Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is not a Harry Potter spell. In fact, it comes from the award-winning, “Practically Perfect” musical, Mary Poppins! For the first time, Disney’s Mary Poppins is touring all around the USA. I was thrilled when Mary Poppins flew into LA!

The lights dimmed. The curtains lifted. And the musical began, sweeping me away into the superlative world of Mary Poppins. The show did an unbelievable job capturing my mind and turning the magic of Mary Poppins from page to screen to stage! 

How do Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh set up a three-story house on stage every night? The Banks’ house opens up just like a pop-up dollhouse on Cherry Tree Lane. It is obvious that the creative team works together beautifully; the sound design and quick background changes are most impressive. Mary Poppins flying over the audiences’ heads with her hefty umbrella and handbag is impeccable. My favorite special effect takes place in the kitchen, where a little catastrophe happens – tables break, plates roll, and kitchen utensils clatter to the ground.

The costumes are bright, colorful, eye-catching, and simply gorgeous. With more than 200 costumes (not even counting the props), I guess the ensemble has to change from costume to costume at supersonic speed! 

The bizarre dance numbers are complex, outstanding, and make the audience want to join in! The cast’s enthusiasm is extremely contagious, and the whole house buzzed with energy. One of the most amazing stunts of the musical is Nicolas Dromard (Bert), a multitalented actor, tap-dancing upside-down on the ceiling of the theater in “Step in Time!”

Another fantastic number is “Supercalifragilistic.” The entire audience claps along with the beat. It is a wondrous sight to see the entire cast spell out all 34 letters with their precise hand gestures! The lively orchestra and the choreography rejuvenate and communicate the infectious enthusiasm, with the spirit of the cast pulsing and thrumming as if they gulp down “A Spoonful of Sugar!”

There are also new musical numbers added that aren’t in the film – an extra little treat for the audience. “Practically Perfect” and “Anything Can Happen” are two of my favorite newbies.

The acting is superb, and I was delighted to see the kids in the role of Jane and Michael Banks, two spoiled, nasty, and mischievous kids. Camille Mancuso (Jane Banks) and Tyler Merna (Michael Banks) sing their hearts out with excellent voices. 

And of course, let’s not forget the phenomenal nanny - Steffanie Leigh as Mary Poppins certainly bring the magic alive from the film! Turning work into play, chores into games, and everyday into a splendiferous escapade – what a high-flying, magical extravaganza! 

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a world parallel yet so mystical to our own. Mary Poppins is a sprightly musical that is not to be missed!

Check out my interview with Nicolas Dromard and the kid stars of Mary Poppins! 

—Kid Reporter Cassandra Hsiao

Photo: (left to right) Steffanie Leigh as Mary Poppins, Talon Ackerman as Michael Banks, and Camille Mancuso as Jane Banks perform “Practically Perfect.” National Tour Company of Mary Poppins. (Credit: ©Disney/CML.  Photo by Joan Marcus)

Behind the scenes of movie magic

The first thing you know as you approach the Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) studio is that this isn’t your average office building. A giant grey fountain is placed before an unassuming door, a statue of Yoda sitting peacefully near the spigot. A tiny door leads into the building itself, which immediately turns into a large front room. There you can see a whole wall shelved with gleaming awards that the company has received for their work in films. They’re guarded by two life-size statues of Star Wars figures, Darth Vader glancing beadily through his plastic eye sockets as if to give anybody who dares to think about touching the glittering awards the evil eye.

My dad and I came to ILM to tour the studio and meet one of the animators who worked on the movie Rango, which is ILM’s first fully-animated film. Our guide was named Brooke, and the first thing she does is take me into the screening room.

“Do you want to sit where George Lucas usually sits?” she asks me, referring to the creator of the Star Wars movies. I nod in a slow trace- surprised at the fact that Brooke even knew where George Lucas sat much less remembered. I couldn’t help but think she must have been a die-hard fan.

I think she saw the confusion in my face. She smiled and tells me the reason she remembers where he sits is because they have attached a small laser-like light to the ceiling of the theater, and its thin beam is right above the seat of the director himself. She offers me the seat and the lights start to dim.

