Charlotte’s Web (2006)

Family Rated G

For generations, children have clung to E.B. White’s deceptively humble story about the unlikely friendship between a clever spider and the sweet pig she tries to save from slaughter. For many young readers, this was the first time words simultaneously captured the world’s cruelty and natural beauty. At its best, this live-action adaptation competently captures

Duma (2005)

Family Rated PG

Writer/director Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion) once again explores the enchanting bond between children and animals with this initially clunky but eventually graceful story about a South African boy (Alexander Michaeletos) and his pet cheetah. After some contrivances, including a confrontation between the cat and the requisite school bullies, the movie finally settles into its

Millions (2004)

Family Rated PG

Genre-hopping director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) makes this family drama something they rarely are: tough, funny and delightfully strange. When two British brothers find a bag full of money, they grapple with the issues of charity and guilt that ensue. Acting newcomer Alex Etel, as a 7-year-old who receives regular visits from various

Happy Feet (2006)

Family Rated PG

Animated films have had a long tradition of depicting humans as marauding grotesques, but I can’t think of another one that took as jarring a turn in that direction as Happy Feet. For nearly 90 minutes, this gorgeously computer-animated musical follows the cheerful identity crisis of a young emperor penguin that can dance but not

Benji: Off the Leash! (2004)

Family Rated PG

It will take a lot of affection for the Benji films of the 1970s and ’80s to endure this belated entry, once again involving endless close-ups of cute pups, repeated chase scenes with inept animal-control wardens and a PETA-friendly story and theme. It’s all fairly innocuous, but you’ve likely had more fun hanging out at

Flushed Away (2006)

Family Rated PG

The first computer-animated picture from the stop-motion masters of England’s Aardman Features (Wallace & Gromit) and made in California with DreamWorks Animation, this tale of an English pet mouse who must fend for himself in the sewer system depends on distinctly American storytelling: it’s loud, rushed and overly reliant on comic violence. Yet when it

Scooby-Doo (2002)

Family Rated PG-13

There’s a difference between a pop-culture touchstone and a pop-culture curiosity, and the original “Scooby-Doo” cartoon – an unremarkable series that’s gained notoriety only because we’ve sat through decades worth of reruns – qualifies as the latter. Even so, the endless miscalculations on the filmmakers’ parts have turned the movie version into more of a

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

Family Rated PG

“…should be sent to the same movie pound as the recent Garfield pictures.

Flicka (2006)

Family Rated PG

“…lessons are learned, love is spoken and nobody needs to be put down (including country-music star Tim McGraw).

Wild Thornberrys Movie, The (2002)

Family Rated G

A rare Nickelodeon feature worth paying to see at the theater, The Wild Thornberrys Movie gets a lot of mileage out of its clever concept: the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who has the ability to talk to animals. Unlike most of its Nickelodeon predecessors, this features lively animation and quite a bit of wit.