Serious issues regarding death of parent -- not sleepover material
We chose this movie for a sleepover, not the best setting for watching it! I was unprepared for how heavily the movie deals with issues relating to Alice's mother's death 6 years ago. Issues are handled in an age-appropriate manner, but I was not expecting to encounter them. My daughter said "this is a sad movie" and snuggled with me much more than usual -- as she is 9, I guess I will take y snuggles when I get them ...
Fans of Disney will recognize many of the people in the film. Fans of the book series might enjoy this movie version although the books were, I think, far better. The death of Alice's mother is a heavy topic throughout the movie.
This movie had its moments- moments where I thought it was flowing really nicely, and becoming interesting, and then being with moments when I thought it was extremely cheesy and odd. It was slightly predictable, but it got its point across pretty well, I feel. If it weren't for Alyson Stoner staring in this movie- I probably wouldn't have watched it (I'm biased because she's Isabella...I mean, come on!) :P Anyway, it was slightly funny, and just a mediocre production that I'll probably forget about it two weeks.