After watching a highlight reel of the various films ILM has worked on, Brooke leads me up the elevator to another set of rooms. I should mention that along the way she stops and pauses at multiple movie posters and props, full of interesting facts and secrets. She leads me into a small workroom where a whole wall is devoted to a giant screen. There I see the familiar, unforgettable face of Rango  peering at me with a blank expression. I also notice a man surrounded by laptops and projectors.

He introduces himself as Kevin Martel, part of the animation department. He explains to me a little bit about the animation process and then he does the unthinkable — he actually lets me animate Rango! Okay, maybe it’s more like me moving the mouse to his careful directions. It turns out that you have to make 24 frames of animation for a single second of footage.

That’s second, not minute. Just imagine how many frames it takes for just an hour-long movie. (That’s 86,400 for those of you who don’t feel like doing the math!)

In the end I excruciatingly chug my way through about 24 frames, pretending not to notice when Kevin helpfully edits some parts of Rango that look a little bit funky. In the end, I get him in one second to jump up and down while holding his arm in a Michael Jackson-esque pose. I am proud of myself.

Next, Kevin takes me down to where he actually works. It turns out that associate animation supervisors don’t get any bigger space then the other guys, and the room we were in is generally used for presentations. The cubicles down where the animation actually gets done look a lot more like a normal office. But the similarities end when I see the toys. Well, action figures. They litter the walls and are painstakingly categorized. A whole shelf full of Transformers on one side. Kevin has a nice array of muscle men.

My dad mentions to Kevin and the other animators in close range that I went to Pixar for Cars 2. This scares me a little when he says this because I’m afraid that the animators won’t be too happy about that. I thought Pixar and ILM are competitors. But the animators’ response is surprising. They nod their heads, and one says “Pixar? I bet it was like living in a treehouse.”

He doesn’t say it in an offensive way, and it’s kind of true. Pixar is a very clean, sterile, and pretty place with their own little restaurant and coffee shop. But somehow the charm of ILM is more endearing and real.

Check out my story about how ILM made Rango on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website! 

—Kid Reporter Mimi Evans

Photo: Director/Producer Gore Verbinski (standing) behind the scenes on Rango, from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. (Credit: Greg Grusby / Industrial Light & Magic © 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.)

A baseball fanatic’s first Hall of Fame induction weekend

"Practice, practice, practice, practice, and more practice! Don’t ever quit!” former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Bill Mazeroski chuckled as he told me what it took for him to be a Hall of Fame baseball player. Already a diehard baseball fan, my experience as a member of the media during the Hall of Fame weekend helped me appreciate our national pastime even more.

The day before the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, many Hall of Famers played golf at the Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown, New York.

At the golf course, I met and talked with several of these baseball legends, including Holland-born Bert Blyleven, who, after 14 years of being eligible, was finally being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Being born in Holland and just learning the game at nine, you never imagine this. I feel very fortunate,” he told me.

Soon after, Sandy Alomar, the father of new inductee Roberto Alomar, gave the reason for his son’s successes: “Whatever achievement that Roberto got is because of his hard work and the respect and discipline that he had for the game.”

Next, I met Jeff Idelson, the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. To a baseball fanatic like me, that’s the greatest job in the world!

I grew more impressed as Jeff described his “dream job” to me.

“I do a lot of fundraising for the museum, I build partnerships with companies and individuals, I spend a lot of time visiting our Hall of Famers, and I stage a lot of special events both here and around the United States,” he shared.

Jeff also suggested a way for Major League Baseball (MLB) to attract more young fans.

“What MLB can do is to have a much stronger presence in social media,” he said. “I’d like to see players more accessible on Facebook and Twitter, and I think that MLB can encourage contacts through social networking.”

The next day, my dad and I were two of the 17,500 people in attendance for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. But before we took our seats, I stumbled upon the greatest baseball fan alive: the affable Homer Osterhoudt.

Now in his 90s, Homer has attended EVERY induction ceremony since the inaugural celebration in 1939, only missing the four years in which he proudly served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Homer, a longtime resident of Cooperstown, is happy with his town’s evolution over the years.

“Being from a small town and meeting all those dignitaries, I mean wow! In ’39, it was quite a thing for a small town like this one to get so many people,” Homer told me.

