Friday Movie Review - The Muppet Movie

Welcome back to my Friday Movie Review!

We still have a few more Reader's Request movies to get to, but I thought I would interject one of my own purrsonal favorites this week: The Muppet Movie!

The Muppet Movie (1979)
Directed by: James Frawley
Written by: Jack Burns & Jerry Juhl

"The Muppet Movie" is a wonderfully silly yet somehow inspirational movie about the importance of believing in yourself and following your dreams. The opening scene says it all - Kermit the Frog is sitting on a log in his swamp, playing a banjo and singing "The Rainbow Connection." This is a very important song to my mommy, because it always makes her leaky-eyed. Also, a very long time ago, mommy heard this song and knew she was supposed to be a teacher, and even though she has ignored that calling for years now, she is finally taking the classes to do something about it. Here is the inspirational bit for my mommy:

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

The story truly begins once Kermit is finished singing, and a Hollywood agent floats up to him in a canoe asking the way out of the swamp. The agent tells Kermit that not only does he have star quality, but that there is a casting call out for frogs in Hollywood. Kermit thinks about it, and decides that he is truly meant to go to Hollywood so that he can entertain and make thousands of people happy, so he leaves his home in the swamp and sets out for California. On the way he meets Fozzie the Bear, Gonzo and his girlfriend chicken Camilla, the entire rock group of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and of course Miss Piggy.


All of them share the same dream: to entertain and make people happy. Soon they are all more than friends who share the same dream; they are a family. Along the way they face many setbacks, including Kermit's new stalker: Doc Hopper. Doc Hopper wants Kermit to be the face for his chain of restaurants, which serve frog legs - and he doesn't care what it takes to get Kermit to be his spokesfrog! This movie is filled with laughs, suspense, danger, and cameos by countless stars. And, of course, the muppets themselves, as well as the wonderful music and lyrics of Paul Williams.

I give "The Muppet Movie" two paws up and a chirp for being not only family and furry friendly, but for being inspirational and reminding us all how important it is to follow our dreams, no matter what the obstacles.

To watch Kermit sing "The Rainbow Connection," click here.

Thursday Thirteen - Holly's Thoughts

Hi, everykitty! Holly here, bringing you this week's Thursday Thirteen. As you can see, I am sticking my cute little pink tongue out, because I'm not too thrilled with the changes the past few weeks have brought. So here is a list of thirteen things that I have thought a lot about this week.

1. Almost Dad is gone. That is good because we have mommy all to ourselves again, but it is bad because it is one less person to snuggle with- plus he always got home earlier than mommy so we got more laptime.
2. Mommy is taking classes. That is bad for us because mommy comes home super late two nights a week, and then she does something called "homework" on weekends instead of napping with us.
3. Grandmama comes over to check on us more. That is GREAT, because we love Grandmama. On the other paw, she's coming over because mommy is LATE. So . . . this is kind of a draw.
4. The air is starting to smell like Fall, and it is driving me crazy!!!! I want to climb and jump and meow at the moon! (Especially just at the time mommy goes to bed . . .)
5. Mommy didn't cook at our house this weekend. Instead, she fixed dinner over at Grandmamas. We didn't get to help or taste test or put our furs in the food or anything!
6. Mommy helps us with the blog on the weekends, and then schedules it to post later. This is pretty cool, because we get to climb all over her and help her during the marathon blogging. (Ivy is the best helper. She even managed to get stuck inside the desk and made mommy panic when she couldn't pull her out right away!)
7. It's dark in the morning when mommy gets up. This means it is harder for us to wake her up, so Tybalt does a lot more cord chewing and crying in her ear and sitting on her head . . . and then we have to remind her that she still has to give us at least 5 minutes of playtime before she leaves for work.
8. It is hurricane season, so Mommy gets more headaches. She had a bad one on Sunday. Migraines are bad for mommy because she gets all hurty, but they are great for us because they mean more napping and snuggling together. I pretty much got to snuggle with mommy on the couch ALL DAY Sunday!
9. Summer term is over at Mommy's work, which means that her more stressful work-time is coming up. That means less happy-mommy time.
10. On the other paw, a lot of mommy's holiday breaks will be coming up soon. In just a few months, she'll have Thanksgiving and then Christmas! That means LOTS of extra mommy time.
11. And that reminds me, Halloween will be here before we know it! That means all the cool spooky decorations come out . . . and I'll have my broomrides to look forward to . . .
12. I'll also get to tease Tybalt lots more about mommy being a witch! I know how much that upsets him . . . hee hee!
13. Did I mention the broomrides? I really need to start practicing my balancing! See you kitties later!
    

