ENCHANTED

2007, Walt Disney Productions

Animated & Live Action

Rating: G

Approx. 107 mins.

THE STORY:

Giselle (Amy Adams) is a beautiful flaxen haired maiden who lives, quite literally, in a fairy tale. She is poised to marry her handsome Prince Charming, a.k.a. Edward (James Marsden). Unfortunately, pure of heart Giselle is targeted by Edward's evil stepmother (Susan Sarandon), who is threatened by the arrival of her stepdaughter-in-law to-be. The day before the wedding, the evil queen casts Giselle into a well, and out of (animated) fairy tale land.

The next thing she knows, Giselle is walking the (live action) streets of New York complete with princess dress and extreme culture shock. Almost by accident, disillusioned divorce lawyer Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter come to Giselle's aid while she waits for her prince to rescue her. Edward arrives, but the fairy tale ending does not unfold quite as expected.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• idiot
• kill

VIOLENCE:

• nothing notable
• scenes with the queen are scary rather than violent

TEACHING POINTS:

• Just because someone is different doesn't mean they are strange
• Not only boys can be heroes
• Life takes unexpected turns, but the outcomes can be for the best

THE UPSHOT:

Enchanted is a refreshing combination of the classic fairy tale template with reality. It is a typical fish out of water story, but the humour, performances and musical numbers written by Alan Menken sustain the interest of adults and kids alike.

What I like most about this film is the way it tempers modern-day cynicism with fairy tale fantasy to find a happy middle ground. Both Robert and Edward come to the aid of the damsel in distress, but in the end Giselle helps them, and herself, as much as they help her. She is an active agent of change rather than a passive victim. Everyone may live happily ever after, but the journey to that end is far more complex and examined than the typical fairy tale script.

My 4 year-old loved Enchanted. I loved the fact that she liked it more than the classic Disney princess stories. She did not really get the nuanced differences between this film and Snow White (from which the story borrows heavily). But it did serve as a good starting point for discussion about things like women, love and romance.

4/5

HAPPY FEET

2006, Warner Bros.

Animated

Rating: PG

Approx. 108 mins.

THE STORY:

Mumble (Elijah Wood) is a young Emperor Penguin who just doesn’t fit in with his strictly exclusionist community. While all his friends are learning their “heart songs,” the songs that will find them their perfect mates, Mumble can’t sing a note. Instead, his musical talents express themselves through tap dance. 

Largely shunned by his own kind, Mumble ventures out to find a place for himself. He stumbles upon the “Amigos,” a band of Adelie Penguins led by the irrepressible Ramon (Robin Williams). When the group returns to Mumble’s home, the Calvinistic Emperor penguin elders seize on the outsiders and their different ways as the cause for the lack of fish the community has been facing.  

Once again rejected by his own, Mumble sets off to find the “aliens” he is convinced are responsible for the disruption to their food chain. Along the way he encounters both natural and human threats before being caught and placed in a zoo-like facility. Eventually, it is the dancing that isolated him from his own community that saves him from complete mental collapse and allows him to save his family and friends from starvation.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• Stupid

VIOLENCE:

• Some threatening action scenes, but no real violence

TEACHING POINTS:

• Strong environmental messages about over-fishing, animals in captivity, etc.
• Being different is not bad

THE UPSHOT:

I like this movie in theory more than I do in practice. The animation is great, most of the voices are wonderful—Robin Williams in his dual roles is a predictable stand out—but it just lacks something. The story drags and repeats such that the movie seems longer than it is. Elijah Wood gets a bit whiny by the end, and the messaging is delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

In short, not my favourite film, but my 4 year-old loves it.

4/5

THE LORAX

2012, Universal Pictures

Animated

Rating: G

Approx. 86 mins.

THE STORY:

Ted (Zac Effron) is a young teenager living in Thneedville, a completely synthetic city that has been created to compensate for the lack of a livable natural environment. Even air has become an in-demand commodity, bottled like water and marketed like beer.

In an effort to win the affections of Audrey (Taylor Swift), Ted sets off to find a real tree, something that has not been seen in the city for over a generation. On his quest, he ventures beyond the walls isolating Thneedville, to find the Onceler (Ed Helms), a hermit-like character who tells him the story of what happened to the trees. Ted learns how capitalist greed led to disdain for the natural environment, and its subsequent destruction.

Fortunately, Ted is presented with the opportunity to end the curse, so to speak, and to begin the slow process of reversal.  

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• Stupid—repeatedly

VIOLENCE:

• none

TEACHING POINTS:

• The horrors of deforestation, pollution, crass consumption
• Even the worst mistakes can sometimes be fixed

THE UPSHOT:

I love the book and was worried that the movie would not do it justice. I think they have managed to make a film that stands alone by adding details and story lines that don’t appear in the original book, so that Dr. Seuss’ version is more of an inspiration than a bible. I was a little sorry that some of the poetry of the writing was lost in the script—some attempts to insert Seuss’ wordplay land a bit awkwardly—but the consolation is that the book is still there to read. 

Visually, it’s a pleasure, and we all liked the musical numbers—the adults for the clever lyrics, my 4-year old for the upbeat tunes. I wasn’t sure about the curmudgeonly Danny Devito as the Lorax at first, but he grew on me.

Overall, it’s a good family movie with a timely, nicely delivered message. Two thumbs up.

5/5

OVER THE HEDGE

2006, DreamWorks Animation

Animated

Rating: PG

Approx. 83 mins.

THE STORY:

Hungry raccoon RJ (Bruce Willis) steals the food cache of a hibernating bear then scrambles to replace the items when discovered. He happens upon a family of woodland animals just waking to a new spring and to a new housing development a hedge away from their natural idyll.

