Parents looking for a family-friendly movie may have noticed the arrival of Disney's latest kids' comedy—Max Keeble's Big Move.
"The Disney team has mounted a handsome production with a clever idea at its core," says Michael Elliott of Movie Parables. "Geared for the pre-teenage set, Max Keeble's Big Move delivers laughs to young and old alike. The children will like the cafeteria food fight and embarrassing the principal. Parents will appreciate the gentle humor and the moral lessons that the characters learn."
Ted Baehr's
But Focus on the Family's Loren Eaton doesn't like what youngsters might learn from young Max's blurred ethics. "Most of the adults in Max's life are either passive fixtures, idiotic dweebs or unjust dictators," she observes. She criticizes Max's tactic of breaking the rules in order to teach lessons to authority figures—like his teacher. "In the real world, Max would have told his parents about his teacher's unfairness, and they would have called a conference. But … he decides that the 'rules' have to end. After kicking the aforementioned teacher's globe off of her desk and cutting her telephone cord so she can't call the principal, he wreaks havoc for the next hour of the film under the guise of 'justice.' According to this logic, the fact that [another student] is a cheating jerk warrants breaking and entering, destruction of property, theft, assault and all sorts of malicious pranks."
Douglas Downs's response to this kids film is to turn nostalgic for another recent film: "I am now completely convinced that
At The Dove Foundation, Paul Bicking writes, "Good messages abound, but parents may worry about such behaviors. … However, Max learns the true meaning of friendship and the rewards of helping others, which makes [the movie] a step in the right direction."
The USCC's critic found it a "disappointing children's comedy. With laughs falling flat and a theme of revenge that is only weakly rectified at the end … Hill's tired tale has little to recommend it."