Movies4Kids 2017 Summer Preview!
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 started the summer movie season with a bang, but there are more blockbusters, comic book movies, animated adventures and family movies to come between now and September. Here are Movies4Kids‘ highlights…
JUNE
Wonder Woman
It’s Wonder Woman’s turn for an origin story, as this movie tells how Diana, Princess of the Amazons, leaves her secret island after war pilot Steve Trevor crash lands his plane there. Gal Gadot – first seen in the role in Batman V Superman – is Diana, Chris Pine is Steve and the cast also includes David Thewlis, Robin Wright and Danny Huston.
My Life As A Courgette
This quirky Swiss stop-motion animated drama for older kids is the story of Courgette (or Zucchini for American audiences), a lonely young boy who is sent to a foster home where he has to try and make friends.
The Mummy
Fantasy action adventure The Mummy gets a reboot with Tom Cruise in the lead role, battling an ancient princess who has been awakened from her subterranean desert crypt and isn’t very happy about it. Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis and Russell Crowe – as Dr Henry Jekyll – costar.
Gifted
Chris Evans (best known, of course, as Captain America) gets to do heart-tugging drama in this story of a single man trying to raise his child prodigy niece, who is drawn into a custody battle with the girl’s mother. Octavia Spencer, McKenna Grace and Lindsay Duncan also star.
Rock Dog
A dog dreams of becoming a rock musician in this animated comedy featuring the voices of Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, JK Simmons, Matt Dillon and Sam Elliot (as a character called – ha ha – Fleetwood Yak).
Transformers: The Last Knight
Mark Wahlberg returns to battle the ‘bots once more in the latest Transformers movie. This time, humans and robots are at war and Optimus Prime is nowhere to be found. Michael Bay directs once again, lots of the UK gets blown up, and Laura Haddock, Humans’ Gemma Chan and Anthony Hopkins costar.
Despicable Me 3
The third Despicable Me movie has former baddie Gru discovering he has a twin brother named Dru (both voiced by Steve Carell). Expect more Minion fun to keep you going until Minions 2 in 2020, plus the return of Russell Brand’s Dr Nefario and Gru’s wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig).
JULY
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Another Spidey movie, another new man in the role and this time it is British actor Tom Holland (who first appeared in the blue and red costume in Captain America; Civil War). He’s just learning – with the help of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark – how to be a hero, which is handy because there is a new baddie about (Michael Keaton’s The Vulture).
Cars 3
Lightning McQueen is back in another animated high speed adventure, and this time his career is under threat from a new breed of racing car. Owen Wilson returns to voice Lightning and is joined by Nathan Fillion as Sterling and Armie Hammer as Jackson Storm. Perhaps this movie will explain why the cars need doors and steering wheels when there are no humans around to drive them…
War For The Planet Of The Apes
The third of the rebooted Planet Of The Apes movies (following on from Rise Of and Dawn Of), this is where it will get much darker as Caesar (the jaw-droppingly talented Andy Serkis) has to lead his fellow apes into a war against humans. Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer and Steve Zahn also star. Note to Planet Of The Apes fans – coming soon to Movies4Kids will be reviews of ALL eight previous Apes movies, including the original 1968 Charlton Heston one and its sequels, plus the Tim Burton-directed one and the reboots so you know which ones are suitable for kids (and at what age!)
Dunkirk
Older kids and adults will not want to miss writer/director Christopher Nolan’s (Inception, The Dark Knight) telling of the evacuation of Allied soldiers cut off and surrounded by German forces in the spring of 1940 that stars Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, James D’Arcy and One Direction’s Harry Styles in his first acting role.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Dav Pikey’s much-loved kids’ character gets the animated movie treatment, as pranksters George and Harold hypnotise their school principal into thinking he is the dimwitted superhero Captain Underpants. Jordan Peele and Kevin Hart are among those providing the voices.
AUGUST
The Emoji Movie
The first movie based on emojis comes to cinemas, and tells the story of Gene, an emoji with more than one expression, who goes on an adventure to find out how to become normal like his single-expression emoji pals. Anna Faris, TJ Miller, Sofia Vergara and James Corden are joined by Patrick Stewart as the voice of Poop. Yes, really.
Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets
Luc Besson – who made the terrific, visually-stunning sci-fi adventure The Fifth Element – returns to space for this blockbuster based on the French Valerian comic series. In the 28th century, a dark force is threatening the metropolis Alpha, and operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are on a mission to save the universe.
The Son Of Bigfoot
Teenager Adam sets out to find his long-lost dad, and it leads him on an unusual adventure when he discovers his father is none other than Bigfoot. A Belgian/French animated movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X-pJP_4iwo
The Dark Tower
One for teens and older members of the audience, The Dark Tower is the eagerly awaited movie based on the Stephen King fantasy novels. Idris Elba is the Gunslinger, wandering the Old West-style landscape looking for the Man In Black (Matthew McConaughey) and the fabled Dark Tower that holds the key to saving the world from extinction.
Everything Everything
Based on the acclaimed Nicola Yoon young adult novel, this is the story of a teenage girl who has lived a sheltered life because she is allergic to everything, who falls for the boy who moves in next door. Expect weepiness of Fault-In-Our-Stars proportions. Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson star.
The Nut Job 2
Three years on and the forgettable animated comedy The Nut Job gets a sequel. This time, Surly and his pals must stop the mayor from destroying their home and turning it into an amusement park. Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl and Maya Rudolph are among those providing the voices.
Don’t forget to visit www.movies4kids.co.uk for news and reviews of all this summer’s releases.