Michael's Movie Grade: B
A very charming family film.
In the best Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew vein this movie centers around a group of kids, who set out to solve who committed a crime when the uncle of one of them is falsely accused. This movie fully understands just what makes this type of story so appealing. For kids this serves as wish fulfillment. When we are kids, this is the type of thing we daydream about. Essentially saving the day, while the adults are incapable of doing so. As adults this brings us back to the mindset that we had as kids. Because of this for an hour and a half, we become kids once again. That this story is told with a wonderfully straightforward childlike simplicity only makes this charm work even better. The movie also benefits from the kids simply being great and charming characters. It is hard to not like and relate to these kids. We see a little of ourselves as kids in each of them. Because of this we experience everything with them. This leads to some really well-done suspense scenes that are more effective than one might expect. This gives the film a real sense of excitement. The suspense, characters, humor and mystery make this a lot of fun from start to finish.
This film does have its flaws though. For one, it is much too easy to see the big twist coming. The messages about animal rights and racism are delivered in a very heavy-handed way. I appreciate what the film is trying to say, but the delivery comes off as didactic.
This is simply a delightful film for the whole family.
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