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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Rozema delivers an elegantly spry children's tale about nostalgic hardship and growing pains in the overly sentimental but uniquely inspiring Kit Kittredge.

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
06/21/08
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

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

It's not only fresh and unassuming, but a film that serves, very nicely, the severely underserved audience of young girls.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
06/20/08
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal

Though predictable and unabashedly sentimental, the film is a warmly appealing tale of a bright girl bravely navigating tough times.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/20/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

It's fun, fast-paced, educational entertainment that's fit for the whole family -- American boys included.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/20/08
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Kit Kittredge is a gentle-spirited movie that also acknowledges the fact that we can't -- and shouldn't -- protect kids from everything.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
06/20/08
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

One of the 10 best American movies released so far this year, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is the surprisingly satisfying first theatrical film inspired by a long-running series of historically themed dolls.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/20/08
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

While the script feels a little stiff and moralistic at times, it's hard to fault a film with such an intelligent, good-hearted heroine.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
06/20/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

It appeals to kids while evoking genuine emotion without excessive sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
06/20/08
Michael Ordoña
Michael Ordoña
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kit is sweet without being sappy, cute without being cloying.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
06/20/08
Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens
E! Online

The first feature film based on the highly popular American Girl book series -- there have already been three made-for-television American Girl movies -- plays out like a sweet-souled Nancy Drew mystery.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
06/20/08
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

No great shakes, but if it brings a few smiles to the younger audience members and some instant additions to their dollhouses, it will have achieved everything it set out to do.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/20/08
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Boxoffice Magazine

But then, Kit, written by Ann Peacock and directed by Patricia Rozema, is that rare all-ages movie that never talks down to its audience and isn't afraid to use history to illuminate current times.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
06/20/08
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Why do so many family films think their young audiences are imbecilic?

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
06/20/08
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

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

Refreshingly sincere and full of wholesome can-do spirit.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/20/08
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sweet and engaging adventure for all ages.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
06/20/08
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

Quick -- name three subjects you think would result in a surefire family film hit. If you said The Great Depression, hobo culture, and the social pariah realities of both, you'll love this movie.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 1 Comment
06/19/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
Filmcritic.com

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

Kit Kittredge is hopelessly vanilla entertainment, and while it's sure to please some matinee attendees, it's going to feel like a demonic endurance ritual to the less inclined.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
06/19/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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