Florida is nicknamed the Sunshine State, but over the past few weeks it has been everything BUT sunny.  Rain and storms consumed our morning, afternoon and evenings. This was actually the perfect time to pull out the Redbox Summer Family Fun kit and watch some great movies from Redbox!  The kit contained many selections geared for boys and girls of all ages.  They loved watching movie after movie on a stormy day.  It was a good thing they had all those snacks in kit too, because I sure didn’t want to run out to the store during the pouring rain. The popcorn and the mini M & M’s were a perfect combination of sweet and salty snacks.

Very interested in their Redbox Movies

The Movies (all from Phase 4 Films):

Kiara the Brave is about a Princess whose quest is to get her father back on the throne.  She must fight all kinds of evil to accomplish this task so it takes children on a magical ride throughout Dreamzone.  It is a fun and adventurous movie. This movie is Rated PG and runs for 80 minutes.

Space Dogs is a quirky movie that sends two dogs into space.  This is based on a true story from the 1960’s.  The two dogs become the most famous canines due to their out of this world adventure.  This movie is rated G and is 88 minutes long.

Donkey X is about a true story of brave donkey who joins the legendary Don Quixote on his quest to battle the Half Moon Knight.  Together they experience many dangerous adventures and hurdles what seems to be the most difficult of obstacles!  This movie is rated PG and runs for 90 minutes.

Smitty is about a 13 year old boy named Ben that likes to get into trouble.  His mom is struggling with being a single parent and decides to send Ben to his Grandfather’s farm for the summer.  His grandfather gets him a dog named Jack from an animal shelter in hopes that he will find the true meaning of friendship and responsibility.  This 94 minute movie is a wonderful movie for the whole family and is rated PG.

Rock Stars will be released in August of 2012 and has been nominated for the Robert Award for Best Children and Family Film of 2012.  It is about two earthworms who become the World’s Greatest disco stars because they were sick of being at the bottom of the food chain.  Who knew that without legs and arms that an earthworm could boogie so well!  This film is 78 minutes of the most fun boogie stars of all time! It is Rated PG.

I Heart Shakey is another movie about a dog that teaches some of life’s most valuable lessons.  This is great family movie about loyalty and the importance of families sticking together through the rough times. It runs for 102 minutes and is rated PG.

My Friend Bernard is about a boy named Sam who is quite shy and afraid of everything until he meets a man with a magical pendant.  This pendant has all the answers along with his friend Bernard the Polar Bear. Together they come face to face with monsters but battle them with humor.  This film has not yet been rated and runs 70 minutes and will be released in August of 2012.

Freddy Frogface was released in July of 2012 with a run time of 85 minutes.  It is rated PG.  Victor is a ten year old boy that just wants to perform in the talent show with his dog, Sausage.  Freddy Frogface is the town bully that comes up with a plan to spoil Victor’s shot in the Circus’s talent show.

The House of Cards was incredibly interesting watching all the kids with their ideas on how to make the structure sturdier.  Of course as a homeschool mom, we had to turn it into a science experiment to discover which method of laying the cards created the strongest structure.

The older children gave up quite early on in the task while the littler ones were determined to try and get past the 4 card foundation they had made.  My older son, Adam came up with the idea to use the flannel blanket from the kit to try and make the surface less-slippery. That idea worked well.  The biggest challenge was trying to keep the table from moving but with a curious 20 month old on the loose that was a near impossible task.

Most of the movies above come with downloadable activities, trailers and special features like the Making of the movies and slide shows.  These add so much more to your movie watching activities!

Don’t forget to checkout the Redbox Family Fun contest – every time you choose a movie in the Family Fun category, you can enter your email address for a chance at some great prizes like Round trip airfare tickets for 4 to Toronto for a chance for a walk on role on Nick Jr.’s Dino Dan show, a 4 Day West Coast Princess Cruise for 4 with round trip air fare or a seven day vacation for 4 to the Kennedy Space Station! How awesome is that?!!

-Written by Leanne Palma, mother of 8 and chicken wrangler.

Disclosure: A Family Fun Basket with all of the movies and snacks was provided by Child’s Play Communications. All opinions are my own. This blog uses affiliate links.