SING -- SPECIAL EDITION

SING was one of my kids favorite movies that came out last year and they've been regularly asking if we could get it to add to our home video library ever since seeing the animated film at the theater.  The wait is almost over for them as I received a complimentary SING -- SPECIAL EDITION Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Download movie combo pack as part of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment's promotion of its Tuesday, March 21, 2017 release date.  With food allergies being a serious concern when it comes to my kids, we minimize candy at Easter and replace it with other fun things.  SING -- SPECIAL EDITION came out just in time to be a perfect addition to their Easter baskets!

The studio behind the production of SING, Illumination (which also created Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets) wasn't content with just re-releasing the original theatrical movie on home video.  So Illumination and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment have put together SING -- SPECIAL EDITION which in addition to the featured presentation also includes 3 new mini-movie that include the cast from the movie as well as an exclusive Tori Kelly music video and a variety of musical extras.  You'll definitely get your groove on when watching the movies, music videos and other special extras included in SING -- SPECIAL EDITION.

SING is an animated comedy with the theme of finding the music that lives inside all of us.  You'll be entertained by more than 60 hit songs while you watch it including a brand new song by Motown legend Stevie Wonder (featuring Ariana Grande), marking his first song for a major motion picture in 25 years.  The movie includes the vocal talents of Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon (an eternally optimistic koala who puts on the world's greatest singing competition to save his crumbling theater), Reese Witherspoon as Rosita (an overworked and unappreciated mother of 25 piglets desperate to unleash her inner diva), Scarlett Johansson as Ash (a punk rock porcupine with a beautiful voice behind her prickly exterior), Taron Egerton as Johnny (a young gangster gorilla looking to break free from his family's history of felonies), Seth MacFarlane as Mike (a small time con artist of a mouse with big aspirations), Nick Kroll as Gunter (a pig who is not afraid to let it all hang out), and Tori Kelly as Meena (an elephant whose stage fright hides a huge talent).  This dramatic comedy filled with music is sure to delight both kids and kids-at-heart of all ages.

Whether you're giving SING as a surprise for a child's Easter basket or planning on watching it for a Friday Family Movie Night, I promise you this film is sure to get people tapping their feet, laughing and singing along as they view it.  To share my family's enjoyment of the film and enthusiasm about it becoming available on home video,  in addition to giving the movie A GEEK DADDY nod of approval for being an awesome movie for kids, I  am giving away a SING -- SPECIAL EDITION Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD combo pack to one lucky blog reader.  Complete the entries required in the Rafflecopter form below and a winner will be randomly selected from all eligible submissions.  The contest is open from 3/18/2017 to 3/26/2017.  Must be a US resident over 18 years old to participate for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Listen up! You aren't going to want to miss the extra content in SING -- SPECIAL EDITION, especially the 3 mini-movies "Gunter Babysits", "Love At First Sight" and "Eddie's Life Coach"

Gunter Babysits:  Rosita's dance partner Gunter offers to watch all 25 of her piglets for the night to prove he's the best babysitter ever.

Love At First Sight:  During a piano lesson with Johnny, Miss Crawly becomes nostalgic about the dancing and romancing of her youth.  Johnny convinces her that it's not too late to find someone and helps her setup a profile on a dating website.

Eddie's Life Coach:  Eddie's mom signs her slacker son up for a digital training seminar to get his life back on track.

Additional extras contained in SING -- SPECIAL EDITION include music videos for the songs "Don't You Worry About A Thing", "Faith" and "Set It All Free"; behind the scenes documentaries on the making of the movie; and animated segments providing additional details about the characters you love from the film.  The SING Network shorts provide news and highlights on the business endeavors of some of the characters following the conclusion of the events in the movie such as Gunter's Dance Studio, The Moon Theater, Rosita's Babysitting Gizmo, and Miss Crawley's Matchmaking Service.  Plus "True Entertaining Stories" are segments that highlight each of the Moon Theater's newest stars, Gunter, Rosita, Johnny, Meena, Ash, and Mike.

For more information, please visit SINGmovie.com or follow the movie's social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  SING -- SPECIAL EDITION is available to watch on 4K, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on March 21, 2017.

SUBWAY Collectible "Finding Dory" 3D Scene-Makers

I have a series of really nice glass cups with each one featuring a different character or scene from either Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi that were original promotional tie-ins to the movies from Burger King that are my most prized Star Wars collectible items.  Over the years, I've picked up a variety of fun and interesting movie tie-in promotional items from fast food restaurants such as BK, KFC, McDonalds, and Taco Bell.  Fans of Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and Walt Disney movies may have noticed these promotions aren't as prominent as they used to be with fast food restaurants when it comes to these films.  That's because Disney's MAGIC OF HEALTHY LIVING INITIATIVE started in 2010 which has a mandate of improving healthier eating options for children ages 6 - 13 and their families.

A major component of this initiative is that Disney won't enter into partnerships with fast food / quick serve restaurants whose menus don't meet the company's nutritional guidelines for providing healthier eating options for kids and their parents.  So that's the reason you haven't seen a Captain America: Civil War, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or Zootopia kids meal toys or other movie cross-promotional items at many of the fast food restaurant chains lately.  One restaurant that has met the Magic of Healthy Living Initiative criteria though is SUBWAY so if you want to find some fun tie-in items to upcoming Disney movies that is the place to go.

