While the “unofficial” start of summer to much of the country may be Memorial Day, if you are anything like me, the REAL start of summer is the release of the Disney animated feature each June. Living in New Jersey, where school seems to drag through ALL of June, the movie is always the bellwether of freedom to my children.
This year, we are all tremendously excited for the release of Disney/PIXAR’s BRAVE. One of my daughters has been sporting a “Scottish” accent (I use that term loosely) for several weeks now, continuously asking me if I could change my fate, “would you?”
In the midst of the anticipation, we have found four fun ways to embrace the anticipation of the movie–and thought I would share them with you!
Play Castleville on Facebook: The online game represents yet another tantalizing preview of what Disney online gaming could become (see my earlier review of the Facebook game Disney’s Animal Kingdom Explorers.) The game of Castleville challenges players to create their own royal dominion by completing a series of challenges. Last week, the game debuted a cross-over activity with Disney, featuring eight challenges that incorporated Merida and her royal environment. While I am not a Castleville player, it would be a fun way for the young adult (or young-at-heart adult) to develop excitement for the movie’s release!
Go to Subway for lunch: In their crossover promotion with Subway, Disney has reusable Brave lunch bags for kids now. Within the bag there are individualized codes one can enter online to win from a series of prizes, including free tickets to see the movie! We stopped by today to pick up lunches for tomorrow’s half-day of school (yay!), and I was surprised to discover we had, in fact, won a free ticket!
Go to the movies: It might sound counter-intuitive, but when we went to the theater this past weekend to see an animated feature from ANOTHER production company that shall remain nameless, we were delighted to discover a BRAVE scavenger hunt set up in the lobby. Families were challenged to find images of the young triplets from the movie hidden throughout the lobby. In the end, there really wasn’t much challenge, as the triplets were EVERYWHERE, but my kids loved racing through the lobby, and they took pride in the sticker they “won” for achieving the feat.
Read the Digital Books!: I will be offering a review of these later this week, but consider downloading to your iPad a copy of the Brave: Storybook Deluxe or Brave Interactive Comic. Available through Disney Publishing, these are fun ways to preview the storyline with your family! (Disclaimer: We were provided with a review copy of both apps from Disney Publishing.)
We will continue to celebrate the spirit of BRAVE throughout this week, including simple and valuable family ideas for bringing the spirit of BRAVE home, a suggested meal for the day you go to see BRAVE, and a review of the digital books that have been produced.
And PLEASE–let us know what you think of the movie!
