Marsai Martin who goes from age 30 to 13 in the movie, Little. Photo: IMDB
Taking the family to the cinema is a great way to grind away a few hours while the kids are off school.
But with eye-watering ticket and snack prices, it’s best to pick something not instantly forgettable, or too much of a punishment for the accompanying adults.
Behold, a cheat sheet to help decide what to see and what to skip this Easter break.
Five years after the events of the first film, everything is less awesome in Bricksburg, which is now a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Wyldstyle and Emmet are back. Photo: IMDB
It would be nearly impossible to top the insanely unique and genuinely hilarious sophistication of the first movie – which stands up to multiple viewings – but a star turn by an alien Duplo queen (Tiffany Haddish) ups the ante for grown-ups. Save this one for a family movie night at home.
Tim Burton’s take on the 1941 Disney classic stars an out-of-this-world adorable CGI flying elephant along with actors Colin Farrell, Eva Green, Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito. Burton deviates from the original story, so there’s a nice blend of nostalgia and a new narrative to keep grown-ups engaged – not to mention emotional – but the director’s bent for gloominess, both in plot and visual tone, might be a bit too much for little fans to take.
Made with mind-boggling skill by stop-action animation studio Laika (Coraline, Kubo & The Two Strings) this Big Foot buddy movie features more than 100 sets and the voice talents of Hugh Jackman as a rakish old-school adventurer tasked with helping the missing link (Zach Galifianakis) on a globetrotting adventure to find a new home among the Yetis in Nepal. Snappy dialogue and eye-popping animation make this a big-screen must.
A well-meaning, Australian-made story about a studious, but absent-minded, American teen called Cory (played by Disney Channel star Sofia Wylie) who, through a series of mix-ups, blows her chance to spend a summer studying science at sea in Australia and instead winds up facing down mean girls at a Sydney soccer academy.
Gemma Chua-Tran (l) and Sofia Wylie in Back of the Net. Photo: IMDB
You can guess the rest. Kids will love the gags and have-a-go message but feels more like something you’d be happy to come across flicking through TV channels.
An amusement park invented by a creative girl named June comes to life in this visually bright movie that explores darker themes. With plot elements that echo 2016’s brilliant A Monster Calls, it’s about the power of imagination but also the necessity of escapism when June’s mother (voiced by Jennifer Garner) faces a scary medical diagnosis. For younger kids who are expecting a fun romp with talking animals and rollercoasters, it could be a bit much in the theatre without the opportunity for some reassuring talk.
Black-ish actor Marsai Martin, who at 14 is credited on the film as Hollywood’s youngest-ever executive producer, stars as a no-nonsense boss (played as an adult by Regina Hall) who in a moment of magic is returned to her 13-year-old body. Like Tom Hanks’s Big in reverse. Body-switch comedies are practically a genre – 17 Again, 13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday – but it’s always a rich vein for one-liners to keep the whole family entertained.