Movies4Kids Autumn/Winter Movie Preview!
The kids are back at school, Christmas cards and mince pies are in the shops, so it must be time for an Autumn/Winter family movie preview! Check out the movies that will be coming to a cinema near you between now and Christmas below:
(note – release dates are for UK and are correct at time of going to press)
Romeo And Juliet – 11 October
Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes has adapted Shakespeare’s tragic love story for the screen while Italian Carlo Carlei directs. Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth star as the doomed teenage lovers, while the cast also includes Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick as Tybalt, Homeland’s Damien Lewis, plus Stellan Skarsgard and Paul Giamatti.
Turbo – 18 October
A little garden snail feels the need for speed in this cute but slight animated adventure. It’s a bit like Planes as Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) decides he wants to compete in the Indy 500 car race after a freak accident gives him super speed. Paul Giamatti, Maya Rudolph and Samuel L Jackson provide the voices.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 – 25 October
A sequel to the animated comedy about an inventor who creates a machine that has food falling from the sky, part two has the device churning out menacing food/animal hybrids such as shrimpanzees, tacodiles and water-melephants. Bill Hader, Anna Faris and James Caan are among the vocal talent.
Ender’s Game – 25 October
Orson Scott Card’s sci fi novel about a military school in space is given the blockbuster treatment, with Harrison Ford as the colonel who believes one child (played by Hugo’s Asa Butterfield) could be the saviour of the human race in a fight against nasty aliens. Ben Kingsley costars.
The Selfish Giant – 25 October
Thirteen year old Arbor and his best friend Swifty are excluded from school when they meet Kitten, a local scrap dealer known as the Selfish Giant. A modern-day fable from director Clio Barnard, this won Europa Cinema’s Best European Film Award at Cannes.
Thor: The Dark World – 30 October
A sequel to 2011’s smash hit Thor. Chris Hemsworth waves his big hammer and flexes his muscles once more as the Norse god, facing an enemy who threatens our world and his. Natalie Portman is once again his lucky love interest, while Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Chris O’Dowd, Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston costar.
Battle Of The Year – 15 November
Lost’s Josh Holloway stars as the ex-street dancer coaching a crew of kids so they can enter the annual Battle Of The Year in this dance movie that is crammed with underdog sporting cliches and dance moves. Chris Brown costars in this X-Factor for feet.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – 21 November
The second Hunger Games movie (there will be two more as final book Mockingjay has been split into two movies) has games’ survivors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) becoming targets of the powerful Capitol after their win in the first movie inspires a rebellion.
Free Birds – 29 November
An animated comedy about two turkeys who travel back in time to save turkeys from the American Thanksgiving menu. Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson provide the voices.
Saving Mr Banks – 29 November
Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney in this comedy drama based on the true story of how he had to convince Mary Poppins author PL Travers (Emma Thompson) to allow him to make a movie version of her famous novel in 1961. Colin Farrell and Ruth Wilson costar.
Frozen – 6 December
Disney’s big pre-Christmas animated movie is the story of Anna, who sets off on an epic journey with mountain man Kristoff and reindeer Sven to find her sister Elsa, whose powers have trapped the kingdom in an eternal winter. Kristen Bell, Broadway star Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff are among the vocal cast.
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug – 13 December
The second Hobbit movie (of three) picks up where An Unexpected Journey left off, with Bilbo in possession of the ring and the dwarves on a mission to get their gold back from Smaug the dragon. Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen return along with Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Benedict Cumberbatch as The Necromancer.
Moshi Monsters – 20 December
Those cute pet monsters that have their own website (50 million users and counting), games, magazine (the best-selling kids magazine in the UK apparently) and collectibles series now get their own movie. Is world domination next?
Walking With Dinosaurs – 20 December
A 3D movie that will show us what it was really like when dinosaurs ruled the earth, thanks to stunning CGI imagery. Based on the BBC miniseries, it features computer animated dinos in live action settings, and the story of three pachyrhinosaurus (Patchi, Scowler and Juniper) as they grow from cuddly infants to chomping adults.