Elena G Some of the American Girl movies made in the past were way better than this one! What bothered me the most is that they use 11, 12, and 13 yr old actresses and say in the movie that they are NINE ! Really ??!! That is embarrassing and ridiculous !! Even my 9 yr old noticed that these girls are NOT 9 ! Not to mention that the characters in these newer AG movies are portrayed as super-ultra talented kids that are good at everything! The make-up even make them look more mature that they are in real life !How sad...

D M I've just watched this a few moments ago with my 7 year old. The theme throughout is about change, overcoming fear of change, and restoring things lost. It also promotes the value of art and music, has some nice examples throughout. It promotes the importance of friendship and cooperation. It is a very good, safe film for young children to watch. Its plainness of presentation makes the life messages clear for them. For the adult watching, it might seem cheesy at first (there's rather a lot of "cool"s and "awesome"s), but as you continue watching it with your child, the film continues getting better and better to the end and you enjoy and are really affected positively by it. Definitely a film to recommend! David

tom_c_newman Sydney Fullmer plays the title role in this enchanting movie about dealing with problems in elementary school. In a time when plots in movies are either lame or non-existent, this movie is a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure a review can be written about THIS movie without SOME spoilers, but I will keep them to an absolute minimum. As with all American Girl movies, the focus is on the problems of 9 or 10 year old young girls. Again, as in all American Girl movies, the answer always involves believing in yourself and facing your fears. While this is simplistic in its solutions to difficult problems, the movie is off the charts in entertainment value. There is a lot of music and color to this movie. Since it centers around art, it captures the essence of artistic expression in a bold way in a number of areas.While I think a child could enjoy this movie alone, it is a magnificent teaching tool. A parent can easily use this movie as a springboard to teach young girls (or boys, although not the target audience) many things about morality, family and friendship. I highly encourage watching it with your child.I enjoyed the movie and the acting was superb. We will see if Sydney makes the jump from juvenile actress to Hollywood starlet. My guess is that she will. The script is well written and the lines don't have the read-from-teleprompter quality that you sometimes get from juvenile acting.I've seen Oscars go to actresses for lesser performances and I've seen movies win Oscars that were positively duds. This is an Oscar worthy movie with Oscar worthy acting. It is literally a film for the whole family.

vchimpanzee Saige enjoys going outside and painting, as well she should. She lives in a beautiful area of the Southwestern U.S. And her design for a hot-air balloon has been accepted for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.Saige hasn't seen her best friend Tessa all summer. But Tessa has been away at music camp and has a new friend Dylan who she met there, who happens to be in their fourth-grade class. And Tessa and Dylan still want to spend time together, leaving Saige out. There is a new girl Gabi who likes art and lives near Saige's grandmother Mimi.There is more bad news. Due to budget cuts, there will be no art class this year. Music class will be offered instead, though art will be back next year in place of music.It is a tradition for Mimi, a noted artist, to lead the Fiesta's parade riding her horse Picasso. She is also working on a mural. Mimi hears about Saige's situation and says an artist never gives up. She also tries to get Saige to try new techniques, but Saige doesn't like change. Perhaps Saige can find the solution to her problem at school.Then Mimi has an accident and Saige puts all her focus on her grandmother (including taking care of her dog Rembrandt). Mimi tells Saige she should still work on getting art class back.Saige and the other girls start working on a plan to get art class back, which will require raising funds. Dylan's mother is a journalist, which will help. The girls face many obstacles and sometimes it appears they will give up. One problem is that Dylan seems to think everything is all about her. Another is that Saige is afraid to speak in public.Meanwhile. Mimi has her own set of challenges as she tries to recover. And she is not following her own advice. She is giving up too easily and needs someone to push her. One thing she will not do no matter how hard she tries is ride in the parade, but perhaps Saige can.So, will the girls and Mimi overcome their obstacles? Can art class be restored?Everyone learns moral lessons as well as the ability to overcome whatever is in the way. And there is nothing offensive. This movie is for all ages, but mostly for kids.Jane Seymour does a wonderful job here. She still looks as beautiful in some scenes as she did in her "Dr. Quinn" days. In other scenes, but not all of the ones where she should, she looks like a feeble old woman. She does it all very well. And I have to say I sort of understand what Mimi went through, except she was hurt worse than I was last January. More of her physical therapy might have been nice to see. I know I didn't give up the way she did, and at some point we would have seen progress.Omar Paz Trujillo is very good as Luis, who takes care of Picasso.Sidney Fullmer does a good job too.Tessa is too cute most of the time. In some scenes she is more than "Cool!" "BEYOND Beyond!" and "Awesome!" But she should have been more than that.Dylan makes a very good villain, but we do learn there is more to her.I was disappointed during the opening credits when the music I was enjoying ended only to replaced with the garbage that passes for music in the view of today's ten-year-old girls, which are the obvious target audience here. The good news is there is not a lot of that so-called music. Real music is in the background for many scenes--this is the music without words. Even when Tessa and Dylan sing, if it is with a solo guitar or a piano, it does pass for music. The best song (without words) is used for the scene where Saige is painting a white horse (probably Picasso) different colors. When Saige and Gabi look at Mimi's mural, another very good song starts but quickly gets replaced with garbage.Regardless of the style of music, the kids who can sing (Saige can't) are talented. Some of them can dance too. The big show is quite a spectacular effort for fourth-graders.And the art is great too.It's a worthy effort, definitely deserving of the series "American Girl".