Movie

Let’s take a look at the biggest and best kids movies of 2014. Family fun this year comes in the form of Muppets on the run, a lost bear at Paddington, a lot of Lego bricks, and quite a few unnecessary sequels.

Here’s our definitive guide to the best new kids movies, 2014:

– JANUARY –
The Nut Job
Starring: (voices) Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Liam Neeson
Director: Peter Lepeniotis

In a city park a mischievous squirrel (Arnett) is exiled when his latest caper accidentally destroys the animal community’s winter food stash. Living on the streets he puts together a team to pull off a nut store heist of outrageous proportions and hopefully put things right… This is a lower-budget indie Canadian-South Korean-American co-production, co-written by one of the screenwriters of ‘Over The Hedge’, the story bears strong similarities. Critics and audiences have complained of one dimensional characters, poor writing, so-so graphics and a tendency to lift from other films (including a notable moment from ‘Up’ and a leading character that looks near identical to Remy from ‘Ratatouille’). [Critics (via Rotten Tomatoes): 10%] [Public (via IMDB): 5.8] – Avoid

– FEBRUARY –
The Lego Movie
Starring: (voices) Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman
Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

An ordinary LEGO minifigure (Pratt) is mistakenly thought to be the Master Builder, the one who can save the universe. With the aid of an old mystic Vitruvius (Freeman), a tough young lady (Banks), and Batman (Arnett), he will fight to defeat the evil tyrant Lord Business (Ferrell) who is bent on destroying the universe by gluing it together. From the talented directing duo behind 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ’21 Jump Street’, this has been a huge hit with critics and audiences of all ages. Consensus is it’s energetic, thoughtful and pointedly satirical, with visuals that are tactile and imaginative – embracing the retro look and feel of the toys. A sequel is currently being assembled. [Critics: 96%] [Public: 7.8] – Excellent