Detroit Newspapers in Education

Animation and family fun mark 2008 holiday movies

According to a famous song, there's no place like home for the holidays.

Unless it's the movie theater this year.

Movies coming out for the holidays between now and the end of December are homier than home, with family stories, family dogs and family fun at every turn.

Not that every movie is homey -- there are science fiction thrillers, a James Bond adventure and even war stories on the schedule, too.

But the 2008 holiday movie season is rich in stories that families can see together, talk about and even learn from.

Six of them are animated features -- full-length cartoons with colorful characters and the voices of favorite stars like Miley Cyrus, John Travolta and Matthew Broderick, as well as "Harry Potter" movie veterans Emma Watson (Hermione) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid).

The animated African adventure "Madagascar 2" opened in theaters at the start of this month and quickly established its popularity with $63 million in ticket sales the first weekend.

"Madagascar 2" will be joined in theaters November 21 by "Bolt," a Disney feature about a lost puppy TV star who finds his way home with the help of some unfamous friends (and the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus).

In December four more animations will be competing for viewers, headed by "The Tale of Despereaux," which features Emma Watson; "Delgo," a fantasy about uniting a divided world; "$9.99," a story of a man who finds the meaning of life; and "Opus: The Last Christmas," a film based on the newspaper comic strip.

The star-packed "Despereaux" (DES-pair-OH) is a modern fairy tale featuring a brave mouse who loves to read, an unhappy princess who needs his help and a rascally rat who becomes a villain.

"Delgo" offers a fantasy adventure in which a teenage dreamer is forced to find a way to unite a world that is divided between people who live on land and those who rule the skies, but need to come together to defeat a common enemy.

Money season

Ever since "Titanic" opened at Christmas in 1997 and went on to become the biggest money-maker ever (at $1.8 billion), movie companies have looked at the winter holidays as a huge source of income.

They've stretched the traditional Thanksgiving-to-New Year holiday season all the way back to Halloween, and each year they line up some of the biggest stars to attract viewers.

They have invested millions of dollars in the hope of making millions more.

Last year, holiday movies were second only to summer movies in earning their share of the year's $9.6 billion total for ticket sales.

Learning from dogs

One of the most eagerly awaited holiday movies this year is not an animation but the story of a dog.

A very loveable, but very bad, dog.

"Marley & Me" is based on a true story of a man and his wife who get a misbehaving puppy as a pet.

But the couple, played by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, discover they learn as much from the pooch as from each other.

Talk About the News

Animated movies combine the storytelling of movies with the creativity of art. The result is a colorful kind of movie that can appeal to both kids and adults. As a class, talk about animated movies you have seen recently and when you were younger. What did you like best about them? Did the things you like change as you got older? What does animation give a movie that live actors and action do not?

Learning Standard: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about matters of public concern by clarifying issues, considering opposing views, applying democratic values, anticipating consequences and working toward making decisions.

Explore Your e-Edition

Animated movies have been a hit with families ever since Walt Disney put "Snow White" on the big screen in 1937. Follow the success of holiday animated movies in the weekly "Box Office" movie reports in the e-Edition. Make a bar graph showing ticket sales for each movie. Write a paragraph predicting which animated movie you think will be the most popular for the holidays, and why.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it; organizing information in charts, graphs and tables.

Holiday movies are a great way to practice math with big numbers. Look for news about movie ticket sales in the e-Edition this week. If the average ticket price is $7 today, use a calculator to figure how many tickets were sold for the top movie last weekend. Think up two other movie math problems to share with a friend.

Learning Standards: Using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve problems.

Both "Despereaux" and "Delgo" explore how people from humble backgrounds rise to overcome obstacles and help others. In the e-Edition, find a story about someone who came from a humble background or overcame obstacles to achieve success. Write a paragraph describing how the person achieved success -- and why.

Learning Standards: Identifying and explaining how a people in history demonstrate good character and personal virtue; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

How Well Did You Read?

Understanding what you read is a skill that will help you all through life. Review the story about this year's holiday movies by answering the questions below.

1. According to the story, which of these holiday movies opened at theaters first?

A. "Bolt."
B. "The Tale of Despereaux."
C. "Madagascar 2."
D. "Delgo."

2. Miley Cyrus provides the voice for a character in an animated holiday movie. Which movie?

A. "Bolt."
B. "The Tale of Despereaux."
C. "$9.99."
D. "Delgo."

3. According to the story, the holiday movie season now starts:

A. On Thanksgiving Day
B. On Christmas Day.
C. As early as Halloween.
D. On November 21.

4. How much did people spend on movie tickets last year?

A. $63 million.
B. $100 million.
C. $1.8 billion.
D. $9.6 billion.

5. According to the story, "Marley & Me" is about:

A. A cartoon dog.
B. A real-life dog.
C. A mouse.
D. A TV-star puppy.

ANSWERS: 1-C. 2-A. 3-C. 4-D. 5-B.

e-News Plus is written by Hollister Kids