I took my three-year-old daughter to many of the animated flicks. It's a fun outing we do - I go mostly for the popcorn.
The Croods (***) - This would be better for the 5 and up age. I'm not a fan of action films, and this was basically an action film - lots of sequences of being chased by saber-tooths. Although towards the end the plot surprised me with a bit of depth. I wish they would have gone more into the psychology of the characters rather than playing up the action. The jokes hit the right notes for the most part. I enjoyed it, but probably won't watch it again.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (****) - Well, I might as well come out as the brony that I am, I loved this movie and I love the show. Best children's programming on TV for sure, and they did a great job with the film. Good songs, fun story, scary but not too scary, good for adults and kids. Love it! We've watched it many times now on Netflix.
Monsters University (****) - This really felt like it was made more for the kids who grew up watching Monsters Inc. who are now beginning to attend university (I assume). I enjoyed Monsters Inc. a lot and have watched it many times on repeat, so this movie was a nice change from that, having some fun with some new characters. I of course love the purple arts-major guy, hilarious. My daughter actually really liked the film too, though, so they did a good job making this funny for both. The library scene is quite phenomenal. This film is an example of action sequences done right.
Planes (***1/2) - This was definitely an action film, so that's a mark off for me. I like
Cars and the animation is great, there's nothing to fault there. Unfortunately, the nationality-based characters in this one prevent them from becoming really deep in any way. But I think they handled adult themes quite well, and it's a great movie for the 8 and above range. My daughter was too young for this - she liked it for about 45 minutes, and then was ready to go. Popcorn and candy kept her in her seat, though, and she talked about the flying-through-the-cold part a lot, so that was memorable.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 (**1/2) - I never saw part one, so I was afraid I'd be lost, but no, they do a great job with this not being dependent on the previous film. I really liked it, but I guess the humor was over my daughter's head, because she was bored like I've never seen. Then she was scared - food that can eat people seems to be a bit frightening of a prospect to her. Well, I tell her, what goes around comes around - you eat the food, the food will eat you! I think she had some nightmares
So, great for older kids, I'd say, probably 8 and up.
Free Birds (**) - Oh my, this was a mess of a movie. Time travel and talking turkeys with neither one given a legitimate explanation or believable premise. A lot of quick action, lots of potty humor for the 5 and up age (referring to his 'glutes' and putting his butt in his face, etc.). An odd homoerotic dance sequence puts it over the top - I laughed at the pure randomness of it all, but I certainly didn't feel like I gained much of anything from watching this film. A nice romance blossoms, sure, but the conflict of 'should I go back to my time?' falls flat when you realize that his time sucks - who would choose that when the bird community of the past was so cool? Pizza and movies would get old, as we are all too aware while watching this film. The baby birds were cute, though, and the fire sequence was exciting and interesting.
Looking forward to
Frozen. Also, I'll take a moment to emphasize again how much I hate 3-D - I need this trend to stop.