Wordless Wednesday - Stinky Goodness

Tortie Tuesday - Tortie Rules #3

Brothers can be good to gossip with. Especially when you are plotting to get back at your twin for hogging all the 'nip.

****************************

We spoke a little too soon, kitties! Fay has come to visit us up here, and she's bringing a lot of rain. The weather bean says she's depressed, maybe that's why she's crying on us so much. Fay isn't supposed to do anything worse than that; maybe a few storms (temper tantrums) later this afternoon. We'll keep you posted!

Mancat Monday - Mancat Update

Happy Mancat Monday, everykitty!

I had a pretty good weekend. That nasty storm Fay was much nicer to us up here in north Georgia than she was to all of our friends to the south. We got a lot of nice wind, but no rain. Mommy even opened up the windows so that we kitties could enjoy the nice breeze! It felt almost, well, autumnal around here. Holly even started talking about full moons and broom rides. (It's a little early for Halloween, sis!)

Mommy really enjoyed her classes last week. I think she was a little surprised by how much. They have given her a lot to think about, and she has already met a few people in them that she is pretty sure she will be friends with. In one of her classes, she will have to be in a group to debate. She's never had to debate before, so that is a new challenge for her. I think she's looking forward to it.

As for us kitties, we've been even more talkative and snuggly than usual. Mommy isn't sure if we are happy that she is all ours again, or if maybe we are missing the ex-Almost Dad. I don't think it has dawned on her that we know she was upset and so have been trying our hardest to make her feel better. PLUS she comes home late two nights a week now, and we don't like that AT ALL. I mean, Grandmama comes over and takes care of us, and we love her, but Grandmama isn't the same thing as Mommy.

And, in other news, Camie's Kitties gave us this TOTALLY PAWSOME award!!!!



Isn't it great? We were all super excited to get it. You should have seen Dana doing her "I got an award!" wiggle dance. Even Loki smiled.

I think we are supposed to pass it along to five friends. . . which is hard to do. We love you all! I think we will give it some more thought, and then pass it along later. We may have to let Dana present the award, because she is just THAT excited about it.

And also . . . .
Thanks for all you do, Mo!!!!

Another Friday Reflection

Mommy and I apologize, kitties. What with one thing and another, my mommy hasn't had time to help me put together a movie review for this Friday. We hope to have our Friday Movie Reviews back on track next week. (If we don't, I may have to put the bitey on her nose!) However, you can never have too much inner reflection or peace, so I thought we could have another Friday Reflection. This week's reflection is inspired by the great Cat Stevens. With a name like Cat, he's got to be a great guy!

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Thankful Thursday

Kitties, all of us furries and our mommy want to thank all of you so very, very much for your warm thoughts, support, and purrs this week. You are all so very wonderful! It has meant a lot to all of us, and believe me, it has helped TONS! You have all given us so much to smile about, and a serious case of the warm fuzzies for my mommy, which is something else since she isn't blessed with gorgeous fur like mine!

My mommy saw how Millie's mom took pictures of her workplace to share with everyone, and thought it looked like fun. Being the sweet and generous mancat I am, I allowed her to post these picturesof her office for you all to see today.

