Spring is right around the corner, and with it comes rainy, blustery days. Unless you live in Michigan, in which case you might get rain. Or snow. Maybe ice. Or mid-80s and sun. Maybe all on the same day. No matter where you live, there will be days where you won’t want to go out. Why not take the kids to check out one of the upcoming family movies coming soon to the big screen near you?
We took an early look at January and February films in our Winter Preview. Now we turn our attention to March and April. This will take us through the Easter break for most kids and end with “Avengers: End Game”.
If you wanted to tell me Avengers is really just an early start to the Summer movie season, you’d get no argument here. As the final installment of the current Avengers make-up, this will likely be one of the biggest movies of the year. The fact that it releases in April, however, makes it a Spring film – at least in my opinion – since it will release a full month before Memorial Day.
With Easter falling so late this year (nearly four full months after New Year’s), there will be plenty of family-friendly fare to fill up any free time.
Holidays
Mardi Gras: March 5
Daylight Savings Time Begins: March 10
St. Patrick’s Day: March 17
First Day of Spring: March 20
Easter: April 21
Earth Day: April 22
3/8 Captain Marvel – PG-13
Marvel “introduces” it’s “newest” super hero with “Captain Marvel”, starring Brie Larson (“Room”) – not to be confused with “Shazam!” (more on that below in our “Shazam!” preview). Over 50 years after the Marvel character was originally created (as a male alien – malien??), Marvel is (finally) giving us their version of a lead female superhero. No doubt the studio was emboldened by, and is banking on, the success of 2017’s massive breakout “Wonder Woman”.
Many Marvel fans have been clamoring for a female-led superhero movie and they will not be disappointed. Captain Marvel is widely recognized as one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe, and, while it may have taken a while, the time is right for this character to have the spotlight. Not relegated to the background or secondary-character status (a la Black Widow, Scarlett Witch, the Wasp), Captain Marvel is put front-an-center as a hero in her own right with powers to rival any male superhero.
While the Captain Marvel character has taken many forms in its long, confusing comic book history, the most recent incarnation as Carol Danvers is the focus of the film. Danvers is a US Air Force pilot imbued with otherworldly/cosmic super powers after her DNA is accidently fused with that of a Kree, an alien race of galactic protectors. Danvers joins the Kree elite military Starforce and develops her abilities before returning to Earth to help protect it from the Skrulls – another alien race bent on taking over the planet. Upon returning to Earth, Danvers must not only defend against the Skrulls, but must also search for answers about her true past and identity.
Given the massive global reach of the Marvel films over the last decade, and with the success of “Wonder Woman” and “Black Panther”, “Captain Marvel” may become another cultural touchstone.
Rated PG-13, similar to most other superhero titles, this should be fun for kids 9 and older. As with any marvel film, there is plenty of action to appeal to boys. However, it will be especially empowering for young girls, who finally have a Marvel hero of their own to cheer.
3/15 Wonder Park – PG
Sandwiched between two Disney juggernauts in mid-March comes Wonder Park. While “Captain Marvel” has its’ superhero familiarity and “Dumbo” is a live-action remake of the animated classic that every kid has seen, Wonder Park offers up something a little more original.
At the heart of Wonder Park is June – a young girl with an extraordinary imagination. June dreams up and creates thrill rides in her backyard with the unfortunate side effect of destroying neighboring yards. Along with her mom, June channels her creativity into building a scale model of Wonderland – an amusement park complete with rides, attractions and animals. As June grows older, her creativity wanes and her imagination begins to fade. One day, while walking back home June ventures into a wood and stumbles upon her Wonderland come to life – albeit in a rundown, decrepit fashion. Seems some evil chimpanzombies are destroying the park and June must work with her animal friends to save the park from fading away to nothing.
Yes, it looks a little heavy on talking animals. And yes, it is very bright and colorful. And yeah, the chimpanzombies are a little too cute to be truly menacing. But, hey, this is a kids/family movie. Wonder Park is also a sweet little story about growing up and rediscovering the imagination we all once had. June ultimately has to defeat “The Darkness”, the
Rated PG for mild language and action sequences, Wonder Park will likely appeal most to young girls in the 4 to 9 range. Some of the animal jokes, amusement park and chimpanzombie action may provide enough to keep boys interested. Although, judging by the reaction of my 9-year old son to the trailers, that may be a stretch.
