Family Movies – Summer 2011

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Like every summer, this summer is loaded with new family movies. The anticipation of children builds as most of these movies are accompanied by big toy releases or fast food marketing campaigns. We generally only see a few of the big summer blockbusters so we try to pick out the ones we really want to see, and decide which ones can wait for video or Netflix streaming.

Here are a few of the summer family movies that have either already been released or are opening soon.

Kung Fu Panda 2 

This is the only movie on the list we have seen.  I really liked this one because it was not just a rehash of the first movie and it had a great family message. The ending also seemed to indicate another installment of this movie will soon be in the making. In theaters.

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

My son wants to see this one, mainly based on the elephant mishap in the preview. I fear I may be forced to go see this one. In theaters.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins 

My son and I read this book last year and we loved it, so we were very excited when we heard it was being made into a movie. However, based on the previews, it appears to have been altered quite a bit. I am still deciding whether this is theater worthy, or if we should wait until it hits Netflix. In theaters.

Cars 2 

My children never really liked the original Cars movie all that much (I know, gasp!). This installment has a spy plot with lots of explosions and a political message, so it seems to be quite a departure from the first movie. I am thinking this may end up being a Netflix movie, or maybe we will go out to the drive-ins to save some money. In theaters.

Zookeeper

My son has been begging to go see this movie since he saw the first preview. This is one we will go see in the theater. I like Kevin James for some reason. He is a total goofball, which is not usually my style of humor, but there is something about him I cannot help but like. Release date: July 8.

Winnie the Pooh

I may take my daughter to see this one as a mommy-daughter date.  I love Winnie the Pooh. He takes me right back to my childhood.  Swoon.  Release date: July 15.

The Smurfs

I have been hearing about a Smurfs movie for some time. It is finally here and my kids couldn’t care less. I tried showing them some Smurfs cartoons online and they were either bored or scared depending on the episode. So while the child in me wants to go see this 80s classic, it may be a Netflix movie in our household. Release date: July 29.

There are more movies being marketed as family films this summer, but I only listed a few here. Some of the other movies either don’t interest us at all, or they do not make my list of what is child appropriate. I usually check out the movies we intend to see on Common Sense Media or Plugged In Online. Both of these sites give movie reviews from a family perspective. Plugged In has a tendency to give a lot of information which some may consider spoilers, so I tend to skim through, paying attention to the sections on profanity, sexual content, violent content, and I also read the conclusion.

So which summer family movies has your family seen?  Are there any upcoming movies your children are particularly excited about?  Feel free to leave a comment.  Share and let’s talk about it.

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