Summer film options for kids
Children are out of school and looking for something to do. Why not plan on heading into the comfy confines of the local cinema this summer?
While this past Sunday’s Style section in the Democrat-Gazette covered most of the movies making their way to screens this summer, here’s a smaller, more family-friendly list.
With so many sequels — and a few new kids movies — we had to narrow our list of recommendations. We’ve picked six family movies that offer action, laughs and maybe a bit of drama. m Captain Underpants: The
First Epic Movie (June 2, PG) Twenty years after Dav Pilkey published the first in his series of hugely popular books, the captain stars in an animated movie. In it, comics-loving pranksters Harold Hutchins and George Beard hypnotize their mean principal and make him think he’s a superhero they invented. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have superpowers to go with his super (strange) get-up.
m Cars 3 (June 16, G) Lightning McQueen returns for the third time in this Pixar film, but he’s pushed around and off the track by a new generation of blazing-fast racers. To catch up, he turns to a young race technician and finds inspiration from the late Doc Hudson. Remember: It’s not over until lightning strikes.
m Despicable Me 3 (June 30, PG)
Another animated movie returns for a third (or fourth, if you count Minions) tour of the big screen. This time around Gru, the former villain-turned Anti-Villain League agent, meets his twin brother Dru — a sibling he never knew existed. Gru and Dru are voiced by Steve Carell. Kristen Wiig is back as Lucy Wilde, an Anti-Villain League agent and also Gru’s wife. South
Park co-creator Trey Parker supplies the voice of Balthazar Bratt, a former child star turned super villain.
m Spider-Man: Homecoming
(July 7, not yet rated)
Spider-Man is getting yet another reboot — all the way back to high school. That’s right. The comic action continues with the return of Spider-Man, who has to balance web-slinging with the challenging classes at his STEM high school. (That’s science, technology, engineering and math, of course.) Will he be able to defeat the evil Vulture and still ace his finals?
m The Emoji Movie (July 28, not yet rated) Imagine The Secret Life of
Pets but with the tiny digital images. The little guys are leading busy lives in the city of Textopolis. One, named Gene, isn’t like the others, who express just one emotion. Gene wants a single facial expression, so he and two emoji friends travel through phone apps to find the code to fix him. m The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (Aug. 11, not yet rated) The voice of Will Arnett is back as Surly, a purple squirrel, along with Katherine Heigl as Andie, a compassionate red squirrel and Surly’s best friend, in this sequel to the 2014 animated hit The Nut
Job. This time around, Surly and friends battle the mayor of Oakton City, who is trying to build an amusement park on the animals’ home, the city park.