Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

A kid-lit staple like Judy Moody was destined for the big screen, but this franchise kick-starter skews more toward the tween-TV side of things. Judy’s hyperactive imagination is translated as nothing but a blitzkrieg of overstimulation: wacky animated vignettes, bubble-lensed mugging and blurry and speedy action scenes. Kids will find this ADD adaptation to be like chowing down several bowls of sugary cereal. Adults will feel like they’ve endured nonstop Nickelodeon-channel programming.

Yes, any movie involving our precocious heroine (Jordana Beatty) dreaming up the ‘most way-cool, double-rare summer plans ever!’ is destined to be frenetic, and whoever cast hippie-dippy Heather Graham as the daffy aunt deserves a raise. But the books’ wunderkind is missing, replaced by a generic eye-rolling, motormouthed preteen bopping around set-pieces. All the Big Foot obsessions, busybodying and blue vomit in the world aren’t a substitute for bringing Megan McDonald’s memorably goofy girl to life. Without that, you’re left cringing through a loud, manic bummer.