monica-mroch My three and four (now five) year olds LOVE this movie. It's terrific for little ones, and I prefer this to many more popular and money making films that cast a wider net that targets a broader age spectrum but also exposes little ones to more fearful subjects and tidal waves of verbage that they don't understand...and vocabulary/behaviors that I don't want them to imitate. I was surprised to read that this is the all-time lowest grossing animated feature film, but there you go. We watch it on Netflix.

sanctuary_thirteen In this world, crayons are an elite ruling class who create "doodles" as lesser lifeforms dependent on the crayons for bright colors (monetary wealth). Crayons recharge their color via a rainbow waterfall which we find out that only they can absorb. When one unfinished doodle (ironically dressed in the garb of royalty, when he is in fact an upstart in the face of the crayon aristocracy) attempts to bypass the crayons and absorb the bright color himself, he finds he cannot directly absorb it and dams up the waterfall. The crayons then, selflessly, attempt to distribute their remaining color among other doodles but feel their own color resources dwindling without access to the rainbow.The climax relies on a cowardly crayon (yellow, naturally) who then reaches out to the oppressed doodles to work together, indicating the proletariat has no mouthpiece without the bourgeoisie to give it to him.Essentially, it decries a populist attempt to bypass a power bottleneck as selfish and promotes the ruling elite crayons as some sort of necessary filter between resources and the doodles (people) who depend on it for life.Probably not on purpose, as the rest of the film isn't clever enough to suggest there's any sort of intended subtlety. It's more likely that I watch this too much on Netflix with my kids, but there you go.

cinnamonstyck As a parent who has had to sit through a lot of children's programming over the years, I really liked this little movie. The premise is cute, and there's a few jokes aimed at the parents in there. It's not so teeth-rottingly sweet as to be nauseating to Mom and Dad, the music is catchy, and the children's drawings come to life is an interesting concept that's not overdone. I've found myself asking my two year old if he'd like to watch the crayon movie again! The voice actor's list has some of my favorites on it including Sean Astin (from Goonies and The Lord Of The Rings) who I would never have pegged, although I knew it was familiar and I actually came to IMDb to see who the voice actor is. It also stars Owen Wilson and Christina Ricci, Craig Ferguson and Wayne Brady. Put the movie on for your kiddos- mine love it!

WHYtehawk This film is average baby sitting filler / bargain bin DVD quality in regards to plot. It meets all the criteria to keep preschoolers watching. Don't expect to enjoy it if you're an adult but is harmless enough. The quality of animation is basic but it falls moreso in review due to the basic plot. My kids aged seven,five and three seemed entertained enough by it and I'm not a 30 yr old neckbeard who expects a children's film to also keep adults entertained with subtext and highly developed themes in children's flicks. They are what they are. Pixar quality films like Toy Story 3 are rare for a reason. Good to see Craig Ferguson getting work though.