Our Interactive Film Experience with Pee-wee Herman

Being part of the Netflix Stream Team is always a whole lot of fun! Not only do we get to watch all the great Netflix movies and shows, but we also get to take part in some pretty cool activities. This weekend, we enjoyed an interactive film experience while watching the Netflix Original film "Pee-wee 's Big Holiday"! We all sat down together to watch the movie with a little added Netflix magic.

We had previously received a parcel in the post filled with some sealed, numbered boxes and a movie road map with details on when to open each box during the film. So we excitedly started by opening up the first box, which contained two Pee-wee Herman t-shirts for Kezia and Freddy and then began watching the movie.

Pee-wee Herman is an iconic American comedy classic from almost 30 years ago, set in the surreal, alternate reality 1950's town of Fairville. Big Holiday has resurrected the character for a whole new audience to enjoy. Pee-wee's zany, child-like view of the world makes his experiences seem bigger and more exciting than those of an average man, resulting in some classic comedy moments and quirky encounters.

Pee-wee's Big Holiday tells the story of his epic trek across the country to get to New York for the birthday party of Joe Manganiello (the actor from magic Mike and True Blood who plays himself in the film) following a chance encounter in Pee-wee's dad's diner when the super cool, manly Joe comes in for a milkshake. The pair share a strangely intense and more than slightly camp bromance that sees Pee-wee challenged to push himself out of his comfort zone. Pee-wee's sheltered and idyllic life in Fairville is turned upside down on his journey as he finds himself in a series of bizarre situations including being kidnapped by female bank robbers, almost getting married off to a farmer's daughter, getting caught up in the Amish community and falling down a well! Will he make it to Joe's birthday bash in time?!

Throughout the film we got to open our boxes and absolutely loved each activity. We shared milkshakes with Joe and Pee-wee in the diner, we chomped on root beer barrel sweets and Ruffles potato chips whenever the characters did. We played with squeaky balloons, waved a Fairville banner and wore Pee-wee friendship bracelets as we joined in with Pee-wee's journey to Joe's party.

Pee-wee is a man-child and an innocent, who takes on the world in this movie that is all about friendship, destiny and self-discovery. The humour is silly and a bit bonkers, with an added quirky charm and a sense of wonder.  The cartoonish quality of the visuals appeals to kids and there are many crazy, off the wall moments that will get them giggling throughout. Fans of Pee-wee Herman will enjoy seeing the role reprised by actor Paul Reubens and will also be able to spot some familiar faces from Pee-wee's last movie the 1985 Big Adventure.

I love the idea of the interactive viewing experience, and it is something I am going to try to do again myself to make family film nights extra fun. You can watch Pee-wee's Big Holiday now on Netflix.

Netflix Night In - what will you watch?

Netflix have sent us the biggest, snuggliest blanket to help keep us cosy while we enjoy some great Netflix Nights In. With so many great series, documentaries and films to choose from, the only problem is choosing what to watch!

Here are my kids' suggestions from the new titles coming this month for a Netflix Night In.

Freddy 6 - Muppets Most Wanted (available 25th February)

While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves embroiled in a dastardly jewel heist orchestrated by an evil Kermit look alike. This exciting caper sees the real Kermit behind bars while evil imposter Contantine uses the tour as a cover for the crime of the century. Will The Muppets realise there is an imposter in their midst and will they be able to stop him in time?  Starring Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and The Muppets cast, it is a great film for fans to enjoy as a family. There are several cameo roles from famous celebrities, which are fun to spot.

Kezia 13 - Shadowhunters - The Mortal Instruments

New episodes of this fantasy series are available weekly with episode 5 airing on February 10th. Based on the bestselling books by Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters follows the story of Clary who discovers that she has angel blood and was born to protect humanity from demons. After her mother is kidnapped by a powerful foe, Clary has to learn about her past and what her future may hold, as she is thrown into a new life of demon hunting.

Ella 19 - Enchanted (available 26th February)

This delightful film is one that all the family will be enchanted by!  Beautiful princess Giselle is banished from her magical fairytale life by an evil queen, onto the streets of chaotic modern day Manhattan. Despite the fact that she is a million miles from her home and her Prince Charming, she keeps a song in her heart. When she finds herself falling in love with a handsome lawyer, Giselle questions her feelings for her fairytale prince, who has come to rescue her - but can story book love survive in the real world? And will the evil queen manage to get rid of the princess who she fears will marry her stepson? With a wonderful mix of animation and real life, plus some awesome original musical numbers, this is a lovely family movie for a Netflix Night In.

