Disney waited a long time to release "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" on DVD. Unfortunately, the movie is not worth the wait. 

This is the second sequel to the original 1994 Disney hit and Tim Allen is back once again as jolly ol' St. Nick. This time Santa's role as the King of Christmas is threatened when Jack Frost (played by Martin Short) tries to take over.

Frost tricks Santa into using the "escape clause", which all Santa's can use when they don't want the job anymore. This transports them (and us) back into the first movie, and to the scene when Allen's character first became Santa. This time Frost puts on the big red suit. But, as you might guess, things don't work out too well and Allen's Santa must make a comeback and save the day.

Other holiday celebrities make appearances in the movie, including the Easter Bunny and Cupid. We even get to see Santa and Mrs. Claus's first baby.

"The Santa Clause 3" is not as funny as the first two movies. And there isn't much holiday cheer spread around. Heck, Frost hits Santa with a shovel! Not exactly the image I want for kids or parents during the holidays.

The movie is rated G. The look of the film is very good, especially Santa's Snow Globe room, but overall I was rather disappointed.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" only gets a C.

This is supposed to be the final episode in the "Santa Clause" series. I hope that's the case. 

"Enchanted" begins as a cartoon in Fairytale Land. Princess Giselle (voiced and played by Amy Adams) is looking for a handsome prince. Soon she meets one, but before they can get married the Princess gets dumped into a well by an evil queen. She comes out of the other end of the well in New York City, where she turns into a real live person.

In NYC the Princess meets a lawyer (played by Patrick Dempsey). They become friends and begin to fall in love. But Prince Edward soon arrives on the scene, as does the evil queen, and things get really complicated.

Included in this original story are some great musical numbers (three of which got nominated for Academy Awards) and plenty of laughs. The animation is fun, especially the CGI effects involving the animals that help the Princess.

Other actors include James Marsden (from "Hairspray") and Susan Sarandon. Plus, Julie Andrews has a brief role as the narrator.

"Enchanted" is rated PG for a few scary scenes in the film's final 10 minutes. So you parents of real little ones be ready with hugs.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Enchanted" gets a B.

This is a rare movie that all age groups - kids, teens, adults and seniors can enjoy. And get ready for the sequel! (see 3/16 "Blog...Blog...Blog...")

It came out late in the year, but "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporiumum's " was still able to get onto my list of Worst Films of 2007.

Dustin Hoffman stars as the wacky (and old) owner of a toy store who has decided it's time to give-up running the store and hand it over to his best employee, Molly, (played by Natalie Portman).

Mr. Magorium hires an accountant (played by Jason Bateman) to straighten out the company's books to prepare for the move. Of course Bateman's character doesn't see that this is a 'magical' store...and he and Molly don't get along.

When the store finds out that Mr. Magorium is leaving, it stops being magical, and the characters try to bring the magic back.

If all of this sounds a little goofy that's because it is. But there are more problems with "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" than that. The biggest problem is that the movie's main focus is DEATH, which is not exactly what parents and kids are going to want from a G-rated holiday film.

Plus, there are very few laughs. For me, the best thing about the movie was a cameo by Kermit The Frog, which only lasts about 20-seconds.

To sum it up: There's nothing 'magical' about "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium", and you leave the theather, as my dad and I did...'wondering' what the people who made this movie were thinking.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" gets a D.

Give you and your family an early holiday gift: skip this movie!

Sometimes a movie can have bad trailers and still be pretty good. I watched the trailers for "Fred Claus" for months before it came out in theaters last year and I wasn't expecting very much from the movie. But, turned out, "Fred Claus" was definitely worth seeing, and it's worth a viewing now that it's out on video. 

The story, as you probably already know, centers around Santa's older brother Fred (played by Vince Vaughn). Fred lives in Chicago, not at the North Pole with the rest of his family. But after he gets into trouble he needs some money from Santa (Paul Giamatti) and so he goes to the North Pole to get it.

Once there Santa puts Fred to work preparing for Christmas with the elves, but things don't go too smoothly. Plus, Santa has to deal with an evil man (played by Kevin Spacey) who is trying to shut-down Santa's workshop.

"Fred Claus" is both funny and sweet, just what a holiday family comedy should be. In fact this is the best Christmas movie since "The Polar Express", and is has a lot of that movie's warmth and charm. And there's also some wacky fun, including cameos by other famous brothers including Frank Stallone and Stephen Baldwin.

The film is rated PG for a little crude humor, but this is a movie the whole family can see.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Fred Claus" gets a B. Give it a look. It's a great way to kick-off the holiday season.

John Cusack gives a wonderful performance in the new movie "Martian Child". Cusack plays best-selling science fiction author David Gordon, who has recently lost his wife and is now considering adopting a child. The child he ends-up choosing, named Dennis, (and played by Bobby Coleman) is a little unusual because he thinks he's from Mars.

Dennis has a difficult time getting used to being in a family, going to school and life on Earth in general (don't forget he thinks he's from Mars). It's David's job to allow him to be himself while also trying to get Dennis to be like other 6-year old human boys.

