The Monster Lair Debuts at the Family Fun Block!

Film lovers of all ages were treated to a one-of-a-kind event at The Music Hall on Sunday morning, the last day of NHFF. The annual Family Fun Block offers family-friendly programming for all ages. Attendees were initially greeted with the sight of an obstacle course set up on The Music Hall’s stage. After the younger audience members were tired out, the films began.

This year the block kicked off with a showing of The Monster Lair, a film written and starring campers from the Summer Rangers. The Summer Rangers camp experiences are a part of the Planet Rangers program, which seeks to motivate and inspire young learners to find culture, creativity and community through its multitude of engaging after school and camp programs.

The Monster Lair was created by campers during the Greek Week program and tells the story of a group of monsters defeated by Hercules. Cerberus, one of the camper’s favorite characters from Greek mythology is retiring and the dejected monsters vie for the chance at stepping up as guardian of the Underworld. Before the showing, some of the actors discussed the film with one of their counselors. When asked what his favorite part about acting was, one camper explained, “You don’t feel like yourself when you’re acting…you feel like your character.”

The contributors were very proud of their film, describing it as “super awesome.” After the viewing, the audience was in complete agreement, applauding the young filmmakers’ debut. Considering the film was created by students still in elementary school over the course of only one week, it will be exciting to see what kinds of great movies they make next. Be sure to check out the Planet Rangers for more information on their great programs.

Following The Monster Lair, a number of the well-known and highly regarded Pixar shorts were shown, to the delight and laughter to audience members, young and old. The shorts began with The Adventures of André and Wally B, Red’s Dream, Tin Toy, and Knick Knack, all of which were created before Pixar’s beloved breakout hit, Toy Story, and provided a unique view of Pixar’s early days. The shorts continued, some of which tied into other popular Pixar movies, including Monsters Inc., Cars, and The Incredibles, and ended with the short Lifted. If you are a lover of the NHFF, but are worried about movies you can view with your children, this annual event is not one to be missed.

By Ben Bradbury-Koster