Kit Kittredge - An American Girl

I've been a fan of the American Girls dolls and books since they first came out. Finally we have an American Girls movie that's worthy of the name!

Kitt Kittredge is a first-rate family film that tells a heart warming story set within the historical context of the Great Depression era.

I would recommend this film for families, not just for girls who enjoy American Girls products.

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this movie when I was asked to watch it with my family but I was wrong. The background is the Geat Depression and let me tell you that they did such a good job at bringing out the problems of the times and the emotions of the people that I was glued to the TV set.
We meet Kit, a nine-year old whose father must leave home to find work and whose mother must take in boarders, who are quite colorful and add much to the movie, sell eggs, and cut corners everyway she can to make ends meet.
Kit is not your usual young girl but one who has a heart for writing and who is determined to get her stories in print one day. She befriends two Hobo children who come to do work for her mother for food.Unfortunately there is a rash of robberies and Kit's mother's lockbox is stolen. Now the blame is being put on her Hobo friend, Will.
In Kit's heart she knows that Will did not do it but she could not prove it until that fateful day when by sheer accident she finds out who the real robbers are. Now Kit and her friends must get the lockbox and get away from the 'bad guys.'
This is a great movie, it has character all its own that will just keep you rushing with all sorts of emotions as you watch. The actors do a top-notch job and are more colorful than in many other movies I have seen of late. We have friendships, mystery, hard times all blended together to bring a movie that is both heart-warming and eye-opening in so many ways.
I am proud to recommend this movie to you and sincerely hope that you will watch it and enjoy it as much as my family and I did.
Great show!

I watched this with my 11,9, and 3.5 year olds. We enjoyed it. It was clean and entertaining. My 11 year old said it was not in line with the book, but still enjoyed it. It gave us a lot of topics for discussion. Based on the depression era, we were able to discuss economy, prejudice and family. Two thumbs up from us.

Set in the Great Depression, Kit Kittredge follows the heroine of the American Girl Kit an American Girl (6 Book Set) books. Kit (Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine) is a 10-year-old aspiring reporter living in Cincinnati with her parents (Julia Ormond and Chris O'Donnell); her father Jack owns a car dealership, and her brother Charlie is away at college. As the movie opens, we see unfortunate neighbors with foreclosure signs in their yards, belongings being seized, and soup kitchens. Kit's situation goes from comfortable to pinched overnight; the bank seizes the dealership, her father moves to Chicago to look for work, and her mother must take in boarders to make ends meet. From there, it's only a short step to selling eggs, and then the poorhouse.

Kit's generally optimistic outlook is nearly crushed under this avalanche of adult responsibilities, but her father gently tells her not to let it beat her before he leaves to look for work. Kit throws herself into her writing, penning a kid's eye view of the Depression as she volunteers at soup kitchens and befriends two young hobos, Will and Countee (Max Thieriot, who played Nancy Drew's boyfriend in Nancy Drew, and Willow Smith). Kit's dreams of being a writer are nearly stamped out by the unpleasant editor Mr. Gibson (Wallace Shawn of The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition) fame), but she keeps at it in an effort to make sense of the suddenly senseless world around her. The new boarders are the subject of many of her articles. There's magician Mr. Berk (Stanley Tucci), mobile librarian Ms. Bond (Joan Cusack), Mrs. Howard and her son Stirling, and the exotic dance instructor Miss Dooley.

But danger strikes as a series of robberies perpetrated by hobos sweeps the nation, and Will and Countee find themselves unwelcome, especially after Will is implicated in two robberies that hit close to home. Kit and her friends Ruthie and Stirling set out to solve the mystery of who would frame Will.

The film does a wonderful job at capturing 1930s atmosphere, particularly in the soundtrack department. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack contains two fabulous tracks by the Puppini Sisters (retro 1940s-style vocal harmonies), Ain't We Got Fun by retro songbird Renee Olstead, and vintage tracks by Spike Jones, Billie Holiday, Cliff Edwards, and Xavier Cugat.

Kit Kittredge is that rare movie that the whole family can enjoy together. The story (and I haven't read the book series that it's based on) is a gently old-fashioned tale of respect, altruism, and optimism in the face of difficulty that will resonate with parents, and kids will enjoy the blend of magic shows, funny characters, and mystery. The solid acting from the big-name cast, headlined by Abigail, offers up a sanitized but effective overview of the atmosphere of the Great Depression, particularly salient as our nation once again finds itself in a sea of foreclosures, high unemployment, and the threat of recession if not depression.

I love American girl stuff! My daughter is a little to old now but I am buying this for a friends 8 year old for Christmas. We rented it last night and I loved it. It has some very heartwarming parts that were my favorite but I'm kinda sappy. This movie shows how people stick together during hard economic times...hmmm...kinda like now? Of course there is always a bad apple to spoil the whole bunch!
Loved it...buying it!