Untamed Americas is wild and inspiring

I found many reasons to watch the new National Geographic miniseries Untamed Americas. Since I was asked to cover the premiere of the documentary, National Geographic sent me two DVDs with the 4 episodes that will air on June 10 and 11 on Nat Geo Channels, so I watched the whole show beforehand.

The film features some never-before-seen footage of spectacular wild life along the North and South American continents. The documentary captivates viewers with vivid scenes of life and death.

Some of the highlights: a group of seven grizzly bears feasting on a beached whale, a flock of gloriously pink flamingoes engaged in an elaborate group-mating dance, two puma cubs hunting solo for the first time, and a tiny Ecuadorian bat with a tongue one-and-a-half-time the size of its body pollinating a rare flower.

Miniseries executive producer Karen Bass told me at the premiere that this bat was one of her favorites because “it’s got the water cooler factor: it was only discovered in 2005, and that tongue would be nine feet long if it were on a human!”

The mixture of music, sound effects, and natural animal noises capture and add to the intensity of some of the greatest wildlife spectacles. The effect is powerful, endearing, and emotional.

One example is the scene where male bighorn sheep in the Rockies fight it out for hours to settle on the winner of mating rights. The echoes and reverberations bring out the dramatic 22-mile-per-hour head-on clash, which would kill a human instantly.

Majestic scenes like spinner dolphins leaping in the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park in Brazil, bright green parakeets flying over volcanoes in Central America, Mobula Rays flapping gracefully off the coast of Baja, Mexico, and jellyfish undulating off the coast of Monterey Bay in California are given an even greater impact with the music.

The show will have you at the edge of your seats cheering for your heroes and booing at the villains. But the rule of the wild is “eat or be eaten,” “kill or get killed.” I completely agreed with the comment Casey Anderson, host of America the Wild on Nat Geo WILD, made after the premiere: “At the beginning you’re rooting for the caribou and by end you’re rooting for the wolf.”

Surprises linger in every episode, like the face-off between a little grasshopper mouse and a giant venomous centipede, more deadly than a scorpion. The winner of this uneven fight will astonish you! Keep watching to find out who will be the snack at the end of a valiant battle between a speedy roadrunner and a rattlesnake whose venom can kill a man.

Check out my story about the premiere of Untamed Americas on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

—Kid Reporter Hannah Prensky

Photo: At a remote, inhospitable, salt-filled lake in South America, a flock of rare Andean flamingos engage in an elaborate dance. (Courtesy National Geographic Channels)

The Making of Dolphin Tale

The trip to the Florida Marine Aquarium was not my first. Previously, I visited to write stories about Winter the dolphin when the book about her, Winter's Tale, came out. Later I returned for a story about the Scholastic Essay Contest winner, Jessica Rendleman, who was inspired by Winter to overcome her battle with cancer. So this trip, I expected to enter the lobby, as usual. However, this was not the normal aquarium.

Winter could not go to Hollywood, so director Charles Martin Smith brought Hollywood to Winter!

Staff members carried film equipment and large coolers full of fish — payment for the star. Of course, Winter was not the only cast member. The roster included award-winning actors Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick, Jr., Kris Kristofferson, and Ashley Judd. The younger stars included Nathan Gamble (Sawyer Nelson), Cozi Zeuhlsdorff (Hazel Haskett), and Austin Stowell (Kyle Connellan).
 
Filming a movie is not easy, especially when you are a kid. Not only do they have to put in nine hours of work, the same as the adults, but they must also fit in three-and-a-half hours of school. One thing that stands out in my mind is the constant repetition when filming the scenes. Actor Nathan Gamble spent over an hour in the water filming the underwater ballet scene. He was exhausted because he had to hold his breath and swim repeatedly in order to perfect the scene.

Actually the majority of the filming day was spent on this one scene. Fortunately, my job was easy and the view was spectacular. As the scene was filmed with special underwater 3-D cameras, I sat with editors and engineers in a room with multiple monitors. Several monitors showed the 2-D version image of the filming, while the other monitors displayed the mind-boggling 3-D images. In fear of missing a moment of this awesome experience I was constantly slipping my 3-D glasses on and off to see all that was happening. 

As I interacted with the stars and sat with the cast at lunch, I realized they were just normal people. They were down-to-earth and humble. Interviewing them was like talking to friends from school. As a matter of fact, Austin Stowell’s mom is a teacher just like mine. And by the way, movie set food is AWESOME!

The cast of Dolphin Tale works to make the best movie possible, both on and off camera. Their hope is to inspire others as much as Winter has inspired them.

Check out my behind-the-scenes video report from the set of Dolphin Tale!

