Category Archives: family

Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (A Rooster with Many Eggs)

animation, comedy, family, movies, , , ,

Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos, directed by Gabriel Riva Palaico Alatriste, comes in Spanish and English, A Rooster With many Eggs.  The animated movie is not a compelling story, yet it’s not really bad either.  The characters are lovable with lots of slapstick humor.  The story takes a unique approach by being lively, entertaining, and mildly titillating, without due seriousness, and a lot fun with innuendos and double-entendres.

The movie follows an apprehensive little rooster named Toto, voiced by Bruno Bichir. His is challenged with confronting and handling an evil rancher. He threatens to purchase and tear down Toto’s family farm. The farm has been in the family for generations.   Toto’s challenge is to fight Bankivoide, voiced by Sergio Sendel, a mammoth rooster. The cockfight will end with the winner-take-all stakes. Feeling the pressure of such an unconquerable task, Toto cannot face the ordeal alone, so he asks his pals for help. Strangely, his pals are a frog, mucho huvevos and a strip of bacon. Can they conquer Banki and keep his family’s farm.

As mentioned earlier, the movie is filled with innuendos and to some extent racy humor compared to customary animated feature. Easily, the Spanish jokes are lost in the English translation since it is primarily written for the Mexican audience.  As an English speaking viewer, I still found a genuine amount of jokes that hit my funny bone. The characters are over the top on the ludicrous side, but the charm is their saving grace. Such as the favorable-intended frog, he earns a lot of laughs.

A Horse Tale

drama, family, movies, romance, , , , , ,

horsetaleDirected by Brad Keller, A Horse Tale received the Dove “Family-Approved” Seal for all ages.  The story follows a typical uptight city accountant, Michael Thompson, played by Patrick Muldoon. He is raising his daughter by himself and is over protective. His daughter, Chloe, played by Mandalynn Carlson, has an unpleasant incident at school, and her dad stresses out. So much so that his assistant recommends they move to her Uncle Cliff’s horse farm. Her uncle needs help with the books, anyway, before the merciless bankers take the farm away from them.  With Christmas coming up, it is a perfect time to visit the family and help save the horse farm.

Cliff, played by Rick Herod, is grateful for Michael’s help. But, Samantha (Sam), played by Dominique Swain, is in charge of running the farm. She has a hard time with the idea of a city guy stepping in to help. Sam is not interested in any assistance from an outsider. They smooth over the rough edges, and decide working together is the best way to avoid losing the farm.

The story is predictable.  But, it is a good family movie because it promotes getting in touch with your family and working together toward a common goal. It also touches on the importance of accepting help when you are trying to overcome a problem. The movie even offers a message to parents: No matter how hard it may seem, let your children grow up and be in command of their own lives. Be willing to let them make mistakes on their own.