Here is a picture of mommy's desk. Yes, mommy is messy. She believes in organization through piles and clutter. Amazingly enough, my mommy knows where everything is on her desk. Move one single paper, and she'll know! The desktop wallpaper is a picture of Tokyo at night that mommy found and loved. Mommy really would like to visit Japan one day.


Here is another side of mommy's desk. Mommy has a whole collection of toys from McDonald's Happy Meals that take up a large part of her deskspace. Mommy says she has to have something in her office that is fun and colorful and makes her smile. Don't tell the rest of the toys, but the three Hello Kitties and the pink gargoyle are her favorites. (The pink gargoyle didn't come in a Happy Meal, so he's kind of an outsider.)

Mommy also has more toys on top of her computer tower. When people come see mommy in her office for the first time, they always have to comment on mommy's toys. A lot of people even play with them - without asking mommy first. This is a little bit rude, but mommy is kind and overlooks it. Mostly.

Mommy has a very cute kitten calendar on her wall. The picture for this month always makes her squee and wish she could kiss its little fuzzy paws.

Mommy also has this more grown-up print on her wall. Mommy actually got to pick this out, which was very exciting. She also got to pick out the "accent wall" color, which is a nice red. Mommy loves the color red. Luckily when mommy was first hired, there was extra money in the budget to spiff up the office. The very next year there were budget cuts, so mommy was super lucky to get this kind of treatment.


And finally, sitting on the floor within easy reach is mommy's new bookbag! Mommy decided since she was going to be a student again she deserved a new bag, and since mommy is a big believer in cute, she knew it had to be CUTE! Luckily she found this Hello Kitty bag at the fashionable Target, and on sale! Mommy is very pleased with herself. (It's the little things that make her happy!)

Happy Thursday, everyfurry!

Wordless Wednesday - Handsome

Tortie Tuesday - Tortie Rules #2

Holly: Dogfood can be tasty. Just make sure your doggie brother is outside before you go in for a taste. Doggies usually aren't big on sharing.

Ivy: Adventure can be found anywhere, and most especially on the kitchen table!

Mancat Monday - Gone

I feel a little strange telling everykitty this, since there is so many MUCH more upsetting and sad things happening with so many of us lately. But I thought you all deserved to know this news since I have introduced you to him several times here on my blog.

Almost Dad is gone.

He left Friday afternoon. When mommy got home from work, he was already packed and just waiting for her to be home before he left. None of us here will probably ever know the real reason why he decided to leave us furries and Mommy. He just told her he "had no choice," but Mommy couldn't get him to be more specific than that. All mommy can assume is that his family told him again that he would be cut off financially if he stayed with her. His daddy has money; mommy doesn't. But to be honest, we will never know for certain if that was the reason or not.

Anyway, we are all doing ok. It was kind of the cherry on top of mommy's super depressing week, with all of the sad news around the catblogosphere and being understaffed and busy at work at the same time. And we furries were confused for the first day or so, when we didn't see him come back home after he left. Ivy was upset and had one potty-outside-the-litterbox incident, but things are settling back down to normal now.

Mommy and I also want to apologize in advance, because we are not sure how often I will be able to post, or how often I will be able to visit any of you in the coming weeks. Mommy starts her classes this week, and we aren't sure how much extra time she will have to help me with my blog. I have my paws crossed that at least she can help me on weekends, even if she doesn't have time during the week, but we will have to see. Please don't forget me, and don't think that I don't love you all! Each and every one of you is super special to me and my mommy, and we will join in as much as we possibly can, I promise.

Friday Reflection

There will be no movie review today.

Instead, I wanted to have a moment of peace and reflection, after the week of loss we have all shared.


To everything
There is a season
And a time for every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything
There is a season
And a time for every purpose, under heaven
A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything
There is a season
And a time for every purpose, under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything
There is a season
And a time for every purpose, under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

~Lyrics by Pete Seger
~Adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Thankful Thursday With Dana

OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My BESTEST friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, BILLY SWEETFEETS NORTON gave me an AWARD!
ME!
AN AWARD!
OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can hardly believe it!!!!!!!

