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Tag: Family

Bratz (2007)

Family Rated PG

“The girls in the live-action Bratz movie look less – what’s the right word? – whorish than the dolls, but the lifestyle their movie is selling is no less disturbing.

Cinderella (1950)

Family Rated G

Many of Walt Disney Pictures’ animated fairy tales have come to be seen as definitive versions of the story they tell simply because they’ve been enjoyed by generation after generation. Yet it isn’t only longevity that gives them such classic status. As Cinderella reveals, Disney and his closest team of animators – dubbed by him

Santa Clause, The (1994)

Family Rated PG

Tim Allen pretty much defined his career with this first starring role, an occasionally funny but often idiotic Christmas farce that was gobbled up by audiences like a candy cane. The premise – a cynical, divorced dad has to fill Santa’s boots after the jolly old soul falls off his roof – has promise, but

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Family Rated PG

Though not an improvement on – or even an equal to -the 1947 original, this still offers one of the most endearing Christmas stories in an updated, colorful new way. Richard Attenborough is Santa as he should be, full of jolly, chuckling charm as he attempts to crack the hardened hearts of a mother (Elizabeth

Nancy Drew (2007)

Family Rated PG

“Emma Roberts’ Nancy has the sort of innocent smile Paris Hilton likely lacked at birth.

Surf’s Up (2007)

Family Rated PG

“The central joke – and major appeal – of Surf’s Up is that the picture doesn’t seem to realize its stars are penguins.

Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002)

Family Rated PG

I’ve never seen the Nickelodeon animated series on which this is based, so I was hoping it would help explain the show’s appeal. But aside from some visual wit – including the way Arnold’s mouth is always placed in the far corner of his football-shaped face – there’s little imagination on display, especially in the

Like Mike (2002)

Family Rated PG

Like Mike may have a silly premise – it’s about a 14-year-old orphan who gains NBA-level skills after donning a pair of Michael Jordan’s old sneakers – but the movie also displays something that’s more important for this kind of lightweight kids’ flick: a giddy, infectious spirit. It also helps that Lil’ Bow Wow, the

Jungle Book 2, The (2003)

Family Rated G

Lazy product-pushing, in which Disney treats its treasured characters like pop-culture commodities. The movie reprises “Bare Necessities” not once but twice, betting on John Goodman to channel the jazzy growl of Phil Harris as Baloo the bear (he can’t). By the time all of the original’s characters are trotted out – from Mowgli the “boy

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

Family Rated G

This animated attempt to tell the story of the American West through the eyes of a wild mustang harks back to that time when adults were bored by children’s films. Kids who are into horses likely will do just fine, but others may check out – the stillness that enveloped the preview screening I attended

Recent Reviews

The Bride! (2026)

Horror Rated R

“The fun here is in the audacious attempt and the performances.”

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Comedy Rated NR

“A bit of a whiff for Frank Capra…”

Stand By Me (1986)

Drama Rated R

“… has a wistful, morbid magic.”


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