Posted on May 17th, 2011
Suess-ian Rhymes and Animal Fun
Written by Tracey C. Velt
Full disclosure: My daughter, Sofia, 5, is not a movie go-er. We’ve never been to a movie (including Tangled and Hop) without her asking to leave at least six times, despite me plying her with popcorn and slushy drinks. So, the first thing I did before committing to see Animalopolis was check to see how long it was. Ahh… bliss, only 45 minutes. Turns out, Sofia didn’t ask to leave even once.
Animalopolis is the summer movie at the Orlando Science Center and the first written specifically for the toddler and preschool set. Directed by Tim Huntley, the film premiered May 14 and features a variety of animals on the huge Dr. Phillips CineDome screen. What makes this movie perfect for the younger set is the larger-than-life animals and the Dr. Seuss-like rhyming used to describe the habits of hippos, bears, crabs and more. It’s funny and the music and singing animals make for some hand-clapping fun at parts.
The CineDome seriously makes it feel like you’re in the grass with the lions and skimming the water like the birds. In fact, Sofia even asked me if we were still in Orlando.
Sofia laughed out loud at the operatic lion and was spooked by the thousands of crabs that literally take over a town (they never say what town.) I mean the crabs were everywhere — in the soccer goals, on doorsteps, crawling across the sports fields and in parking lots. It was creepy. She also was captivated with the cheetahs and how fast they went.
I think the movie was just the right length, short and sweet. While Sofia loved it, she wasn’t sad to see it end, which is just what you want. The movie is best for the 4- to 8-year old set as there are some intense thunderstorm scenes and the crabs are a little eerie.
For more information, visit www.animalopolisfilm.com. For a schedule of show times, visit www.osc.org.