JUST LOOK AT IT!!!!!! It is all SMILING!!!!!!
It is a HAPPY award!
JUST LIKE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to have to go and do the WIGGLE DANCE now!!!!!!

Oh! I think I am supposed to pass it along to other GREAT furries like my special BILLY SWEETFEETS!

Lemmethinklemmethinklemmethink . . . hmmmmm . . .
I'd like to give this award to:

Tybalt's PRETTYPRETTY girlfriendcat SAMANTHA BLACK
JB because she is a friend to ALL THINGS FURRY
and
CAMIE because she is a sister to THREE KITTIES and I LOVE KITTIES!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Sharing

Tortie Tuesday - Tortie Rules

Tortie Rule #1: When your baby brother gets presents in the mail, make sure you get playtime with it yourself.

Ivy: Since there was nip sprinkled on the kitty scratcher, I was . . . well, I was just a teensy bit more aggressive and was actually the first of the three of us to enjoy it.


Holly: After the other two had their turns, I finally got a chance to experience the joy of organic catnip sprinkled on totally scratchable cardboard. Why have we never had one of these before?

Mancat Monday - Christmas in July!

I joined in for "Christmas in July" this year, and was matched with two pugs! They are Pearl and Daisy, and you can meet them at too cute pugs. Let me tell you kitties, those two cute pugs sure do know how to treat a kitty right!

Here I am impatiently waiting for mommy to open the package for me. Sometimes mommy is just too slow!


I finally took matters into my own paws and just went ahead and dived in.


LOOK! It is a super nifty kitty scratcher! AND IT CAME WITH ORGANIC CATNIP!!!!


Oh my paws and whiskers, that catnip is goooooooood stuff. I got SO nipped out.


I also got a feather dangly-toy and a neat fishie toy and some yummy treats!

Daisy and Pearl, you are such wonderful doggie friends! I love everything!

As you can see, I was being a gentlemancat and shared with my sisters . . .

Violette Noelle

My eyes are leaking so much. I don't even know what to say. Such a loss - such grief - makes words meaningless.

All I can say is, you are loved so very, very much Sprout. The world has lost a bright little soul.

Much purrs and love and purrayers to Monty's family.

Friday Movie Review - The Dark Knight

Kitties, you may remember how my Mommy and Almost Dad went to the movies WITHOUT ME. Well, I was once again forced to take matters into my own paws. I liberated mommy's magic plastic card from her wallet and had Loki drive me to the nearest theatre in my Igor Kittenovsky disguise, all so that I could provide you kitties with a hot-off-the-presses review of "The Dark Knight."


So, sit back and grab yourself some popcorn (or temptations) and enjoy today's movie review! (Next week we will resume our Reader's Requests!)

The Dark Knight(2008)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan

Alright kitties. I am sure that most of you are familiar with who Batman is, and I am sure you have seen at least one if not more of the previous Batman movies. In this second Nolan brothers installment, we see Batman fight his legendary nemesis, The Joker. Now kitties, my mommy's favorite comic book villain of all time is The Joker. She was a huge fan of Jack Nicholson's portrayal, as well as Mark Hamill's voice acting in "Batman: The Animated Series." I was naturally curious to see how the recently deceased Heath Ledger did in the role. I also wanted to see how Christian Bale managed to play Bruce Wayne/Batman, which can be very challenging.


