Of course, "family film" usually translates into "kiddie film," with the parents and older siblings left to grit their teeth and endure while the tykes laugh at the singing chipmunks. Rare is the film that is truly entertaining for the entire family -- which is why I'm always excited about a new Pixar project, since they're the only ones who pull it off regularly.

Pixar's Up (due May 29) is this year's entry, and there's no reason to suspect it will be any less admirable than the company's previous work. Coraline (Feb. 6), from the director of Nightmare Before Christmas, looks like it could be an imaginatively macabre treat for grown-ups and kids. There's also a Harry Potter movie due in July, though that series becomes darker and less kid-oriented as it progresses, so you might want to leave certain younger family members at home.

Here's as complete a list as I can muster for what family-oriented flicks are coming in 2009, including live-action, animation, and whatever the Jonas Brothers are.

January: Hotel for Dogs, Inkheart.
February: Coraline, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.
March: Race to Witch Mountain (Disney + The Rock = $$$), Monsters vs. Aliens.
April: Hannah Montana: The Movie.
May: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Up.
June: Imagine That (warning: contains Eddie Murphy).
July: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (is this a prequel? How are the dinosaurs dawning after the mammals?), G-Force, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
August: None, unless you count G.I. Joe, which is based on a line of children's dolls.
September: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
October: Toy Story (3D re-release), Where the Wild Things Are, Astro Boy.
November: A Christmas Carol (one of those crazy 3D motion-capture things, like Polar Express), The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Old Dogs (aka John Travolta and Robin Williams remake Daddy Day Care).
December: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (GET IT?!!!?!?!?), The Princess and the Frog.

Zack Snyder isn't a director that lets a little legal drama bring him down, and currently he's busy at work on Guardians of Ga'Hoole, the Lord of the Rings of owl stories. (Two young friends of mine have since assured me it's a really good series; I should drop hints until they lend it to me.)

Sydney's Daily Telegraph is reporting that Aussie up-and-comer Ryan Kwanten has joined the voice cast of Ga'Hoole, along with fellow Aussies Hugh Jackman and Hugo Weaving.

While their involvement hasn't been confirmed anywhere else, this certainly could be the "schedule conflict" alluded to in Jackman dropping out of Cleo -- but would Snyder really reuse two memorable parts of the Happy Feet voice cast? Then again, why wouldn't he? Weaving is The Voice of All Voices, and Jackman did a pretty memorable job in Happy Feet and Flushed Away. Plus, they're Australian, which is where most of the Ga'Hoole work will be done. You might as well save on the production costs by using the local talent, right?

Going by Wiki's character list (don't read it, it's chock full of spoilers), I can hazard a guess as to which Aussie will be playing what owl -- Kwanten is probably going to be the young hero, Soren. Jackman sounds rather perfect for Twilight, "a confident and boastful owl who is always singing songs about himself." There's far too many wise and kingly owls to assign one to Weaving, so we'll have to wait and see on that one. I'm really very curious about this film -- an epic about owls sounds a lot more promising than half the stuff that gets optioned, anyway. At least there will be no question as to who owns the rights to this Snyder film.

When we were kicking around ideas for year-end superlative Cinematical Sevens, I was proudly tasked with chronicling the year's finest in big-screen mayhem, violence, destruction and other such shenanigans. When I was kicking around ideas for said feature between me, myself, and I, there were too many titles to leave off the list, so instead of highlighting only a mere couple of movies, I've opted to sort these puppies out by specific manner of cinematic excess.

So there.

1. Most pervasive destruction - The Joker may have terrorized Gotham to the tune of a destroyed hospital, a wrecked helicopter, a sunken SWAT truck, a toasty fire engine, and a golden district attorney, but even he can't top the Cloverfield monster's swath of destruction across the real-life Gotham. Statue of Liberty? Gone. Brooklyn Bridge? History. Central Park? Adios. And that's not including all the Hollister stores that our protagonists might've fled to. (On a smaller scale, though, Inside's lady in black terrorizes a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve to the point of all but painting every last wall in her house with the blood of her victims. Gotta love the French!)

