Just saw this with my son (4) and his friend (6). I was utterly bored, and even they were unimpressed. I understand that these movies are aimed at kids, and if there is something for the adults who are in the room, then that is just gravy. But there are so many high quality animated movies out there (Incredibles, Toy Story, Aladdin, etc) that it shocks me that stuff like this gets green-lit. The story made no sense, even for the 6 year old. She kept asking me why does the grandpa need to sign something to keep the house? Can't granny do it? If a 6 year old is catching plot holes, they must be pretty big.
Let's tell the studios, once again: big name voices don't draw audiences. High quality stories with coherent plots, with liberal doses of action, comedy, and a feel good ending that keeps kids riveted and makes adults say "I'm glad I saw it" is what draws audiences. Unfortunately, this movie will make money, just because kid's movies are somewhat limited options. The studios will rightly see that even though the flick is unwatchable crap, it will turn a profit, so let's crank out the sequels as fast as we can draw (Land Before Time 2, 3, 4, Aladdin 2, 3, etc.)and send them straight to video, where the break even point is much more reachable. I know that quality animated movies are possible - I've seen them. The bar has been set much higher than this movie attempts to reach.
Let's tell the studios, once again: big name voices don't draw audiences. High quality stories with coherent plots, with liberal doses of action, comedy, and a feel good ending that keeps kids riveted and makes adults say "I'm glad I saw it" is what draws audiences. Unfortunately, this movie will make money, just because kid's movies are somewhat limited options. The studios will rightly see that even though the flick is unwatchable crap, it will turn a profit, so let's crank out the sequels as fast as we can draw (Land Before Time 2, 3, 4, Aladdin 2, 3, etc.)and send them straight to video, where the break even point is much more reachable. I know that quality animated movies are possible - I've seen them. The bar has been set much higher than this movie attempts to reach.