While Deedee and Washee were visiting my parents, we took James to see Arthur and the Invisibles. It included Mia Farrow, Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland), David Bowie, Emelio Estevez, Robert De Nero, Snoop Dog and too many other's to list. This is a really cute movie that I highly enjoyed. They did an excellent job on the animation and the detail was superb. The minimoys are adorable. The plot was a bit easy for my taste, but hey, it's a kids movie. And I didn't particularly care for the disco scene either but James enjoyed it. The whole movie seemed disjointed and I have since found out that there are actually two versions. The badly cut American version and a cool foreign version where Selenia & Arthur actually kiss. Sigh..... I can feel myself getting on my soapbox for censorship here, so I guess I better quit. :D Oh, and I also got excited when I found out that this was a book first and I'm very interested in reading it. All in all, this is a cute movie that will add itself to our collection although I'm hoping to find the foreign version vs. the American on. Oh, and the only thing that really bugged me were the Masai in Arthur's garden. Where the heck did they come from?
The second one we went to see was Bridge to Terabithia. It's about two children and the power of friendship and imagination. The cast included AnnaSophia Robb (Johnny Depp's Charlie and the Chocolate factory), Josh Hutcherson (The Polar Express, Zathura), Zooey Deschanel and others that I didn't recognize. This one was just Carey and I; yay. I remembered reading this as a child and loving it although I admit it had been so long since I had read it I only had vague memories and feelings left. I remembered almost nothing about the plot, only that it was about two children and their friendship. Carey had never read the book at all, and only based from the preview that he had watched, he thought it was about two children that stumbled into a magic kingdom and their adventures there. It's been long enough since I read the book that I can't compare the two. I can't say that compared to the book, the movie sucked or vice versa. However, I can say that this is a beautiful story. The relationship between Jess and his father was so sad and Carey surprised me by commenting about it and being afraid of that happening between him and James. I thought that they did an awesome job bringing the kingdom to life. This is a powerful movie about the use of our imagination. With an imagination, you can go anywhere, and be anything. That premise is also proved by Harry Potter, a lonely and neglected boy that imagines a magical world where he's the hero. You can see the same thing in James and the Giant Peach and probably a slew of others that I can't thing of at this point in time. This is one of the few movies that Disney hasn't screwed up. I have been so disappointed in Disney movies. They aren't always safe for our little ones anymore. Gone is the time that I could just grab a Disney movie and not have to worry about what they would be seeing.
You can find more fun at the official Bridge to Terabithia site.
Oh, and last, but not least is a little movie that I happened to catch on Stars while I was at my parents. Dazzle was a love story between a fairy and a human. The cast included such notables as Mia Sara, Jeff Fahey, and Maxwell Caulfield. A fairy falls in love with a young widower (whom happens to also be an accomplished author about fairies) and his young daughter. She actually goes through quite a bit to stay with him. I loved it (and no, it's because I love fairies although I admit that's a good part of it :D). I thought that it was quite appropriate to be watching a love story on Valentines Day. This was a great family movie and although it did seem to drag at times, and was a bit cheesy here and there, all in all I enjoyed. I actually missed the first few moments because it had already started when my Dad found it, but it was still pretty easy to figure out. The only thing that wasn't really explained well enough for my taste was the role of The Collector. I understood that he came to collect fairies when they stayed in the mortal realm too long, killing them in the process. What I didn't understand was his interest in Crystal, the fairy. I couldn't figure out if it was just the main she's a fairy and she has to go home thing, or if there was an extra element there. The dialogue pointed to an extra element that just wasn't fulfilled. This is a nice movie, that's a mite predictable at times and it really didn't explore all avenues that it could have. All in all an excellent kids movie that I actually enjoyed watching myself and wouldn't mind adding to our collection. I have enjoyed Mia Sara in several movies, including Legend and Jack and the Beanstalk, both of which I own and watch often. Oh, and I can't forget Ferris Bueller's Day Off, one of Carey's favorites.
Wow, going through these movies showed me that I actually have several interconnected movies that I didn't even realize had a lot of the same actors I was praising in these three selections. For instance, Mia Farrow and Freddie Highmore are both in Jack and the Beanstalk, even if it is only a cameo for Freddie. That's actually the first time I ever saw him although I didn't realize it. The first time I do remember seeing him is in Finding Neverland. I guess this kind of shows where my personal interests lay and some of my favorite actors and genres. I think I feel a movie marathon coming on. Of course, when will I ever find time for it? :(
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