Movie Review: The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure & Giveaway (closed)

It’s been hard to miss The Oogieloves in L.A. Every bus bench and billboard in town is advertising the cute trio. The interactive film is in theaters now and ready for your kids to get gr-ooooo-ving. Are you thinking of taking your family to see it this wknd? Check out what a few of our IT moms thought of the child friendly film:

L.A. – “Oogielove, Oogielove, oo-oo-oo Oogielove”. That ear worm has been in my head for weeks! My family and I attended the L.A. premiere of Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The outside of the theater was transformed into a Oogielove carnival! Stilt walkers, gold balloons, shakes, and sweets made us all excited to see the movie. Kenn Viselman (producer of Thomas the Train and Teletubbies) introduced the movie to the audience and gave us a personal look into the unique interactive film and let us know what to expect. Where did the idea come from? Madea Goes to Jail! Vieselman went to see the movie and was excited to see the audience interact with the film. Moviegoers yelled out to the onscreen characters and this gave Viselman an idea. What about a kids film where kids can interact with the movie? Enter, Oogieloves.

Kids can dance and sing along with the Oogieloves. Cues that roll across the screen instruct kids on when to get up and bust a move. Parents will have to read the words unless your child is an early reader. Who are the Oogieloves? They are a happy trio of friends with a cool window friend named Windy Window (totally reminded me of the Teletubbie baby sun face), a sleepy pillow named Schluufy and a vacuum called J. Edgar. Yep, kinda trippy! The Oogieloves were planning a birthday party for their pillow friend when J. Edgar lost the golden balloons. The Oogieluvs try their best to get all the balloons back before the party!

I think we’re all accustomed to being quiet during movies or maybe we enjoy the quiet time. Some parents looked a little uncomfortable with getting up but this movie is for your kids! No one will be sussing you during this film. My daughter loved doing the Oogielove dance and sings their theme song everyday (seriously, snaps and all). She was captivated through the entire film and was dancing in the aisle! The cues to sit back down are very clear and everyone respected that! I have to admit that I see The Oogieloves doing better as a TV show. Movies tend to do better when they have something to build off of and kids actually recognize and relate to the characters. My personal favorite Oogieloves character was Toofie. He had some cool break dance moves plus Ruffy the fish had some of the best lines. The movie has popular actors like Jaime Pressly who has always been a favorite of mine. I enjoyed seeing her in this cute film as well as seeing her in the audience of the L.A. premier! – Tee

Boston – Most parents are a bit nervous taking their younger children to the movies. It isn’t always easy to get them to sit still and be quiet for the entire movie. Especially if you let them indulge in some of the sugary snacks offered at most theaters! Going to the movies should be fun not stress inducing and this brand new movie Oogieloves is making that possible! Oogieloves is a an interactive rated G movie. Wondering what an interactive movie is? I was too! and I was able to find out last week at a sneak peek of the Oogieloves movie in Chestnut Hill in Boston. Not only did I get to see the movie I was able to sit down with producer Kenn Vissleman and writer Scott Stabile to learn more about what makes this movie unique.

Let’s start with interactive. Most movies require quiet children NOT the Oogieloves. This family musical allows children to be children. From the very start to the final scene the audience is encouraged, by the use of auditory and visual cues, to get up and dance along with the cast of the Oogieloves.

The movie should really be rated GGG because it is truly a movie made for kids. No hidden meanings, no violence, no dark force and no sexual innuendos like a lot of movies marketed to children these days. One more thing that makes the Oogieloves stand out is the fact that you there is a parent guide! The parent guide is written by esteemed educator Faith Rogow, Ph.d gives insights to parents on seeing the Oogieloves movie and even ways to continue learning after the experience.

So as you can see the Oogieloves is not your typical movie making it in my book a must see for all preschool aged kids. – Erika

N.Y. – This week, my kids and I got the opportunity to attend a premiere launch party of Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure at Lincoln Center. What an amazing place for a party and viewing! The tall glass atrium of Alice Tully Hall was filled with hundreds of golden helium balloons just like the ones that Oogieloves searched for throughout their film. My five year old daughter was excited at the beginning of the movie, but my four year old son was apprehensive. He gets scared when the lights go out and the doors close. But this movie was different from the start and really drew him in. As a mom I am so appreciative of how age appropriate this movie was for my kids. The kids get to interact with the movie by waving glow stick butterflies at the screen when butterflies appear indicating time to get up and dance and move with the characters. A slow moving parade of turtles lumbers across the screen to guide the audience back to their seats. My kids were so happy that they could independently navigate through this movie – they knew when to stand up, sit down, the words to a couple of funny songs and catch phrases and an easy to follow simple storyline. It was a little less engaging for adults but we were treated to guest appearances by Jaime Pressly, Cloris Leachman, Chazz Palminteri, Toni Braxton, and Cary Elwes. Both my kids say their favorite part of the movie was the flying sombrero and Mexican dancing. I would highly recommend this movie for the 5 and under set. – Jill

Keep in touch with The Oogieloves on their https://www.facebook.com/TheOogieloves http://twitter.com/theoogieloves

GIVEAWAY:  One (1) That’s IT Mommy reader will receive a prize pack from The Oogieloves! Prize pack includes:

• Tent
• Mobile
• Glitter Tattoos (2)
• Stickers (2)
• Beach Balls (2)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents only  (18+). Ends 9/13/12.

* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. The Moms in this post attended movie screenings from PR from free of charge to facilitate this review. Giveaway item will be provided by sponsor. Sponsor has the right to refuse filling prize for duplicate winners from other blogs. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service.
 The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.