For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/15/06
Have a movie buff on your Christmas list? Try pairing movie tickets or a corresponding DVD with one of these film-related gift ideas.*
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| Rocky Electronic Boxing Gloves will warm the hands and hearts of fight fans with some cool music and dialogue. | ||
 CHRIS HUNT/Staff | ||
| Wilbur (left) and Gussy of 'Charlotte's Web' can get a few hugs as soft dolls. | ||
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YO, MERRY CHRISTMAS
As our favorite southpaw steps back in the ring for "Rocky Balboa" (opening next Wednesday) there's plenty of "Rocky"-related gifts out there to throw a left hook at your wallet. Slip on a pair of Rocky Electronic Boxing Gloves (Jakks Pacific, $19.99), and it's rematch time. Includes two padded mitts. Smack the right glove and hear "Rocky" theme music. Smack the left for punching sounds and dialogue like "You're a tank, kid!" Remember, keep it clean. No punching below the belt.
THE FORCE TRANSFORMED
The "Transformers" movie promises to be one of the biggest flicks of summer '07. And "Star Wars" is, well, "Star Wars." The two pop culture giants come together with "Star Wars" Transformers action figures. Characters like Darth Vader, Boba Fett and General Grievous turn into their respective vehicles (Hasbro, $14.99 each). What will they think of next?
GET TRIVIAL
Who says movie trivia is useless knowledge? Scene It? The DVD Game is a line of interactive DVD board games. There are several speciality versions for various types of films and film franchises, like the Turner Classic Movies booster pack. A couple of the new releases include the Scene It? Deluxe Marvel Edition and the Scene It? James Bond Collector's Edition (Screenlife, $49.95 each). Both come in fancy collector's tins. Slide the DVD into a player, lay out the game board, and get it on. Movie clips help players answer questions. The Deluxe Marvel Edition tests your noggin of Marvel comics and movie trivia from super hero films including "Spider-man" and "Fantastic Four." The Bond game features onscreen challenges and trivia from 21 Bond movies, including the latest "Casino Royale." Two or more players can play.
FOOD FIGHT!
Fans of the "Eragon" books by Christopher Paolini and the film (opening today) can eat their lunch in sword-slinging style. This decorative lunch box (Rix Tins, $11.99) features the cast on the outside. But that's not all. Killer decorative images are on the inside, too — the perfect backdrop for a PBJ sans crust.
AY, LITTLE MATEYS
Captain Jack Sparrow looks way cool helming the Black Pearl in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." Wish you could do the same? You can, sort of. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" Ultimate Black Pearl Playset (Zizzle, $49.99) is more than two feet long, loaded with detail, lights and nine sound effects. Cool features include a firing cannon and trap door. It's hard to find, but we located some at www.toyrocket.com and on eBay.
"MUSEUM" TOUR
For kids going ga-ga in anticipation of "Night at the Museum" (opening Dec. 22), slide some tickets to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (767 Clifton Road, N.E., Atlanta) under the tree. A value pass includes museum admission and one Imax film ($17 adults; $15 students and seniors; $13 kids 12 and under). Fernbank has plenty of hands-on activities and the dinosaur-laden Giants of the Mesozoic exhibit in its 86-foot-tall atrium. Although the mammoth dinosaurs won't spring to life, we can dream. Feel like Ben Stiller yet?
PEDAL TO METAL
Electric toy race tracks are Christmas morning staples. With the "Cars" Piston Cup 500 Track Set (Mattel, $36.99), kids and parents can re-create the climatic race scene from Disney/Pixar's "Cars." It includes 12 feet of oval track and side-by-side racing. Drive characters Lightning McQueen, the King and Chick Murphy around the turns and down the straightaways. Watch out for the pop-up crash car.
AS TIME GOES BY
2007 promises to be a classic year — at least if you mark time with the Turner Classic Movies Presents the Essentials calendar (TCM Archives, $13.99). It features fetching photography, movie poster images, synopses and trivia about 12 of the most, well, essential, films of all time, including "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "Forbidden Planet" and "Cimarron."
CUBIST COMEBACK
Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character in "The Pursuit of Happyness" (opening today), is such a smartie, he makes quick work of a Rubik's Cube. The rest of us mere mortals are left to be confounded by the dang-blasted puzzle's 43 quintillion possible combinations. Proving that everything old can be new again, this low-tech block from Hasbro (3-inch-square version, $9.99) is back, baby, after 25 years.
"WEB" OF CUTENESS
Wilbur the pig and Gussy the goose, hitting screens at a megaplex near you starting today in "Charlotte's Web," make for utterly huggable Ty Beanie Babies ($8.99). These way-soft dolls may be only 8 inches tall, but they're towering figures in the imagination of kids everywhere. And to work those developing noggins, consider the 100-piece "Charlotte's Web" puzzle ($7.95, Milton Bradley) for ages 5 and up, showing Charlotte (looking little like Dakota Fanning) holding Wilbur, surrounded by some of her other animal pals.
MUMBLE'S ON THE LINE
"Happy Feet" has racked up stunning numbers at the box office, earning more than $139 million at American box offices (as of Tuesday) in only 26 days of release. And now we've got the number of its breakout star, Mumble the dancing penguin — or at least a play phone with his winning mug and voice. The "Happy Feet" Talking Camera Phone ($8.99, Thinkway Toys) flips open and also offers dialing and ringing sound effects. Ages 4 and up will flip for it. Another stocking-stuffer idea for small-fry: the "Happy Feet" Plush Notebook ($7.99, Jakks Pacific Flying Colors), penguin shaped and with two dry-erase mini markers and six dry-erase activity sheets.
* Most of these items can be found at toy and department stores and online at sites including amazon.com; listed prices are suggested retail.
