Here is a look at what's new this week in family entertainment as adapted from reviews and ratings by Common Sense Media. Click on the links to read the reviews in full.

In Theaters Now: Disney's A Christmas Carol
A perfectly cast Jim Carrey stars as Ebeneezer Scrooge in "Disney's A Christmas Carol." This classic tale about the importance of doing right by others is a 3-D fright fest with intense special effects and some terrifying imagery. For children brave enough to take it, the film is an excellent remake of the Charles Dickens classic Christmas tale. Rated PG, OK for Kids 8+

DVD: Aliens in the Attic
Kids will recognize some of their favorite Disney and Nickelodeon stars in the silly adventure comedy "Aliens in the Attic." In the film, a family vacation is upended by the discovery of some extra-terrestrials set on world domination. While the kids battle the bad guys, there are a few comically scary scenes, lots of immature name-calling and some pretty heavy flirting. Rated PG, OK for Kids 8+

TV: Fanboy and Chum Chum
Two thrill-seeking friends imagine themselves superheros in "Fanboy and Chum Chum." While there is little educational value in this film, there is also little to worry parents. The main characters are goofy, the action scenes are comical and the language doesn't get any worse than the occasional "butt." Rated TV-Y, OK for Kids 7+

Noah Lindsey Cyrus, born January 8, 2000, is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and younger sister of Miley Cyrus. At age 3 she appeared in six episodes of the television show "Doc" and made guest appearances in two episodes of Disney's "The Emperor's New School." She was a background dancer in "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (starring her sister, Miley) and has had small roles in Disney's original series "Hannah Montana."

In 2009, Noah Cyrus, then 9, made heads turn when she showed up to Jamie Lee Curtis' Halloween party in what some called a dominatrix-style vampire costume. Though many publications that cater to a young audience refused to publish the photo, Dlisted called for Billy Ray Cyrus to take responsibility for his daughter's apparel.

She's the star of Disney's hit series "Wizards of Waverly Place." She's starred in television movies like "Princess Protection Program" and "Another Cinderella Story." She's also a singer, model, Kids' Choice Awards winner and UNICEF spokesperson.

And, now, Selena Gomez can add fashion designer to her ever-growing resume.

The 17-year-old is set to launch Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez in fall 2010, reported Women's Wear Daily.

"Growing up in Texas, I was sort of close-minded and kind of a tomboy, but as I've traveled, I found such a love of clothes," Gomez told WWD. "It's really always been a dream of mine to have a line."

The report says the line, aimed at teens, will have a pretty, bohemian flavor. Look for tie-dye and denim leggings (or jeggings), floral printed blouses, shrunken blazers, cardigans, hoodies and mini skirts.

A retailer -- and prices -- have yet to be determined, but other teen stars -- including Disney peer Miley Cyrus -- have had success with mass retailers like Wal-Mart.

Related: More Fashion & Clothing

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Got a picky eater in your house? Disney wants to help. Tired of being called out for shilling sugary cereals and fast food meals to kids, Disney hatched a plan -- they'd sell eggs instead. Disney eggs are ... well ... just eggs, only each one has a different Disney character stamped on the outside. And it's only the beginning.

Disney Garden is a new line of fruits and vegetables, all marketed toward kids, all with a favorite character attached. Finding Nemo oranges, High School Musical baby cucumbers, Mickey Mouse apple slices ... you name it, Disney will be happy to slap a licensed character on it.

Disney knows parents are concerned about childhood obesity, that they think their kids don't eat enough fresh foods. But they also know how to sell to kids. They're counting on the "nag" factor to work: Kids beg to buy their favorite characters, parents see a fruit or vegetable and think, "Why not? At least it's healthy."

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When it comes to Disney Princesses, I've got an "if you can't beat 'em, join em" attitude. And it's really hard to beat 'em when you've got two small girls in the house. But as much as I've come to accept sharing my home with Princess Aurora and her buddies, I also have my guard up. I know that Disney is a company that's more than happy to take things a little too far.

Case in point: "Princess Style" magazines. Okay, so they aren't real magazines. They're actually wall decorations, presumably for a young girl's room. If Ariel's impossibly tiny waist and come hither look aren't painful enough, check out the headlines:

• Great Legs Are a Dream That Can Come True
• What Your Guy Friends Say About You
• Two's Company, Eight's a Crowd
• Find Your Prince: 5 Tips to Show You How

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True stewardship requires good habits. Luckily for me, good habits can be learned. In my own adventures in parenting, imitation seems to be the most reliable teacher. That has its drawbacks: I no longer swear, which I used to enjoy. But it also forces me to be a better person, someone worthy of modeling. Today, of all days, we all can show our kids what it means to cherish the earth. Be a quiet guide and they'll follow in your steady footprints.