I can't vouch for John Grogan's 2005 best-selling memoir, Marley & Me, in which owning a yellow lab helped the journalist (Owen Wilson) and his wife (Jennifer Aniston) tolerate any number of trials and tribulations that came their way -- many of which could be chalked up to the carnage-prone canine himself. I suspect that, unlike their on-screen counterparts, the Grogans actually showed some indications of aging after thirteen years and three kids. I doubt that John had a perpetual bachelor of a best bud (Eric Dane) who lingered around to both knock and envy his marriage with convenient doses of sarcasm and handsomeness. I question that the couple could own a picturesque Pennsylvania estate on just one reporter's salary. But I'm fairly sure that both the book and the film shared a common goal -- to make its audience sit, stay, laugh, cry, and then get on with their lives -- and at those modest aspirations, the movie version pretty much succeeds.

The Motion Picture Association of America does a few other things too, but its most visible impact on movie-going is its ratings system. G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17, you gotta have a rating for your movie if you want most theater chains to show it, and the MPAA's secretive clan of breast-counters and violence-ignorers decides which label its gets.

An overwhelming majority of films get the rating they deserve -- or, at the very least, a rating that's consistent with how the MPAA has rated other films with similar content. But some MPAA decisions are baffling, illogical, or just plain outrageous. Here are the ones that perplexed us the most this year.

The Worst MPAA Ratings of 2008

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (rated PG for "epic battle action and violence"). The MPAA says, "The ratings are intended to provide parents with advance information so they can decide for themselves which films are appropriate for viewing by their own children." It's all about parents looking out for their kids. So how in the name of C.S. Lewis did this film -- rife with stabbing, throat-slitting, decapitating, and large-scale slaughter, much of it perpetrated by teenage characters -- get a PG? Does the fact that most of the violence is bloodless (and therefore not realistic) somehow make it family-friendly? Had there been even one sexual reference, it would have gotten a PG-13. Thank goodness Disney only packed the film with killing instead!

It sounds like a can't-miss concept: a Disney movie about a guy who tells wonderful, fantastic bedtime stories that actually come true in real life. And when the guy is Adam Sandler, how can this possibly be a bad movie? Aren't you buying tickets online for your entire family right now, even as you read about this possible cinematic land of delights? Except that watching Bedtime Stories is about as delightful as peeking into your Christmas stocking and finding it empty except for a few lint-covered peppermints.

The movie opens with a little tale narrated by the most stereotypically folksy voice you can imagine, a distillation of Wilford Brimley and Roy Rogers ... and it's Jonathan Pryce, setting up the story of Sandler's character Skeeter. Seeing Pryce at this time of year made me think of Brazil, thus triggering nostalgia for a movie that is the diametric opposite of this one. Pryce's character, Marty, has to sell the hotel to a Brit who gets to keep his accent, Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths), who promises that someday Marty's little boy Skeeter can earn the chance to run the hotel himself. (Marty's daughter is SOL, one presumes.) Barry agrees, then replaces most of the homey motel with a snazzy high-rise hotel.

Not too long ago, Cinematical had a chance to travel to London to visit the set of Inkheart over at Shepperton Studios where stars Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Eliza Bennett and Andy Serkis were filming a crucial scene in the film -- one that involved fire, magic, a non-CGI'd Serkis and strange-looking evil men. But we'll come back to that in a little bit. Shepperton Studios is made up of several buildings, and unlike the set of The Golden Compass (which we visited the day before), there wasn't much green screen to be found on this flick. Instead, the Inkheart sets were big, bold and quite beautiful -- one of which felt as if you were walking straight onto a village street, with shops and cobblestones and realistic rooftops.