Megan 24 - Pretty Little Liars

Into its sixth series with episode 15 airing on February 10th, Pretty Little Liars is a drama filled with twists and turns, intrigue and dark secrets. Following the murder of Alison, her friends begin to receive sinister messages threatening to expose their secrets and destroying their seemingly perfect lives. Signed by the mysterious A, the girls band together to discover the secret identity of their anonymous foe and unravel the mystery of the murder of their best friend. The plot is intriguing and you are drawn in as clues are revealed that keep you guessing.


For me, I'm a big fan of Netflix documentaries. After watching Making a Murderer and becoming obsessed with miscarriages of justice. I have found some other amazing, but shocking and often harrowing documentaries on a similar theme. Thin Blue Line, Give Up Tomorrow, West of Memphis and The Central Park 5 all make excellent viewing and pose many worrying questions about the justice system. If like me, you are a self-confessed armchair detective, these are the perfect titles for a grown-up Netflix Night In.

For your perfect Netflix Night In - what would you watch?

What we're watching on Netflix #NetflixStreamTeam

We're in our first month of having Netflix and it is not an exaggeration to say that it has totally revolutionised the way we watch our TV. Having a whole library of box sets and films ready to view 24/7 means we are never at a loss of what to watch. There is so much choice and each of us has our own profile where we can set up lists and get recommendations of what to watch based on our viewing history.

Here are some Netflix recommendations of things we are enjoying this month, one for the grown-ups and one for the kids:

Once Upon A Time

My girls and I are absolutely loving this series - so much so we are already up to season 3! The story revolves around the fairytale characters of the Enchanted Forest who have been transported to the 21st century because of a curse meted out by the Evil Queen Regina. The characters have no memory of their past lives and are destined to live the same day over and over again until Emma Swann arrives in their little town of Storybrooke.

The episodes tell the story of their present day adventures and struggles alongside flashback episodes which serve to develop the plot and the characters. It is brilliantly dark, with some fabulous twists on the traditional fairy tales we know and love.

Our favourite character is the wonderfully enigmatic Rumplestiltskin aka The Dark One played by Robert Carlisle. He is brilliant as the cowardly, simple man turned darkly magical villain. His storyline is one of the most compelling, combining his strong love for his son with his fear of being powerless. This dilemma leads to some powerful story telling.

There is a huge cast featuring some well known faces. We are forever checking out IMDB to find out what other things the actors have been in.

Larva

This cartoon from Korea has utterly captured Freddy's imagination and is his recommendation for the top Netflix TV show for kids. It features Red and Yellow, a pair of larvae who live together alongside a handful of other creepy crawlies. Each episode features four 2 minute short cartoons starring the greedy, food obsessed pair. Yellow is a bit slow and foolish and often receives abuse from his smaller, more impetuous friend Red in their quest for full bellies. Their relationship may be competitive and contentious, but when it comes to the crunch they are best friends.

They eat or play with things they find that fall through the grate of their underground home and search for food in the house, which they sometimes spend time in.  They also try to avoid their adversary the hungry frog and stay one step ahead of Black the stag beetle and Brown the dung beetle. There is no dialogue but the two limbless creatures manage to convey a full range of emotions through their own brand of visual slapstick humour using their facial expressions and tongues!

Larva is truly weird but strangely compelling to watch!  It is full of visual gross out humour involving snot, poo, burps and farts - this is obviously something that Freddy finds hilarious. There is also a lot of slapstick violence with bugs pummeling each other and fighting over food. But there is also a message of the importance of friendship that sometimes provides some heartwarming moments for the grubs.

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New on Netrflix this month is the third season of Orange is the New Black, brand new drama Sense8, season 6 of Pretty Little Liars and horror film Insidious. On June 26th a new original show Dreamworks Dragons: Race to the Edge comes to Netflix.

I'm part of the #NetflixStreamTeam

I make no excuse of the fact that I love my TV! I really enjoy sitting down in the evening, once the kids are in bed, to enjoy episodes of quality dramas that take me into the worlds of politics, crime, horror, romance or make believe. So becoming part of the #NetflixStreamTeam really is something quite exciting for me.

In the few days since receiving my Apple TV and setting up my subscription to Netflix I have been quite overwhelmed by the quality and choice of TV shows and films available. I'm already deeply embroiled in the fairytale adventures of Once Upon a Time and have started the epic marathon that is Breaking Bad. I've made a list of must-watch shows including Sons of Anarchy, Pretty Little Liars and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that I look forward to discovering. Plus I want to catch up with the new season of House of Cards. There is just so much great TV to enjoy. I haven't even started making a film play list yet!

Meanwhile Freddy and Kizzy are loving having their favourite shows available, ad free 24/7!  Freddy has discovered the delights of Ninjago, Horrid Henry and Larvae. Meanwhile Kizzy is planning on binge watching Gossip Girl and 90210 on her tablet.

I will be posting regularly with my family's choices of what to watch and sharing my #NetflixStreamTeam adventures here and on my social media channels.