I was starting to think that maybe I had outgrown the animated movies. Maybe I was getting too uptight to enjoy a good kid flick. The last few children’s movies we we went to were “ok” but I wasn’t overjoyed.

But then we saw Horton Hears a Who. And it restored my faith in animated movies. I realized I still am a kid at heart. I loved this movie. The animation was great. Jim Carrey was spectacular as Horton. Steve Carell was amazing as the Mayor of Whoville. The whole cast was really good.

If you are unfamilar with the book, Horton Hears a Who is a Dr. Suess book about an elephant (Horton) who finds a speck floating through the air. He can hear screaming from the speck and realizes somebody is living in that speck. Only it’s not just somebody, it’s a whole town; Whoville. Horton and the Mayor of Whoville strike up a friendship as Horton sets out to protect the speck from danger. On his way to find a safe place for the flower containing the speck, Horton runs in to some trouble. The leader (Kangaroo) thinks Horton is lying and she wants him stopped.

I tend to not really enjoy Jim Carrey movies. I think he goes way overboard in his parts until he’s way surpassed funny and is more in to painful territory. But that wasn’t true with Horton. Horton was just the right amount of funny. Not overdone. Not boring. But just right.

I like most of Steve Carell’s movies (even though some of them are more fraternity humor than anything) and he did not disappoint as the Mayor of Whoville. I laughted with the mayor. I cried with the mayor. And I felt sorry for him when the whole town thought he was crazy for talking to an elephant in the sky.

The mean Kangaroo was played by Carol Burnett. She didn’t believe that there were people on the speck and she didn’t want Horton giving the children the idea of imagination. So she set out to destroy Horton’s flower and the speck.

The movie has a great message. “A person’s a person no matter how small.” Horton was determined to help the Who’s even if it meant going against his own community. He was scared, but kept going to make sure Whoville was safe. It was very touchy.

I give this movie five out of five beans. It’s a must see. Get your kids to the movie theater immediately.

I loved the original National Treasure. We have it on DVD and watch it again every few months. So I had high expectations for this sequel. And I was not disappointed. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a great movie.

All of our favorites were back for this movie. Nicolas Cage is Ben Gates. Diane Kruger is back as Ben’s wife, Abigail Chase. And Justin Bartha reprises his role as Riley Poole, Ben’s sidekick. Even Jon Voight is back as Ben’s dad, Patrick Gates. We also got to meet Ben’s mother, Emily Appleton, played by Helen Mirren.

The movie begins with Ben giving a speech about his great-great-grandfather, Thomas Gates. Apparently the group behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln sought Thomas Gates help in decoding a secret message. When Thomas realized who they were, he ripped up the pages and threw them in the fire. He was then shot and killed.

At the end of Ben’s speech, a man, Mitch Wilkinson (played by Ed Harris) stands up and declares he has proof that Thomas Gates was not a hero, but instead was in on the plot. And he has proof. Thomas Gates’ name is on one of the pages from John Wilkes Booth’s diary.

This sends Ben and crew off another treasure hunt to prove Thomas Gates’ innocence.

Like the first movie, there is quite a bit of real history thrown in with the fiction. I’m a bit of a history buff and always think that’s so cool when there is a little history lesson in a movie.

All the actors did a great job with their roles. Although I thought Mitch Wilkinson’s character could have been developed a little better. We were supposed to feel a tiny bit sorry for him by the end of the movie, but his actions prior to that made it hard to like him.

There was a lot of action and tons of suspense. Granted we knew our heroes weren’t going to die, but we were still on the edge of our seats.

The special effects were great too. There was nothing hoaxy about this cinematography.

It was a great movie. Definitely a must see. All of my kids enjoyed it too. Even Caleb at just five years old. I’ll give this a 4.5 beans out of 5.

When I was a kid, my friend had an Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album (yes, album). We listened to it quite a bit. But other than that, I was never really a huge Alvin and the Chipmunks fan. So if it wasn’t for the kids I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie.

But the kids saw the ads on TV and were dying to see it.

The movie is based on the 1980’s cartoon series about three musical chipmunks named Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Alvin (in red with a big A on his shirt) is the leader of the group and kind of a trouble maker. Simon (in blue) is the brains of the group. Theodore (in green) is the ditzy one who loves to eat. Justin Long, who has been in several movies, but will always be my Mac man, is the voice of Alvin. Matthew Gray Gubler, better known for his role in Criminal Minds, is the voice of Simon. And Jesse McCartney, the teeny-bopper musician, is the voice of Theodore.

