Ramona and Beezus

Our 5 year old daughter is very sensitive to scary themes and intense drama (losing a parent, getting lost, etc.) and this was a great first theater experience for her. Fairly entertaining for adults too! A few specific comments on things to be aware of: - There are a few uses of "dumb" and "stupid" but overall we were okay with the language - There are two romances going on in the movie, one between her Aunt Beatrice and Howie's Uncle Hobart and one between Beezus and Henry. Both are handled in very innocent and age-appropriate ways. - The girls are home alone when they find that their beloved cat has died. They don't actually show a close-up of the dead cat but they do imply that the cat has been buried and they show a homemade grave market and lots of tears. Again, we thought this was an age-appropriate handling of what happens when a pet dies but it might be something to discuss with your child before the movie, especially if you have pets or if you have recently lost a pet. - There are several scenes where Ramona is imagining and gets into "larger than life" situations. Our daughter had to be reminded that this was her imagination and not things that were actually happening. - The theme of the movie is actually a very nice one - that it is okay to be different - and this is articulated by a teenage Beezus. We liked that Beezus was pretty but not over the top glamorous. Beezus was the character that our daughter was most in awe of and we appreciated that she was overall a very positive kid who finds her sister annoying but also clearly loves her. - True to the books, which were written in the 70s and 80s, there is very little cultural diversity in the film. I think a few kids in the school scenes are ethnicities other than white but none of the main characters are. Also, we have read the first two Ramona books out loud to our daughter and she enjoyed finding parts of the movie that were the same as the book and parts that were different. For example, in the movie she is a third grader but some of her experiences actually happened in the book written when she was in kindergarten.

I loved these books as a child, and frankly wasn't expecting much from this movie (the book's always better than the movie, right?). I was very pleasantly surprised. This movie basically took the great moments from all of the Ramona books and combined them. Joey King captured the essence of Ramona quite well. Selena Gomez was just a bit too glamorous as Beezus, but she had good moments. John Corbett (Chris from Northern Exposure) was absolutely perfect as Mr. Quimby. He was a very good choice. This movie was entertaining for both myself and my daughter. She appreciated all of the Ramona-esque antics, and I appreciated the relationships among the adults in the film. I'm usually a stickler about not letting my daughter watch teen-romance type shows, but I felt that any kissing in this movie was wholly appropriate (related to a newly engaged couple, and a quick peck among teens). The self-proclaimed "love life" of Beezus is a very minor sub-plot, and is innocent in the way that teen crushes should be. The final scene shows Beezus setting some very good boundaries, which I think makes her character a good role model for young girls. All in all, this was a very enjoyable movie. We'll be purchasing this one, and we don't buy a lot of movies.

Very refreshing to see a movie featuring a girl acting her age! Ramona is a spunky, imaginative child that my daughter could relate to (not being the princessy/hannah montana type). While it touched on some issues that can cause anxiety for children (divorce, losing your house/job in a tough economy), it did it in a way that was reassuring in the end. Also, it seems that every movie has a mandatory scary/emotionally traumatic-devastating scene in it, and this one didn't (at least not that my daughter reacted to, and she's very sensitive about those things). The story was fun, the cast terrific, and I really enjoyed it too. I also particularly loved the scenes where Ramona's imagination takes over and they bring it to life - just the sort of thing a girl of that age would do! Fantastic!

Delightful family movie that appeals to kids and adults. Will make you laugh and cry.