I have to admit I liked AQUAMARINE quite a bit. My three year old is obsessed with mermaids, so it seemed like a good movie for her. There's a bit of risqué humor in it and a few mild four letter words, but for the most part it's a funny, unpredictable and fairly intelligent comedy. That it has such a low IMDb score is surprising to me.
While the movie is decidedly for older kids, most of the relatively mature subject matter went over my daughter's head. I'm sure some parents were uncomfortable at the notion of a naked girl showing off her newly discovered buttocks (even if they are blocked from view) or Emma Roberts expressing dissatisfaction with her undeveloped breasts, but my feeling is that parents are way too sensitive about the amount of sex and nudity to which their children are exposed. I thought the movie handled these moments realistically and discreetly.
The humor has a nice sarcastic bite to it to temper the more sugary moments. There's some good, unforced slapstick, surprisingly witty dialog and enthusiastic performances all around. I also like the fact that the whole movie has a fantastic, dream-like feel to it. It makes it feel like a true modern-day fairy tale.
While it is no SPLASH, it's still a fun little movie that I think I could watch again at my daughter's request. Finding a kids' movie that isn't brain dead is rare; then again, you could say that about quite a lot of Hollywood's output, kids' movie or not.
While the movie is decidedly for older kids, most of the relatively mature subject matter went over my daughter's head. I'm sure some parents were uncomfortable at the notion of a naked girl showing off her newly discovered buttocks (even if they are blocked from view) or Emma Roberts expressing dissatisfaction with her undeveloped breasts, but my feeling is that parents are way too sensitive about the amount of sex and nudity to which their children are exposed. I thought the movie handled these moments realistically and discreetly.
The humor has a nice sarcastic bite to it to temper the more sugary moments. There's some good, unforced slapstick, surprisingly witty dialog and enthusiastic performances all around. I also like the fact that the whole movie has a fantastic, dream-like feel to it. It makes it feel like a true modern-day fairy tale.
While it is no SPLASH, it's still a fun little movie that I think I could watch again at my daughter's request. Finding a kids' movie that isn't brain dead is rare; then again, you could say that about quite a lot of Hollywood's output, kids' movie or not.