I liked "Martian Child" a lot. Both the story and the acting are believable. There are plenty of laughs and some serious moments. The film does try to get to you emotionally and it did for me, but not too much.

John Cusack's real-life sister Joan plays his sister. Amanda Peet and Anjelica Houston are also in the cast.

"Martian Child" is rated PG for some adult themes and a few bad words. It's a perfect film for parents and kids (probably 8 and over) to see together.

On "The Official Kid Critic Report Card", Martian Child gets a B.

The movie is based on an award-winning short-story by Sci-Fi writer David Gerrold. After seeing the film my dad and I are now going to read the story.

After nearly 5-years in the making, Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" is finally here!

The animated film stars Seinfeld as Barry B. Benson, a bee who's just graduated from college and now has to take a job in the honey factory with all the other bees. But Barry wants to leave the hive and check-out the human world. And so he does and once out he meets Vanessa, a florist (voiced by Renee Zellweger), who saves his life. Did I mention that the bees speak English and that humans can understand them?

Well, Barry speaks to Vanessa and they become friends. During a trip to the supermarket Barry learns that humans have been taking all of the bees' honey. And so, with the help of Vanessa, Barry sues to get the honey back so all bees won't have to work so hard.

"Bee Movie" is just O.K. There aren't as many laughs as I was expecting. The voice work is pretty good, but at times it sounded as if the actors were reading their lines. And several of the characters are a little over the top in both the way they're animated and how they act.

The overall look of the movie is outstanding. The colors, especially during the outdoor flying scenes, are amazing. And you do learn a lot about the lives of bees, pollination and the making of honey.

Chris Rock, Mathew Broderick, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Liota and Larry King also provide voices. I wish there were more scenes with Chris Rock's mosquito. He was probably the funniest character in the movie.

"Bee Movie" is rated PG. Seinfeld says he wrote the script for adults. I wouldn't recommend the movie for kids under 8. The story isn't funny enough to keep them interested and they won't get most of the jokes.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Bee Movie" gets a C+. No, not a B(ee), a C+. Sorry, Jerry. 

I'll get right to the point: "The Comebacks" is a loser.

The idea is good - a sports movie that makes fun of other sports movies. But this film is awful. It's not funny and it's certainly not for kids! Too much adult humor, or, I should say, adult NO humor.

No need to explain the plot or name the actors. This is without a doubt one of the worst films of 2007.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Comebacks" gets an F.

"The first documentary I ever saw was "March of the Penguins", back in 2005. It's so good I saw it twice!

Now I've seen my second. This new one is called "In the Shadow of the Moon", and it's the story of the nine American astronauts who have gone to the moon. The movie was produced by Ron Howard and it includes the original footage from the Apollo space missions of the late 1960's, some that no one has ever seen until now. And we get to meet most of the astronauts as they are today and hear their stories of what it was like to orbit the moon or actually walk on it.

"In the Shadow of the Moon" will be interesting to you if you remember watching these space missions when you were a kid (like my Dad), OR if this is the first time you are learning about them (like me).

The movie is rated PG for a few bad words. It's a must-see for students and teachers studying space travel and for anyone interested in this period of American's history. It's not in many theaters around the country so you're going to have to search for it. Trust me, you'll be happy that you did.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "In the Shadow of the Moon" rockets to a B! To sum it up: It's a blast!

But then his young daughter shows-up at his apartment one day. He never knew he had a daughter. And now he has to take care of her. So QB's plan gets screwed-up, big-time.

"The Game Plan" may be a comedy but I think I only laughed twice during the entire movie. The plot is very predictable. The acting is not believable, led by Madison Pettis, who plays the daughter and Kyra Sedgwick, way-off as Kingman's agent.

Even The Rock, who played college football before he became the famous wrestler, isn't very good playing a football player.

And I was really hoping to enjoy this film: I like comedies. I like football. But "The Game Plan" just doesn't work.

It's rated PG. There's nothing offensive, so it's safe for everybody, except when The Rock tries to sing like Elvis.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "The Game Plan" gets a disappointing D+. Maybe Disney should stick to serious football movies such as last year's "Invincible", which I liked a lot. 

There aren't a lot of kids movies out at the end of the summer so my dad and I went to see "Resurrecting the Champ" the other day and I'm glad we did.

The movie is rated PG-13 for some boxing violence and fighting scenes, but it's appropriate for kids, say, 10 and older, especially if they follow sports.

"Resurrecting the Champ" is based on a true story about a sportswriter for the Denver Times newspaper (played by Josh Hartnett) who meets a former professional boxer who is living on the streets. Samuel L. Jackson plays the homeless boxer.

The story of the boxer is printed in a magazine and it makes the writer a star, but then something happens that I don't want to give away, and it changes everything.

"Resurrecting the Champ" teaches some nice lessons about the importance of family, doing the right thing and telling the truth. There are some funny moments and it's also very touching.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Resurrecting the Champ" gets a B. It's the first boxing movie I've seen since "Rocky Balboa" and, I've got to tell you, I liked it almost as much.