The #Smurfs2 @CitiPrivatePass #FamilyFun 'Blue Carpet' NY Screening held @LighthouseIntl #celebs #photobooth & more!

Since I wasn't able to join their super fun screening in Chicago (as I didn't hit BlogHer 13 this year), our pals at The Moms were kind enough to refer us to over a Special 'Blue Carpet' Screening of The Smurfs 2 right here in New York City! The screening was held at Lighthouse International, an organization that is helping to fight vision loss through prevention, treatment and empowerment.

You know Smurfs couldn't walk down a red carpet, so they used a Blue Carpet instead! Smurfs and Celeb guests Christina Ricci, Hank Azaria, and Anthony Edwards enjoyed meeting the press, bloggers and special CitiPass Members who were given special seating at the screening.

My apologies, this was supposed to go up yesterday for our Wordless Wednesday, but despite spending my morning at the Global Launch of the new LG G2, my technology wasn't playing as nice back at the ranch and my scheduled post never launched!

Check out some of the celebs on the Blue Carpet:

Actress Christina Ricci (voice of Vexy) walks the blue carpet at "The Smurfs 2" New York Blue Carpet Screening at Lighthouse International Theater - Photo by Craig Barrit/Getty Images

Hank Azaria (Voice of Gargamel), Hal Azaria and Katie Wright attend "The Smurfs 2" New York Blue Carpet Screening at Lighthouse International Theater - Photo by Craig Barrit/Getty Images

Anthony Edwards attends "The Smurfs 2" New York Blue Carpet Screening at Lighthouse International Theater in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

ABOUT/SYNOPSIS:

Smurfs 2 is the sequel to Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation's hybrid live action/animated family comedy The Smurfs. Evil Wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will help him harness the all-powerful magical 'Smurf-essence'. But he discovers the hard way that only a 'real' Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell known only by Smurfette can turn the Naughties (Vexy and Hackus) into real Smurfs, so Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris leaving it up to Papa Smurf, Clumsy, Grouchy and Vanity to return to our time and reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow and rescue her.

GET SOCIAL:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - "Like" Smurfs 2 on Facebook
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @SocialSmurf on Twitter and don't forget to use the hashtag #smurfs2

My Take:

Oddly, I liked this one more than the predecessor! Smurfs 2 is family friendly fun that brings me back to the nostalgia of childhood and the original television series. For those of you that remember, Jonathan Winters was always the voice of Papa Smurf and team butterfly was definitely saddened to hear of his passing.

So Butterflies, have you seen Smurfs 2 yet?

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FTC Disclosure: This is not a compensated post. No compensation has been received to share our recap coverage of this event. Nor did we receive any type of swag. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Croods + Questions and Answers with Actress Catherine Keener and Directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco!

Da Da Daaaa! By now I'm sure you've seen the super cute commercials for the upcoming movie The Croods.

About The Movie:

The Croods tells the story of the world's first family road trip. When their cave is destroyed, the Crood family must embark on a comedy adventure into strange and spectacular territory in search of a new home. As if patriarch Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) didn't already have enough to handle, it goes from bad to worse when they encounter an imaginative nomad named Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds.) With Guy's help the Croods conquer their fear of the outside world and discover that they have exactly what it takes to survive - each other.

The Cast:

Crug (The Dad) is voiced by Nicolas Cage

Ugga (The Mom) is voiced by Catherine Keener

Eep (Daughter) is voiced by Emma Stone

Gran (Grandmother, Ugga's Mom) is voiced by Cloris Leachman

Thunk (Son) is voiced by Clark Duke

Sandy (baby) is voiced by Randy Thom

Guy (The New Guy) is voiced by Ryan Reynolds

Belt (The Sloth) is voiced by Chris Sanders (III)

The Event:

As you know Mamarazzi screenings with The Moms are not your typical movie screenings, they are EVENTS! This screening was followed by a Questions and Answers Session with the films two directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco as well as Actress Catherine Keener the voice of Ugga who is the family matriarch in DreamWorks animated film The Croods.

You know me, I like to take you through the event via photos from begining to end so you can see everything I got to see! Before we got upstairs a very special mascot made his entry in the lobby and caused quite a bit of excitement, it was BELT!!! So when we got upstairs there he was so we could take pictures, and you know I love Mascot photos (as all my photos from most BlogHer Conferences are with the Mascots I find on the exhibitor floor!).

Left: Ascending Butterfly, Center: Belt Mascot from DreamWorks Pictures The Croods, Right: Mama Butterfly

My eyes were closed in the first photo above, so thankfully they got another one!

Now we're talking! DA DA DAAAAA!

