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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (17) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (6)
The Great Gilly Hopkins has its enjoyable moments - Bates' entertaining, scenery-chewing turn providing many of them - and its themes are refreshingly complex for a film targeted to kids.
While uneven in places, "The Great Gilly Hopkins" works because it boasts an actress tough enough for the title role.
If it can get someone who's so out of its core demographic a little verklempt, imagine what it can do for someone who's a target for such fare.
The title character is a child, but two adult actors, Kathy Bates and Glenn Close, really give "The Great Gilly Hopkins" its considerable heart.
The movie feels too hokey and retrograde to appeal to its intended young audience. There's also a miscalculated racial element that may offend or confuse.
The Great Gilly Hopkins passes the time in its own way-slowly, painlessly and forgettably.
The film remarkably retains the book's essence.
Filled with remarkable performances, 'The Great Gilly Hopkins' pulls no punches. It is not a sickly sweet movie -- but hope and humanity shine through.
The material is too slight to make much of an impact outside the target demographic.
Book-based drama has strong messages on family, friendship.
The problem is one of tone, as director Stephen Herek ("Mr. Holland's Opus") takes scenes that should be earnestly serious and plays them for uncomfortable laughs.
The Great Gilly Hopkins is a surprisingly well-written, directed and acted family film. Darn it, it's actually engaging.
I found this to be heartwarming, endearing, tragic and actually more believable than other films that portray a foster child's quest to find their real parents. It features great acting from all adult members of the cast too.
Super Reviewer
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