The 10 new movies your kids (and you) will want to see before Christmas!
Want to know what movies the kids are going to want to see over October half term, and up to Christmas this year? Well, welcome to the Movie4Kids winter preview, highlighting the 10 movies coming to a cinema near you between now and Boxing Day…
Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
On general release in Scotland now, opens rest of UK on 24th October
Alexander has had a really awful day, so on his 12th birthday his blow-the-candles out wish is that the rest of his family experiences what it is to have a terrible day, too. And boy, do dad Ben (Steve Carell), mum Kelly (Jennifer Garner) and Alexander’s older siblings have a disastrous time in this funny, fast-paced Disney family comedy. One for everyone, but Diary Of A Wimpy Kid fans especially will love it.
The Book Of Life
Opens 24th October
Stunning animated tale from Jorge R Gutierrez, produced by Pan’s Labyrinth’s Guillermo del Toro. Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Channing Tatum and Placido Domingo are among those providing voices for this tale of Manolo, a young bullfighter who wants to be a musician and win the hand of Maria, but who is unwittingly part of a bet between rulers of the afterlife, La Muerte and Xibalba. Dark, funny stuff perfect for fans of Coraline and ParaNorman.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Opens 20th November
The penultimate Hunger Games movie (Mockingjay part 2 comes out in November… 2015) furthers the story of Katniss (Jennnifer Lawrence), who is now part of a rebellion against the Capitol. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth once again costar as the men in her life, along with Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore and, in one of his final roles, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Paddington
Opens 28th November
While we’re not sure that the movie star Paddington is as cute and cuddly as the iconic toys or the seventies TV show bear, this flashy family comedy certainly boasts an impressive cast, including Hugh Bonneville as Mr Brown, Julie Walters as housekeeper Mrs Bird, Jim Broadbent as neighbour Mr Gruber and Nicole Kidman as Millicent, the baddie who apparently wants to see Paddington stuffed. Ben Whishaw – taking over from Colin Firth who dropped out – is the voice of everyone’s favourite bear from Peru.
Get Santa
Opens 5th December
Jim Broadbent stars as Santa in this British family comedy. Reindeer have been found running loose through the streets of London, while young boy Tom finds Santa hiding in his garden shed after he crash landed while driving his new sleigh. It’s up to Tom and his dad Steve (Rafe Spall) to help get him back to Lapland in time for Christmas. Warwick Davis, Ewen Bremner, Jodie Whittaker and Stephen Graham costar.
Penguins Of Madagascar
Opens 5th December
After stealing the three Madagascar movies from the lead creatures, those hilarious animated Penguins now get their own movie. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with the elite undercover group The North Wind, led by Agent Classified, to stop the villainous Dr Octavius Brine in what promises to be the funniest film of the winter. Benedict Cumberbatch provides the voice of Classified and is joined by Peter Stormare, John Malkovich and Werner Herzog.
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
Opens 12th December
The last of the three Hobbit movies brings Tolkein’s fantasy to a close as hobbit Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his dwarf allies are forced to fight against Smaug, Sauron and his Orcs. Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Lee Pace and Cate Blanchett are among the cast of the New Zealand-filmed adventure.
TinkerBell And The Legend Of The NeverBeast
Opens 12th December
The seventh TinkerBell movie featuring fairy Tink and her pals will appeal to little girls who have loved the previous six cute animated adventures. This time, fairy Fawn befriends a mysterious creature known as the NeverBeast, despite her friends’ reservations that the beast will wreck their peaceful woodland home. One for little girl fans of the first movies.
Night At The Museum 3: Secret Of The Tomb
Opens 19th December
This third and final Night At The Museum movie has Ben Stiller’s Larry once again returning to help the exhibits of museums come to life – which this time involves travelling the world and visiting new places (including the British Museum) to save characters such as Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Lancelot (Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens), Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams) and Attila the Hun.
Unfortunately, the movie is tinged with sadness in real life, as stars Williams and Mickey Rooney both died before the film was released.
Annie
Opens 26th December
Everyone’s favourite all-singing and dancing orphan Annie is back in this reboot produced by Jay Z and Will Smith. Beasts of The Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis is the little cutie who just wants to be loved, while Cameron Diaz costars as nasty Miss Hannigan, Jamie Foxx as William Stacks (the new version of Daddy Warbucks) and Rose Byrne as his faithful assistant. Expect the songs from the original Broadway production (‘It’s A Hard Knock Life’, ‘Tomorrow’) as well as new original songs written for the film.