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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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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[I]t may seem like it's part of a commercial juggernaut, but it's also a well-made and well-acted family film.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
07/03/08
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Its realism is Hollywood at its most hokey.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/03/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A gently thoughtful, audience-appropriate entertainment that assembles swell actors to play colorful characters who don't shy away from depicting serious hard times.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/03/08
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

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 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

Paved with such good intentions that it's a shame to have to criticize it. Alas, said good intentions cannot stop the picture from being a decidedly dull and eventless experience.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment 3 Comments
07/02/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The tweener girls for whom it is aimed deserve better. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/02/08
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A vibrant, character-filled mystery-comedy set during a Depression that resembles the present all too much.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
07/02/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

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

This is a sweet, G-rated story of 1930s girl power, with nary a princess in sight.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/02/08
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Kit Kittredge could be primed for a series of sequels, yet as directed by Patricia Rozema, its elemental integrity seems in direct opposition to the blockbuster or sequel-mania that fuels Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/02/08
Paula Nechak
Paula Nechak
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Kit Kittredge is proof of how far you can get with the right screenwriter -- in this instance one versed in Children's Adventures 101 -- and director.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/02/08
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl will please girls who appreciate determined young heroines and lessons in U.S. social and economic history.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
07/02/08
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

It's corny, but maybe it provides insight as to why American Girl stories are drawn from a nostalgia-tinged past.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
07/02/08
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

For what it is and for whom it's intended (young children), Kit Kittredge works and works wonderfully.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/02/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

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

A thoroughly satisfying and engaging children's picture that never forgets those kids probably didn't get to the theater by themselves.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
07/02/08
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

That Kit largely succeeds is testament to not only its timing but also its craft.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
07/02/08
David Frese
David Frese
Kansas City Star

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is rife with feisty, generous pleasures.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/02/08
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

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
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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Despite a critical panning, Hancock scores at the Box Office. More...

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