During the ceremony, I was awed by the overwhelming number of Alomar’s Puerto Rican and Canadian followers and by the joyous, baseball-crazy atmosphere.

While this was my first Hall of Fame experience, I hope to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Homer Osterhoudt and not make it my last!

—Kid Reporter Kevin Agostinelli

Photo: Kid Reporter Kevin Agostinelli interviews baseball superfan Homer Osterhoudt at the 2011 National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Credit: Courtesy Kevin Agostinelli)

My Glamorous Life On The Red Carpet

When people see red carpet coverage on TV, they think it’s utterly and superbly glamorous. But the reality is very different, as I experienced when I was assigned to report from the red carpet premiere of the last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.

The event was held outdoors at Lincoln Center in New York City, on a sweltering hot July afternoon. It was a mob scene! Thousands of fans swarmed the area around the red carpet, which was barricaded off for the movie’s stars, while hundreds of reporters lined the red carpet, pushing, shoving, and vying for the stars’ attention. 

I was the only kid on the red carpet, and I can tell you, it was anything but glamorous. Each media outlet — PBS, ABC, CNN, and scores of other print and video reporters — was assigned to stand in a space the size of a piece of printer paper. For three hours. Sweating. Thirsty. Bigger than their piece of paper. 

And so they started pushing.
 
To borrow a literary theme from Harry Potter, it was Good vs. Evil, and I was playing the role of Good. To my left, Evil’s cameraman, soundman, and producer elbowed me hard—right into Evil’s 7-foot tall Potter-blogger on the other side of me. I was shoved again, only to find Evil #1 occupying most of my paper marker. “Hey,” I thought. “I’m just a kid. Give me a break!”

I had covered a red carpet event before — the movie premiere of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was also chaotic, but nowhere near as crazy as Harry Potter. Meryl Streep — who played the voice of Mrs. Fox — came right over to me and gave me a great quote for my article. She also let me take a picture with her. It was so easy. It was also 60 degrees cooler.

Back at the hot, sweaty Potter press-pack, I waved and yelled at Rupert Grint, and pleaded with his publicist to ask one question. And then he started walking toward me. Hooray! I asked him how he felt about the end of playing Harry’s best friend, Ron.

“It really is like saying goodbye to a friend,” Rupert told me. “Ron is kind of—I’ve been playing that same character for so long, a character I already felt quite close to. We’ve become this kind of same person, like this Ron-Pert kind of thing,” he said, coining a new name right there in front of me. “It’s gonna be weird not playing him, but he’ll always be a part of me, I think.”

Finally, I got a great quote! It took three hours of sweating and being squeezed to a pulp, but just like in Harry Potter, Good triumphed over Evil! Even in a red carpet line. 

—Kid Reporter Grace McManus

Photo: Grace McManus at the red-carpet premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 in New York. (Photo: Kristen Joerger)

Growing Up With Harry Potter

I can literally say that I’ve grown up with Harry Potter. I was born the year it was published in the U.S. by Scholastic, 1998. I’ve grown up a fan of the series, immersing myself into the brilliant and fantastical world J.K. Rowling has created.

When I was 4 years old, my mom started reading books 1-5 to me every night before I went to bed (books 6 and 7 had not yet been published). This got me hooked, as well helped me get into reading at a young age. Every night I would be excited to hear more of the thrilling adventures of Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione. I can also remember myself anxiously waiting through the opening sequence of the films so I could finally watch the movies on the living room TV.

Ever since, I’ve been a fan of both the books and the movies. I waited in a ridiculously long line to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the day after it came out. (Even though my mom and I both bought our tickets in advance and got there two hours early, we still got bad seats.) I cried when Sirius Black died at the end of Order of the Phoenix. And the image of long lines of fans waiting to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007 remains vivid in my mind.

For a time, though, I had lost my Harry Potter obsession. It wasn’t that I stopped liking the series - I just found myself too busy to get very involved with its heavy fan-base. Yet that all changed upon seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at a screening on the Warner Brothers’ lot. 

