Movies4Kids 2013 Movie Preview!
Tired of your kids asking when the second Hobbit movie is coming out? Wondering what on earth you can take them to see during the February half term? Wanting to know what the big summer blockbusters are? Worry no more! Check out Movies4Kids preview of all the biggest family and kids films coming your way in 2013 below… (note, all release dates are UK and are subject to change).
Wreck It Ralph
opens 8 February
Disney delivers a must-see animated adventure with this tale of a video arcade game villain who decides to jump into a new game and be a good guy. John C Reilly and Jane Lynch are among the actors providing voices.
Beautiful Creatures
opens 13 February
Are you (or your teenage daughter) moping around the house now that the Twilight saga is over? Here’s a possible replacement, the story of a boy who meets the new girl in town and discovers there is something magical about her. Based on the young adult book (the first in a series of four), it stars Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich.
Sammy’s Great Escape
opens 15 February
A sequel to the forgettable animated movie A Turtle’s Tale, this one has sea turtle Sammy and his best pal scooped up and transferred to a mega-aquarium in Dubai. One for the littlest members of the audience.
Oz The Great And Powerful
opens 8 March
James Franco is the small-time magician who is transported from dusty Kansas to the magical world of Oz, where he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams) who believe he may be a great wizard in the making. A prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, trailers suggest this Sam Raimi-directed movie will look spectacular.
Jack The Giant Slayer
opens 22 March
A gritty fairy tale for older kids, this has Nicholas Hoult as Jack, a young farmer who leads an expedition into the giants’ kingdom to rescue a princess. Directed by X-Men’s Bryan Singer, it also stars Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy and Raine McCormack as the giant.
The Croods
opens 22 March
An animated adventure from DreamWorks (Shrek), this is the story of a prehistoric family named the Croods as they embark on a journey from their cave to the fantastical world beyond. Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma stone provide the voices.
The Host
opens 29 March
Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s first ‘grown-up’ novel is given the big screen treatment. Saoirse Ronan is the young woman whose body is injected with a parasitic alien, but instead of taking over the earth as she is supposed to, she decides to free other humans.
The Odd Life Of Timothy Green
opens 5 April
An old fashioned – and lovely – Disney family weepie has Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton praying they could have a child, and then discovering a boy covered in mud with leaves growing out of his legs in their back garden. Sweet stuff, and CJ Adams (who plays Timothy) is adorable.
Iron Man 3
opens 26 April
Robert Downey Jr is back (again) as billionaire businessman and superhero Tony Stark, and this time he has to get in his flashy metal costume to beat The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and save his love Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). Guy Pearce also stars.
Postman Pat: The Movie
opens 24 May
Everyone’s favourite postie (and his black and white cat Jess, of course) gets his first big screen adventure, and also gets to enter a talent competition in this treat for very young viewers. David Tennant, Rupert Grint and Jim Broadbent are among those providing the voices.
Epic
opens 24 May
The creators of Ice Age now bring us a leafy adventure they promise to be epic – the story of a teenager who is transported to a deep forest where a battle between good and evil is taking place. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Beyoncé are among those voicing characters.
After Earth
opens 7 June
M Night Shyamalan – (The Sixth Sense) directs this tale of a father and sun who explore a planet evacuated by humans 1000 years before. Since Will Smith and his real life son Jaden are starring, expect this to be a big sci-fi smash.
Man Of Steel
opens 14 June
The Superman story gets a reboot, with hunky Henry Cavill growing up to be the man in tights. With 300’s Zack Snyder at the helm, expect this to be grittier and more grown up than previous incarnations. Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane also star.
Despicable Me 2
opens 28 June
The minions are back! Yep, not-so-evil genius Gru, his adopted daughters and his little yellow pals return for a second adventure that apparently involves aliens and a bad guy voiced by Al Pacino…
Monsters University
opens 12 July
A prequel to Pixar’s brilliant Monsters Inc, this animated comedy shows us what monsters Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) were like in college. Back then, they couldn’t stand each other, so this is the story of how they put their differences aside and became best friends.
The Wolverine
opens 25 July
Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in this follow up to 2009’s Wolverine (which, like this, is also a prequel to the X-Men movies). This time our razor-clawed hunk travels to Japan to train with samural and kick some butt.
The Smurfs 2
opens 31 July
Those little blue men (and woman) are back, with the cute creatures teaming up with their human pals to rescue Smurfette from Gargamel, whose latest evil plan is to turn creatures he’s created (the Naughties) into real smurfs.
Justin And The Knights Of Valour
opens 9 August
An animated adventure about a young boy who learns what it means to be a man as he embarks on a quest to become a knight. Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, Freddie Highmore and Antonio Banderas are among those providing the voices.
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters
opens 14 August
A sequel to 2010’s Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, this has Logan Lerman once again starring as the eponymous hero, the son of Poseidon. This time he and his pals have to head to the Sea Of Monsters to find the mythical golden fleece. Sean Bean, Nathan Fillion and Stanley Tucci. Based on the Young Adult novels of the same name.
Planes
opens 16 August
A spin-off from the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, this is made by DisneyToon Studios, who often make the straight-to-DVD Disney kids movies. Jon Cryer voices Dusty Crophopper, a crop-dusting plane who dreams of competing in a famous aerial race.
The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones
opens 23 August
Based on the Cassandra Clare novel, this is the story of teenager Clary, who discovers there is a hidden world within our own after her mother is taken from their home by a demon. Lily Collins stars in this adaptation of the first of six young adult fantasy novels.
One Direction: The Movie
opens 23 August
Scream! Faint! Yes, those cute X-Factor boys – Niall, Zayn, Liam, Louis and, of course, Harry – get their own movie! Directed by Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock (hmm, that seems an odd combination), it will be a concert film aimed at the boys’ many teen fans.
Turbo
opens 18 October
A freak accident may help a garden snail achieve his dream of winning the Indy 500 motor race in this animated comedy from DreamWorks. Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg and Samuel L Jackson are among the voice stars.
Cloudy With a Chance Of Meatballs 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers
opens 25 October
Young inventor Flint has to come to the rescue when his old machine (that, if you remember, created food instead of weather) starts churning out weird, and rather scary food-animal hybrids like tacodiles and apple pie-thons (groan) in this animated sequel to the 2009 comedy.
Thor 2: The Dark World
opens 30 October
Chris Hemsworth dons the battle armour and red cape once again, this time to battle a hoard of dark elves and the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) who wants to bring darkness to earth. Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston also reprise their roles as scientist Jane and Thor’s brother Loki.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
opens 22 November
The second (of four) Hunger Games movies has Jennifer Lawrence returning to the dystopian future as Katniss, who survived the battle to the death of the first movie only to find she has to compete once again in a special anniversary Games. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth also star.
Mr Peabody And Sherman
opens 29 November
An animated family adventure about a young boy and his dog Mr Peabody, who has a genius level IQ. They have to join forces when a time machine is stolen and important events in history begin to be altered. Based on the characters from 1960s cartoon Peabody’s Improbable History.
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
opens 13 December
The middle movie of the Hobbit trilogy (part three, There And Back Again, will be released in 2014) from director Peter Jackson has Bilbo (Martin Freeman) continuing his journey with the ring, helping the dwarves regain their homeland from the dragon Smaug.
Frozen
opens 20 December
A suitably wintry musical animated tale from Disney, about a young girl who journeys through a snowy land to find the Snow Queen and end the perpetual winter that has befallen the land. Loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen story The Snow Queen.