Directed by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park) and produced by Julia Roberts is the fourth film to be based on the popular line of American Girl dolls. As any fan of the dolls knows, each of them comes with their own backgrounds and histories. Of the four films produced based on the American Girl dolls, Kitt Kittredge – An American Girl was the first to receive a theatrical release. This is likely due in no small part, to the presence of Abigail Breslin in the title role. Just eleven when the movie was filmed, she has the charisma and charm that make her adorable to watch and her Oscar nominated performance in Little Miss Sunshine, proved she had acting chops as well.
Its 1934, the height of the Great Depression, and Kit lives with her mother (Julia Ormond) and father (Chris O’Donnell) in Cincinnati. Kit, a budding journalist, has been typing up feature stories and submitting them to the Cincinnati Register’s grumpy editor (Wallace Shawn). She has a treehouse club with her girlfriends, where presumably they have tea parties and give names to stuffed animals. The Depression has not yet affected the Kittredge family, though they’ve seen its effects all around them, with one family after another facing foreclosure on their homes.
But the Kittredge’s don’t stay unaffected for long. Dad is forced to go to Chicago to try and find work, while mom takes borders into the house to try and make ends meet. The new tenants include: a former social climber (Glenne Headly) and her son, Stirling (Zach Mills), who’s Kit’s age, a flirtatious dance instructor (Jane Krakowski), a wacky librarian (Joan Cusack), and a magician (Stanley Tucci). In addition, Mrs. Kittredge has taken pity on a couple of hobos who claim they’re willing to work for food– Will (Max Thieriot), a white teenager, and Countee (Willow Smith), a young black boy.
In the midst of all of this, young Kitt remains committed to being a reporter. With her small camera, she takes pictures of scenes of the Depression, including a hobo store (where people take/leave things they need/don’t need) and signs that hoboes left on houses to alert others to whether the person was caring or whether there was danger there. Kitt dutifully writes up these stories and takes them to the Cincinnati Register and explains to the editor why he should publish them.
Kitt Kittredge – An American Girl also has a bit of a mystery angle as well; who is taking valuables and who stole the Kittredge family money? The hobos are accused of the theft and it’s up to Kit and her pals to do some crime solving. The message most will come away with here is that you need to take care of those less fortunate than you, because there, but for an act of God, go you. It’s a lesson we all need a reminder of on occasion. Kitt Kittredge – An American Girl is an enjoyable family film.
Kit Kittredge has solid production values, with the film playable in 1.85:1 widescreen or pan-and-scan full screen (1.33:1). Put the disc into your computer and you can also download a digital copy. It’s a fairly clean and grain-free print that has strong colors, with the film “antiqued” in post-production to give it an older, warmer, softer look, and also to convey the lack of wealth.
The audio is an expressive English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, which makes good use of effects speakers to capture ambient sounds in outdoor scenes, but otherwise stays pretty close to the center speaker with all the dialogue.
Aside from the digital copy, there are a few short special features, but you can’t access them via stand-alone DVD player. You’ve got to pop the disc into your DVD-ROM on your PC. Mac owners, you’re out of luck.
