PorchLight Entertainment has partnered with Hidden City Games to create an animated television series and long-form film content based on the magical world of Bella Sara horses.

Under the agreement, PorchLight will have worldwide rights to the animated productions based on the Bella Sara™ brand, and will simultaneously pursue feature and direct-to-DVD opportunities.

“We are very pleased to be working with Hidden City Games on Bella Sara,” said Bruce Johnson, PorchLight’s President and CEO. “Bella Sara has a massive audience already built in from its trading cards and online world, and we are thrilled to give Bella Sara fans and newcomers the chance to delve farther into the legends of Bella Sara.  Our Bella Sara productions will transport children into the mystical realm of North of North as they follow Emma, a 12-year-old girl, on her adventure to reclaim her birthright. With magic, mystery and lots of horses, Bella Sara delivers classic, fantasy-driven stories that kids will love for years to come.”

Bella Sara was created in Denmark by Gitte Odder Braendgaard and has become the most successful trading card product ever developed for girls, featuring horse-themed fantasy cards that offer positive, inspirational messages to millions of young children. Each card, purchased in packs, includes a … (more…)

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KidConfidence met with the producers of “Speed Racer The Video Game” for a hands-on first look of the upcoming hyper-realistic arcade racing videogame tie-in for the WB / Wachowski brothers (Matrix) movie Speed Racer.

The game will be available in May 2008 on the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems as the Speed Racer film hits theaters. It will be released on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system with the DVD launch.

Players will be able to compete against up to 19 other racers across 20+ fictional and stylized rollercoaster like tracks. Independently turning wheels will allow players to engage in close combat -“car-fu”- and jump, flip or outmaneuver their opponents.

Especially considering the hardware limitation of the Wii Console, Speed Racer does well capturing the action, look and feel of arena racing. (more…)

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Microsoft announces partnership with Disney at E3 Media Event.

Microsoft’s Xbox360 is without a doubt the system of choice for the serious gamer. According to Microsoft’s Peter Moore and Jeff Bell it will also become the system of choice for family entertainment. (more…)

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the movie-tie in game based on movie/book #5.

This latest installment of the successful Harry Potter video game franchise is without a doubt the best one yet. ElectronicArts UK used the movie set blue-prints to digitally recreate an absolutely amazing Hogwarts experience. Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the rest of the movie cast provided the voice-over for their characters. The linear game play from earlier Harry Potter games has been replaced with an open- “choose what you want to do next” a.k.a. Sandbox, type game play.

The Motion Sensing Wii Mote makes for a natural Wand and while for the most part the controls work OK, we found that novice Wii players and kids may need some time getting used to the different motions and gestures required to cast the different spells. The game-play is compelling and easy, allowing players to control a variety of characters, aside from Harry Potter, throughout the game. The Wii’s lack of graphical horsepower is apparent, but Hogwarts still looks and feels great.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fun adventure game that will keep your kids entertained for many hours while they explore the grounds in and around Hogwarts.

Visit our Harry Potter OOTP Review Page for Screenshots, Member Reviews and more.

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Surfing Penguins!

We couldn’t have thought of a better kids game to start the summer.

Surf’s Up - The Video Game, is the movie tie-in for – yes you guessed it – Surf’s Up. This children friendly surfing game let’s even the youngest of players perform cool (and highly unrealistic) aerial maneuvers and stunts. Teens and adults looking for a “real” surfing simulation should look elsewhere (try Transworld Surf for the Xbox). The game offers several different surf spots that are based on locations from the movie. 1-4 Players can play together using splitscreen mode and for those of you looking for a break from surfing, try Leaf Sliding on one of three different tracks. The game offers several unlock-able characters, surfboards and surf spots. Which thanks to the easy difficulty should be no problem to unlock. If you have kids or like Penguins or like Surfing or all of the above; you should give this ride a try.

Visit our Surf’s Up Review Page for Screenshots, Member Reviews and more.

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