The movie really hit a nerve to me for numerous reasons. I think the biggest would probably be Professor Dumbledore’s death at the very end. Not only did the moment come as a shock, since I had not yet read the book, but that scene connected to me on a more personal level. Only about a month before, my own 5th grade teacher had passed away of a heart-attack. Like Dumbledore was to Harry and to Hogwarts, Mr. Landaverde was like a second father to myself and to all of Melrose school, especially his last class of which I am proud to have been included in. There’s real magic in what the series was able to do in making Harry Potter feel so real and relatable. That whole scene was absolutely touching.

The moment I got home — and mom please forgive for this — I began to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until I fell asleep at around midnight. It took me about 4 more days to finish it. Right after that, I read Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series. The book took me about a week to read. At the end of it, I found myself an obsessive Harry Potter fan once more.

Now, on July 15, the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, will be released. For fans, this will be an exciting yet sad time. The journey we have so lovingly ventured is coming to an end. Waiting for the release of the film is nerve-racking. I’m assuming many of us will shed some tears at the end of it. The actors themselves even admitted that they all cried a bit on the last day of shooting.

Harry Potter fans are among the most dedicated of any franchise. We’re a bit stubborn and a bit weird, but we’re proud of it. Hopefully, this last film will be everything the fans wish them to be.

Did you grow up with Harry Potter? What are your memories of the books and movies? Let us know in the comments!

—Kid Reporter Miranda Rector

Photo: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy adventure Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, a Warner Bros. Picturesrelease. (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books has been going on for years. It is a test with teams from each school who try to answer questions from a list of Iowa Children’s Choice Award books. Iowa Children’s Choice Award (ICCA) books are books that are popular children’s stories. Every year, kids from all over Iowa get to vote on a selection of books they like the best if they read at least two on the list.

There are three rounds. The first round is a school round. Teams are made up of 3 students, and each school can have as many teams as students that are interested. The teams from that school go against each other having a paper and pencil test. Only 5th and 6th graders are allowed to be on a team. The teacher or librarian then grades them and whoever gets the highest score moves on to the next round to represent their school.

The second round is a district round. The teams from the schools in the district are at a table. They ask a question to table 1, then 2 and so on. If one of the tables gets it wrong the next table can try and steal. If you get it wrong you do not lose points. The team that wins will represent the district and go against 3 other districts. The rules are the same as the district competition. The team that wins will get a trophy or medal. 

I was lucky to take part in this. I was on a team with two other students. I go to Mark Twain Elementary. I did a paper pencil test with nine other teams. My team and I scored the highest on the test, so we went up against other Bettendorf Schools, including the Bettendorf Middle School 6th graders. 

Going against the other Bettendorf schools in the district was an amazing experience. It was hard, though, because we went against the Bettendorf Middle School 6th graders. My team was winning and the Middle School students were in second place. So, my team and the Middle school team did a last and final round where it was only our teams with 10 questions each. We both had to start back down at zero. We were really close, but the Middle School team won. When they went on to the battle with other district winners they came in first. Now there is a trophy in the public library for the Middle School students.

Our teacher said we must have done a good job if we got close to winning against them. Our librarian awarded us with medals at the end of the year assembly, along with the second place team just from our school. It was a great experience. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

—Kid Reporter Alysa Goethe

Photo: Kid Reporter Alysa Goethe, along with Willow Miller and Malorie Garza, at the Battle of the Books. (Courtesy Alysa Goethe)

Planting a garden with my mom

One of my favorite summer activities that I always look forward to is planting our annual garden with my mom. Since our backyard is very shady, we can’t plant the flowers in the ground, so we plant them in pots. The end result: colors everywhere!

It takes a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day our container garden makes our back deck look beautiful! We first have to take a trip to the garden store. The store near our house has a whole building full of beautiful plants and foods, from herbs like rosemary to huge plants with gigantic leaves that are almost as big as small trees! We have about 16 pots in our container garden, so it takes many flowers to fill them all up. We get a huge variety of species and colors. They are usually herbs and flowers. When we are done, we have a whole wagon full of plants that we have to load into the car.

