Antboy

This may be the first PG rated film I have seen in awhile. They are hard to find, and are generally not interesting or good. But this Danish film (dubbed in English) is both, interesting and good. Pelle is your typical 12 year old kid who is socially invisible in every way. He wants friends and he wants to be noticed by a girl. By some accident, he is bitten by a genetically altered ant and takes on the strengths and weakness of the ant. It takes the comic book geek to befriend him and teach him the ways of being a superhero, and it takes a nemesis (The Flea) to attack the school to spur him to action. But in the end, this is the story of a kid who wants friends, and wants to be noticed by a girl. It is good storytelling and doesn't resort to fabulous effects, language or action. Trying to make this film in the US would result in something like KickAss, wholly inappropriate for young audiences. But this provides an entrance into the live-action superhero world that is not hurl-humor or violent, but instead puts forth the thoughtful conflict of superhero responsibility to society as well as the social development of the young superhero. If you have a kid who likes superhero (or as in my case, like them yourself) see this film.
4 stars (out of 5)