3/26 Dumbo – PG
Disney continues its trend of live-action remakes of its animated classics with the release of Dumbo. Following the success of “Alice in Wonderland, “Maleficent”, “Cinderella”, “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and The Beast”, “Dumbo” seems a natural fit for the next in line.
We won’t go too much into story here. Nearly every parent these days has seen the original “Dumbo” since it was released in 1941. The live-action version follows fairly closely to the original. Dumbo is born into a circus and ridiculed by the other elephants as a result of his over-sized ears. Dumbo ultimately overcomes the shame and scorn of others and earns their respect with the help of friends.
Tim Burton (“Batman”, “Beetlejuice”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Edward Scissorhands”) directs, so you can expect some of his trademark quirkiness. Fanciful and elaborate set designs, colors that are simultaneously vibrant and eerily muted (how does he do that?), and characters that are complex, flawed and full of emotion. Dumbo himself plays like an animal version of “Edward Scissorhands” – childlike, looking for acceptance, painfully aware he is different but maybe not entirely sure why that difference makes him such an outcast.
Personally, I am excited to see this. While I was never a huge fan of the original, the visuals and storytelling brought by Tim Burton makes this a very intriguing film. Both my 9-year old boy and 5-year old girls (neither of whom have seen the original), sparked to the story and visuals. To my surprise, it was my son who was most vocal about wanting to see it.
Rated PG, Dumbo should appeal to parents and kids of all ages.
4/5 Shazam! – PG-13
I have always been intrigued, but also very confused, by “Shazam!”. Maybe not the character itself so much as the evolution of the character. Here was a character very similar to, or maybe greater than, Superman in abilities, but with a goofy suit, a really goofy name (I mean, is it a name, is it a verb, is it an exclamation), and who was originally called Captain Marvel. Wait… what?
A (Very) Brief History
The backstory of Captain Marvel/Shazam could be an entire article itself, given the twists and turns. For our purposes, I’ll try to keep it short. Afterall, this is a movie preview. Not a fanboy geek-out session/rant board.
The character’s history begins in 1939. Fawcett Comics wanted a superhero to rival Superman. Thus Captain Marvel was born, his name an acronym of the 6 gods who bestowed their powers upon him. Trademark and copyright issues ultimately led Fawcett to cease publishing Captain Marvel comics, and the name fell into public domain (apparently). A competing comic book company seized the opportunity to trademark the character’s name, and – Shazam! – Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” was born. Beginning in 1972, DC Comics acquired Fawcett’s Marvel characters, but could not use the superhero name “Captain Marvel” anymore, so they changed it to “Shazam”.
Now, 80 years after it was first created, Captain Marvel and Shazam both have movies coming out within a month of each other. Only in Hollywood.
Now Back to Our Story
“Shazam!” tells the story of young (12 or 13 yrs old) foster child Billy Batson. Billy is sought out by an ancient, dying wizard who is looking to transfer his powers to a worthy individual. By shouting the magic word “Shazam”, Billy instantly transforms into the adult superhero Shazam.
I love the film’s take on superhero films. Think “Big” meets “Superman”. When Billy transforms into Shazam, his body is an adult but it’s still Billy’s teenager mind running the show. Imagine if you were all powerful but were really a 12 year old boy. What would you do? That’s about what Billy and his best buddy Freddy do.
Instead of the typical DC Comics superhero film – dark, brooding, very self-serious – we get light, fun, and not-so-serious. My only beef is Shazam’s costume. It looks like it belongs in a Saturday morning made-for-TV movie, not a major studio tentpole release.
Rated PG-13 for teenager humor and action sequences, “Shazam!” will appeal primarily to boys 9 and up. There will be enough adult laughs to keep mom and/or dad awake, too. All in all, a fun afternoon at the cineplex.
