KID'S MOVIES
These movies are for adults too. They're not TOTALLY for kids. However, if you went to see one of these flicks in theatres you probably heard at least one baby screaming or toddler having a tantrum.
Beauty and the Beast You
can't go wrong with Disney. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time
favourites. There's one new song and it's pretty good. Funny. You can see
shortcuts in animation more easily on the IMAX screen. Things like
characters standing perfectly still, people drawn badly, things that are
supposed to be people but are actually just grey blobs. You still can't go wrong
with Disney though. ****
Crocodile Hunter My brother's a big
fan of the Croc Hunter and I'm only a casual viewer. If you like the show
you'll probably enjoy the movie. Steve and Terri are trying to relocate a
crocodile who has swallowed a piece of a satellite (an important piece that
could change the balance of power of the world if it fell into the wrong hands).
They assume the government agents sent to retrieve the thingie are poachers
while the agents assume that Steve and Terri are spies who stole the thingie on
purpose. It's a really long episode of Crocodile Hunter (but not that long
1hr 30min) with a kids movie style plot thrown in. I don't think I'd take
sensitive kids to see this though, even I was squirming when Steve wrestled with
crocodiles or played with an angry snake with "enough venom to kill 100 blokes
his size". ***
Finding Nemo This movie is good. I laughed. I felt warm fuzzies and sad fuzzies. I got it for my Birthday. YIPEE! YOU gots to see it! *****
Harry Potter I thought the
book sucked. But Harry Potter actually works on the big screen. It's
extremely long. Lots of effects, not much plot. The book was missing the
effects. The actor who plays Harry can't actually act but the other kids, Malfoy,
Hermione, and Ron really do well. I predict seeing one or all of them in other
stuff soon. **
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I didn't read this book and I think I got more into the story because of that (I
didn't know every single thing that was going to happen before it did).
Malfoy didn't get as much play in this one: too bad. The whole flick was a
little darker. Everyone's being PETRIFIED! And the boys voices were a little
deeper. Tee hee. ***
Hey Arnold!
Arnold (football head, not
muscle head) has to save his neighbourhood from being torn down (an evil guy is
building a mall). I found this movie cute and funny. My fave
character is Helga, the girl with a unibrow and a secret crush on Arnold.
Sure it's a kids movie but since it doesn't talk down to you (like Rugrats) and
so it's still fun to watch. I understood and enjoyed it even though I've never
seen the show. Although, at 1hr 10min it's too short to spend money on
unless you're desperate for something to do with a crowd of youngsters. **
Ice Age
Hilarious! The squirrel and the
dodos are the best. This movie rocks! Go see it! Go see it! Go see it! *****
Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius This movie is
as fabulous as it looks. Lots of suspension of disbelief required since they
have no device to breathe outside the atmosphere. My favourite bits are
Jimmy's robotic dog ("Play dead!") and the kid who's obsessed with Ultra Lord. Picard voices the king alien and does a good job (of course). ****
Lilo and Stitch
This movie
is so Disney. I loved it. Stitch, an out of control genetic experiment created
by an alien scientist, escapes the folks who want to destroy him and lands in
Hawaii where he meets Lilo, a little girl who has no friends or parents and is
being raised by her sister. Disney likes to womp you over the head with
smarmy messages like the importance of family so I expected it and didn't mind
so much. Aside from a few flaws this movie was super great. Hilarious. I recommend it
highly. ****
Monsters, Inc This movie
was great of course. I saw it before the bloopers came out and am not impressed
by this money grab (almost as bad as re-releasing ET). If you liked the Toy
Story movies you'll like Monsters, Inc too. Mike's girlfriend in the movie
was one of the most annoying characters ever but otherwise the movie rocked.
BTW: I saw the bloopers on DVD and they aren't nearly as funny as the Toy Story
and Bug's Life Bloopers. The shorts are hilarious though. ****
Spy Kids 3-D I never saw the first two so I don't know how this works as part of the franchise. I have to give this flick extra points for celebrity cameos, in addition to the main celebrities Ricardo Monteban (KHAN!) and Sylvester Stalone, we also get 3.5 seconds of George Clooney. Salma Hyak, Antonio Banderas, Steve Buchelli, Elisha Woods, and Tony Shaloub (MONK!). Plus it's 3D. Cheesiness RULES! ***
Treasure Planet
I know Treasure Island's a classic and all but I've always found it kind of
boring. I guess Disney thought the same thing which is why they set the
thing in space. You'd think that fighting aliens would be more interesting than
fighting pirates. You'd be wrong. My favourite part was the
mini-shape-shifter side-kick Morph but even he couldn't save the movie from the
boringness of Treasure Island. **