Emily Lindstrom (Evan Rachel Wood) is a 14-year-old violinist. Her friends are away at summer camp. She's not happy with her very pregnant mother and the expected arrival. She's preparing with her teacher Pauline (Vivica A. Fox) for an audition to a youth symphony orchestra. She has a side job. In her backyard booth, she listens and promises to keep the neighborhood's youngest kids their secrets for fifty cents each. The Lenox family with two sons, Philip (Michael Angarano) and David (David Gallagher), moves in next door. One day, she finds Philip burying a chess piece under her mother's roses and she takes him on as her new client.
Somebody obviously love Peanuts. At first, that's the level that I approached this movie. It seems to be light weight cute Disney movie. It certainly has that sense and that's a big part of this movie. It's cute. The little kids and their secrets are funny and sweet and compelling and cute. The movie also has two nice performances from its young lead stars, Wood and Angarano. The movie reaches another level when Emily reveals her secret. It's partly ERW as a young actress and partly the emotional power of that secret. I was suspecting something somewhat akin to the reveal. It's done very well and that's why the theme of secrets is so compelling. I would do something better with the chess piece secret. It's a bit light-weight by comparison. Overall, this is a cute fun little kids movie that is more than a cute fun little kids movie.
Somebody obviously love Peanuts. At first, that's the level that I approached this movie. It seems to be light weight cute Disney movie. It certainly has that sense and that's a big part of this movie. It's cute. The little kids and their secrets are funny and sweet and compelling and cute. The movie also has two nice performances from its young lead stars, Wood and Angarano. The movie reaches another level when Emily reveals her secret. It's partly ERW as a young actress and partly the emotional power of that secret. I was suspecting something somewhat akin to the reveal. It's done very well and that's why the theme of secrets is so compelling. I would do something better with the chess piece secret. It's a bit light-weight by comparison. Overall, this is a cute fun little kids movie that is more than a cute fun little kids movie.