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Movies / On DVD / Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)

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Reviews Counted:98

Fresh:77

Rotten:21

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: Refreshingly sweet and sincere, Kit's doll-and-book-inspired do-good mystery may be geared towards the tween girl but will please audiences of all ages.

Genre: Childrens

Synopsis: In the first feature film based on the hugely popular American Girl® book series, Oscar® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) stars as a resourceful young girl whose bravery, compassion... In the first feature film based on the hugely popular American Girl® book series, Oscar® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) stars as a resourceful young girl whose bravery, compassion and determination help her solve a mystery that saves her family’s home during the Great Depression. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is directed by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park) from a screenplay by Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). The film’s all-star ensemble cast includes two-time Oscar nominee Joan Cusack (In & Out, Working Girl), Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tony Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Jane Krakowski (“Ally McBeal”), Golden Globe nominee Chris O’Donnell (Batman & Robin), Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall), Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) and two-time Golden Globe winner Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada).

Aspiring reporter Kit Kittredge can’t resist bringing home strays, whether it’s Grace, an abandoned basset hound or Will and Countee, a pair of young hobos willing to trade work for meals. Bright, inquisitive and generous, Kit is a natural born leader. But her happy childhood is abruptly interrupted when her father (Chris O’Donnell) loses his car dealership and must leave Cincinnati to look for work. Kit and her mother Margaret (Julia Ormond) are left to manage on their own, growing vegetables, selling eggs and even taking in an assortment of boarders including an itinerant magician (Stanley Tucci), a vivacious dance instructor on the prowl for a husband (Jane Krakowski) and a zany mobile librarian (Joan Cusack).

When a crime spree sweeps Cincinnati, all signs point to the local “hobo jungle,” where Will and Countee live with a group of their impoverished companions. Kit, who always has her antennae out for a good news story, convinces her new friends to take her to see the hobo camp for herself and writes an article that creates a sympathetic portrait of the camp’s residents. But when Kit’s mother and their boarders become the latest victims in a string of robberies, Kit’s loyalties are tested. Will is accused of the crimes and, with all of their savings gone, the Kittredges face losing their house to foreclosure. Determined to recover the stolen money and believing Will is innocent, Kit recruits her friends Ruthie (Madison Davenport) and Stirling (Zach Mills) to help her track down the real culprit. Together they uncover a plot that goes far beyond Cincinnati!
--© Picturehouse
[More]

Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack

Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack, Glenne Headly, Jane Krakowski, Chris O'Donnell, Wallace Shawn, Madison Davenport, Zach Mills, Willow Smith, Max Thieriot

Director: Patricia Rozema

Director: Patricia Rozema
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lisa Gillan, Ellen L. Brothers, Julie Goldstein
Composer: Joseph Vitarelli
Studio: Picturehouse

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Manages a careful balance of entertainment and realism. It could be a Shirley Temple movie for our current hard times.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/02/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Kit Kittredge has many of the classic ingredients of a successful family tale, but it's most notable success is in the unusual themes it brings to the forefront.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
07/10/08
Carolyn Arends
Carolyn Arends
Christianity Today

The movie would be more interesting if it weren't photographed in the amber glow we associate with Kodak commercials and other happily-ever-after exercises in nostalgia.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
07/07/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

What could have been an oasis of quiet, thought provoking nostalgia turns out to be an utter bore. Yes, it's family friendly but it's also entertainment exterminating.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
07/19/08
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

A superb family film set in the Depression era that salutes the spiritual values of openness and hospitality in the face of class prejudice.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
06/26/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

There's nothing remotely cool about Kit Kittredge. That's why it's cool.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/02/08
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

In a Barbie world, American Girl Kit Kittredge is a hero, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is heroic.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/18/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl appears poised to incite the kind of box-office frenzy more commonly associated with characters named Hannah and Harry.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
06/20/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons and Depression-era trivia.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
07/02/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

excellent performances, an intelligent script, rooted in the 30s, but timeless in its themes, make it an adventure and a delight, for all ages

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/05/08
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

This is the kind of girls' film that the dads out there won't mind taking their daughters to and, I say, will enjoy it as well.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/19/08
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

There I sat, alone in the dark, trying to figure out why no one else was in the theater for "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl."

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
07/04/08
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

More depth than you would expect

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
07/15/08
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

A cute dog, feisty kids, and a great big happy ending, everything an American Girl fan would want out of the movie. That's enough to please the parents, too.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/07/08
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

A fine film: for children and adults.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/21/08
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

Smart, empathetic, fun loving and, best of all, a delight for all audiences.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
07/02/08
Christy DeSmith
Christy DeSmith
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Younger girls will probably love Kit's antics and their parents won't find it too painful an experience, but it's still only a serviceable and fairly mediocre family film at best.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
06/17/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

And any film that plants such ideas in the cultural compost heap should be commended. Here's hoping they bloom.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
07/01/08
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

[T]he first two-thirds of Kit Kittredge often resembles Spike Lee's underrated Crooklyn or even Fellini's Amarcord as a memory piece that mixes sentimentality and warmth with cruelty and heartbreak.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
06/17/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

Considering that it is inspired by one of the dolls in the American Girl product line, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is some kind of a miracle: an actually good movie.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
06/20/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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