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Movies / Upcoming / 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

US Box Office: $17,533,514

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

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Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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A fine film: for children and adults.

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

When I have children, this is the kind of movie I hope they will like. It's intelligent, it's meaningful, and it doesn't condescend to kids. In fact, it actually encourages kids to think.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
07/11/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Earns its lunch with disarmingly upbeat sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
07/01/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

This tale of a little girl's determination and grit during the Depression is an honest-to-goodness family movie, one that parents and children can enjoy equally and together.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/02/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

The packaging looks good for the most part. But there's still some assembly required.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
06/19/08
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

Kit Kittredge is a dutiful bore.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 1 Comment
07/02/08
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

It's all message, no tension.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/19/08
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

With all the good will in the world, I couldn't warm up to Kit Kittredge. The movie is like a 1930s or 1940s short about Americans pulling together, stretched out to feature length.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
07/02/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

The movie respects its young audience, it has a keen appreciation for what it means to be a child in a troubled world, and it knows that there's plenty to be said for the optimism that comes with innocence.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
07/10/08
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Kit Kittredge is a film you walk out of and say, "Well, that was ok." Then you move on with your life.

Full Review Source: BDK Reviews | comment Comment
07/02/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
BDK Reviews

Three cheers for Kit and for producer Julia Roberts for making this movie everything the devoted fans of the American Girls series hope for.

Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
07/01/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Beliefnet

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

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

Kit Kittredge is one of the best kid's movies to come out in years. For a moment anyway, this film made me desperately want to be a kid again.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
07/01/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

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

Breslin keeps her cool and anchors the film in reality each time the camera crosses her face, but she fights a losing battle.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
07/01/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

The edifying lesson -- that helping others brings out the best in us -- should sit well with everyone.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/01/08
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader

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

I predict with great confidence that the big-screen debut of the American Girl brand will be a resounding success. This rosy prediction is based partly on the fact that Kit Kittredge is a solidly made movie...and partly on the fact that the America

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/19/08
Jessica Reaves
Jessica Reaves
Chicago Tribune

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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