The movie begins with Dave Seville (played by Jason Lee) falling on hard times. He’s an aspiring song writer who can’t get the record label to pick up any of his songs. Plus his girlfriend broke up with him because he can’t get his life together.

Then he discovers these talking chipmunks who are recking havoc on his kitchen. He boots them out. But when they start serenading him while standing outside in the rain, he gets an idea. He invites them to live with him as long as they will sing his songs.

Dave’s “friend,” Ian (played by David Cross) is a music producer and loves the chipmunks. At least he loves how much money they can make him. And he attempts to buy their love so they will go on tour for him.

It’s a cute story. I was a little disappointed in Jason Lee. I expect him to be funny based on his past roles. But in this role he was more of a father figure. Still I could have used a little more humor from him.

I also thought the story dragged a little in the middle. I thought the kids would say it was boring. But I was surprised to learn they LOVED it. Spencer said it’s the best movie he’s seen (at least as far back as his eight year old brain can remember). And the ending did have a great lesson about the importance of family.

And the graphics were fantastic. It was along the lines of Garfield only better. The interaction between the actors and the chipmunks was very lifelike. I was really impressed.

So, all in all, it wasn’t a fantastic movie, but it was better than average. I’d give it 3.5 beans out of 5.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium puts Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman and youngster Zach Mills together for a great movie about imagination and magic and believing in yourself.

Dustin Hoffman is Mr. Magorium, a 243 year old toy store owner. But it’s not just any toy store. This toy store is magical with a life of it’s own. Mr. Magorium decides it’s his time to depart and he wants to leave his toy store to his unconfident manager, Molly Mahoney (played by Portman). Mahoney was an extraordinary pianist in her youth, but now finds herself struggling to find the right notes to create her own masterpiece. She feels stuck.

To prepare to give his store to Mahoney, Mr. Magorium hires an accountant (which he assumes means “a counting mutant”). The “mutant” they hire is Henry (played by Bateman). Henry has forgotten how to let loose and use his imagination. Instead he’s a just a stuffy accountant who cares only about numbers and paperwork.

With Mr. Magorium’s departure the store begins to have a temper tantrum with the walls bubbling up, the toys misbehaving and then everything turning gray. Nine-year-old Eric tries to get Mahoney and Henry to believe in the magic of the toy store; and more important get Mahoney to believe in herself.

I really enjoyed this movie. And with all kids movies, my test is “do my kids sit still through the whole movie?” For this movie they did. It’s a great family flick. All of the actors did a fantastic job in their roles, but I loved Dustin Hoffman’s quirkiness the best. The plot kept us interested. And the animation was awesome. I highly recommend this movie.

We’ll give it 4 1/2 beans out of 5.

P2 claims to be a thriller, but I beg to differ. In this movie, Rachel Nichols plays an overworked woman who gets trapped in a parking garage. A parking attendant (played by Wes Bentley) tries to help her, but it turns out he’s really a psycho.

As the movie started I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the suspense, prepared to jump at any moment. After the first half hour I sat back as I realized their definition of thriller and my definition of thriller varied greatly. The only thrill I got was when the credits finally rolled and I knew the movie was over.

The entire hour and 38 minutes is spent with the male psycho chasing the helpless girl all over the parking garage while professing his love for her. It was so lame. There was absolutely no suspense. Even the gore was pathetic. It was a waste of time and money.

I give this zero beans out of 100.

In the Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld is the voice of Barry B. Benson, a bee who just graduated from college and is feeling a little trapped by his only career options; making honey in the hive. While trying to make a decision on exactly what job he wants, Barry makes a trip outside the hive where he meets Vanessa Bloome [Renee Zellweger], a human florist who saves his life. Barry’s so grateful he breaks a cardinal bee rule and talks to Vanessa and they become friends. As they are hanging out, Barry discovers human eat honey and keep bees in cages to make honey so he decides to sue.

I was a little disappointed in this movie. I think we’ve been spoiled by movies like Toy Story and Shrek. Now we have such high expectations for these animated kid’s movies.

That being said, Bee Movie is cute. There were some pretty funny jokes for kids and some good ones for adults. There was even a lesson. Kids learn why bees are important in or ecosystem. So I give it an A for effort.

But there were some parts where I felt like it was lagging. My kids said they liked it, but I think there were definitely points where they were a little bored.

So I give Bee Movie three out of five beans.