—Kid Reporter Shelby Fallin 

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)

My Summer Dog Walking Service

Many kids do different things to ear money during the summer. They babysit, mow lawns, work at the local swimming pool, or run a lemonade stand. What did I choose to do to make money this summer? I chose dog walking. When I first came up with the idea, I thought it would be very easy and that I would make wads of cash off of it. But dog walking is a lot harder than I expected!

Why? First you have to plan it out. You can’t just go to a random person’s front door and ask if you can walk their dog. Before I did anything, I did some research. I looked up what the regular pay was for kid dog walkers. On most websites and blogs, it said that average pay was about $10 an hour. So I settled on $4 for thirty minutes and $8 dollars for an hour. It seemed just about right since I am not a professional and I am a kid. 

The next big question: How am I going to let people know I am offering to walk their dogs? I chose flyers. I got on the computer and wrote a few sentences on what this business is for and why I am doing it. I put my email address on the flyer so that they would know where to reach me if they wanted to set up a time. Then I included my rates — the price I was charging for how much time I was walking. I printed out about 40 flyers and then I started putting them in people’s mailboxes. I did it around almost the whole neighborhood.

Now, the last step: waiting. You have to wait if you want people to respond to what you have put out. If you get a lot of responses, that’s great! And if you don’t, that’s fine, too. Just get two or three people in your neighborhood that you know and ask them personally if you can offer them your services.

In the end, I didn’t get too many responses. But I still got three people in the neighborhood whom I know who were willing to let me walk their pets!

—Kid Reporter Mari Chiles

Photo courtesy Mari Chiles 

A cool time at the Mr. Popper's Penguins premiere

Don't get me wrong, growing up in Hollywood, California, has its perks. Like, for one, the best year-round weather, and two, the many celebrity sightings, and three, the home of movie making and premieres. But sometimes, out of the clear blue skies, you could be walking down Hollywood Boulevard and find yourself walking right into a blizzard!

It was Sunday, June 12, and I was heading toward Grauman's Chinese Theater for the premiere of Jim Carrey's new movie, Mr. Popper's Penguins. The streets were closed off and lined with fans awaiting the arrival of the stars for the movie. Expecting to see a red carpet, I was surprised to find that the whole theater was covered in frost and snow and a white carpet. Above, there were big machines blowing snow and from the speakers came howling wind sounds.

The crowd suddenly came alive with cheers and at first I thought it was Mr. Carrey himself, but I couldn't see because my spot was at the end of the "white carpet." I was so surprised when, before my eyes, I saw the stars of the movie waddling down the press line. It was the penguins themselves: Captain, Nimrod, Lovey, Bitey, Stinky, and Loudy! They waddled to an icy spot where they posed for pictures with people.

I met the director, Mark Waters, who told me they learned a lot working with the penguins and that they each had a personality of their own, which kept it very entertaining and interesting. I also met Maxwell Perry Cotton, (who plays Billy, son of Mr. Popper). He told me that they were constantly drinking something hot like hot cocoa or coffee to stay warm on the set. The set had to be kept at 30 degrees!

Then, just as the snowfall began to clear, I heard another roar from the crowds. It was much louder than before. It was Jim Carrey, walking down the snowy white carpet. He had that funny squint in his eyes and his humorous smile greeted everyone. When he got down to the end of the carpet, I introduced myself to him. He remembered me from the phone interview I did with him back in April. We both shared some laughs about the funny things penguins do. Who would have thought I'd meet my most favorite actor, Jim Carrey, who stars in a movie about my favorite animal of all time, penguins! Mr. Carrey was so busy with people all around him and he still made time to shake my hand and talk penguin talk with me.

The movie starts out getting to know Mr. Popper and, like the book it was inspired by, Mr. Popper is a serious business man who put his love of work before family. It wasn't until he inherited six penguins that his life was turned upside down. The penguins' loving and playful ways brought so much fun back to Mr. Popper's life that it made his family much closer and mostly made Mr. Popper himself see that he didn't want to keep missing out on spending time with his family just to work more.

The movie is full of the kind of funny mischief and stunts that you always get with Jim Carrey. It's a movie the whole family can enjoy, from oldest to youngest. The theater was laughing out loud and cheering a lot because there were some things in the movie you didn't expect.

You may be wondering is it the type of movie you want to see again? YEABSOLUTELY!! I will be going again, but this time with my Gramps!

Be sure to check out my interview with Jim Carrey on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

 

—Kid Reporter Damien Murphy

Photo: Damien Murphy on the white carpet for the premiere of Mr. Popper's Penguins. (Courtesy Damien Murphy)

Zipping Through the Rain Forest

From sick to fear to a final laugh (once on the ground!)

On a recent trip to Costa Rica to visit family, I experienced the sensation of zipping through a rain forest high up in the trees on a zip line.