We'll start off with Christian Bale. Apparently to ladybeans, he is very attractive. I suppose I can see how he would be. I know my mommy says he is "hot," whatever that means. But kitties, he is JUST NOT Batman. He makes a passable Bruce Wayne, if Bruce Wayne was a fluffy-headed, narcissistic playboy, instead of the quirky yet serious industrialist/entrepreneur we have historically known him to be. However, once he dons the suit, he loses any credibility he might otherwise have. I think the problem is that he is trying too hard. After all, Batman is an icon beloved by millions, and Michael Keaton's shoes are hard to fill. (The other Batmen found that true much to their dismay.) There is no shame in not being able to pull off a good Batman, so I hope Mr. Bale isn't losing any sleep over the fact that instead of having a husky and mysterious voice, his Batman sounds angry and constipated. Or, for those of you who may watch Adult Swim on Cartoon Network like my mommy does, he sounds almost exactly like Nathan Explosion from "Metalocalypse."

Mommy still thinks he's cute, though.


Now, on to Heath Ledger. If people weren't too sure who he was before, believe me kitties, the world certainly knows who he is now.

My mommy has been a fan of Mr. Ledger for years, and I can't count how many times I've watched "A Knight's Tale" with her, which is one of his early works.

To understand how incredible and really out of the norm The Joker role is for Heath, here is a picture of Heath before The Joker came into his life.

Handsome, isn't he? (Even if he isn't a mancat.) Mommy loves his curls. And his eyes. And his smile. And his Australian accent. She also deems Heath "hot."

Now, let me present to you a picture of Heath as The Joker.

Do you find this picture disturbing?

Let me tell you kitties: YOU HAVE SEEN NOTHING YET.

Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker is perhaps the best portrayal of a completely disassociated sociopath I have ever seen on the silver screen. Kitties, it is incredible. He manages to make you laugh, even as he creeps you out. You admire his brilliance, while at the same time wishing he will be stopped. You almost hate to watch, but your eyes are glued to the screen. And kitties, the opening scenes with The Joker and his planned bank robbery are perhaps the best crime-ridden movie moments this kitty has yet seen. This movie is made great by Ledger's performance. What might otherwise have done only respectably in the box office has now exploded into an incredibly popular phenomenon thanks to Heath Ledger and The Joker. Quite simply, The Joker IS the movie. The rest of the plot seems to be only fillers for The Joker's next scene. Even Batman is only a minor character for The Joker to play off of. Ledger dominates the film, and when you leave all you will be able to do is talk about him.

However, what makes this movie so incredibly pawsome also makes it a movie that young beans, puppies, kits, and sensitive adult kitties, doggies, and beans may not be able to see. There is a lot of violence. A LOT. And disturbing images. And really, The Joker. The Joker is what makes this movie not so kit-friendly. So be warned beforehand if your beans were thinking of taking any sticky little beans with them. Mommy says she saw one man walk out with his boy sticky bean for a few parts.

I give "The Dark Knight" two paws up, a chirp, and a tail poof - all thanks to THE JOKER!

Thursday Thirteen "Tybalt Needs" Meme

Mommy's favorite picture of me.

Lots of you kitties have already done this meme, so I thought I would give it a try. Just google your name with the word "needs" after it and see what you come up with! I thought I would turn it into a ThursdayThirteen of the most interesting results - I got 45,800 results!

1. Tybalt needs to make sure that it's safe first. (Well, DUH!)
2. Tybalt needs to find a more positive way to release his negative energy. (Does this have something to do with my wrestling Ivy until she squeaks?)
3. [All] Tybalt needs to do is have that same 'conversation' with the mail server. (Huh?)
4. Tybalt needs to chill out a little. (Am I supposed to be taking a hint?)
5. Tybalt needs more lens flare. (I think my laser eyes are just fine, thanks.)
6. Tybalt needs a spanking too. (Only from my mommy, and she never spanks me!)
7. Tybalt needs to create his own interpretation. ( I thought I did that every Friday.)
8. [Your] Tybalt needs to be big, tall, scary, and the best stage fighter in your company. (I prefer to be floofy, romantic, and a passable kitty wrestler, but thanks for the advice.)
9. Tybalt needs to protect his family's honor. (Of course, that is my job as the mancat.)
10. Tybalt needs to read what I wrote a little more clearly. (I'll do the best I can.)
11. Tybalt needs a hug. (Well, I can always use one.)
12. Tybalt needs a girl to meow in bed. (WHAT THE PAW?!?!)
13. Tybalt needs thoughts, idle or otherwise. (That's what the comments are for!)
    