4/12 Missing Link – PG
For fans of Laika, the studio behind “The Boxtrolls”, “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings”, the long wait for their next film is over. “Missing Link” is a globe-trotting adventure that follows our hero, Mr. Link. Link is a huge, hairy, sweet and lovable bigfoot/yeti that grows lonely living on his own. He yearns to travel to Shangri-La where he believes his cousins, the Yeti, live. He enlists the aid of renowned explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help him reunite with his family.
Like the Aardman films of “Wallace and Gromit” fame, Laika movies are filmed using stop motion animation. This is the painstaking process by which models are positioned, shot, repositioned, shot, etc. It’s an incredibly long, slow process mired in minute positional changes. It is also highly regarded within animation and film-making circles for the artistry and technical skills required.
Unfortunately, this process doesn’t typically resonate with today’s younger movie going audience who have been weened on CGI films. For my kids at least, the slightly herky-jerky stop-motion reminds them of the Christmas classic shows they watch on TV. It’s just not what they expect from a modern movie.
That’s not to take anything away from Laika, who has repeatedly won wide acclaim for their story telling and craft. Their films typically include very rich characters, and Link is no different. Sweet, good natured, misunderstood and lonely all come across in Link’s character.
This is a sweet film that will have a somewhat narrow audience. If your kids are fans of action, superheroes and an big, flashy major studio films full of fart jokes and pop-culture references, this may not be for you. On the other hand, if your kids are either A) on the younger side and less jaded than their older siblings or B) slightly older, more sophisticated and focused on story, then this may fit the bill.
4/17 Penguins (Disneynature) – G
Each year, Disneynature’s releases an animal documentary themed to Earth Day. This year’s title is “Penguins”, which follows… you guessed it…penguins. More specifically one penguin – Steve – as Steve grows up and travels Antarctica. Along the way, Steve will fight for survival in the unforgiving frozen tundra. He will find a mate, raise a family and show that families of all species deal with many similar issues.
Except leopard seals. We don’t have to deal with leopard seals like Steve does. Or killer whales. But then again, Steve doesn’t have to drive carpool.
Disneynature does a great job with their Earth Day documentaries. For me, they harken back to the great shows of the 70s like “The Wonderful World of Disney” and “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. Chock full of footage that leaves you wondering how they shot it and editing that weaves the endless footage into a compelling story.
This is a great film for younger kids, though some of more true-to-life survival scenes may be a bit much for the youngest movie goers. Disneynature typically only releases their films for a few weeks, so you better hurry to catch it in theaters.
4/26 Avengers: End Game – Not Yet Rated
Wrapping up the Spring season, and arguably launching the Summer movie season is “Avengers: End Game”. An 800-pound gorilla riding the elephant in the room, this movie will suck the air out of the box office until Memorial Day, and may finish as the top-grossing film of the year.
The final film featuring the Avengers as currently assembled, “End Game” directly follows the events of 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War”. If you have not yet seen that, stop reading and rent it or stream it on Netflix. Either way, stop reading and this shall serve as your [SPOILER ALERT].
At the end of infinity war, Thanos gained all of the Infinity stones and accomplished his goal of wiping out half of all life in the universe. Along with the unfortunate half, we know Spiderman, Ant-Man, most of the Guardians of the Galaxy and others were destroyed. As End Game opens, the remaining Avengers are lost, angry and looking for answers and direction. It falls to them to figure out how to reassemble the team, if that is even possible. Given that comic books are second only to soap operas in their ability to resurrect dead characters, I wouldn’t put it past them.
I have enjoyed all of the Marvel movies to date, well, except for maybe “Iron Man 2”. That kinda sucked. At the other extreme, the Avengers team ups have been some of the best – with the first Avengers movie a total game changer. I will be sad to see this current team of Avengers part, only to be replaced by the “B” team. In the comics, the makeup of the Avengers was ever changing, so it follows that the movies should reflect that. Perhaps the next incarnation will be just as good, if not better.
In any event, “End Game” will be a monster at the box office. Every boy over 8 will probably want to see it, and their older brothers, and their dad…maybe multiple times.
Enjoy the Spring movies. It won’t be long until Memorial Day is upon us and with it a three-month onslaught of family movies.
Check back for our Summer Movie Preview, your guide to the best in family fare throughout the summer.
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