Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)

78% of critics liked it
(98 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(51,522 ratings)

Producer Julia Roberts brings the American Girl brand to the big screen for the very first time with this inspirational tale concerning a nine-year-old girl named Kit Kittredge (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin) growing up during the Great Depression. Though the American Girls have previously… More Producer Julia Roberts brings the American Girl brand to the big screen for the very first time with this inspirational tale concerning a nine-year-old girl named Kit Kittredge (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin) growing up during the Great Depression. Though the American Girls have previously appeared on the small screen in Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, and Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Kit's adventure marks the very first major theatrical endeavor for the characters created by author Valerie Tripp. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Patricia Rozema
Written By: Ann Peacock, Valerie Tripp
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 20, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Oct 28, 2008
Studio: Picturehouse

Critic Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
A gently thoughtful, audience-appropriate entertainment that assembles swell actors to play colorful characters who don't shy away from depicting serious hard times.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
The tweener girls for whom it is aimed deserve better. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
This classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons and Depression-era trivia.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Kit Kittredge is proof of how far you can get with the right screenwriter -- in this instance one versed in Children's Adventures 101 -- and director.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
For what it is and for whom it's intended (young children), Kit Kittredge works and works wonderfully.
Christy DeSmith, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Smart, empathetic, fun loving and, best of all, a delight for all audiences.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
A wholesome, family-friendly adventure so good you have to wonder why nobody seems to make movies like this anymore.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
A gem of a girl power tale for audiences of all genders, big and small, about a diminutive pre-feminist with a nose for news and an aversion to glass ceilings and the word 'no'.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Breslin delivers a more restrained performance than in Nim's Island or Little Miss Sunshine, but she remains a young force who's capable of holding your attention in every scene.
Heather Huntington, ReelzChannel.com
Mostly, Kit Kittredge is exactly what you'd expect -- a treacle-sweet, simplistic story about maintaining a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity, keeping your family together, and not judging a book by its cover.
Bruce Bennett, Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
What could have been an oasis of quiet, thought provoking nostalgia turns out to be an utter bore. Yes, it's family friendly but it's also entertainment exterminating.
Jackie K. Cooper, jackiekcooper.com
More depth than you would expect
Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat
When I have children, this is the kind of movie I hope they will like. It's intelligent, it's meaningful, and it doesn't condescend to kids. In fact, it actually encourages kids to think.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
The movie gets by largely on its guileless, upbeat charm, and on those same qualities as found in Abigail Breslin.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
The movie respects its young audience, it has a keen appreciation for what it means to be a child in a troubled world, and it knows that there's plenty to be said for the optimism that comes with innocence.
Carolyn Arends, Christianity Today
Kit Kittredge has many of the classic ingredients of a successful family tale, but it's most notable success is in the unusual themes it brings to the forefront.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
...sweet-tempered and endearing, mining several layers of nostalgia...
Sean McBride, Sean the Movie Guy
If only all family films could be this good.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The acting is very good from this talented cast and the story is well-constructed and compelling.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
As surprising as finding vegetables in a bowl of vegetable soup, Kit Kittredge still comes as a little oasis of thoughtfulness in a summer largely devoted to property damage.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Brad W

It's not a movie just for little girls, it is a great history lesson for a lot of people, but it could have been great without the American Girl logo, which made it really embarassing for some guys to go see, but its just an okay movie.
Red L

Kit Kittredge is a kid growing up in the early 1930's when everyone was losing their jobs, and families had to diversify to pay the bills. Kit's family took in boarders which brought a number of interesting characters to the film. This movie is part solve-a-mystery and… More
Kit Kittredge is a kid growing up in the early 1930's when everyone was losing their jobs, and families had to diversify to pay the bills. Kit's family took in boarders which brought a number of interesting characters to the film. This movie is part solve-a-mystery and part Kit-wants-to-be-a-reporter.
Jennifer X

