|
If making children happy is what it's all about, Dubai Summer Surprises has produced a trump card with this year's cartoon line-up.
From dancing with cute and cuddly giant rabbits to chilling out in front of Tom and Jerry classics, youngsters can enjoy varying levels of activity within the theme being staged at different malls each week.
Since Thursday, Deira City Centre has hosted Cartoon Surprises, which ends there today before moving on to Mall of the Emirates tomorrow for the next seven days.
The busiest and most boisterous attractions so far have been the special 25-minute shows laid on from around 5pm each night.
Sing along
On the evening tabloid! paid a visit, around 100 excited kids crammed in front of the stage to sing along to their favourite songs, led by enthusiastic children's television presenter Kristy Gentz, from City 7.
The 28-year-old Australian had no trouble getting the youngsters to go through the moves with her to classics such as Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and If You're Happy And You Know It. And it wasn't long before she had them all shouting in unison: "One, two, three... Come out Thumper."
Lo and behold, on their third raucous appeal, a huge Thumper the Rabbit materialised, to the children's obvious delight.
Tiny tots watched entranced from dads' shoulders as youngsters at ground level copied everything Thumper did.
Gentz, who stages three shows a night, said the reaction had been fantastic.
"The kids have been just wonderful and very enthusiastic," she said. "I love doing television but you don't get the instant gratification that you get from a live audience, so it's a great feeling."
Those who missed Thumper the Rabbit at Deira City Centre will get the chance to catch him at Mall of the Emirates from tomorrow where he will be joined by everyone's fragile friend, Humpty Dumpty.
Workshops
If all the excitement gets too much, a great way to calm down is by visiting the interactive cartoon workshop. Despite being just a few minutes' walk from the stage area, the haven of tranquillity was a world away from the louder-the-better audience participation we had just left.
Among more than a dozen youngsters creating a work of art from scratch was Sampada Kale, from Bur Dubai.
The 6-year-old said she liked drawing and explained: "My grandfather and my mother are artists and I would like to be an artist one day."
Watching from the sidelines was her mum Komal, 33, who said: "The events and the programmes have been organised very well so everyone can participate. My daughter really enjoys them and she has learnt many things and made friends as well."
Rewards
Children of all ages can use pens and pencils to draw or colour in cartoon characters of their choice. Alternatively, they can opt to create their own by decorating paper plates or using coloured sand.
Supervisor Hina Hussain said completed creations were rewarded with a lollipop and stickers of Modhesh, fairytale characters or comic book heroes.
"They like to do the plate work and they get really creative with that," she said. "They can either take their art work home or leave it here on display. It's for those aged up to about 10 but we have dot-to-dot for the small children and some of the older children like to come to draw and test their skills."
For those keen to be transformed into Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse or any other cartoon character, face painting has proved a popular feature, between 5pm and 10pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, at the interactive workshop.
Don't forget
Today is your last chance to catch Cartoon Surprises at Deira City Centre, between 5pm and 10pm, before it moves on to Mall of the Emirates tomorrow for Week Three of Dubai Summer Surprises.
Cartoon corner
In the interests of brushing up on their animation knowledge, youngsters at Deira City Centre's Cartoon History Exhibition studied the intricacies of Tom and Jerry – by watching television.
Sprawled across a host of brightly coloured beanbags was a group of children transfixed by the award-winning cat and mouse cartoon from the 1940s and '50s.
Meanwhile, the older ones, parents and guardians benefited greatly from the informative exhibition about the history of cartoons in the same area.
Emma Domingo, from the Philippines, brought her children Hailey, 9, and Cali, 7, to see what surprises were in store.
"Last week when we were here they had the mad science fair where they were given a dummy of a dinosaur's tooth so we thought we would check back to see what they had this week," said the 34 year-old mum from Bur Dubai.
"My children love cartoons and there's a bit of history too so they will learn a lot this time."
3... facts we picked up from the Cartoon Exhibition:
1. The word "cartoon" comes from the Italian word cartone and the Dutch/Flemish word karton, meaning strong, heavy paper or paste board.
2. Punch – a British political magazine which ran from 1841 to 2002 – was the first to use the term "cartoon" to refer to a comic drawing.
3. Bugs Bunny's carrot chewing was inspired by the film It Happened One Night in which Clark Gable leans against a fence eating a carrot too quickly and giving quick instructions with his mouth full.
|