If your family is looking forward to the Finding Dory movie than you'll want to pick up a SUBWAY kids meal.  Finding Dory floats into theaters across the United States on Friday, June 17, 2016 and SUBWAY restaurants, the largest Disney-endorsed quick service restaurant (QSR), is celebrating the arrival of this highly anticipated sequel to the beloved Finding Nemo with six collectable Finding Dory 3D scene-makers.  Shaped like a diving mask, children can shape their own unique scenes featuring characters from the film and then pretend to swim underwater imagining their own Finding Dory adventures.

Children will find one of six collectible Finding Dory 3D scene-makers in a SUBWAY Fresh Fit For Kids meal.  In addition to the including the 3D scene-maker, each SUBWAY Fresh Fit for Kids meal includes a handcrafted sandwich customized with veggies and lean meats on freshly-baked bread paired with fresh apple slices and low-fat milk or water to drink.  This new campaign is the latest collaboration of many between Disney and SUBWAY (previous include Star Wars, Zootopia, Inside Out, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Frozen). 

For more information, visit subwaykids.com

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Announces Digital HD, 3-D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand Release Dates in October for JURASSIC WORLD

** This post was sponsored by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.  A Geek Daddy is part of the #TeamJurassic blogger program & has been financially compensated **

Are you ready to hear the roar of dinosaurs in your home as they stomp around in front of you?  Universal Pictures announced today that the summer blockbuster which crushed the opening-weekend box office, scoring the highest domestic, international and worldwide theatrical opening of all time will be available for people to add to their home video libraries this October.  Shattering records globally, JURASSIC WORLD has taken in more than $1.6 billion to become the third-highest grossing film in history and now fans can experience its thrill and awe from the comfort of their own homes when it is released for digital download and becomes available for Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand viewing.  JURASSIC WORLD arrives on Digital HD on October 1, 2015 and on 3-D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand on October 20, 2015.

Here's an updated trailer specifically for the Home Entertainment release of #JURASSICWORLD:



The #1 movie of the year proves that once again, dinosaurs rule the earth! Experience JURASSIC WORLD in stunning hi-definition via Digital HD or by picking up the movie on Blu-ray.  The DVDs and Blu-rays also have some great bonus features to enhance your appreciation of the motion picture.  Check out these special bonus features:

Blu-ray & DVD Bonus Features

• DELETED SCENES

• DINOSAURS ROAM ONCE AGAIN - Behind the scenes look at the making of Jurassic World's visual effects involving how the dinosaurs came to life and the way actors filmed scenes with them.

• CHRIS & COLIN TAKE ON THE WORLD -  Actor Chris Pratt and Director Colin Trevorrow interview each other and discuss Jurassic World as well as the other Jurassic Park movies.

Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Features

• WELCOME TO JURASSIC WORLD - An in-depth take on the creation, look and feel of Jurassic World.  Director Colin Trevorrow and Producer Steven Spielberg discuss how the idea of the film came together and how the casting was decided with actors' commentary on their roles and filming locations.

• JURASSIC WORLD: ALL-ACCESS PASS -  Chris Pratt and Colin Trevorrow discuss key moments in the film, supported by behind-the-scenes footage and VFX breakdowns.

• INNOVATION CENTER TOUR WITH CHRIS PRATT - Chris Pratt gives a tour of the Innovation Center, a museum.exhibit built just for the movie.

• JURASSIC'S CLOSEST SHAVES - Clips from all films in the franchise showing "near death" or extremely scary encounters with dinosaurs.

Plus keep an eye out for the limited edition Blu-ray Combo Pack in collectible steel packaging.

For more information, visit the official movie website: JurassicWorldMovie.com

November is "LEGO MONTH" for DC Comics

DC Comics is going LEGO in November! Twenty-two of its comic book titles will have variant LEGO covers in addition to the standard print versions of the edition that month.  Why?  Well it could be that DC likes to create multiple cover art variants to encourage more collectors to buy additional issues each month.  It could be that DC knows that LEGOs are cool and a hot property right now with Millennials and a tie-in would help increase attention with young consumers who the industry really needs to increase sales with .  The correct answer though is that a new video game LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM is being released in November and DC is looking to help promote its sale through these comic book covers.

So if you want to see your favorite characters LEGOized stop by your local comic book store in November to check them out.  Note the covers will feature the LEGO artwork but the actually comic book stories will be the traditional portrayal of the characters.

Monthly variant themes is becoming a trend for DC Comics.  In July the publisher featured 75 variant covers across its titles to celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary; August has a "Selfie" photo theme; in September they will have 3-D motion covers with a Futures End theme; and in October they are going with a Halloween theme and will have Monster variations for a number of its titles (check out one of the Monster covers below). Than it is LEGO in November. Enjoying the artwork on covers is a favorite part of my collecting...you just have to be disciplined and not buy too many issues just for multiple covers but rather just pick up the ones you really like.  Most of these variants won't be worth anything to sell as collectibles so you need to purchase them for your personal enjoyment; but I'll also note having a collection filled with interesting covers makes the hobby a whole lot more fun in my opinion.