Wordless Wednesday - The Eyes Have It

Tortie Tuesday Tattles

Today we have an old picture of us up from last winter.

Why?

Because mommy has been attacked by the evil migraine monster again!

This is one of the worst ones she's had in years. She was out from work yesterday with it (and absent from helping us blog!), but she's back at work today. She had to be, because apparently there is something going on called a "staff retreat" that mommy thinks is silly and a waste of time, but the people in charge think it is very important and you can only be excused from attending it if you are dead. Mommy feels like death, but we guess feeling like death isn't close enough to actually being dead to excuse her.

We all had a great day yesterday snuggling mommy and purring on her, but we wanted to let you all know that we are still here and we love you all. Mommy won't be able to help us visit anyone until tomorrow. Sigh.

Happy Tortie Tuesday, everykitty!

Friday Movie Review - An American Tail

Today I have a very special Reader's Request, because it doesn't come from a kitty! It comes from a bean named Jason who lives like a squillion miles away. He is my mommy's friend. They instant message each other lots. I don't know much about him, because I've never talked to him or met him, but I know he is a math major in college and he has a doggie named Hunter. And he reads my movie reviews! I feel honored that someone outside of our kitty blogging world pays attention to my blog, so I thought I would review his movie for him today. Jason wanted me to review "An American Tail," because he was interested to know what a kitty's opinion of it would be.

An American Tail (1986)
Directed By: Don Bluth
Written By: Judy Freudberg

This story is about Fievel Mousekewitz and his adventure as his family immigrates from Russia to the United States. The Mousekewitz family decides to leave their homeland because they are being terrorized by the Russian kitties, and they have heard that there are no kitties in America. As they travel across the ocean in their boat, Fievel is washed overboard during a terrible storm and is separated from his family. Luckily, Fievel survives and lands ashore near the Statue of Liberty. Fievel manages to make some new friends quickly, and begins his search for his family.

Kitties, if your mommy is as weepy as my mommy is, you may not be able to watch this movie with them. My mommy can't watch without getting upset and leaky-eyed. Also, if you aren't willing to admit that maybe some kitties are less than perfect furries, you probably shouldn't watch this movie either. There is really only one decent and friendly kitty in this movie, a ginger mancat named Tiger. Other than him, kitties are portrayed as bad and evil furries. I suppose this might be fair from a mousie's perspective, but it certainly doesn't feel good to see your furry kind cast in the role of evil and corrupt despots.

If you can overlook the slur to all of kitty-kind, this is a great movie. It is based, of course, on the surge of immigration to America from Russia in the early 20th century. The kitties represent the corrupt and tyrannical aspects of government/society, both in Russia and in the United States at that time. For any bean or kitty who is in to History as much as my mommy is, you will enjoy watching the parallels. This movie is not only safe but is also educational for sticky little beans, kittens, and puppies. However, I have to warn you that some bits are a little bit scary, and parts of it are super upsetting, like when Fievel is first separated from his family.

I give "An American Tail" two paws up and a chirp for being not only family friendly, but providing a unique perspective of bean history. (I also throw in one little hiss for not having more nice kitties in the film.)

And don't forget that the movie gave us this great song!
Click here for a clip featuring "Somewhere Out There"
(Be prepared to get leaky-eyed.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In other news, I almost forgot to thank Karen Jo for giving me this totally pawsome award! Karen Jo has a great blog devoted to limericks for us kitties, and she is a very caring and creative ladybean. That's why it means so much to me that she gave me this award because she enjoys visiting and reading my blog. Wow, Karen Jo, you are the best!