And there was another cute photo opp waiting at the entrance to the auditorium:

I didn't dare sit on that little chair, so I snapped a picture of it!

And there was cute Crood branded Popcorn Bags at the ready for us too!

The screening was followed by a Questions and Answers Session led by Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein the dynamic duo behind The Moms, Catherine Keener the voice of Ugga, and directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco!

Below is a video with Questions and Answers that were asked prior to the audience Q&A but it opens with some of the pre-screening reception and don't blink because I'm in the beginning of this video posing for my picture with Mama Butterfly and Belt!

I can see why Actress Kristen Bell likes Sloths, Belt is kind of sweet and cuddly! Here are my photos from the Questions and Answers Session, thankfully it's accompanied by the video of the session as my shots weren't super clear. (This butterfly definitely needs a new camera!)

Left: Denise Albert from 'The Moms', Center: Actress Catherine Keener, to Catherine's Right  Director Chris Sanders, Far Right: Kirk DeMicco

Left: Catherine Keener (Voice of Ugga in DreamWorks Pictures The Croods), Center: Director Chris Sanders, Right: Director Kirk DeMicco

Left: Vincent DiCaro, Director of Public Affairs, National Fatherhood Initiative, Right: Denise Albert from 'The Moms'

Here is the Video of the Questions and Answers Session:

My Take:

The Croods is good family fun for ALL ages! While I did enjoy Oz The Great Powerful, that movie is definitely for older children and teens, while The Croods is good for all ages. It touches on so many different aspects of what being a family means, and the great lessons they learn along the way when they were forced to embrace change ready or not. Parents learning how to let their children grow and go, and the struggles that children go through when they want more freedom than they may necessarily be quite ready for.

The Croods hits theaters on March 22nd and I would definitely say it's a 'Ticket' if you are looking for a family friendly film that is fun for all ages!

Once you've had a chance to see it, come back here and let us know what you thought! And Bloggers feel free to link us to your Wordless Wednesday Posts here too!

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FTC Disclosure: Ascending Butterfly attended a Private Screening of DreamWorks Pictures The Croods, we were provided with snacks and a gift bag, however this is NOT a sponsored post and no monetary compensation has been received to share our screening experience or film review. Full disclosure policy: http://www.ascendingbutterfly.com/p/disclosure-policy.html

{Movie Review} Prep & Landing - Watch it Tonight on ABC!

© Disney. All Rights Reserved

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season (after trimming the tree and decking the halls of course) is watching my favorite holiday cartoons. They are absolutely timeless, and I look forward to watching them just as much now as I did when I was a kid.

But it wasn't until I checked out Disney's Prep & Landing that I realized today's kids needed a new tradition, they are way more high tech than we were at their age, and the same old story year after year doesn't have the same nostalgia for them as they do for me.

Today's kids definitely have a new holiday cartoon seemingly created with them in mind. It's North Pole gone high tech with adventure and holiday hijinx!

About Prep & Landing

Prep & Landing is an adorable holiday story about a high-tech team of elves who ensure homes around the world are properly prepared for their visit from Santa. After working for a tireless 227 years, an elf named Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) is upset when he doesn’t receive an expected promotion. Instead he is partnered with an idealistic rookie elf named Lanny (voiced by Derek Richardson) to execute a special Christmas Eve mission. While on their journey, Wayne and Lanny encounter unexpected challenges that push them to their limits and ultimately threaten Christmas for children around the world. But in the end, these two elves work together to guide Santa through a raging snowstorm in order to save Christmas.

Do the elves save Christmas?

Curl up with your little one and check it out on ABC tonight! Then come back here and tell me your favorite part!

My niece and nephews loved it! While I am not hosting a giveaway this time around, I wanted to recommend it as a stocking stuffer for Christmas lovers of all ages!

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FTC Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own. This is NOT a sponsored post. Refer to our Disclosure Policy.

Cars 2 {Movie Review}

About the Movie:

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and the stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer). -- (C) Disney

My Take:

Boys aren't the only ones into cars. I had Matchbox cars when I was a kid (and had to constantly keep an eye on my male cousins!), all very ironic as I don't drive but I do appreciate muscle cars! The next best thing to driving fast cars is watching them race right?

Cars 2 focuses in more on the friendship between McQueen and Tow Truck Mater with a mix of international espionage thrown in for fun. The kids will love Mater's goofy charm and Pixar's fantastic animation that will take them around the world (without the expense of airfare) and teach them a thing or two about friendship in the process.

So join me in scoring cool Auntie points and check out Cars 2 today! And you can nab a coupon for $5 off HERE

There are some fun activities you can check out below:

And for my foodies:



and stuff to do on the go:

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