Kids' film summer round-up

As our nation’s parents quake in terror at the thought of six long weeks of school holidays, Time Out presents eight surefire ways to entertain the bored and restless youth of Britain.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Out now)
Epic in scope and unwieldy in length, the latest chapter in JK Rowling’s blockbusting fantasy saga may prove daunting for the little ‘uns, but tweens should lap up the heady combination of rampaging hormones, disaster-movie spectacle and mystical mumbo-jumbo.




Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Out now)
Our prehistoric pals go three-dimensional in this third instalment of the popular snowbound saga. There’s perhaps a little too much focus on hugging, learning and growing this time around, but kids should thrill to the exploits of Simon Pegg’s boisterous weasel Buck, some terrifying Tyrannosaur antics and an eyepopping pterodactyl chase.




G-Force  (July 31)
Yet more big-budget Hollywood 3D, this time enhancing a combined CG/live action adventure detailing the exploits of a troupe of – yes! – espionage-trained guinea pigs. When evil genius Bill Nighy announces plans to take over the world using kitchen appliances, our furry heroes are despatched on a dangerous undercover mission into the heart of darkness...




Meerkats (August 7)
Kids like cute and furry, so this feature-length study of the lives and loves of the Kalahari desert’s cuddliest rodents should raise a few smiles and ‘awwww’s. And for parents, there’s the strangely comforting knowledge that the accompanying voiceover was to prove screen legend Paul Newman’s last ever movie appearance…

Aliens in the Attic (August 12)
The title is explanatory enough: a group of kids discover that an alien invasion plot is about to be hatched from the confines of their suburban loft. Coming off like a cross between ‘ET’ and ‘Gremlins’, with a large dash of ‘Home Alone’, this looks like good, old-fashioned family lunacy.



Imagine That (August 14)
Eddie Murphy plays a high-rolling corporate jackal who is unable to apply the breaks on his career freefall. That is until he’s invited into a fantasy world created by his young daughter. From the director who brought us the animated comedy, ‘Over the Hedge’.




I Love You, Beth Cooper (August 21)

From original ‘Harry Potter’ director and all-round family-film mogul Chris Columbus, this is a tale of high school romance and humiliation bound to appeal to fans of ‘High School Musical’ and its odious ilk. Expect extensive cheerleading, locker-room power struggles and girls with glasses unexpectedly becoming beautiful.




Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sept 18)

From the creators of TV’s ‘Clone High’ comes this madcap 3D-animated adventure about a crackpot inventor who invents a machine to cure world hunger by making food fall from the sky. Needless to say it all goes horribly awry, resulting in burger storms, pizza showers and much munchable meteorological mayhem.




You can also use timeout.com/film to keep an eye on your local cinema schedules and learn about special kids’ screenings happening all across the country, from cheap early morning showings of recent child-friendly hits to repertory screenings of kids’ classics from across the world.

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