Isn't interested in portraying the grim lifestyles of the Depression but rather creates a faux-American Girl doll populated imitation of one. This movie aims more to remind me of the doll confections if anything else. But it's cute and family friendly and all that. Thesps… More
Isn't interested in portraying the grim lifestyles of the Depression but rather creates a faux-American Girl doll populated imitation of one. This movie aims more to remind me of the doll confections if anything else. But it's cute and family friendly and all that. Thesps Joan Cusack and Stanley Tucci are over-the-top and FUN. And Abigail Breslin is incredibly adorable and natural.
Justin Y

Once again, we have another film from under the radar that is a nice watch for the entire family. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl has a little bit of everything. Actually, it doesn't have robots, military soldiers, spaceships, monsters ... you get the… More
Once again, we have another film from under the radar that is a nice watch for the entire family. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl has a little bit of everything. Actually, it doesn't have robots, military soldiers, spaceships, monsters ... you get the picture.The story is a little deceiving. At first glance it seems like this movie will be about Kit Kittredge becoming a reporter for the Cincinnati Register. It is about that, but the main focus is on a crime investigation, which makes this story more like a mystery.An interesting fact about the story is that "Hobos" are a big part of it. The movie does show how they are seen in the Great Depression years.The story doesn't actually fly by, but it isn't necessarily a slow burn either. There are a good variety of characters to watch and the younger ones tend to liven up the picture. This flick also gets most of the emotional drama out of the way in the earlier parts before having it return for a happy ending, a happy ending, and another happy ending.Abigal Breslin has already proven that she can carry a film and this one is no exception. All the supporting actors fit in as well. Some of these include Joan Cusack, Chris O'Donnell, Julia Ormond, Jane Krakowski, and Stanley Tucci. Even Colin Mochrie is up to par.This is not just a movie for kids as adults will find this just as enjoyable. Don't be ashamed to spend 100 minutes of your life with this film.
Bob O

Kitt Kittredge is a nice vehicle for the popular Abigail Breslin. After Little Miss Sunshine she may be the most saught after child actress in Hollywood. And deservingly so. She's cute, likeable, and talented. The film itself is quality family entertainment probably because… More
Kitt Kittredge is a nice vehicle for the popular Abigail Breslin. After Little Miss Sunshine she may be the most saught after child actress in Hollywood. And deservingly so. She's cute, likeable, and talented. The film itself is quality family entertainment probably because it's so emotionally involving and it's serious side prevails over it's cutesy kiddy side. The little mystery that Kitt and her friends solve is fine, but it's the real Depression era hardships that Kitt's and many other families have to brave that makes the film above average. It starts out very sad, almost too much so, but culminates in a sweetly satisfying way that begs for Tiny Tim to cry out, "God bless us everyone!"
Bradley W

It's not a movie just for little girls, it is a great history lesson for a lot of people, but it could have been great without the American Girl logo, which made it really embarassing for some guys to go see, but its just an okay movie.
Walter M

In "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," 10-year old Kit(Abigail Breslin) dreams of being a reporter, even submitting an article to the local newspaper on the Chicago World's Fair but the editor(Wallace Shawn in the role he was born to play) rejects it, stating that… More
In "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," 10-year old Kit(Abigail Breslin) dreams of being a reporter, even submitting an article to the local newspaper on the Chicago World's Fair but the editor(Wallace Shawn in the role he was born to play) rejects it, stating that everyone else has already written about it. Since this is 1934, jobs are scarce anyway, and Kit's mother(Julia Ormond) helps out by giving odd jobs around the house to a pair of hoboes. Things get worse when Kit's dad(Chris O'Donnell) loses his car dealership to the bank, forcing him to go to Chicago in search of work, promising to write every week. Kit's mother has no choice but to subdivide the house(but thankfully not Kit's treehouse) in order to rent it out to boarders... Directed by Patricia Rozema, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" proves the old adage that any movie with a basset hound in it cannot be all bad. In fact, this is a charming and entertaining movie that does not ignore the harsh realities of the time that forced families apart, not the other way around. And a more than capable cast makes up for any holes the otherwise thin story might contain.
Dannielle A

It was entertaining but not as good as the other three American Girl movies. I did like it though.
William G

Despite Breslin's default winning nature, the film itself proves wholesome to a fault.
Sunil J

Not bad. Kinda cute.
Brett W

I don't know what the F this is. Was this straight to video?