This is a great movie for kids ages 3.5+. The reviews were mixed so I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great! If you've read the reviews, the following should address them.
The consumer reviews said it was too long at around two hours...but the action is so constant and the scenery so colorful that no one cared. And I felt the storyline moved fast. My 3.5 year old son was glued the entire time (I can't say that for even Cars, his favorite movie ever). And the car action/racing is really cool...the cars flip and jump so it's more animated than that other Car movie (which, again, we love).
A few patrons complained that they said the word "hell" four times. OH MY GOSH, not HELL?!? I didn't even notice it if they did say it (but then most of you know my college roomate Jen and know that I'm immune to such things).
Other people complained that the movie was violent, that a boy got "beat to a pulp" and they almost fed him to viscious pirajna. Again, let me reiterate that this movie is very cartoony feeling so while these things did happen (although I'd say the guy was just roughly slapped), they didn't seem extremely scary or violent to us. Neither of my kids said anything about it during or after (it is a very brief scene).
So again, we loved it. It was a fun and interesting storyline that kept us glued to our seats. I usually fall asleep in even the most interesting kid movies but this one kept me awake!
I really wanted to like this film since I loved the book, however was completely lost the first bit of the movie and actually had to go back and watch it again to figure out all of the little parts. Don't think I am that slow, but it really jumped all over the place. I think my lack of attention might of had something to do with the home office heckling the movie and me telling him to shut up already.
