Dr. Donna's Review

About the Film

“Roach Approach – Slingshot Slugger” takes place at a popular seaside pier where an extended family of bugs, roaches and others, live below the human activity going on around the pier. The main character in the story is Squiggzy, a young roach who is a wiz on his skateboard and who has a dream of hitting a home run in the baseball arcade game. Squiggzy and his two bug friends, Flutter and Cosmos, go to play in the arcade and encounter a huge guy from a bug exterminating company. It is clear that the gigantic guy is intent upon using his arsenal of sprays and equipment to get rid of all the bugs in the arcade. They escape the exterminator's first attempts and run to tell Grandpa about the threat. Grandpa, who is busy trying to think of the perfect anniversary gift for Squiggzy's grandmother, listens to their news, follows them to see how huge the exterminator is and then acknowledges that they only way to overcome such an adversary is to learn the lesson from an age old story. So, Grandpa tells them the story of David and Goliath. He makes the point that the only way that David could overcome Goliath, a giant of the Philistines, was to trust in something greater than himself, draw strength from within and use his brains to compensate for his lack of physical prowess. Grandpa's telling of the story of David and Goliath alternates with the threatening exchanges between Squiggzy, Grandpa, Flutter, Cosmo and the exterminator. When Grandpa, Flutter and Cosmo get their feet stuck in the bug-catching box, Squiggzy knows that the job of stopping the exterminator is up to him. He reflects on the story of how tiny David overcame the gigantic Goliath. He asks for divine guidance and help; then he used both his skate boarding skill and his skill hitting the baseball to overcome the giant exterminator and save his bug friends.

About the Kids
This film will be of interest to all children, boys and girls, from 3 to 9. The mythic nature of the story of David and Goliath appeals to the child's need to feel empowered in spite of his or her small size relative to adults. The younger child, 3 to 5's, may not be able to follow the juxtaposition of the bible story with the contemporary story and may experience some confusion. Nevertheless, they will enjoy both stories at the simplest level and they will enjoy the fast motion and antics of the bug characters. Older children will be able to get the story on deeper levels. They will be able to relate to the metaphor of David and Goliath applied to the contemporary situation with which Squiggzy has to deal. Parents should be aware that the film draws upon the Judeo-Christian traditions in the telling of the story and the reliance on prayer as a source of guidance and inspiration. Parents should also be aware that there are some instances of mildly gross humor involving bodily smells, huge burps, etc. Nothing, however, that goes beyond the bounds of acceptability.

Film content and features
“Roach Approach – Slingshot Slugger” uses computer animation. The pace is fast and the color palette is bright. Musical segments also help to move the pace along.

Things to talk about
There are many themes that parents can discuss with children after seeing the film.

With younger children, asking questions that help them recall characters and sequences of events is important to building pre-reading skills. Young children can also be encouraged to think and talk about how the story of how David conquered Goliath can help them deal with their own fears. Encourage them to articulate the idea that David drew upon his own self-confidence to develop a plan that used the skills he possessed.

Ask them to talk about things they are afraid of and then help them use the metaphor of David and Goliath to come up with ways to handle the fears. Older children will be able to discuss the deeper metaphor in which Goliath stands for both the individual adversities that people face and for the worldly powers and institutions that oppress the weak. They will be able to understand the idea that facing personal adversity makes one stronger and that having the courage to take a stand when something is wrong is analogous to standing up to Goliath.