As long-time readers may recall, I’ve pretty much rejected marketing on this blog. My problem wasn’t so much an aversion to all marketing, but rather, the types of things people were pitching to me to review. It was either stuff I’m not into, stuff which wasn’t a good fit for the blog or stuff that seemed out and out shady. In short, if a product isn’t something I would buy myself, or, in some cases, something I really think readers would like, then I’m not interested. Until now, all the products I’ve reviewed have been things I’ve bought on my own.

So I was thrilled recently when a public relations company recently contacted me and asked if I would review the holiday special, Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas. Not only is the Curious George movie one of my son, E’s, favorite movies (and the first movie he laughed at as a toddler) but we also love watching the show together on PBS whenever he’s home during the day. It’s one of a handful of children’s shows I don’t mind sitting through.

I was sent a screener copy of the movie (which has an annoying “Property of Universal Pictures” across the top), a CD for a screening party and a DVD to give away. As in, to one of you.

Review:

If you, or your child, enjoys the PBS series, Curious George, this is essentially a Christmas-themed one hour version of the daily episode. The animation, among the best in children’s TV, is superior to the art in the original books, more playful and far more rich and colorful. In short, the artists paint a beautiful and comforting world which is pleasant enough for even the smallest of children to enjoy.

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas features the same characters and setting (in the city, rather than the rural episodes) and takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Both George and the Man in the Yellow Hat find themselves attempting to find the perfect gifts for one another. While George has “told” the man what he wants, in the form of a drawing, The Man can’t figure the drawing out. However, he doesn’t want to let George down by admitting his ignorance, so he sets out to try and secretly figure out what George wants. Meanwhile, George is also trying to figure out what to get The Man.

As is typically the case in a Curious George story or episode, silliness ensues as George makes a few wrong turns along the way, creating the obligatory messes that only this monkey can make.

One of the funnier scenes was when the two were out searching for a Christmas tree. Without spoiling what happens, George created a huge mess, which had my son laughing out loud and turning to look at me with a big “uh-oh” look on his face.

Of course, this charming special isn’t just about laughs. There is also a heart-warming message.

E enjoyed the movie. While he typically strays away from the TV to play or color, he actually sat through the entire screening, most of the time with his hands folded and a big smile on his face. He loved Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas so much that when it was over, he said, “Again?”

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas is available in stores now but you will also be able to catch it for free on TV as it is set to air today (and a few more times between now and Christmas) on PBS; check your local listings.

Quick rundown.
Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas

• Running time: One hour.
• Cost: I’ve seen prices ranging from $9.99 on sale to $16.99
• Fun Factor: 9 (out of 10)
• The good: Great story, beautiful animation, a heart-warming storyline and lots of belly laughs.
• The not-so-good: I didn’t care much for the songs, though E seemed to enjoy most of them.
• Bottom line: You can’t go wrong with this DVD. Perfect for all ages.

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for – your chance to win a copy of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas.

I have one retail copy, still in its wrapper, making it the perfect gift for your little ones. For your chance to win, all you need to do is comment here and share an entertaining holiday shopping story of your own. Stories can be funny, thrilling, scary or sweet. For instance, you can tell a story how you once fought off a pack of baseball-bat-wielding moms to get the last Tickle Me Elmo.

The contest is open to anyone in the Continental United States (sorry, but I’m paying the shipping costs) and will remain open until Sunday Nov. 28. I will post the name of the winner (chosen at random) on Monday, Nov. 29.

How a winner will be chosen:
Everyone who comments here will have their name written on a piece of paper which I will have E pick out of a bag at random. Consider this piece of paper a ticket and each commenter who shares a story here gets one ticket. However, if you’d like to get up to three tickets, you can get one more ticket for a blog post linking back here or a tweet on Twitter linking to this contest. Comment with a link to the tweet and blog post here before Sunday and I’ll add your extra tickets.

For more information about Curious George, check out the PBS page, where you (well, I hope not you, but your child) can also play the  A Very Monkey Christmas game.

(Update: Congratulations to Kool Aid, who won the Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas DVD!)

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We’ve spent a lot of time recently bonding over the Doodle Pro, a magnetic drawing board. Think Etch a Sketch but with an easier-to-use pen tool.

One of my favorite routines is when E climbs into my lap or lays on the floor next to me as I draw things and ask him to tell me what they are.

“Moww” he says for cat, “ba ba” for bottle, and so on.

All of these things bring a giant smile to his face, which is the coolest feeling in the world.

Soon, I started drawing his favorite TV and movie characters.

“Cars?” E says and I draw either Lightning McQueen or Tow Mater, which elicits a huge smile or laugh.

One time, I drew Elmo driving Lightning McQueen with Tow Mater besdie them. E LOVED it! All his favorite things together! Soon, he began requesting that Elmo always be in every picture with the Cars characters.

As much as he loves the drawings, he loves the Doodle Pro’s sliding eraser even more!

What took me five minutes to draw, he erases in one second with a quick swipe.

Then, he hands me the Doodle Pro and asks me to draw Elmo and Cars again! We repeat this process about a dozen more times.

Usually, he’ll take the pen from me before I can finish. He scribbles and dashes (something he picked up after watching me make cross hatches) over my drawings, adding finishing touches, if you will.

Then he’ll point to the drawing and proudly exclaim, “Cars!” as if he drew it.

Time for some old school drawing

On Wednesday, I decided take some pen to paper and draw another of his favorite characters, Curious George. I figured he would probably appreciate a more permanent drawing.

It was a pretty good George, if I do say so myself.

I handed him the drawing, he looked at it and said, “George!”

Big smile on both our faces.

I told him to go show mommy and he shuffled into her office and held up the paper.

“George,” he said, “daddy (indicating that I gave it to him)!”

It was one of the happier father-son moments I’ve had. I was able to use my drawing skill to make my son happy. E walked out of the room, holding his drawing, while my wife and I talked about something. I imagined him holding tightly to his new drawing, like a prized possession, perhaps putting it with his book collection.

As I was talking to my wife, I heard the unmistakable sound of a trash can lid slam shut.

Hmm, what did he throw away?

I went into the kitchen and saw that he was empty handed. I walked over to the trash can, stepped on the button to flip the lid open and there, on top of the trash, a crumpled up Curious George.

And while I know he didn’t know any better and it wasn’t a personal rejection of my drawing, it stung worse than any critique I’ve ever received.

Want BloggerDad delivered to your email every time I post? Well, you’re not alone. Join the literally tens of others who have already subscribed for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – It’s also free.

Content is copyright 2009 BloggerDad.com. If you are reading this on any site other than www.Bloggerdad.com or your personal RSS reader, then you may be reading it on a site which steals content. And would you trust a site like that?