Summer Movie Line-Up For Children of All Ages

Theaters all over the county will feature an array of choices of family-friendly films this summer. From the highly anticipated addition to the saga of Woody and Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3 to the remake of an American classic with The Karate Kid, here is a little guide to some of this season’s films suitable for children young and old.

Despicable Me [PG]

A multitude of creative minds have collaborated in Universal Studios’ latest animated feature Despicable Me, the tale of a genius supervillain enacting his plot to steal the moon.  With Steve Carrell (The Office, 40-Year-Old Virgin) voicing the lead character Gru, alongside other seasoned comic actors Will Arnett (The Brothers Solomon), Jason Segel  (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and Kirsten Wiig (Saturday Night Live) amongst others lending their voices to the flick, this film is sure to entertain the masses. Not to mention the film also features an incredibly funky, modern soundtrack featuring hip hop artist Pharrell Williams and R&B crooner Robin Thicke. Despicable Me is in theatres now.

The Karate Kid [PG]

Famed martial artist and comic actor Jackie Chan stars alongside Jaden Smith in the remake of 1984 classic The Karate Kid. Chan assumes the role of Mr.Han, a Mr. Miyagi-esque master, who teaches Dre Parker (Smith), a newly-arrived young boy from Detroit, the art and discipline of Kung Fu after witnessing the young boy get bullied by the local kids in China. While Pat Morita’s shoes may be hard to fill with his compelling, Academy-Award nominated performance as Mr.Miyagi, Chan should be able to attract audiences to see this modern re-imagination of this coming-of-age story. The Karate Kid is in theatres now.

The Last Airbender [PG]

Based on the Nickelodean animated series Avatar: The Last Air Bender, this M. Night Shyamalan adventure fantasy film is full of great visual effects and action. Aang, played by Noah Ringer, is the last of his kind who are able to manipulate all elements in order to save the nations of Air, Water, and Earth in the war against the tyrannical Fire Nation. This film features relatively unknown or upcoming actors, save for  Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel assuming the role of exiled Prince Zuko of the Fire nation, but has a large following of fans of the series. The Last Airbender is now in theaters.

Ramona and Beezus

The audacious little girl from the well-known series of children’s novels by Beverly Cleary is coming to the big screen. Featuring Joey King in her first lead role as Ramona Quimby and supported by Disney star Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) as her older sister Beezus Quimby, the adventures of these sisters will hopefully do the wonderful Ramona book series justice. With the likes of Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love), John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy, Sideways), and Josh Duhamel (When In Rome) rounding out the cast, the film has the ingredients of a fun, feel-good tale for the whole family. Ramona and Beezus comes out on July 23rd, 2010.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World [PG-13]

Michael Cera (Superbad, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,) stars in this cinematic telling of the comic book series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Scott Pilgrim (Cera) must defeat the seven evil exes of Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams, in order to be with her.  With a colorful cast that includes Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), and Jason Schwatrzman (Funny People), it is sure to be an action-packed film with plenty of laughs as well. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World will be released August 13^th, 2010.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice [PG]

Jay Baruchel (She’s Out of My League, How to Train Your Dragon) stars alongside Nicholas Cage (Kick-Ass, National Treasure) is the latest film by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) about Balthazar Blake (Cage), a modern-day sorcerer in Manhattan who recruits Dave Stutler (Baruchel) as his apprentice in order to help defend against his arch-nemesis Maxim Horvath, played by Alfred Molina (Spiderman 2). The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is out now.

Toy Story 3

The adventure with Buzz and Woody continues with a third installment of Toy Story, eleven years in the making. Now Andy has graduated from high school and must move away to college leaving his collection of childhood toys behind. Follow the beloved belongings on their trip as a misunderstanding leads them to Sunnyside Daycare. Tim Allen (The Santa Clause, Home Improvement) and Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Cast Away) return to lend their voices to the lovable characters of Buzz Lightyear and Woody with a cast of old and new action figures, dolls, and toys are sure to bring back memories and create new ones. Toy Story 3 is in theatres now.

Image courtesy of AMMY.LOU via flickr.