‘Crater’
In 2257, humans inhabit space colonies and teenagers can go off-roading in space rovers. At least that’s the world that Caleb (Isaiah Russell-Bailey) inhabits when we meet him and his friends: Dylan (Billy Barratt), Borney (Orson Hong) and Marcus (Thomas Boyce). After his mother’s death, Caleb was cared for by his single dad, Michael (Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi), who was killed while working in the lunar mines. The film begins as the recently orphaned Caleb is to be sent to live on a faraway planet called Omega. Before he’s forced to leave, though, he takes advantage of a lockdown prompted by an impending meteor shower to gather his buddies, steal a rover and go explore a mysterious crater that may or may not hold treasure. They bring along Addison (Mckenna Grace), who has just arrived from Earth, since she has access to some codes they need for the mission. From the get-go, this fun, fast-paced, emotional sci-fi adventure has enough action to captivate young kids and preteens. Directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez (“C.O.G.”), “Crater” is worth a look. Think of it as “Stand by Me” in space.
‘Slumberland’
Nemo (Marlow Barkley) lives in a picture-perfect lighthouse with her seafaring father, Peter (Kyle Chandler, sporting a big old bushy beard). It’s just the two of them, and Peter tells his little girl fantastical bedtime stories each night to lull her to sleep. When he dies tragically at sea, Nemo is alone in her grief, until she’s sent to live with Philip (Chris O’Dowd), her very unimaginative but well-meaning uncle. This is not the first time filmmakers have tried to bring Winsor McCay’s early-20th-century comic strip “Little Nemo in Slumberland” to the screen, but it might be the most ambitious. Nemo copes with the death of her father by escaping into dreams, where she meets Flip (Jason Momoa, who seems to be having a grand time whooping it up in every scene). He’s a rowdy trickster-type figure who leads Nemo through adventures on a quest to find her father and discover some mythical, magical pearls. Directed by Francis Lawrence (the “Hunger Games” franchise), the fantastical worlds that Nemo and Flip travel through should capture the imaginations of youngsters, and the difficult moments, with Nemo grappling with real-world problems and pain, give the movie an emotional center.
The director David Lowery (“The Green Knight,” “Pete’s Dragon”) reimagines beloved fairy tales with an indie filmmaker’s eye for subtlety and darkness, and his “Peter Pan & Wendy” is no exception. He takes the classic tale of Peter — a.k.a. the boy who doesn’t want to grow up — and puts Wendy (Ever Anderson) center stage. Even Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi from “black-ish”) is more compelling than Peter (Alexander Molony). That’s not to say that Peter is a dud. The whole cast is fantastic, including Jude Law as Captain Hook, Jim Gaffigan as Smee and Alyssa Wapanatahk as Tiger Lily. My 5-year-old son was mesmerized by pirate ships floating in air and dizzying sword fights. And there is plenty of wonder in this live-action version to inspire a hundred “Mommy, how are they flying through the air?”-type questions. It’s fun to watch Wendy, usually relegated to a supporting role, grappling with questions that would make Gloria Steinem proud. Co-written with Toby Halbrooks, Lowery’s longtime collaborator, this film should appeal to younger kids and preteens, but probably won’t hold the attention of toddlers, who might prefer bright pops of color and Kidz Bop-esque tunes to a wondrous — but slightly brooding — adventure.
‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’
This animated adventure comedy is probably a better bet for the littler kids. Samuel L. Jackson voices a rotund samurai cat named Jimbo who helps a floppy-eared beagle named Hank (Michael Cera) become a great — or at least halfway decent — samurai himself. A scheming cat named Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) sets the plot in motion, sending Hank out to become a samurai so that Ika Chu can expand his palace. The plot is almost beside the point, since a 4-year-old most likely will not pick apart any holes with the story, staying instead for the sight gags, silly comedic moments and sword fight scenes. The film was originally called “Blazing Samurai,” and it’s an animated children’s version of the Mel Brooks classic “Blazing Saddles.” Instead of racism in America, the characters grapple with dog and cat issues in feudal Japan. Yes, it’s a stretch, and no, this is not a comedy classic destined to win over generations of filmgoers. It is fun though. Like in Brooks’s film, there are plenty of jokes about beans, and Brooks himself voices a character named The Shogun. Michelle Yeoh, Djimon Hounsou and George Takei lend their talents, and it’s directed by Rob Minkoff (“The Lion King”), Chris Bailey (“Kim Possible”) and Mark Koetsier (a story artist on “Big Hero 6”).
For most parents, hearing your 16-year-old say that he or she wants to sail around the globe alone in a pink sailboat would cause you to rattle off 8,000 reasons the answer is “no way.” That wasn’t the case for the real-life Australian teen Jessica Watson, who became the youngest person to single-handedly do so, completing her voyage in 2010. In this Netflix original movie directed by Sarah Spillane (“Around the Block”), Teagan Croft (“Titans”) plays Jessica, a character who will inspire children with her bravery and never-give-up persistence. “True Spirit” has a feel-good pop soundtrack and plenty of highly inspirational vlogging. Jessica spouts sentiments like, “There’s bravery in admitting that you’re not OK.” Sometimes a dose of simple, feel-good wisdom is just what a kid needs to hear.
