Review Jake and Jasper - A Ferret Tale

As you know we LOVE ferrets. Our ferrets name is Jester and he will be 1 yr old on February 13th. I personally think ferrets are one of the best pets you could ever own. They are wonderful with kids and other animals. They are cuddly and playful. So when we found out that there was a short film coming out that was about a ferret and stared a ferret we were pretty excited. Ferrets really don't get enough credit as pets. Sure they've been in several movies but NEVER as the star. We were even more excited when Alison Parker (the director) sent us a copy to review. Homeschoolers make sure you read the bottom for some FreeBEE homeschool resources.

Even Jester was excited to see the movie.

Gwyn loves to help do reviews for the blog so she didn't hesitate when I asked her if she wanted to do a  vlog about Jake and Jasper. Here is what Gwyn had to say about the movie.

Synopsis:

Struggling to cope with the recent death of his mother, young Jake Tyler retreats from his family and the world at large. After being involved in a violent fight with some older boys at school, he winds up in the principal’s office with his father who is told that Jake might benefit from professional help. Unfortunately, Jake’s father has been unable to help himself through the loss of his wife. When not neglecting his son and daughter as a result, he’s furious with them. Jesse (Jake’s sister) is so fed up with her selfish father that she moves out of the house but not without leaving a pet ferret, Jasper, to keep her brother company.

Jake & Jasper become fast friends as the two develop a strong bond. Yet just as this companionship seems on the verge of prying Jake from his shell, his father threatens to take Jasper away. With the thought of losing his best pal, Jake decides to run away from home and the two get lost in a nearby forest. Then when darkness falls Jake & Jasper not only lose each other in the woods, they nearly lose their lives.

Our Thoughts:
This is a wonderful family movie and teaches valuable lessons in compassion, friendship, fighting, family and ferrets. The film is not rated but I can tell you there is no foul language, nudity or violence. It is very safe for all ages! The film is 25 min 14 sec long great for short attention spans. There are also a few special features like: Behind the Scenes: The Making of Jake and Jasper, Funder's Pets Photo Montage (the kids loved this), Official Trailer and Fundraising Promo Video. And if you do some searching and hit the #1 on your remote you can even some hidden goodies like a blooper reel. I love the tag line for the movie which is, "sometimes all you need is a little friendship."  And I loved the cinematic techniques used throughout the film. One of my favorite parts was the meadow scene with the white horse (Gwyn mentions it in here review). I also thought the acting was very well done and Jesse (played by Nina Hagerty) did such a great job with the scene where she gives Jasper to Jake (totally brought tears to my eyes). Both kids loved how Jasper (played by Falcor) looks just like our Jester. But they were disappointed when they tried to get Jester to do tricks like Falcor did in the movie, like fetching, rolling over and begging.

Like Gwyn mentioned, Jake played by Connor Stanhope is homeschooled. I asked Connor on his Facebook page what he liked most about homeschooling and what his favorite subject was. He replied "Hi :) I think one of the things I like best is being able to work at my own pace. I also like being able to choose some of my own things to learn. My favorite subject is science." Being a homeschool family we love to support movies that feature homeschooled actors.

We highly recommend this movie to ferret, nature, animal, family, homeschool, short film movie lovers everywhere.

BUY your copy:
If your interested in purchasing Jake and Jasper visit Ferret Depot or Martins Cages. The price varies from $21.99-$25.00 depending on where you purchase it from.

Learn more about Jake and Jasper:

-Watch the trailer
-Like Jake and Jasper on Facebook
-Follow Jake and Jasper on Twitter
-Visit the Jake and Jasper website
-IMBD website - if you watch the movie please leave a review on IMBD

Homeschoolers:
I highly encourage all of my homeschool readers to do a unit study on ferrets. Did you know that there is a wild ferret in the Western USA called the Black Footed Ferret which is endangered? And since you all know I just love to provide FREE resources here are a few things for you to incorporate into a unit study most of these are about the black footed ferret but a few cover the domesticated as well:

-Ferret worsheets
-Ferret information, pictures and vocab
-Ferret anatomy worksheet - right click to view image and print
-Ferret video and information
-Ferret coloring pages 
-Marshall Ferrets - coloring pages - Jester our ferret and the ferret in the movie Falcor are both Marshall bred ferrets.

You can also find out more about ferrets from an article I wrote on ferrets for a homeschool publication. Or if you have any questions about ferrets leave a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by.

*Disclaimer - I received a review copy of Jake and Jasper from the director.  I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.