School has started, leaves are falling and new movies are coming to the theater. It’s that time of year when monsters and mayhem appear on the big screen. Fortunately for families, this year’s crop of movie monsters are of a different sort. The gentle giant yeti in Abominable is adorable, the familiar Addams Family make a return and bad girl gone good, Maleficent is back with a new dilemma. Historical stories are also in season with the long-awaited story of American hero Harriet Tubman and a separate comical look at Hitler and the impression he made on youth. And speaking of making impressions, Tom Hanks becomes Mister Rogers in a story about how the preacher-with-puppets changed one man’s life.
Abominable
Date: September 27, 2019
About: Abominable is DreamWorks second collaboration with Pearl Studios who worked together on the amazing KungFu Panda 3. If anyone can turn a scary yeti into a lovable creature, DreamWorks can. The story centers around Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet) who discovers a young yeti on top of the roof of her apartment building. After discovering that the yeti isn’t as dangerous as he appears, she and her friends Jin (Tenzing Norgay) and Peng (Albert Tsai) name him Everest and attempt to return him back to his family. However, they will need to act fast as Everest has also captured the attention of the villainous Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) a zoologist. Next to Disney, DreamWorks has a good record of making great family films and this shouldn’t be any different.
Rating: Rated PG (for some action and mild rude humor)
Learn More: https://www.dreamworks.com/movies/abominable
The Addams Family
Date: October 11, 2019
About: Based on the cartoon characters created by Charles Addams for The New Yorker magazine from 1938 to 1988, MGM is bringing back the iconic family in animated form for a new generation. Though some parents might be squeamish about bringing their kids to a movie based on monsters, most adaptations for The Addams Family have featured more tongue-in-cheek macabre humor as opposed to any real witchcraft or mayhem. In this new cartoon features the eccentric and wealthy family moving into their new home in New Jersey where they instantly upset their new neighbors for just being themselves and take measures to get the monsters to move out of town. Much like the original Caspar cartoons, the humor is found with the family oblivious to the fact that others find them scary. Where they live, everything is in shades of black and white while the rest of the town lives in color. It features a great voice cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, Allison Janney, Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara.
Rating: Rated PG (for macabre and suggestive humor, and some action)
Learn More: https://www.addamsfamily.movie/
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Date: October 18, 2019
About: Why I fell in love with the redemptive storyline of the first story, Maleficent (2014) wasn’t a hit with everyone. Combine that with the fact that the first movie had a very solid ending, it’s unclear what new angle Disney hopes to achieve with it besides a cash grab. Still, this sequel was also written by Linda Woolverton, so that is a good sign. In Mistress of Evil Elle Fanning and Angelina Jolie return to their roles of Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty) and her godmother, Maleficent as the two feel strains of family life with Aurora’s upcoming wedding plans. Despite how the two were able to create a bridge of hope between man and fairies, the hatred between the two continues on in the land. According to Disney, “Maleficent and Aurora are pulled apart to opposing sides in a Great War, testing their loyalties and causing them to question whether they can truly be family,” which sounds a lot like real life. The movie also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Rating: PG
Learn More: https://movies.disney.com/maleficent-mistress-of-evil
Jojo Rabbit
Date: October 18, 2019
About: Written and directed by Taika Waititi (known for his work with Thor: Ragnarok), Jojo Rabbit may or may not be a great family film. It’s hard to tell. Though the film deals with some heavy subject matter about World War II, the movie looks hilarious. I guess it all depends on how the film ends and for that reason, I suggest that mom and dad see this one first before taking their kids in tow. The story revolves around a young German boy who is afraid of everything and gets the nickname of “rabbit” because of his fear. Being groomed to become a Nazi, Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) consoles himself by talking to his imaginary friend — Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). However, he begins to question his allegiance to blind nationalism when he discovers a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) being hidden in his home by his mother (Scarlet Johansson) and finds that she isn’t as evil as he had been taught.
Rating: Rated PG-13 (for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, violence, and language)
Learn More: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/jojorabbit/
Harriet
Date: November 1, 2019
About: Harriet Tubman is one of our country’s most important historical figures and yet, many are unaware of who she was or what she did. Director Kasi Lemmons aims to rectify that by bringing her story to the big screen. Harriet tells the exciting and inspirational story about Tubman’s escape from slavery only to turn back around to rescue her family and many others through what was known as the underground railroad. “Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history,” says Focus Features who produced the movie with stars Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles and Clarke Peters.
Rating: PG-13
Learn More: https://harrietfilmtickets.com/
Frozen 2
Date: November 22, 2019
About: Disney’s Frozen was a runaway hit from day one when it opened in theaters six years ago, which seems impossible, doesn’t it? I don’t think that there was a doubt in anyone’s mind that Disney would not be releasing a sequel to the snowy story. Reuniting Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell once again as sisters Elsa and Anna, Frozen 2 looks to be a very different type of adventure. According to Disney, something is calling Elsa questioning why she was born with magical powers and threatening her kingdom at the same time – and that is about all we know so far. Of course, Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven are along for this new journey as well.
Rating: PG
Learn More: https://movies.disney.com/frozen-2
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Date: November 22, 2019
About: Although many believe that this movie is a biopic about Fred Rogers, it really is more of a biopic about Tom Junod, the journalist assigned to interview Rogers and how Fred help Tom to view life differently. Mister Rogers is portrayed by Tom Hanks who looks like the perfect person to play him and Matthew Rhys plays Junod who TriStar Pictures says “overcomes his skepticism, learning about kindness, love and forgiveness from America’s most beloved neighbor.” It also stars Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Cooper. Although A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is based on a children’s show celebrity, it really isn’t a “kids” movie and might be one of those movies where parents and older teens get more out of it.
Rating: PG-13 (for brief strong language)
Learn More: https://www.abeautifulday.movie/