There are countless simple ways to get started. For all children, "doing" will stay with them far longer than "learning." That's especially true for young ones, for whom the idea of a threatened planet and dwindling life-giving resources may be overwhelming (I know it is for me). Instead, focus on what good they can do.

Good work is a good start: Plant trees in your town, work in your garden or clean up your local beach. Whatever you do, resist the urge to instruct young children (they won't hear a word you say anyway). Instead, take on the challenge yourself -- and pick one habit to change:

All tired out after a long week? Here are five lazy games you can play with your tot. Quality time without getting off the couch, can't beat it. -- LilSugar

Looking for a way to feel closer to your man? MomLogic has an idea ... spank him. No, really. Studies have found that spanking brings couples closer together.

Kid need to learn about more than adverbs and conjunctions these days. That's why "Schoolhouse Rock!" has added to their line of entertaining and educational videos. Behold, Schoolhouse Rock! Earth. -- Cool Mom Picks

Plus-sized and pregnant? Odds are in your favor that your pregnancy will be a healthy one. Extra weight can be a risk factor, though, so take some time to educate yourself today. -- Divine Caroline

For some families, co-sleeping is a cuddly and cozy bonding time. For others, it's a nightmare. If that sounds like you, learn how to get your kids back to their own bed so you can reclaim your beauty sleep. -- Parenting | Juice Box Jungle

Heading to Disney for spring break? Make the best use of your time together. Alpha Mom has 65 must see and do things at Disney.

Scott Wolf and wife Kelley are the proud new parents of a baby boy, born Sunday and named Jackson Kayse Wolf. -- Celebrity Baby Blog

Lululemon has great yoga pants, but their advertising slogans need some work: "Children are the orgasm of life." -- Strollerderby

Easter's on it's way, time to pick out the world's cutest Easter dress. Check out seven days of Easter dresses on Droolicious.

I remember waking up on Saturday, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and eagerly devouring a wide range of animated goodness. But like so many things in life -- the ability to stay up past 11 p.m., remembering what you were just about to do, my hair -- Saturday Morning Cartoons are almost gone.

There are still blocks of kids' shows on some of the networks' Saturday morning lineups, but many of the new series wind up on cable TV channels. A big pile of superhero cartoons -- my personal favorite, I mean, um, my son's favorite -- are found not on ABC or CBS, but on Nickelodeon (Wolverine and the X-Men, the upcoming Iron Man) and the Cartoon Network (the insanely awesome Batman: The Brave and the Bold). And Spectacular Spider-Man has moved to Disney XD (the channel formerly known as Toon Disney). All of these shows, by the way, are a lot of fun for me, I mean my kids. OK, fine -- for all of us.

So what, you say? Well, not everyone has cable. Yes, lots of people do, but it's not the entire country. (Just look at the furor over the switch from analog to digital signals.) So kids who are cable-deprived will have to deal with reruns and morning news shows.

Got plans for the three-day weekend? If not, maybe this will help. Here's a run-down of what's new this week in kid's entertainment as adapted from ratings and reviews by Common Sense Media.

At the Movies
Based on the book by Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic is a study in rampant consumerism and high-end product placement. While parents may find little to object to in the film's language or content, the glorification of shopping and the stereotypical naive and financially clueless heroine may more than make up for that. Rated PG, OK for Kids 12+

On DVD
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer is a sexually-charged film that examines the lives of three generations of women in the same family. The film earns its rating with plenty of sexual innuendo, coarse language and a scene in which a young woman loses her virginity. Rated R, OK for Kids 16+

TV
Aaron Stone continues the teen-living-a-double-life formula that has worked so well for Disney. This one, however, is aimed at teen boys and features a video game-playing high school student who moonlights as a real-life crime fighter. Gaming is central to the show's plot and there are plenty of combat scenes but very little in the way of injuries or gore. Rated TV-Y7-FV, OK for Kids 9+

Books
Little kids will be delighted to discover There are Cats in This Book. Tiny, Moonpie, and Andre are mischievous felines just begging to play - but first you have to find them. Kids will enjoy lifting the flaps and following the instructions in Viviane Shwarz's colorful book. OK for Kids 2+

Music
15-year-old Miranda Cosgrove has grown up since her School of Rock Days and the proof is in her music. The iCarly star's just-released CD About You Now features 5 pop-rock songs that reflect her budding maturity, including one with a not-so-subtle reference to late-night partying. OK for Kids 11+

Video Games
There is no storyline in Big Bang Mini, just lots of mild fantasy violence directed at cartoonish characters in the sky. While the instruction to launch fireworks using the stylus as if it were a match is an odd analogy to make in a children's game, the game itself is beautifully rendered and easy to learn and play. For Nintendo DS. Rated E, OK for Kids 7+


We'd love to hear what you're doing, seeing, reading and playing over the weekend. Share your ideas and we'll feature the best of them.

