After 50 years in print, the National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick magazine, featuring that oh-so-wise raccoon, has a couple of generations of fans who grew up knowing and loving the animal exploration and beautiful photos within. But the NWF is hoping to bring in the next wave of fans with the addition of Ranger Rick Jr. magazine next month, featuring the younger Ricky Raccoon. And of course, both Ranger Rick (geared to ages 7-12) and Ranger Rick Jr. (ages 4-7) are sporting new iPad apps.

Check out the trailer below for the Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures, where Ricky, unlike Ranger Rick, speaks. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Lisa Rose

Break out the spaghetti tacos — Carly’s dad is coming home.

The end is near, which means it’s time to have some emotional reunions. For the last episode of Nickelodeon show iCarly, Carly’s dad, Colonel Shay, will finally make an appearance.

He’s been stationed overseas for the entire five-season run of the show, and Carly missing her dad is regularly a plot point. When Michelle Obama guest-starred earlier this year, the First Lady talked about military families, and how understandably difficult it can be to be separated.

Happily, a meet-up is in store for the dad/daughter duo. On the final, special hour-long episode of the program, “Spencer (Jerry Trainor) offers to take Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) to the Air Force father-daughter dance when their dad, Colonel Shay, isn’t able to accompany her because of his overseas deployment. When Spencer gets sick and can’t take her, Freddie (Nathan Kress) and Gibby (Noah Munck) try to cheer Carly up by offering to go with her. Colonel Shay surprises everyone when he arrives just in time to take Carly to the dance.”

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Image Credit: Disney/Pixar; Tim Whitby/Getty Images

When Pixar set its latest movie in the evergreen tree-covered hills of Scotland, the animation studio recruited several Scottish actors to flesh out the cast for its story of defiant princess Merida. Kelly MacDonald, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, and Billy Connolly were among the actors who got to use their natural Scottish brogue for their voice performances in Brave, which opened in theaters in June.

In anticipation of the movie’s DVD release this week, EW talked with Billy Connolly, the voice of Merida’s massive but sweet father, King Fergus. The actor/comedian is known both for his work in such kid-friendly fare as Pocahontas and Muppet Treasure Island and for roles in movies like Mrs. Brown and The Last Samurai. Read on to learn about how Connolly’s Scottish roots contributed to the movie, what unconventional trick he uses in the recording studio, and what it’s like for his kids and grandchildren to see him or hear his voice on screen.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You had done plenty of voice acting for animated films before Brave, but this was your first Pixar movie. Was stepping into a world of such a revered animation studio what you expected?
BILLY CONNOLLY: Oh, they were brilliant. They were absolutely brilliant. Animation people are very, very nice. They don’t have the big-shot thing that some feature filmmakers have. They’re much more artistically driven.

And I was amazed at how thoroughly they had researched this stuff – the people who wrote it in the first place had been up at my house in Scotland because there’s an annual parade called Lonach. There’s a pipe band with 163 players and they carry axes and spears and things, and they march up your driveway and make speeches and all that kind of stuff. Well, they’d been there! When I met them to talk about the movie, they showed me all the pictures, and they’d been outside my door, filming the pipe band. READ FULL STORY »

Carolyn Jones; United Feature Syndicate

Every week EW’s Dalton Ross and his wife, writer Christina Kelly, have a… um, lively discussion about what movie they should watch with their two children (Dale, 12, and Violet, 9) that weekend. Now they make their cases publicly and you get to vote on the choices and decide how the Ross family will be spending part of their weekend. The power is in your hands, people. Due to Hurricane Sandy, Dalton and Christina were without power for a few weeks. When we last left off, Christina won the Tim Burton Halloween battle as ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ edged out ‘Beetlejuice’. Can she make it two in a row for the very first time? Read on and then vote for which  film they should watch this week. READ FULL STORY »

Interested in the story behind the music? Olivia, Wen, Stella, Mo, and Charlie of the teen band Lemonade Mouth return in Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up (out today), the follow-up to Mark Peter Hughes’ first book, which inspired the hugely popular Disney Channel Original movie. To celebrate the band’s new bio, the cast of the movie have come together and recorded a new song, “Don’t Stop the Revolution,” which will also be available on iTunes. Check out the music video below! READ FULL STORY »

Eric McCandless/Disney Channel

I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas over on the Disney Channel and Disney XD… okay, not quite yet. But the Disney Channel has announced its new Fa-la-la-lidays schedule, which includes holiday themed episodes for Good Luck Charlie, Phineas and Ferb, Dog With A Blog, and Shake It Up, as well as a crossover episode of Jessie and Austin & Ally. And its holiday movies this year include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Disney’s A Christmas Carol and the Disney Channel premiere of Secret of the Wings. And on Dec. 3, Disney XD will have holiday episodes of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Pair of Kings, and Kickin’ It.

In Good Luck Charlie‘s “A Duncan Christmas” (Dec. 2), Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) goes a little crazy trying to ensure that Charlie gets to see Santa Claus at Super Adventure Land. Meanwhile, Shirley Jones reprises her role as Grandma Linda, who finds out that she and Amy (Leigh-Allyn Baker) are performing the same song at the family talent show. Teddy and Spencer (Shane Harper) also perform the duet “My Song For You.” Check out a clip of the duet below: READ FULL STORY »

Pablo Blasberg/Getty Images

When Hurricane Sandy turned off the heat and power at our house here in Montclair, N.J., I had been watching coverage of the storm on TV and saw that a roller coaster my husband and 12-year-old son had ridden this past summer in Seaside Heights had landed in the ocean.  As unbelievable as that was, in those first moments of darkness, I never imagined that 80 percent of our town would be without power for days and days. Or that our house would be dark for nine. We lit some candles and placed them in the fireplace. I turned on the transistor radio, and my husband, son, 9-year-old daughter, and I sat on the couch watching the flames.

The next few days moved slowly. We filled the time playing chess, Sorry, Go Fish! and a Rodney Dangerfield board game called No Respect (don’t ask). As the temperature of the house dropped down to 43 degrees, the kids developed colds and I got super cranky, lumbering around wearing four layers and a scowl. I knew others had it much worse from listening to NPR on the transistor, and reading our New York Times, which we still have delivered the old-fashioned way. I knew we were lucky. Our house had suffered no damage, and our loved ones were all safe. But I was cold. Bone-chillingly cold. And there was an awful smell emanating from our garbage disposal. We charged our devices at the public library, and I whined on Facebook about our predicament. What can I say? I am soft. READ FULL STORY »

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing and outrage  ever since Viacom added a block of Mom-centric programming to its schedule last month. Much of the grievance stems from the fact that the nighttime content is too “racy” or “foul” for the preschool Nick channels. But I could care less whether a woman swears or disrobes on the same channel my daughter watched eight hours earlier in the day. What chaps my hide, and has so ever since I saw the first misguided promo during an umpteenth viewing of my kid’s favorite Max & Ruby episode, is the strange idea that I’d ever turn to Nick for comfort or distraction after a long day of playing with and chasing and cajoling a child.

Instead I want to watch Homeland, even though I’ve yet to make it past last season’s amazing cabin and now feel hopelessly out of the cultural conversation. I want to watch Parenthood, not because it’s entertainment cynically directed at parents but because it is beautifully acted and exquisitely written. (And because Monica Potter is extraordinary and she better get nominated for an Emmy for this cancer arc.) I want to watch, and perhaps I’m blowing any credibility here, The Real Housewives. (It’s for work. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. And s