Movies

Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away Movie Review

As long time Cirque du Soleil fans, my daughters and I have been anxiously waiting for the new Cirque movie, Worlds Away, to come to theaters. Today was the day and we opted to see it in 3D.

When we bought our tickets we were given our cool Cirque du Soleil 3D glasses complete with the “O” inspired overlays we could add to them.

Ready for the movie to begin!!

The basic premise of the movie is a young woman goes to a small town circus and becomes entranced by an Aerialist. She is encouraged by a silent clown to go watch the circus. The seemingly amateur show begins and the aerial act starring the object of the young woman’s fascination begins. As their eyes meet, he misses a catch and falls to the gound. As she runs to his side they fall down through the ground into a dreamlike world and become separated. As they try to find each other they travel through various tents of Cirque du Soleil where highlights from the main Cirque shows in Las Vegas are featured. The Cirque sampling is woven together through various Cirque clowns, characters and adventures.

You can watch the trailer here (or on YouTube):

Now for my thoughts on the movie.

Let’s start with what I LOVED:

A $12 movie ticket is a lot less than the price of a ticket to a live Cirque show ($75+)
Since the movie is basically a compilation of the various Vegas based Cirque shows, it is a quick way to decide which shows you might want to go see live (for example, I would love to see the Elvis and Beatles Cirque shows now and will most likely pass on KA)
The camera work was outstanding! It was neat to see some of the acts and maneuvers done in slow motion – and from angles you would not see in the live performances.
As always, the costumes, make up and sets for the performances were just phenomenal.
The gymnastics aspect of the performance was technically flawless and gave me goosebumps on more than one occasion.

My favorite acts:

The Chinese Contortionists
The Trampoline act during the Elvis show segment
The Flying Ship
The Suspended Rope Ladders act

And now my not so favorite things about it:

Unless you have a child who is Cirque crazy (like my girls) or who really gets into the gymnastics part of Cirque, I don’t recommend it for kids.
The movie felt very long and dragged in places.
The story line was definitely an afterthought and just a way to tie the various spotlights on the acts together.
Parts of the movie were very dark and felt almost disjointed.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie as it was a relatively inexpensive way to get my Cirque du Soleil “fix” for the time being. I do not think that the average movie goer will “get it” or even like it, but those of us who can’t get enough of watching press handstands, breath taking releases, over arching backs and weight transfers will think it is worth it. If you do go see Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away, see it in 3D ! The 3D technology used today is just amazing and does not hurt your eyes – plus you get the cool 3-D glasses to keep.

If you have seen the movie, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. While I’d rather watch a cohesive story like Alegria or Mystere on the big screen, Worlds Away is not a bad substitute.

Jade Pettyjohn and Carly Patterson Sign Autographs

The new American Girl movie McKenna Shoots for the Stars is all about a young gymnast trying to find balance in her training, school and family life, so it makes complete sense that the star of the movie, Jade Pettyjohn would be on hand at the US Olympic Trials for Gymnastics in San Jose over the weekend to promote the movie – especially since it comes out on Tuesday July 3rd at Walmart and American Girl stores (and Amazon on digital download).

Jade Pettyjohn, star of An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars, signed autographs for hundreds of fans at the Olympic Trials – Gymnastics on Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1, 2012 in San Jose, CA, with Olympic Champions Carly Patterson and Shannon Miller. The weekend also included a special free outdoor screening of the film , as well as An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars bags and bracelets for attendees. Here are a few photos of Jade Pettyjohn and Olympic Gymnast Carly Patterson signing autographs and interacting with fans that were sent to me to use from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Olympic Champion Carly Patterson and Jade Pettyjohn sign autographs for a fan and her doll wearing the McKenna outfit.

Jade Pettyjohn and Carly Patterson posing for a photo at the US Olympic Trials for Gymnastics in San Jose, CA.

Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller and Jade Pettyjohn pose with a fan at the US Womens Gymnastic Olympic Trials over the weekend.

We were sent the movie for a pre-screening (read my review at DollDiaries.com and enter the giveaway for a McKenna movie DVD while you are there) and hands down the favorite scene of my daughter’s friends was the following clip showing Toulane, played by Ysa Panerejo, sneaking around trying to figure out what McKenna and her tutor Josie (played by Kerris Dorsey) were up to:

Gymnastics fans of ALL AGES will love this movie! I know I did and my daughter has watched it over and over since we got it to review.

Interview with Ysa Penarejo from An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars Movie

American Girl McKenna Shoots for the Stars movie On July 3rd, 2012 An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars comes out on DVD/Bluray. The movie, based on the popular American Girl doll of the Year for 2012 and her books features McKenna Brooks™, a determined and confident young gymnast, in an all-new modern-day adventure. McKenna™ is on track to make the regional competitive gymnastics team but off-track in school, where she’s suddenly struggling to keep up. When her teacher suggests a tutor, she’s embarrassed and desperate to keep it a secret from her friends. Then a bad fall at the gym sidetracks her from her favorite sport. Will she recover in time to make the team? Can she succeed in school, too? McKenna needs to focus on her strengths to overcome her challenges – and, with the help of family and friends, find a way to believe in herself again.

