11 Million Voters Help Choose the 1st KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Winners

In its first year, the KIDS FIRST!® Film Critics Search garnered a whopping 11 million votes to help pick the 20 finalist. A panel of celebrity judges then chose the top 5 winners from those finalists and these winners were announced earlier this week.

Congratulations to the winners! They are:

• Ny’Asia Bel from Decatur, Georgia – age 7
• Anthony Aranda from San Diego, California – age 8
• Lauren Boxer from Los Angeles, California – age 12
• Sam Connan from Santa Fe, New Mexico – age 12
• Gabriella Chu from Flushing, New York – age 14

The 3 alternate winners are Makai W. Colvin, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, age 9, Raven Devanney from Boulder, Colorado, age 13, and Phoenix Diller from Lafayette, Colorado, age 15. 

“We were extremely impressed with the quality of work from all of the contestants. Their entries were creative, well-thought out, and very fun.  I’m so impressed with our winners and look forward to working with them over the next year,” said Ranny Levy, KIDS FIRST Founder. 

As official KIDS FIRST! Film Critics, the five lucky winners attend red carpet events and advance film screenings in their local markets, where they will review new family films, interview celebrities and blog about upcoming films.  The alternates step in whenever the five are unable to cover an assignment. 

The most surprising part of this year’s inaugural search was the 11 million votes the entrants inspired at www.wonderworldtv.com/kidsfirst since the search began in August.

“The entire campaign was a huge success. Everyone from our organization was overwhelmed by the 11 million votes cast and the positive response from both media and consumers,” remarked Levy. 

“What I love about this contest is how it ties directly into KIDS FIRST!’s core mission which is to educate children to become critical media users and to engage them in a meaningful way with entertainment properties by reviewing it for their peers,” added Jay Reinbold, KIDS FIRST! Board Member.

To enter, applicants needed to submit both a written and videotaped review of one or more of the seven official KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search titles: Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Furry Vengeance, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Secret of Moonacre, Jumping for Joy, and The Velveteen Rabbit, which are available for purchase at Toys“R”Us stores, Amazon.com, SteppingStones.com, and most places where DVDs are sold.  The Velveteen Rabbit can also be viewed on the Starz Kids & Family Channel.

Remember, it’s not too late for your 6  to 15 year old child to watch and review “The Velveteen Rabbit” for a chance at winning a $10,000 scholarship from Stepping Stones Entertainment. Deadline to submit a written review of the movie is December 10, 2010.

Learn more about KIDS FIRST! at www.kidsfirst.org.

About KIDS FIRST!^®

Founded in 1991, KIDS FIRST! is a program of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, a national, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children’s media. A voluntary collaboration comprised of more than 100,000 media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide, the Coalition aims to teach children to become critical media users, help adults recognize the importance of teaching critical viewing skills to children, help children identify and be aware of outstanding media programming, and develop programs for children with special needs such as low-income, hospitalized or at-risk children.