On the side of this set stood the interior of a medieval-looking cathedral, which runs up about two stories and boasts a large staircase at its center. They were still dressing this set, which would be used for one of the final scenes later in the week. During our visit, we would meet with executive producer Diana Pokorny, costume designer Verity Hawkes, legendary production designer John Beard, two animal trainers and, of course, the cast with director Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key, K-PAX, Hackers). For more on the Inkheart set visit, follow us after the jump.

The movie A Christmas Story turns 25 this year. I remember seeing it in a theater when it opened in 1983 -- I was a fan of Jean Shepherd's essays -- and now it's considered a holiday classic. I know people who have been watching it every year since they were old enough to remember Christmas. It's right up there in popularity with Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life, and has surpassed White Christmas and Holiday Inn, with the younger set at least. You now can buy a replica of the leg lamp from the film, either as an actual lamp or as a Christmas tree ornament, and there are few people who see the leg lamp and don't get the reference. Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie, is now a movie producer who appears in amusing cameos in his films, like Four Christmases and Iron Man. (He's especially funny during a "guest appearance" in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.)

When I spent Christmas at my parents' house in recent years, we never watched A Christmas Story completely from start to finish -- we saw bits and pieces as it aired on TV, just as we used to do with It's a Wonderful Life when it was in the public domain and every station possible aired it all through December. Both are excellent background movies to wrap presents by. I wonder how other people watch A Christmas Story ... and I'd like to offer the following seven suggestions if you're thinking about the best way to enjoy this perennial holiday favorite this year. In the comments, let us know your favorite traditions for watching the film.

Hey, girls! Get out your biggest, purplest Magic Marker and circle Feb. 17 on your 2009 Zac Efron calendar! That's the day High School Musical 3: Senior Year will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, thus satiating the squeal-producing needs of the tween set at least until Twilight comes out.

DVD Active has some of the details on the three different ways you can buy the film. The single-disc DVD, for people who call themselves fans but obviously aren't real fans, will have the movie and a featurette of cast members saying goodbye to the trilogy. I don't know why you'd even want that. You might as well throw your money in the bushes and spit on Corbin Bleu. On the other hand, the 2-disc DVD will have an extended cut of the film, more featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, a sing-along feature, and a digital copy of the film that you can transfer to your computer or your iPod or your toaster or whatever you kids are putting your movies on nowadays.

But you might want to harass your parents into buying a Blu-Ray player, because the 3-disc Blu-Ray edition is where the real action is. You get all the stuff already mentioned, plus cast profiles, a Senior Awards feature, a BD Live Experience, and a regular ol' DVD copy of the extended version of the movie. The 3-disc edition is the most expensive one, so obviously that's the one you should support.

We have the cover artwork after the jump. You'll note that they were nice enough to include Taylor in the picture even though she's hardly in the movie. Good for her!

In today's technology-obsessed entertainment world, most of the animated fare is done with computers. That's not to say it's any less legit than hand-drawn animation -- because if you're working on a CG feature, you BETTER know how to animate in "traditional" fashion -- but I'm just explaining why the sweat behind the Wallace & Gromit films is just a little extra-special. Plus, with three award-winning shorts and a fantastic feature behind them, W & G have more than proven their worth by now.

So YAY! Aardman Animation has a new one to show us! A Matter of Loaf and Death will premiere on BBC1 come Christmas Day, so I might have to wait a few extra weeks, but boy am I psyched to see it. (I've watched The Wrong Trousers, A Grand Day Out, and A Close Shave more times than I care to mention -- and I say The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is just awesome.) According to the official site, the 30-minute Loaf and Death is a mystery about missing bakers -- but you can (can't) check out the trailer right here!

Mice have enjoyed a great ride in the movies. The animated variety first rose to prominence thanks to Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse in the late 20s, enjoyed a rebirth as heroes in the late 70s and 80s with The Rescuers, The Secret of NIMH, The Great Mouse Detective, and An American Tail, and overflowed into live-action territory a few years later with Stuart Little. More recently, Flushed Away was a superior entertainment about a spoiled upper-class mouse who must learn to survive in the wild and wooly sewers, while the superb Ratatouille gave a rat a rare favorable turn in the spotlight as a culinary artist.

