Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

2008

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Critics 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.

80%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 103

69%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 52,516
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Movie Info

Producer Julia Roberts brings the American Girl brand to the big screen for the very first time with this inspirational tale concerning a nine-year-old girl named Kit Kittredge (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin) growing up during the Great Depression. Though the American Girls have previously appeared on the small screen in Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, and Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Kit's adventure marks the very first major theatrical endeavor for the characters created by author Valerie Tripp. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast

Abigail Breslin
as Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge
Chris O'Donnell
as Jack Kittredge
Julia Ormond
as Margaret Kittredge
Stanley Tucci
as Mr. Berk
Glenne Headly
as Mrs. Howard
Max Thieriot
as Will Shepherd
Jane Krakowski
as Miss Dooley
Wallace Shawn
as Mr. Gibson
Joan Cusack
as Miss Bond
Madison Davenport
as Ruthie Smithins
Zach Mills
as Stirling Howard
Willow Smith
as Countee
Colin Mochrie
as Mr. Pennington
Brieanne Jansen
as Frances Stone
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Critic Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

All Critics (103) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (21)

  • It's hard to dislike a tween picture that opens with Eleanor Roosevelt, but if explaining mortgage meltdowns to their tots doesn't sent parents screaming, the performances will.

    Jul 4, 2008 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

    Amy Nicholson

    I.E. Weekly
    Top Critic

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

    Jul 3, 2008 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic

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

    Jul 2, 2008 | Full Review…

    Stephen Hunter

    Washington Post
    Top Critic

  • This classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons and Depression-era trivia.

    Jul 2, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/5

    Jeannette Catsoulis

    New York Times
    Top Critic

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

    Jul 2, 2008 | Rating: 3/4

    Moira MacDonald

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Jul 2, 2008 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Ruthe Stein

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (103)

Audience Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

  • Dec 02, 2011
    It's not a movie just for little girls, it is a great history lesson for a lot of people, but it could have been great without the American Girl logo, which made it really embarassing for some guys to go see, but its just an okay movie.
    Bradley W Super Reviewer
  • Aug 15, 2011
    It's not a movie just for little girls, it is a great history lesson for a lot of people, but it could have been great without the American Girl logo, which made it really embarassing for some guys to go see, but its just an okay movie.
    Jim C Super Reviewer
  • Jul 18, 2010
    Kit Kittredge is a kid growing up in the early 1930's when everyone was losing their jobs, and families had to diversify to pay the bills. Kit's family took in boarders which brought a number of interesting characters to the film. This movie is part solve-a-mystery and part Kit-wants-to-be-a-reporter.
    Red L Super Reviewer
  • Aug 02, 2009
    In "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," 10-year old Kit(Abigail Breslin) dreams of being a reporter, even submitting an article to the local newspaper on the Chicago World's Fair but the editor(Wallace Shawn in the role he was born to play) rejects it, stating that everyone else has already written about it. Since this is 1934, jobs are scarce anyway, and Kit's mother(Julia Ormond) helps out by giving odd jobs around the house to a pair of hoboes. Things get worse when Kit's dad(Chris O'Donnell) loses his car dealership to the bank, forcing him to go to Chicago in search of work, promising to write every week. Kit's mother has no choice but to subdivide the house(but thankfully not Kit's treehouse) in order to rent it out to boarders... Directed by Patricia Rozema, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" proves the old adage that any movie with a basset hound in it cannot be all bad. In fact, this is a charming and entertaining movie that does not ignore the harsh realities of the time that forced families apart, not the other way around. And a more than capable cast makes up for any holes the otherwise thin story might contain.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
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