admit I wasn’t too crazy about it at the time.

BUT I WAS WRONG!!!

This is the ideal talking cat movie. They don’t just talk. They SING. Since Judy Garland (Mewsette) and Robert Goulet (Jaune- Tom) were legendary singers, this is a chance to hear them at their best. There are some famous performers from 1962 lending their voices to GAY PURR-EE, along with legendary cartoon voices Paul Frees (as the villain Meowrice), Thurl Ravenscroft, Mel Blanc and June Foray.

Most of the action in the film takes place in Paris, but we begin on a farm in the countryside. The beautiful cat Mewsette longs for the excitement of the big city she has heard about from humans. She and the shy mouser Jaune-Tom love each other, but she thinks there is a better life for her. She believes she is far too sophisticated for Jaune-Tom and runs away on a train bound for Paris.

Her troubles begin when she gets to Paris and evil Meowrice convinces her that he will make her “The Belle of all Paris.” He claims she will be painted by all the great artists. And that is what takes GAY PURR-EE into a special place for me. The action of the movie stops for a delightful session in Art History. Each of the great artists’ style is demonstrated using Mewsette as the subject.

As you can imagine, Meowrice has bad intentions, and Jaune-Tom and his friend Robespierre must find and rescue her before she is packed off to America. Things do not go well for them. Things get better eventually.

The songs are lovely, especially “Little Drops of Rain” and “Paris is a Lonely Town” sung by Judy Garland. The songs were written by the composers of “The Wizard of Oz.” The script was written by Dorothy Webster Jones and her husband, legendary animator Chuck Jones. It is a beautiful movie that was not well received in its own time. Today you can find GAY PURR-EE on Youtube and TCM has been showing it as well. If you can find this rare treasure, check it out. This is an unknown classic that deserves to be known.

I’M GONNA LET IT SHINE – A Gathering of Voices for Freedom

by Kathy O'Connell

What you hear on this recording is a group of people who came together to sing songs of freedom and the human spirit. They are old, young, black, brown, white, male and female. There are no instruments other than human voices and hands. DISCOVER THEM: https://www.billharley.com/im-gonna-let-it-shine/

ALL ONE TRIBE by The Black Family Collective

by Kathy O'Connell

The 25-track project from the newly organized 1 Tribe Collective celebrates the rich culture and diversity that Black voices bring to family music by presenting the sounds of 24 family music artists from across the USA. The title track of the album “One Tribe” brings the artists together for an energetic expression of universal belonging and unity. “If we can dance together, we can live together.” DISCOVER THEM: https://ingroov.es/all-one-tribe

ANCESTARS by Pierce and Nnenna Freelon

by Kathy O'Connell

Pierce and Nnenna Freelon made history last year as the first mother-son pair both nominated for Grammy awards for their music. Pierce is a hip-hop and soul musician and co-founder of the Beat-Making lab. Nnenna is a singer, composer and actress. Together, they’ve released a new album: “Ancestars.” The album, focusing on the role of ancestors, family, memory and culture, honors and grieves the late Phil Freelon. DISCOVER THEM: https://www.piercefreelon.com/

I AM by Shine and the Moonbeams

by Kathy O'Connell

Back in 2013, Kindie music came in a broad range of styles – folk, rock, punk and even polka. But, compared with its popularity among adults, there have been very few R&B and soul music albums for kids. Enter Shine and the Moonbeams. The first thing most listeners notice is Shawana Kemp’s voice. Kemp’s warm voice and the band’s groove keep these songs very listenable.

DISCOVER THEM: https://www.facebook.com/Shineandthemoonbeams/

February Artist to Watch: PIERCE FREELON

by Kathy O'Connell

https://www.piercefreelon.com/

Pierce Freelon’s creativity is rooted in his hometown of Durham, NC. His jazz and hip hop-centered music for kids reflects his own musical influences like his mother Nnenna. In 2022 they became the first mother and son ever nominated for Grammy awards in different categories for the same year. Their 2023 album AnceStars is a rich collection of original songs using “tools from from African American folklore and tradition to help our children connect with their ancestors.”

There is a special sweetness to memories retrieved through music. When Pierce Freelon released his first family album (D.a.D.), he said he wanted his music to celebrate “goofy kind of caring caregivers.” He was talking about the nurturing fathers who don’t always get credit. I know Pierce Freelon didn’t actually know Big Tom O’Connell (my Dad), but he could have been. Hearing him sing about “Daddy Daughter Day” with his daughter Stella took me back to childhood Sundays with Big Tom laughing at Abbott & Costello. This modern Dad uses creative recording techniques, catchy fun lyrics and rhythm like the beat of a heart to celebrate the basic relationship of father and child. He does it beautifully by keeping the message simple and the rhythms complicated. It’s like a universal Dad creating music that works for each individual personally yet differently.

He even got me hooked on a song that mentioned poo—not one of my favorite musical themes. But this builder of rhymes and maker of stories hooked me using the word in “Movies and Popcorn and Videogames.” His music can both move mountains and move me to love a poo song.

Pierce Freelon is an educator, musical artist, activist, civic engager, proud father and son whose 2023 Grammy-nominated album “AncesStars” honors the past and engages the future. He is the product of a creative family. Music and art flow through his veins. His renowned architect father’s advice: “As artists, we have a very important job in this world. It’s to bring beauty and joy to other people.” He and his mother/ musical collaborator Nnenna Freelon mix musical styles with their own experiences in practicing self care. That care includes making connections to the past and to each other. The music is rich and easy to listen to without being easy listening.

Barbie (PG-13)

by Kathy O'Connell

The “Barbie” movie brought back memories and introduced me to a whole world of Barbie Dream Houses and pink cars and more created after I gave up dolls. My first Barbie had the blond ponytail and wore the classic black and white striped bathing suit. “Barbie” the movie brought back a world of memories and launched my whole new interest in Barbie. I saw it in the theater several times. Along with all the new Barbie stuff, I discovered that movie theaters have big comfortable reclining chairs. The movie would be great even if I had to stand.

“Barbie” is a live action version of the kind of world kids create when they play with Barbie dolls. The first scene demonstrates the difference before and after Barbie arrived. Everyone is here: Ken, Allen, Midge, Skipper and many many many Barbies. The movie is about a break in the line between the Real World and Barbie Land. Stereotypical Barbie (that’s her name!) must travel to the Real World and find the kid who played with her so the break can be fixed. Hijinks ensue.

This movie is rated PG13. I saw many kids and their families at the theater dressed in pink for Barbie! The PG13 rating is because there are some words and concepts (like patriarchy) younger kids don’t know. This movie is fun to share among generations, along with memories of olden Barbies. But BEWARE: adults may cry in some places in the movie. Be kind to them. Go Pink!

Alanna: The First Adventure

by Kathy O'Connell

Eleven-year-old Alanna dreams of being a knight even though she is a girl, so she disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page and learns to fence, fight, ride, and study alongside the male pages in the royal court on her path to hopefully becoming a knight and a shaman. Grades 5-9

Shark School: Space Invaders

by Kathy O'Connell

Harry Hammer and his arch-rival Rick Reef travel in outer space to the mysterious surface world of Earth. Harry and Rick discover a strange and dangerous new world with dogs, cars and humans. Grades 3-4.You may also enjoy Magic Tree House: Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne.