[I]t may seem like it's part of a commercial juggernaut, but it's also a well-made and well-acted family film.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
Tomatometer
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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
Theatrical Release:Jun 20, 2008 Limited
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
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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
A gently thoughtful, audience-appropriate entertainment that assembles swell actors to play colorful characters who don't shy away from depicting serious hard times.
Manages a careful balance of entertainment and realism. It could be a Shirley Temple movie for our current hard times.
Kit Kittredge is a film you walk out of and say, "Well, that was ok." Then you move on with your life.
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.
The tweener girls for whom it is aimed deserve better. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
A vibrant, character-filled mystery-comedy set during a Depression that resembles the present all too much.
This classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons and Depression-era trivia.
This is a sweet, G-rated story of 1930s girl power, with nary a princess in sight.
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.
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.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl will please girls who appreciate determined young heroines and lessons in U.S. social and economic history.
It's corny, but maybe it provides insight as to why American Girl stories are drawn from a nostalgia-tinged past.
For what it is and for whom it's intended (young children), Kit Kittredge works and works wonderfully.
Smart, empathetic, fun loving and, best of all, a delight for all audiences.
A thoroughly satisfying and engaging children's picture that never forgets those kids probably didn't get to the theater by themselves.
That Kit largely succeeds is testament to not only its timing but also its craft.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is rife with feisty, generous pleasures.
There's nothing remotely cool about Kit Kittredge. That's why it's cool.
Latest News for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
October 27, 2008:
RT on DVD: Zombie Strippers, Meet Kit Kittredge!
For the week leading up to All Hallow's Eve, there's a surprising dearth of new horror releases hitting DVD. Rest assured, though, titillation and scares can be found in a trio... More...
October 22, 2008:
A gem of a girl power tale for audiences of all genders, big and small, about a diminutive pre-feminist with a nose for news and an aversion to glass ceilings and the word 'no'. ![]()
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July 06, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hancock shows some attitude at the box office
Despite a critical panning, Hancock scores at the Box Office. More...
July 04, 2008:
Review Revue: Kit Kittredge Edges Hancock in Battle for Critics' Hearts
This week, box office dynamo Will Smith goes head to head with tweener tyke Abigail Breslin. But is Hancock's reluctant superhero routine any match for the intrepid adventures... More...
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