I had the opportunity to interview Ysa Penarejo, who plays McKenna’s best friend Toulane in the movie, and was very impressed by her gymnastics and competitive dance background. I really enjoyed hearing how her own background in sports helped her in the movie itself.

First, a little more about Ysa’s character Toulane in the movie. Toulane Thomas has been McKenna’s gymnastics teammate since the girls were three years old. A strong, competitive gymnast, Toulane pushes McKenna to stay on her game and do her best. Toulane is sometimes too competitive, though, and puts a lot of pressure on herself to succeed and to live up to her mother’s expectations. Like McKenna, Toulane needs to learn about life “balance” and remember how to just have fun. In real life Ysa is a dancer, actress and singer, but did take gymnastics when she was younger but eventually had to choose between dance and gymnastics – and she chose dance (and if you look her up on YouTube for her dancing, I can see why she picked dance – she is awesome!).

SportsGirlsPlay: Were you excited when you found out that you got the part in the movie?

Ysa: Very excited! I had just had my graduation from elementary school and my mom got the call. She said I got the part of Toulane and I just started screaming!

SportsGirlsPlays: What specific preparation did you do for the movie?

Ysa: When we first got to Canada for the shooting nobody knew that I could tumble and dance, but they soon figured it out. We trained with our stunt doubles to learn the routines but let the stunt doubles do the harder skills.

SportsGirlsPlay: Was it hard to balance filming the movie with schoolwork, your other activities and family time?

Ysa: We were in Canada for six weeks to do the shooting for the movie. I just went with my Mom so it was hard not seeing my Dad and brother for that long, but we were okay. We did not work every day we were there so when I was not working I would do stuff with my Mom and the others. I am also a dancer so I did not have regular dance practices while I was there but luckily my dance teacher was flexible about it. Since we filmed the movie during the summer, school work was not an issue.

SportsGirlsPlay: What was it like working with Olympian and actress Cathy Rigby?

Ysa: Oh, she was just so great. She is a great actress and was like a coach to us.

DollDiaries: In McKenna’s stories she has to overcome challenges with being injured and difficulty in school. Have you ever had a challenge to overcome like McKenna did?

Ysa: Yes, I had to take some time off dance just for school – to focus on schoolwork. Once things were better I could add the dance back in.

SportsGirlsPlay: McKenna’s story is a lot about friendship and being there for each other – did you know your co-stars before the movie shooting? Do you keep in touch with any of them now?

Ysa: I did not know Jade before the movie but we spent a lot of time together and really bonded. Now we are really good friends and still stay in touch.

SportsGirlsPlay: What was your favorite scene to film?

Ysa: There was a scene called Mission Impossible where I kind of had to be the spy. I was wondering where McKenna was going and had to follow her in the halls without her noticing. I kept running into teachers and had to do some crazy jumping and flips. Having a gymnastics background and dance experience allowed me to do most of the scene on my own.

SportsGirlsPlay: What final thoughts do you have about the movie that you want our readers to know?

Ysa: It is a great movie with an important lesson – school comes first and friendships are important. And always do your best.

In addition to her acting and dancing, Ysa loves to sing and she has a new pop single, Like not Love, coming out in July via iTunes. The song is about relationships and making choices – especially in your tween years. Ysa was super sweet to talk with and she really reminded me of a combination of my two daughters – as she is right between them in age. Follow Ysa on Facebook (and she loves hearing from her fans there, plus it is a great place to find more information, photos and updates from Ysa) and Twitter.

I’d like to thank Ysa again for taking time to do this interview! She is a super talented young lady and I expect we will see a lot more of her in the future!

I have seen the movie already and can truly say that any gymnast, gymnastics fan or American Girl fan will LOVE this movie!! Not only is it pretty realistic (right down to Toulane’s pushy “gym mom”), it also provides for plenty of teaching moments and laughs, too. And if you are a rhythmic gymnast – there is a whole scene that you will adore!

Don’t miss it! An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars will be available on DVD/Bluray at Walmart on July 3, 2012 (and Amazon download) and will also be televised on NBC at 8 pm July 14, 2012.

Contest

Follow @YsaPenarejo and tell Ysa how you achieve your goals or “Shoot for the Stars” on her Facebook wall to win a signed and personalized Blu-Ray/DVD copy of MCKENNA SHOOTS FOR THE STARS along with a free download of Ysa’s new single “Like Not Love.” https://www.facebook.com/MissYsaPenarejo