It's My Screen Time Too

In this episode, we are joined by graphic designer and host of the I’m a Muslim and That’s Okay podcast Shehla Faizi to discuss the latest Pixar blockbuster: Soul. Is the burden of representation too much for the plot to bear? Does the jazz music meet Deborah’s standards? And where could we shoehorn John Cho into the cast? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss our hopes and fears for Common Sense Media’s coming streaming platform: Sensical.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We’re joined by librarian extraordinaire, Katie Kiekhaefer, to discuss Netflix’s animated feature Over the Moon. We celebrate blended families and diversity, wonder whether John Cho would be a good dad, lament our lack of vocal range for sing-alongs, and wish for more Margaret Cho and Awkwafina in our lives. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss an Undefeated article about 2020’s strides for blackness in animation.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We’re joined by registered dietitian and personal trainer Leslie Urbas to discuss ABC’s reboot of Supermarket Sweep. Deborah’s love for Leslie Jones propels her through supersized episodes, and Katie is highly confident in her skills as a potential competitor. We touch on the old truism that men can’t grocery shop and ponder the Criminal Minds Supermarket Sweep mash-up we never knew we always wanted. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a New York Times article that asks whether YouTube kidfluencers are making our kids fat.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Can a stellar cast, joyful dancing, and beautiful design make up for the plot holes and excessive run time of Netflix’s Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey? In Screen Time In the News, we point out any bright spots in the more than 80 new holiday movies that premiered in 2020.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

In this episode, we’re joined by Sandy Nussbaum, host of the Let’s Talk Dis Podcast and Disney expert, to discuss the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special on Disney Plus. We really get into the Life Day spirit, contemplate purchasing Star Wars themed ugly Christmas sweaters, and lament the absence of Adam Driver. Sandy gives us pro tips on the merch shopping Disney so expertly primes us for, and we chat a bit about Chris Columbus’ sour grapes over the planned remake of Home Alone on Disney Plus.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

In this episode, Katie unleashes some populist rage and Deborah expresses sympathy for the misfits on Disney Plus’ much-promoted “Secret Society of Second Born Royals.” We admit that our rating system is very much dependent on moods and context, and we bemoan the movie’s lack of zingers and selection of lame superpowers. In our Screen Time in the News segment, we discuss teens’ mental health and screen time with Punam Saxena of the Edu-Me podcast.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Take a deep, calming breath, and join us as we review Disney Plus’ attempt at blending highly recognizable intellectual property with mindfulness and meditation: Zenimation. In Screen Time in the News, we see whether Deborah is skeptical of the Wall Street Journal’s claim that TV before bedtime isn’t necessarily a recipe for poor sleep.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

In this episode, we review a new Netflix show with a surprisingly genuine heart despite its truly bonkers premise: Julie and the Phantoms. We talk about coming around to fanny packs and jumpsuits, soundtracks we can sing along to, and what a good time it is to be a tween (TV-wise, at least). In Screen Time in the News, we run through the best reality TV to watch with our kids according to the New York Times.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

In today’s action packed episode, we interview Danny LaBrecque, creator and star of the show on YouTube voted (by us) most likely to give you serious Mr. Rogers vibes, Danny Joe’s Treehouse. We talk about creating thoughtful content for kids; consuming media with kids; and how TV can do more than focus on ABCs and 123s. In our main segment, we review Netflix’s new slow-paced, cuddly antidote to today’s trying times, Izzy’s Koala World. Deborah questions Lena Dunham’s cavalier attitude toward pets, and, as usual, Katie is mean.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We review Netflix’s new bite-size science show, Emily’s Wonder Lab, in which a charismatic scientist encourages our kids to make giant messes while also - maybe? - actually learning something. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a Washington Post article about the pitfalls of constant screen time for kids during distance learning.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We revisit Animal Crackers with the movie’s writer and director, Scott Sava. He answers some of our biggest questions about the Netflix animated film: Where did those Ian McKellen musical numbers come from? Is it really okay to set a modern story at the circus? Why is Owen’s hair blue? In Screen Time in the News, we welcome some good news from the Hollywood Reporter that children’s shows are leading the way in increasing diversity on screen and behind the scenes.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We decide whether Disney Plus’ attempt to make the muppets appeal to YouTube loving kids is a success in the new show, Muppets Now. Plus, Deborah makes an impassioned plea for Miss Piggy’s dignity. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss a new crop of TV shows for grown ups made during the pandemic. Are we interested in seeing our own Zoom-centric lives reflected back to us on screen?Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Shannon Vasconcelos joins us to discuss Netflix’s new movie, Animal Crackers, and whether a circus story makes sense for today’s audiences. Plus, whether lots of different hair colors count as diversity, why Ian McKellan gets two musical numbers in a non-musical, and whether hoary “bad dad” plot tropes will go out the window in post-pandemic storylines. In Screen Time in the News, we forgive a parenting expert for judging us on our screen time habits before the pandemic upended her ideas about the role of screens in our lives.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We weep for the long ago days when we could hire babysitters and leave the house while watching HBO Max’s enthusiastic monstersitting duo, Esme & Roy. In Screen Time in the News, we explore parenting advice aimed at the men in our lives on Fatherly.com.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We revel in Netflix’s reboot of our childhood favorite: The Babysitters Club. Reimagined for a new era but still faithful to the original, we can still get lost in important questions like: are we Kristy and Maryann or more Stacy and Claudia? We welcome some guest commentary on trans inclusion and discuss whether twelve year olds are really still considered reliable babysitters.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

It’s been awhile since we covered a show we loved with as much ardor as Katie brings to UK export, Numberblocks. Listen as she raves about twelve, bags on three, and convinces Deborah to give nineteen a chance. In Screen Time In the News, we discuss Slate’s call for media mentors in this age of rampant online disinformation.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

We revisit the world of Fraggle Rock and discuss the Hulu Original, Doozers. What did we miss out on as children when we neglected to interrogate the inner lives of those tiny, radish loving architects? In Screen Time in the News, we discuss CNN’s town hall with Sesame Street, Standing Up to Racism.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Are Pixar’s charming Forky Asks a Question shorts on Disney Plus enough to finally get us to watch Toy Story 4? In this episode, you may not learn “what is cheese?” but you will learn whether Katie can cut hair, whether Deborah was good at playground games as a child, and whether the Washington Post has anything new to tell us about the screen time debate.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Are our stomachs strong enough for a show about the science behind snot, farts, and belly button lint? Netflix’s single season Oh Yuck tests our constitutions while not teaching us very much at all. In Screen Time in the News, we discuss the fight between AMC and Universal provoked by the wild success of the digital release of Trolls World Tour. We follow up on our last episode with a chat about whether Disney’s fabled “gray stuff” is, in fact, delicious.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com

Join us as we explore #DisneyMagicMoments, a hashtag and website Disney has created to keep us immersed in Disney content even as theme parks and trips to movie theaters become only fond memories during our time of sheltering in place. Character drawing tutorials, celebrity storytimes, goofy skits starring Olaf, recipes, crafts! If it involves a Disney property, they’ve got it. We’ll let you know what’s worth your attention and what’s better skipped. In Screen Time In the News, we explore the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue and how it affects us and our kids.Contact us and subscribe to our newsletter at www.myscreentimetoo.comConnect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or by email at myscreentimetoo@gmail.com