Family Movie Winter Preview

The post-Christmas routines have settled in.  Schools are back in session.  After school activities ramp up again.  Birthday parties happen about twice every weekend.

There are nearly four full months between New Year’s Day and Easter, which falls late this year on April 21, this year.  Between all the other activities that take up most of busy families’ lives, we all need a distraction.

What better than a good movie?  A little escapism.  Some fun and excitement.  And perhaps even a little nap for the parents (shhh, don’t tell the kids).  Where else can you get that for around $10 per person?

As the movie business has become more crowded and studios look for long weekends with less competition, the Winter/Spring season has emerged as a great time for kids/family movies.

Here is our look at what movies are on the horizon for families in January and February.  We’ll preview March and April in our upcoming Spring preview, which is, as they say in the movie biz…“Coming Soon”.

[UPDATE] Click here for our Spring Family Movie Preview

Holidays

Martin Luther King Day:  January 21
President’s Day:  February 18
Mid-Winter School Breaks: Sometime in February

As always, ratings and release dates are updated as of time of posting.  We’ll update if they change.

1/25   The Kid Who Would be King  –  PG

The more I see of this movie, the more I want my kids to see it.  This update on the King Arthur mythology is something of a throwback.  Set in modern-day London, Arthur and his knights are replaced by school mates who must band together to defeat the evil Morgana – all with a little help from Merlin. 

Alex (Arthur) is bullied at school but stumbles across the legendary Excalibur and sets out to fulfill his destiny… or not.  He must convince his friends (and enemies) that they have a higher purpose, to put aside their differences and work together.

It has a Goonies-ish feel to it – the underdog that must get his unlikely group of frenemies to work together to save the day.  While the Goonies were looking for treasure to save their houses, the stakes are slightly higher here as Alex (Arthur) and his “knights” have to save the world from Morgana and her evil horde.  The scenes of Alex and his knights training with Merlin also lends a bit of a throwback feel – it’s not quite Rocky 2 (or 3, or 4, or…you get it), but it is definitely fun.  Merlin, in particular, lends some comic relief with his wild spell gesticulations and general quirkiness.

Overall, this should be a great way to spend an afternoon.  My 9-year old is really wanting to see it, and I think both of my daughters (5 and 13) would also enjoy it.  It’s rated PG, primarily for some action sequences, and Morgana’s horde may be a little scary for younger kids. 

I think this should be great fun for kids between 5 and 14 and has enough to appeal to boys and girls.

2/8   The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part  –  PG

Everything is awesome as The Lego Movie 2 builds up to its February 8 release.  For fans of the first Lego Movie from 2014, myself included, it has been a long 5 years.  Most of the cast is back, this time to battle Duplo aliens bent on destroying Bricksburg, which has become a dirty, dusty post-Apocalyptic dystopian Lego society where everyone is miserable.  Except Emmet – he’s awesome, upbeat and cheerful.  Think Pee Wee Herman in a Mad Max world.  With Wyldstyle at his side, and new besty Rex Dangervest, will Emmet be able to rally his friends and save the world?  I’m sure he’ll find a way.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed Lego 1.  It was original and witty.  The story line with Finn and his dad/President Business pulled at the heart strings.  At the same time, it had a fun, M Night Shyamalan/Twilight Zone sort of twist.  However, since Lego 1 in 2014, Lego Batman and Lego Ninjago hit theaters.  Both used the same look and feel as Lego 1, so the originality may be lacking.  And the wittiness that made Lego 1 so much fun may feel a bit “been there done that”. 

But… none of that will matter to the 4-12 year old boys and girls that will eat this up.  There are plenty of laughs and in-the-know jokes for adults.  Emmet’s friends and fringe Lego.  And catchy songs – oh yes, there will be catchy songs. Rated PG for action sequences, this movie should be fun (and fine) for kids of all ages.

2/13   Alita: Battle Angel  –  PG-13

Any movie with James Cameron as Producer is bound to have next-level special effects.  But, take James Cameron and jaw-dropping special effects, add a classic manga-based story, mix in generous helpings of exciting action sequences and top off with the heart of a father-daughter story with Christope Waltz?  Now you’ve got something really worth seeing on the big screen.

In Alita, a cyber-doctor living in a dystopian society finds the remnants of a cyborg on a scrapheap and builds her a new body.  When Alita awakens, she has no memory and the good doctor raises her as his daughter.  Ultimately, Alita begins to remember her previous warrior life.  She must balance that fighting spirit and the need to save her loved ones with her more human heart and soul.

The effects (and Alita’s eyes) will most likely garner most of the headlines, perhaps rightfully so.  Alita is animated with mocap, a motion capture performance by the very real Rosa Salazar, and her eyes are oversized, in sticking with the original manga design.  The animation is so photo-realistic, however, and Salazar’s performance so riveting, that you will forget entirely that you are watching a CGI character (but for the eyes). 

Movies with daddy/daughter angles always get to me, a father of two.  Here, with the fantastic Christoph Waltz as the dad trying to protect his daughter from her past and guide her as she grows up, that dynamic is taken to the next level.  Alita, however, proves more than able to take care of herself, and this is ultimately a story of self-discovery and girl empowerment.  All dads should be so lucky.

Rated PG-13 for violence and extreme action sequences.  The action and effects will pull in the boys, but the girl power message will really resonate with girls.

2/22   How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World  –  PG

Updated: Feb 22 – Click here to read the PBJ Review

My family has been a collective fan of How to Train Your Dragon since the first movie released in 2010. 

My oldest daughter, then 5 years old, wanted to be Astrid.  She dressed as Astrid for Halloween.  She listened to the score endlessly.  She would tell us exactly what was happening in the movie based on just a few notes. 

My 9-year old son was a huge fan of Dragon 2 and an even bigger fan of the TV show since it hit Netflix a few years ago. 

We now have a third child, a 5-year old daughter, and so the cycle is complete.  Last installment of Dragons… last child, but the same age as when our first daughter first saw Dragons.  There is a nice symmetry to it all.

My wife teared up watching the trailer recently because it has been such a big part of our lives.

Now…sentimentality aside…I am looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy.  I loved the first Dragons.  For my money, it is one of Dreamworks Animation’s best films, second only to Shrek 2.

Dragons 2, however, felt like a step back for me.  Maybe it was because (spoiler alert) the family pet (Toothless) kills Hiccup’s dad.  Maybe it was (spoiler alert #2) the introduction of Hiccup’s mother which seemed to drag the pace down. I am optimistic that Dragons 3 restores the franchise to glory.

In the final installment, Vikings and Dragons have finally achieved peace and harmony on Berk.  That is, until another baddy comes along bent on destroying dragons.  And Hiccup’s friends.  And his family.  And Berk.  Basically everyone that has anything to do with Hiccup and Toothless.  Hiccup, Astrid and the rest of the Scooby Gang face their stiffest battle yet to save their village and dragons.  Along the way, they search for a mythical hidden world of dragons, discover their true destinies and Toothless finds a girlfriend.

Dragons 3 is the epic that the second film aspired to, but never quite reached.  It is a fitting final chapter to one of the best boy-and-his-dog stories ever, and one that I am sad to see end.

Rated PG for action sequences, Dragon: Hidden World should appeal primarily to boys 5-12, but will probably have enough to entertain younger girls as well.