Next we have to unload and prepare. After we get all of the flowers transferred to the back deck, we get all of our supplies, like gardening gloves, hand shovels, and small rakes. Not only do we prep ourselves to start planting, but we also have to prep the pots for planting. Usually there are leaves and sticks in the pots and dead flowers from the grueling winter. We have to empty all of that out for the new set of plants for the year. Many of our pots will still have perfectly good dirt for planting once you turn it over a few times, so we don’t even have to buy new dirt. 

Next we have to plan which flower will go in which pot. You would think we would just put the big plants in the big pots and the little plants in the little pots, but it actually takes a while, moving around the flowers and seeing which plants would go well next to each other.

Now is the easy part: planting the flowers! This part doesn’t take as long as any of the other steps, but you do get dirty! 

After all of our day’s work, our garden looks beautiful! It’s full of eye-popping colors, and herbs that we can use to make food taste fresh and delicious. Planting a container garden with my mom is definitely one of my very favorite summer activities.

—Kid Reporter Mari Chiles

Love on a leash

Sammy is my three-and-a-half-year-old basset hound. He fills our lives with so much joy, and we notice all the smiles he brings out in everyone. He's a real "Love On a Leash.” So why keep it all to ourselves when we can share his joy with others — especially those in need of being cheered up?

Chandler Convalescent Home in North Hollywood, California, is a home for seniors who need help to live and get care in their old age. Many of the seniors have no visitors or family or any fun in their day. We decided it's a perfect place for a visit from Sammy.

We got a bunch of flower-shaped lollipops at the store and drove down to the Chandler Convalescent home. The first person we saw was John Witherspoon. He's a 64-year-old man who fought in the Vietnam War. He was sitting outside enjoying the sun when he saw Sammy come up to him and gave him a big slurp! I handed him a lollipop and we talked about his favorite band, the Beatles.

When we walked into the entrance, it was quiet. There were some TVs on in the background, but not much cheerfulness. Then as soon as the people saw Sammy, it was smiles everywhere! One lady, named Theresa, was sitting in her wheelchair started waving and clapping when she spotted Sammy trotting down the hall. He was the life of the whole place — Mr. Popular!

Another lady, Mable, was having a snack in her bed and wasn't able to get up, but Sammy went over and stood up on the side of her bed and licked her hand. She gave him some of her sandwich.

We met many nice people who live there, like Joy and Marci who like doing puzzles. They asked if we would bring a picture of Sammy next time for their room.

It was so much fun to see what a difference we could make. We made lots of new friends too. Sammy really did all the work. He deserves extra gravy on his dinner all week!

I hope Sammy inspires you and your family to give back in your neighborhood. There are people everywhere who are in need of a smile and love. Just a little goes along way. I know because it only took a half-hour of our day, and it made a difference in so many lives!

—Kid Reporter Damien Murphy

Photo: Kid Reporter Damien Murphy with Sammy, his basset hound, and John Witherspoon, a resident of Chandler Convalescent Home in Norht Hollywood, California. (Courtesy Damien Murphy)

Nine-year-old balloon boy made history!

Bobby Bradley made history on June 4 by becoming the youngest person to fly solo in a balloon. His solo flight in an ultra light hot air balloon landed safely in the New Mexico desert after 26 minutes in the air. The balloon took off from Tome, New Mexico near Albuquerque.

A crowd of more than 50 family members and friends showed up to support Bobby, who is 9 years old, in his adventure and to congratulate him when he landed. When the balloon landed, Bobby celebrated with the traditional balloonist's prayer with his supporters. Balloonists typically say a balloonist's poem  when they land that is from an unknown author but may have come from an old Irish sailor's prayer from long ago. 

Bobby was allowed to fly in his balloon because it weighs less than 150 pounds. Otherwise, under FAA regulations, he would have to wait to fly until he turns age 14. At the time of the flight, Bobby had logged approximately 30 hours of flight time to prepare for the adventure.

Bobby Bradley is the son of Troy and Tami Bradley of Albuquerque, New Mexico. His parents are licensed balloonists. Troy Bradley flew the first balloon from North America to Africa and has met many world records in ballooning.

Check out my story about Bobby and his preparation for his historic flight!

—Kid Reporter Jacob Schroeder

Photo: Kid Reporter Jacob Schroeder with young balloonist Bobby Bradley as he prepared for his flight. (courtesy Jacob Schroeder)