Adapted by Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Dave) from the award-winning book by Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux features both a rat and a mouse in leading roles, but the self-described fairy tale is much more than a slapdash character study of two rodents. The setup makes it sound like a cousin to both Flushed Away and Ratatouille: a disgraced rat must learn to survive in a dark dungeon, a mouse develops a friendship with a human, and gourmet soup features prominently. Yet as the tale unfolds, it deepens and broadens its themes to a welcome degree. Though it never climbs too far above average and too often embraces the familiar, Despereaux remains a gentle and nurturing children's story, imparting lessons without being too condescending to its audience.

While Despereaux is aimed squarely at the little ones, adults may enjoy the top-notch animation and appreciate the above average performances by a celebrity voice cast (Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci) that is well matched to the characters they play, which is a rare pleasure indeed.

I'm sure it's a tradition in your family to watch A Christmas Story at least once during the holiday season. As the film has grown in popularity over the years, folks have gone out of their way to cherish it -- like that dude who bought the original house in Cleveland and turned it into a museum. There was an actual Christmas Story fan convention this year, too, and I'm sure more than a few kids will try to stick their tongues to something cold this winter ... just to see if it really sticks. (Warning: Yes, kids, it will really stick.)

Over at Mental Floss, they put together a list of 10 things you might not know about A Christmas Story. And as someone who thought he knew everything there was to know about this flick, I was pleasantly surprised to find some very cool tidbits in there. Like, for example, I did not know Jack Nicholson was originally up to play the part of the father. Yup. And, while I knew about one cruddy sequel, there were actually two! And one starred Jerry O'Connell as Ralphie! What about this: Did you know The Wonder Years was inspired by A Christmas Story? Not only that, but in one of the episodes, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie) plays one of Kevin Arnold's roommates. Very cool.

Check out the entire list over here. What's your favorite part of A Christmas Story? (Ahem, I like the Tin Man ...)

I don't need much of an excuse to visit Austin, Texas. Find me an event that A) strings more than four movies together, and B) takes place at one of the Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters, and there's a good chance I'm checking my bank account, desperately scrambling for flight money. But despite the fact that I've done five SXSW visits, three Fantastic Fest trips, and a few more Austin journeys just for the heck of it ... I'd never attended a BNAT shindig. But I made it to the tenth annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon, and of course I had a damn good time once it got rolling.

Let's just do a quick run-through, chronologically speaking, and I'm listing just the FULL movies here. At the end I'll go over the various clips we were treated to...

The story behind the making of Delgo is heartwarming and inspiring. Fathom Studios, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been creating commercial computer animation for more than ten years. When they decided to produce their own feature-length narrative film, they did it completely independent of the Hollywood studio system. They labored long and hard with a much smaller budget and a much smaller staff than the animation behemoths. They bravely posted "digital dailes" throughout production, a kind of progressive, online series of "making of" snippets. They recruited a slew of actors with name recognition -- Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Louis Gossett Jr., Michael Clarke Duncan, Burt Reynolds, Chris Kattan, and the late Anne Bancroft in her last performance -- to voice the characters.

If only the film as a whole was as dramatic and lively as the behind-the-scenes story. Under the direction of Marc F. Adler and Jason Maurer, the 3-D animation is quite lovely to behold, but the characters are one-dimensional and the script, credited to six writers, spends too much time on convoluted plot mechanics. Delgo falls into an uncomfortable place where the technical achievement can be admired without the emotions ever being engaged, provoking nothing more than a tepid response ("meh") when the end credits begin to roll.

Set in a lush fantasy world of flying creatures, colorful reptiles, and the odd monster, beast, and giant insect, Delgo pits two races against one another. The proud, dominant, invading race lords it over the humble, subjugated, native race. Sound familiar?