Dec. 9, 2011
Top off the holiday season with three family movies that will air on the big screen of the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater at the Culture Center, State Capitol, in Charleston on Tuesday, Dec. 27, Wednesday, Dec. 28, and Thursday, Dec. 29. Each day will feature a different film and they will be shown twice, at noon and 3 p.m. The family films are free and the public is invited to attend.
Nanny McPhee Returns (2010, 109 minutes, Rated PG) will be shown on Tuesday. Emma Thompson plays the magical nanny who appears at the door of a harried young mother, Isabel Green, who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. Nanny soon discovers that Green’s children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in and refuse to leave. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant who turns up in the oddest places, Nanny uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons. The film also stars Ralph Fiennes and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
On Wednesday, visitors can see Tangled (2010, 100 minutes, Rated PG). This animated fantasy adventure by Disney Animation Studios tells the story of a kingdom’s most wanted, and most charming bandit Flynn Rider who takes refuge in a mysterious tower, and soon is taken hostage by Rapunzel, a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Rapunzel, who is looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s spent her entire life, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. The film stars Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore and Donna Murphy.
Cars 2 (2011, 113 minutes, Rated G) will be screened on Thursday. This animated film reunites star race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) as they take their friendship to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. The road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between helping Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. This Disney/Pixar Animation film also stars Michael Caine and Bonnie Hunt.
Visitors also can tour the West Virginia State Museum and view the many exhibits on display in the Culture Center. In the Balcony Gallery, Games, Toys and Music: Fun Times of Yesterday has a selection of objects from the museum’s collection including skis and poles ca. 1910 and 1930s; a pair of snowshoes ca.1920; assorted musical instruments including an Appalachian dulcimer made in the 1800s and a cigar box fiddle ca. 1900; Civil War painted lead soldiers; sleds; and a display case made from the wood of a tree under which Gen. Robert E. Lee pitched his tent while on Sewell Mountain in Fayette County in 1861.
Celebrating 35 Years of the Culture Center in the Lobby Gallery has selections from many of the Division’s previous exhibits including Homer Laughlin China Company, Blenko Glass and Fenton Glass, West Virginia National Guard, The Greenbrier Resort, West Virginia State Parks, Marble King and Ron Hinkle Glass. The North Wing exhibit area off the Great Hall has a display of photographs from the West Virginia Forest Festival which are part of the West Virginia State Archives collections, and the South Wing has artwork by clients of the Center for Excellence in Disabilities Fine and Creative Arts program at West Virginia University.
In addition, the Great Hall is filled with holiday decorations including wreaths, six trees with ornaments made by school children and a Victorian parlor setting.
For more information, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
-30-
