'Wonder Park' reviewed by Long Island kids
Actor Kenan Thompson met with Kidsday reporters Rose Dobert, left, Brady Lessing, Michaela Daly and Aidan Sanford, at the Rockefeller Center offices in Manhattan. Credit: Newsday/Pat Mullooly
We previewed the animated movie “Wonder Park” in Manhattan in February. It is a heartwarming movie about a girl named June who dreams up an amazing amusement park with her mom. She later learns that the amusement park has become real, but due to some circumstances, it is now up to her to save it.
One of our favorite characters in this movie was June, because of how fun-loving, friendly and imaginative she is. Other characters that we really liked were Gus and Cooper, two beavers from Wonderland, voiced by Kenan Thompson and Ken Jeong. We liked these two beavers because of how energetic and hilarious they were, constantly cracking funny jokes and puns.
One of our favorite parts was when June, voiced by Brianna Denski, discovers that her own imaginative world of Wonderland is actually real, after having doubted that it could come to life. Another great thing about this movie is the animation. We loved how cute the characters were and were also amazed by how realistic the hair looked on Boomer the bear, voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell. He looked fuzzy and lovable, just like his personality. The backgrounds also looked extremely colorful and beautiful.
“Wonder Park” is a great film for all ages. It is full of spirited characters, funny jokes and heartfelt moments for the entire family to enjoy. It reflects on how bad things can happen in life, but how we can’t have those bad things stop us. This moral teaches us that although there will be things in life that may hurt us, we can look past them. Instead, we should focus our energy on what is good, as well as look forward to what the future has to offer.
Rating: 4.5 smiles out of 5
We went back into Manhattan to meet actor Kenan Thompson. We were excited to ask him about his role in the film.
We asked him now that the movie was completed, if it was similar to what he had pictured in his mind. Kenan said that while the directors were describing the layout of the scenes, he pictured it a certain way, but that was definitely not how it turned out. Kenan described how amazed he was by the scenery and the animation being brought to life. He believes that this was one of the most amazing things about animation.
We asked a lot more questions, including: Have your daughters, Georgia and Gianna, seen the movie “Wonder Park” yet?
He said, “They haven’t. Gianna is only six months, and Georgia is 4. She’ll see it when it comes out. We just went to our first movie. I’m in 'The Grinch' as well. So that was the first time we went to the movies together. It was super-fun. But hopefully she’ll see it and love it. She got a little wiggly in 'The Grinch.' ”
We really enjoyed this wonderful experience with Kenan. He was very generous with his time with us during the interview. We were overjoyed to be with such an amazing and great man. We are amazed at how he can so greatly balance a good family life with being a famous and comical figure. We are so fortunate to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
