Kid Scoop: A Return to Haiti, Alex Pettyfer, and 'Gravity Falls'

With each serving of Kid Scoop, we share the latest news in the world of kids' TV and movies, so YOU can be the know-it-all for a change. This week's scoop features a return to Haiti, upcoming superstar Alex Pettyfer, Disney's Gravity Falls, and more.

A Return to Haiti
Nickelodeon observes the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake with Nick News: "Haiti Rising? Life in the Ruins" on January 9. Why will kids be concerned a year after the disaster? Well, half the population of Haiti is under 18 and more than half of the homeless there are children. And if there's one thing kids respond to, its the plight of other kids. No one knows that better than Nick News. "We saw kids dealing with the reality of today while dreaming about tomorrow," says host Linda Ellerbee. "The story of Haiti is a kid’s story. The world must not fail them."

The Next Big Star?
Do you know Alex Pettyfer? If you don't, you will very soon -- and not just because the 20-year-old former model and actor looks like the offspring of both Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The star of 2006's blink-and-miss-it Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (based on a British spy series for young adults) Pettyfer is starring in two can't-miss-it teen-friendly films next year: I Am Number Four, a sci-fi action thriller executive produced by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Glee's Diana Agron is scheduled for a February release, while March's Beastly, a modern take on the Beauty and the Beast fable co-stars Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Neil Patrick Harris. Will Alex be the next Robert or Taylor? By next summer, we'll know Pettyfer sure. In the meantime, stump your kids with these factoids: the young man has numerous tattoos, is reportedly afraid of flying, and once dated Emma Roberts.

Disney's Sense of Gravity
Something odd is going on in Oregon… on TV anyway. Gravity Falls, an upcoming Disney Channel animated series, focuses on a pair of twins spending the summer at their great uncle’s tourist museum in Gravity Falls, Oregon. A mystery series about an oddball museum is fairly original by kid TV standards. Calling the museum “The Mystery Shack”? Notsomuch. The series falls onto TV screens in spring, 2012.

Casting a Shadow
DreamWorks is planning an animated film with a serious dark side. Me and My Shadow focuses on Stanley Grubb, "the most boring human ever" and his shadow, Shadow Stan, who seeks a more exciting life and takes control of Stanley. Do you need me to foreshadow what happens next? Me and My Shadow is scheduled to creep into theaters March of 2013.

Will Alex Pettyfer Be the Next Breakout Superstar? Chime in now!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/kid-scoop-return-haiti-alex-pettyfer-and-gravity-falls/1-a-308675

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