If laughter is the best medicine, Orinda is in for some much needed healing these next few months thanks to the launch of a new summer entertainment program. An outgrowth of the popular movie nights hosted previously by the city's Teen Advisory Council, Movies Under the Stars is being presented free of charge in July and August by the Orinda Parks and Recreation Foundation.
"I think it's a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together," said Mayor Sue Severson of the family-friendly film fest. Describing the new program as a great way for kids to have fun in a setting that parents can trust will be safe, she added that she hopes Orindans of all ages will come out and "enjoy an evening right here, downtown."
Summer movie season will begin July 10 with the sing-along version of "Frozen," the latest in Disney's Animated Classics series. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," the film is a coming of age tale with an epic journey and not one, but two Disney princesses - Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell, and Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel, the vocal powerhouse best known for her work on Broadway in "Rent" and "Wicked." Her film-stopping moment in the Disney outing is "Let It Go," a song that has gone platinum with more than a million sales to date.
And because the show must always go on, fans of Beaker and Miss Piggy will be on the edge of their lawn chairs July 24 as Fozzie, Animal and Walter help Kermit escape from the clutches of Tina Fey before taking on "the world's most evil frog" - all while trying to thwart the theft of England's crown jewels in "Muppets Most Wanted."
The general goofiness will continue Aug. 14 when Orinda's littlest minions giggle and guffaw as Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Carell and Russell Brand return as Margo, Gru and Dr. Nefario in the Oscar-nominated, multi-award-winning "Despicable Me 2" - this time wielding lipstick tasers and other nifty gadgets in an effort to vanquish the vile villains behind the disappearance of a covert Arctic laboratory.
After a summer of new memories made, Orinda Movies Under the Stars 2014 will wrap Aug. 21 when local master builders and other Lego fans bond while booing Lord Business as he plots to capture the Kragle and put the universe permanently on ice in "The Lego Movie."
Each film is rated PG and will be shown at the Orinda Community Park. Movies will begin in July at approximately 8:30 p.m. and at 8:15 p.m. in August.
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