To ride a zip line, you have to first get into a harness. You also have to wear a helmet. Next, they put you on a blue truck and drive you up to the top of a mountain. It is a bumpy ride.

After you get to the top, a guide tells you all the instructions you will need to know to ride the zip line safely. That’s where I began to feel sick and regret I even agreed to come here.

"Are you ready?” asked the guide.

"No," I replied.

They hooked me up to the cable and off I went!

Surprisingly, I didn't scream. At least not the first time. The second time was different.

On my second zip through the trees, I started spinning around in circles. My helmet scraped against the wire making a bone-chilling sound. That’s when the screaming started.

When I finally reached the destination tree, I asked the guide how many more zip lines I had to go on. When he replied NINE, I looked at him like he was crazy! Now, I really started to feel sick!

One other scary time was when we came to a tree and it started swaying and creaking. I desperately hung on to my mom for support.

Then, someone spotted two Scarlet Macaws, which are birds that live in Costa Rica. We all stopped and stared, forgetting about the zip line. Soon, the swaying and creaking snapped me back to reality.

  When I finally got on the zip line to get to the last tree, I had never been so happy to leave one place in my entire life! After we got to the bottom again we took off our helmets and harnesses and looked at the pictures a photographer took while we were zipping.

Everyone’s pictures looked fine except for mine. Mine looked like I was about to cry. That’s when we all had a good laugh—including me!

—Abby Gerber

PHOTOS: (TOP) Abby takes off! (BOTTOM) Kid Reporter Abby Gerber in between zips! (Photos Courtesy Abby Gerber)

Meet The Real Kung Fu Panda

Zoo Atlanta names 100-day-old panda after animated movie star!

My latest assignment as a Scholastic News Kid Reporter took me back to Zoo Atlanta and news about pandas. A year ago I visited the zoo to cover the departure of giant panda Mei Lan, who was returning to  to her home country of China. This time, the story was about the naming ceremony for a newborn giant panda—Mei Lan’s little brother.

Zoo Atlanta and the movie company DreamWorks formed a partnership, to name the panda Po in honor of the panda character from the 2008 movie Kung Fu Panda. It didn't hurt publicity for the upcoming sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2 either!

The Kung Fu Panda movies are about a laidback panda named Po who is a good cook, but dreams of Kung Fu fighting. He ends up finding a hidden talent in the martial arts. Actor Jack Black, who voices Po in the animated films was on hand to bestow the 100-day-old giant panda with his new name.

I asked Black about the new movie, which premieres in May.

“Kung Fu Panda 2 has some great scenes about Po's childhood, his origins," Black said. "He starts to have flashbacks of his youth and what happens to his mother and father.” He pauses before continuing. “I can’t really reveal too much though, it’s a secret. You’ll have to see the movie.”

You might be wondering how Black gets into character to play a cooking, Kung Fu kicking panda.

“I have watched a lot of pandas on YouTube,” he said. That is, until this naming ceremony, when he met a real panda for the first time.

It seems like Black has succeeded in creating an alter ego Kung Fu character in many ways. He has quite a few kung fu moves of his own, which he demonstrated several times at the zoo. Black leaped around the stage and captivated the audience with his moves.

Black is also a panda lover. He loves both the new baby panda and the big Kung Fu panda from the movie. So which one does he think is cuter?

“The newborn panda is cuter than Po in the movie, because he’s a little baby cub,” he said. “But I think the full grown panda Po in the movie is cute as well, if I don’t say so myself. They modeled some of his good looks after a certain actor, or so I have been told!”

Meeting Jack Black was an experience of a lifetime. Now after interviewing him, not only is he my favorite actor, but I really want to see Kung Fu Panda 2!

                                                                                                                   —Andrew Liang

PHOTOS: Jack Black and Dr. Hayley Murphy with giant panda cub Po. (Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures)

My volunteering experience

As I rode my bike, I thought about where I was going. I was going to the only veterinarian clinic in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. When it gets a significant amount of donations, they run a free spade and neuter clinic for the overwhelming population of dogs and cats on this small, five-mile-long island. It has only one doctor and four assistants, so they ask for volunteers for these huge clinics. Although I really did want to help out, I was dreading the thought of seeing blood or animals that may be hurting. But I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head and moved forward.

I parked my bike outside of the clinic. The entrance volunteers sat at a table in front. They took in the animals and wrote down the important information. I walked to the back where recovery was. It was only the first hour of the day and there were already five cats lined up in recovery. They were lined up in a row, still under anesthesia, eyes wide open as if in everlasting shock. It was somewhat creepy with their never blinking eyes. But I was assured that when they are first put under anesthesia, their eyes are rubbed with an ointment so they do not dry out during the process. As I was helping in recovery, I got a BIG SURPRISE!