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Got a subscription to Wondertime, the feel-good magazine for parents of kids under 6? Enjoy your next issue, because it'll be the last. Disney shut down the magazine this week, citing -- what else? -- tough economic times.

Wondertime was the only parenting magazine I've ever subscribed to. I tried it out, because I loved Catherine Newman's Ben & Birdy column on BabyCenter and wanted to keep reading when she moved to Wondertime. With a great mix of published authors (Jacqueline Michard, for one) and a wide range of contributing parenting bloggers, the magazine was fresh and different from your usual parenting fare.

So I'm sorry to see it go, truly. Word is that their website will still be maintained, but I'll sure miss seeing it in my mailbox.

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One of the most stressful things a parent can do is take their kids to Disneyworld. Even if the outrageous prices don't get to you, having to keep an eye on your kids amidst throngs of identically mouse-eared children, waiting in lines longer than the Amazon River, and dealing tired, cranky, past-their-nap-time kids (and spouses) certainly will.

And so, in an effort to be better prepared for the inevitable cases of heart failure, Walt Disney World is installing an additional thirty automated external defibrillators. These will be in addition to the more than seven hundred devices already in place in the park. A spokeswoman for the park noted that the devices are becoming more common in public areas and that many guests are already trained in their use.

I have, luckily, never had to use one of these devices, but I am very used to seeing them around. While they are no more a part of the Disney experience than are fire extinguishers, first aid kits, or phone booths, they are every bit as much of a necessity.

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Somehow kids in Russia have been surviving just fine in a world without Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. But no more. Disney has formed a joint venture with Media One Holdings to bring their absurdly popular brand of tween entertainment to Russia. Once approved by Russian authorities, the Disney Channel plans to begin airing Russian-dubbed versions of their most popular shows, as well as some original Russian programming.

"This has been an effort to move deeper in the market and deliver Disney-branded programming, wrapped in a package that is very Disney, and appeals to local kids and families," said Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide.

In other words, "Russia has tweens and it's about time we started making some money off of them."

The money-making will probably have to come from merchandising and the like - at least at first. Most Russians don't have access to cable and satellite programming, so the Disney Channel will be airing for free in most places. But when all is said and done, 75% of the Russian television-watching public will be Disneyfied.

The only thing surprising to me about Disney Channel taking their brand to Russia is that it took them so long to do it.

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If you've got kids who were hoping to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, the swashbuckling pirate of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, on your next trip to Disneyland, I'm afraid they'll be out of luck. According to park officials, Jack Sparrow is no longer one of the characters that wander the park due to declining interest, but other sources say differently.

One former Sparrow says that the character has been eliminated due to young women flashing their breasts at the actors playing him. Kids these days certainly seem to have less of an issue with exposing themselves than prior generations, but it seems odd to me that women would reveal themselves to actors in Disneyland. Aside from the whole family-friendly, kids-everywhere part, it's not like it's the real Johnny Depp.

Still, it seems most of the stuff folks under forty do makes no sense to me, so maybe I'm missing something here. Would you do this?

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What organization can you think of that uses tales of good and evil to teach children moral lessons, while at the same time convincing they need that organization in their lives? What group tries to convince people that they need this group in their lives to be "a good and happy family"? What concern is also fabulously wealthy and rakes in insane amounts of money from its customers? According to the Abbot of Worth in England, it's not the Catholic Church but the Disney Corporation.

He claims that Disney is "exploiting spirituality" in order to turn a profit and says that we are in danger of losing our souls due to consumerism. "The message behind every movie and book, behind every theme park and T-shirt is that our children's world needs Disney," he says. The idea is that "they will be happier if they live the full Disney experience."

I don't doubt that Disney wants to keep kids and families coming back for more and that they are using colorful and engaging stories, products, and attractions to do so, but it also seems to me they are following a business model that's a couple thousand years old. And I'm sure it's no coincidence that the esteemed Abbot has a new book coming out, Finding Happiness, in which he suggests people would do well to live more simply.

So what do you think -- is Disney "exploiting spirituality" or just copying what works?

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When we went to see Bolt on Friday night, we took friends who just found a little lost kitty in a tree in their backyard. My friend was firm in her commitment not to become its new owner, should it's original family not be found. But after meeting Mittens, Bolt's partner in heroism, even I -- a dog lover with two cats -- momentarily thought about taking in a stray.

Bolt is the star of his own action series. He uses his superpowers -- heat vision and a "superbark" to protect his beloved person, Penny from the Green-Eyed Man. But Bolt has never been off the set, and he believes his powers -- and Penny's danger -- are real. When Penny is "kidnapped" by her nemesis, Bolt freaks out and escapes his trailer to find her.

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