Puss in Boots (2011)

DreamWorks Animation usually puts out great kid friendly movies that parents can enjoy too.  I loved watching movies like Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, etc with my kids.  The movies are geared toward kids, but have subtle double entendre jokes for the adults.  Puss in Boots, a spinoff of the Shrek franchise, is no exception.

The movie is the back story for one of the main characters in the Shrek movies, Puss.  For those who don’t know, Puss is a “Zoro” like cat voiced by Antonio Banderas. When Puss runs into his childhood best friend turned enemy, he sets out on an epic quest to capture the goose-that-lays-the-golden-eggs, and to clear his own name.

The story is very entertaining, and the banter is first rate.  I took my daughter to watch it and she laughed the whole time and actually stayed in her seat (a major feat.)  The movie is paced well, and, at about 90 minutes long, is a good length for a kid’s movie.

The movie is still playing in the discount theaters, but should be out on DVD on February 24, 2012.  It is well worth seeing or getting for the kids.  I give it 9 / 10.

Cars 2 (2011)

My wife and I decided to take my 2 year old special needs son, and my 5 (going on 12) year old daughter to see Cars 2. We are all fans of Pixar animated movies and we thought they would get a kick out of seeing one on the big screen. My daughter did, my son did too…for a while. Although we went for the kids, my wife and I both enjoyed the movie.

In Cars 2, Lightning McQueen is prodded into racing in the world cup where cars from all styles of racing compete against each other. Nascar, Formula 1, Rallycross, etc. Lightning’s faithful, yet simple-minded buddy, Mater, is accidentally pulled into the world of espionage and finds himself working alongside British intelligence to defeat a plot that could lead to McQueen’s death.

One thing Pixar is great at is knowing who their audiences are. It is primarily kids, and their parents who have been stuck going to see a children’s movie. Any parent who has had to sit through a 2 hour kids movie has wished they had a book to read, etc just to overcome the boredom. Pixar has always been great at subtlety injecting adult humor into their movies. The jokes are almost always over the kids head and often involves a double entendre. This makes the movie bearable for parents, and while keeping it kid friendly. Cars 2 is no exception.

Several times my wife and I (and another dad in the theater with his kids) found ourselves laughing hysterically at jokes that our kids didn’t get. The movie itself was not bad. It wasn’t Pixar’s best but it was still enjoyable. The voice acting was funny, and pulled in some perfectly cast voice actors. The storyline was silly yet fun. The biggest indicator was how long it held our children’s attention span.

If you are looking for a family friendly film, and have seen the original Cars, then check out Cars 2. I give it a 7.5 / 10.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Originally written January 30, 2011 at 8:28 pm

I am a big kid at heart. I enjoy watching the occasional cartoon with my daughter (my son looses interest in the TV after about 10 minutes). So I decided to give "How to Train Your Dragon" a spot on my Netflix DVD queue. I'm glad I did.


How to Train Your Dragon is an animated film about a small, clumsy, teenage viking named Hiccup. Hiccup happens to be the son of the village chief Stoic the Vast (voiced by Gerard Butler). Their village is constantly raided and attacked by dragons, and the vikings view killing dragons as a rite of passage and the measure of ones prowess. Hiccup is nothing like his father, and has been relegated to the apprentice to the blacksmith Gobber the Belch (voiced by Craig Ferguson). When Hiccup uses his inventions to capture a dragon he begins to study it and in so doing learns about himself and the creatures he had been raised from birth to hate.


This film is a delightful family movie. The story is unique, the characters are funny and the voice acting is well suited to each character. I just really enjoyed all aspects of the movie. My 4 year old daughter on the other hand... At one point she was so scared she started crying. She started to stop watching the movie. She came back in a couple minutes later and continued watching. She eventually said "Maybe it is a good movie after all." After watching the movie, I mailed the DVD back to netflix and she got upset the next day because she couldn't watch it again. The movie is rated PG and netflix recommends it for ages 8+. That seems on the safe side. I'd say 6+ should be fine. Younger children may find it a bit too scary.


I'd highly recommend watching it for yourself, and with your kids if they are age appropriate. For a family animated film I give it a 8 / 10.