A volunteer, working in the surgery room, asked me to come into the operating room as she needed assistance. I said, “Yes," and followed her into the surgery room. I was given a pair of gloves and a surgical mask. I was a little scared of what I might see, but I stood my ground. The doctor then came in and set a cat on the table which had just been put under anesthesia. He then laid out the medical instruments he was planning to use. I was told to tie down the cat just in case it woke up. Then he started the operation. I felt not uncomfortable but good. I felt like this was a part of life. Doing this helped me view life better. I understood animals more, too, and after an operation on a dog or cat, you feel like you know a whole lot more and are really making a difference.

The clinic successfully operated on 163 animals that week. This will help to control the animal population on this island immensely. I learned that one female cat and her offspring, if not spade, can produce 420,000 cats in only 7 years and one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in only 6 years! By controlling the animal population we are able to ensure that there are not unwanted animals that become neglected, sick, and hungry. They are currently raising money now hoping to have yet another week long clinic in April.

I am looking forward to giving my time and learning even more.

—Kid Reporter Joey Petrila

Secretariat — Straight from the jockey's mouth

In less than a week, Secretariat was going to be released on DVD. I was really excited! This was my first time interviewing a celebrity. I couldn’t wait to log on to the virtual roundtable to interview Otto Thorwarth, the actor who played Secretariat’s jockey in the Disney movie, and Ronnie Turcotte, Secretariat’s actual jockey. 

This assignment was on a topic I know about: horses. I ride horses every week and have been riding for five months. During my lessons, I’ve learned to saddle up my horse; walk, trot, and lope; I brush and wash my horse to help her cool off after a ride in the hot sun. 

I was amazed by the story of Secretariat! In Secretariat’s first season, 1972, he claimed eight consecutive victories. In 1973, Secretariat won the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. The three races are the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Winning all three races is considered the greatest accomplishment for a thoroughbred horse. Secretariat still holds the record for winning the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths! Secretariat was also the first of only two two-year-olds to win “Horse of the Year.”

During the interview, Mr. Turcotte, Secretariat’s real-life jockey, stated that the portrayal of him by Mr. Thorwarth was “very good. Otto played me very well. It was very close to real life.” He also said that Diane Lane “did a really good job playing Penny,” Secretariat’s owner. Mr. Thorwarth, a real-life jockey, had virtually no time to prepare for the role of Ronnie Turcotte. “I found out on a Monday that I got the role, and then we started filming on Thursday. Luckily I’ve been doing this for 15 years, so it wasn’t too difficult to prepare for this role.”

About Secretariat, Mr. Turcotte said, “He was the greatest horse I rode and the fastest horse I ever saw run. He was just beyond great.” According to Mr. Thorwarth, Secretariat will be remembered “as THE greatest horse of all time. I don’t think we’ll ever see another one like him.”

To learn more about the story of Secretariat, check out Disney’s new release of Secretariat on DVD or Blu Ray.

—Kid Reporter Chloe McWilliams

Photo: Otto Thorwarth from the movie Secretariat. (Photo: John Bramsley, Disney Enterprises, Inc., All Rights Reserved)

Bindi Irwin Fights for Animals

New Free Willy movie all about saving whales.

I recently spent an afternoon with Bindi Irwin, who is starring in a new straight-to-DVD movie, Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove.

Bindi has been in the public eye since she was a toddler. Her father was the famous, enthusiastic animal expert, Steve Irwin. Also known as “The Crocodile Hunter,” Irwin died in 2006 after he was struck in the chest by the tail of a stingray.

Since then, Bindi has followed in her father’s footsteps protecting animals and teaching people about them on TV. Bindi became the youngest person to ever receive an Emmy award when she was only 9 years old! She has appeared on many TV shows and in movies. She even had her own TV show, Bindi the Jungle Girl, on the Discovery channel.

After meeting her, it was easy to see why she is a star. She has great confidence and is very lively. She is also smart and even more talkative then some of the adults that I have interviewed!

During the interview, Bindi let me in on a little secret. When she works closely in scenes with Willy, there is a lot of “movie magic” involved. The whale still looks very life-like. (See my review of the movie here.)

My interview with Bindi came at the perfect time. It just so happens that one week before I met her, I saw whales in the Pacific Ocean off of Laguna Beach, California, where I live. Sometimes we see dolphins, but it was a rare and exciting experience to see so many whales.

The huge black and white mammals swam gracefully, spouting water. It was a remarkable sight to behold! When you see whales in their natural habitat, you can understand why Bindi’s character Kirra would struggle so hard to put Willy back where he belongs! Whales really do need room to swim and be free. I felt like I shared something with Bindi: a love of animals.

—Mariam El Hasan