Detroit Newspapers in Education

A summer movie feast: Harry Potter to G.I. Joe

Summer movies are like a buffet feast or salad bar at a popular restaurant.

There are lots of things to choose from, but which will be any good?

Thats the question fans face each year when movie companies roll out their biggest and flashiest attractions for the summer months.

Millions of dollars are spent making these movies, but which will deliver a good time for viewers?

For kids and families, Star Trek, Up and a new Night at the Museum are already drawing thousands of fans.

But the big attractions are still to come: A new Ice Age, a new Transformers, a new Harry Potter and G.I. Joe.

Not to mention G-Force, a 3-D blend of animation and live action starring three trained guinea pigs as government agents!

If past ticket sales are an indication, any summer with a Harry Potter movie is going to be successful for movie theaters.

This years Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth movie based on J.K. Rowlings popular wizard hero, and the previous five have sold nearly $4.5 BILLION in tickets around the world.

Half-Blood Prince again finds Harry doing battle with the forces of the evil Voldemort, but also battling problems any kid faces when becoming a teenager.

Since many readers felt Half-Blood was Rowlings best book, expectations are high for the movie.

Action, action, action

In addition to great stories, movie-goers love action in their summer entertainment.

This year, kids and families will have plenty to choose from.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the second live-action movie based on the popular action-figure toys, so audiences can expect some wild battles between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Also inspired by a toy is G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. G.I. Joe figures have been popular since they were introduced in 1964, but this is the first time they have been featured in a live-action movie. In this adventure, Joe and his team of agents take on a weapons dealer threatening the world.

For those who like their action with a touch of humor, G-Force offers a spy adventure with 3-D special effects and guinea pigs in leading roles. Its hard not to smile when furry heroes are chasing the bad guys.

Animation to come

For some families, summer isnt summer without animated movies.

Pixars instantly popular Up got the summer season off to a soaring start, and more animated films are coming out soon.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the third animated movie following the adventures of Sid the sloth, Scrat the squirrel and friends. In this one, Sid finds a nest of dinosaur eggs while Scrat finds romance.

Also on tap for animation fans is Ponyo, an English-language version of the Japanese anim￩ film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Its the story of a goldfish that wants to be human and features the voices of film stars Matt Damon and Tina Fey, plus Noah Cyrus, younger sister of Miley.

Talk About the News

Fast action, flashy stunts and battles between good and evil appeal to summer movie audiences. What things appeal to you as summer entertainment? With classmates, talk about movies you would like to see, events you would like to attend or activities you would like to try. What appeals to you about each one? Do you like this type of entertainment at other times of year, or only in summer?

Learning Standard: Engaging peers in constructive conversation about matters of public concern by clarifying issues, considering opposing views, applying democratic values, anticipating consequences and working toward making decisions.

Explore Your e-Edition

Moviemakers get ideas from all sorts of places, including comics and books. This year, two movies were inspired by toys: G.I. Joe and Transformers. Look through the ads of the e-Edition to find a product or toy you could build a movie around. Brainstorm an idea for a plot and come up with a creative title for your movie.

Learning Standard: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students personal lives and the lives of others.

Newspaper stories can provide ideas for movie plots. The movie The Soloist, for example, was inspired by a newspaper writers columns about a musician who was living on the street. Pick a story from todays e-Edition that could be turned into a movie. Write a short outline for the opening scene, based on what is in the story. Design an e-Edition ad to make people want to see your movie.

Learning Standards: Reading and writing fluently, speaking confidently, listening and interacting appropriately, viewing critically and representing creatively; writing fluently for multiple purposes.

Summer movies are a great way to practice math with big numbers. Look for news about ticket sales in the e-Edition this week. If the average ticket price is $8 today, use a calculator to figure out how many tickets were sold for the top movie last weekend. Think up two other movie math problems to share with a classmate.

Learning Standards: Acquiring information from multiple sources and then evaluating, organizing and communicating it in various contexts; using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve problems.

How Well Did You Read?

Understanding what you read is a skill that will help you all through life. Review the story about summer movies by answering the questions below.

1. Harry Potter movies have been hugely successful in the past. How much money have they earned on ticket sales around the world?

A. Nearly $4.5 million.
B. Nearly $4.5 billion.
C. Nearly $45 billion.
D. None of the above.

2. Which of the following is NOT an animated film?

A. Up.
B. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
C. G.I. Joe.
D. Ponyo.

3. Two movies this summer are based on action-figure toys. They are:

A. G.I. Joe and Ice Age.
B. G.I. Joe and Transformers.
C. Transformers and Ice Age.
D. Ice Age and Ponyo.

4. According to the story, the movie Ponyo involves:

A. A goldfish.
B. A squirrel.
C. A sloth.
D. B and C.

5. According to the story, the movie G-Force offers audiences:

A. 3-D special effects.
B. Humor.
C. Guinea pigs as heroes.
D. All of the above.

ANSWERS: 1-B. 2-C. 3-B. 4-A. 5-D.

e-News Plus is written by Hollister Kids