RJ ingratiates himself with his new acquaintances and plans to get them to unknowingly help him collect food from the humans on their doorstep. Verne the turtle (Gary Shandling) is the de facto leader of the group, and is both suspicious and jealous of RJ and his new ideas. His fears are stoked when the head of the development’s homeowners’ association (Allison Janney) employs some drastic methods of pest control.

Ultimately, RJ comes to appreciate the sincerity of the animals’ affection for him and for each other. He comes to regret his manipulation, and goes on a mission to make up for his mistakes.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• stupid

VIOLENCE:

• No actual violence, just faked death scenes
• Heavy suggestions of impending threat and violence

TEACHING POINTS:

• Lying is wrong
• “Stupid is a bad word” (according to my 4 year old)
• Family
• Lots of environmental messaging re. waste, encroaching on nature, etc.

THE UPSHOT:

My 4 year old’s considered evaluation: “I liked it when the squirrel burped.” I see her point, but preferred the storyline, spot on voices and positive messages. 

The characters—with the possible exception of Avril Lavigne’s possum—are well constructed and acted. The story, while largely predictable in its outcome, is still interesting and worthwhile.  A lot of the humour flies over the heads of the young ones, but the general message gets across. And the adults can have a few chuckles.

The DVD also comes with some good kid oriented extras, including a short movie, interactive games and a drawing lesson.

The PG rating is a bit of a mystery to me. The language is fine, the fear factor—other than some pretty lethal traps—is minimal. I would group this more the G-rated films we’ve watched.

4/5

FINDING NEMO

2003, Pixar

Animation

Rating: G

Approx. 100 mins.

THE STORY:

Scarred by the death of his wife and all but 1 of his offspring, Marlin (Albert Brooks) the unfunny clown fish lives in dread terror of any harm befalling his young son, Nemo.  He vows to protect Nemo from danger at all costs, and ends up over-protecting him from life. In a moment of rebellion, Nemo is caught by a diver and taken away. So begins Marlon’s quest to find Nemo.

Along his journey—which ends in Sydney, Australia—Marlin meets a variety of interesting creatures and acquires a companion: Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a highly talkative glass-is-half-full type fish with zero short term memory.  At the same time, Nemo makes some good friends and, ironically, finds his independence while trapped in a fish tank. Ultimately, both father and son end up finding Nemo.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• None

VIOLENCE:

• none

TEACHING POINTS:

• If you try to stop anything from happening to someone you love, nothing will ever happen to them
• ‘Handicaps’ can only be handicaps if you let them
• A parent’s job is to help a child know that they can do, not that they can’t

THE UPSHOT:

The adults in the room laughed consistently. So did the kids. Unfortunately, much of the humour was not overlapping and there were a lot of frustrated, “What’s funny?” whines. Scenes like the shark support group—Fish are friends; fish are not food—are largely lost on the little ones, but priceless for those old enough to know the 12-step clichés. Luckily, there is plenty of non-complicated silliness to distract the kids from their frustration.

Finding Nemo is funny, clever, visually impressive and well acted. Thoroughly enjoyable.

5/5

TOY STORY 3

2010, Pixar

Animated

Rating: G

Approx. 103 mins.

THE STORY:

With Andy off to college, Woody and the gang find themselves at a crossroads: will they end up trash, stored treasures in the attic or donations for another generation of kids to play with? 

The answer turns out to be more convoluted than it should, and the toys find themselves at a daycare. At first this seems a salvation for toys longing to be played with, but first impressions are deceiving. The daycare is run by a totalitarian bear called Lotso (Ned Beatty) who keeps order through terror and threats. The gang decide to break out and adventures ensue.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• imbecile
• dummy
• idiot
• stupid

VIOLENCE:

• No overt physical violence
• Scary and threatening scenes

TEACHING POINTS:

• Dealing with adversity through teamwork is the best way to proceed
• Democracy trumps dictatorship- all rights should be respected equally
• Change is scary, but can lead to happiness

THE UPSHOT:

That my 4 year-old does not find this movie terrifying is a mystery as great to me as who built Stonehenge. The story is very dark at its core and some scenes—particularly one in which the toys prepare themselves to be dramatically incinerated—hardly seem kid-friendly. Several of the characters—Big Baby and Monkey spring to mind—completely gave me the creeps. Nonetheless, kids love it.

Like the other two films in the series, Toy Story 3 throws plenty of bones to the adults in the audience, stand outs being the Ken character (Michael Keaton) and the film noir style of Chuckles the clown (Bud Luckey).   

4/5

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

1984, Cosgrove Hall Films

Stop motion

Rating: G

Approx. 78 mins.

THE STORY:

Sick of cleaning, Mole wanders out in the wood, where he runs into his friend Rat. The two do some leisurely catching up then decide to visit Toad, scion of the local gentry. Along the way they pick up Badger, an old friend of Toad's late father, who they hope will be able to straighten out the infamously irresponsible amphibian. 

Toad's fanaticism for vehicular fads does not combine well with his recklessness and he ends up in jail for misappropriation of a car. With the help of a sympathetic jailer, he manages to escape, only to discover that weasels have occupied Toad Hall. Badger, Rat, Mole and Toad then undertake a valiant campaign to retake the manor.  

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• Fatface
• Stupid

VIOLENCE:

• Punching, hitting, falling

TEACHING POINTS:

• There's no place like home
• Actions have consequences

THE UPSHOT:

I grew up on this book and- yes, I'm dating myself- accompanying records, so I really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, this version of the story is a victim of technological progress. The stop motion is so slow and jerky that it just can't compete with newer films.  This is particularly sad during what is supposed to be the action scene climax, which instead seems like visually confusing slow motion. It also doesn't help that some of the language is very dated and very British.

My 4 year-old found this "boring" and "ugly." Sadly, I couldn't disagree.    

1/5