Family Movies 2006 List

Based on the best-selling novel, this is an epic fantasy-adventure about a young farm boy named Eragon whose destiny is revealed with the help of a dragon. Eragon, now a Dragon Rider, is swept into a world of magic and power, discovering that he can save – or destroy – an Empire.

The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures—a spider named Charlotte—and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte—who sees miracles in the ordinary—spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving.

Good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), despite being perpetually down on his luck, thinks he's destined for something big. But even he could never have imagined how "big," when he accepts what appears to be a menial job as a graveyard-shift night watchman at a museum of natural history. But during Larry's watch, something extraordinary happens: the museum's exhibits magically come to life. A fearsome T-Rex insists on a game of fetch (with one of his own skeleton bones); Mayans, Roman Gladiators, and cowboys emerge from their diorama to wage epic battles; and a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt gives Larry important advice while harboring a crush for an Indian princess. As things spiral wildly out of control, Larry must find a way to control the magic to stop a nefarious plot and save the museum.

Roddy is a decidedly upper-crust society rat who makes his home in a posh Kensington flat, complete with two hamster butlers named Gilbert and Sullivan. When a common sewer rat named Syd comes spewing out of the sink and decides he's hit the jackpot, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the whirlpool. Syd may be an ignorant slob, but he s no fool, so it is Roddy who winds up being flushed away into the bustling sewer world of Ratropolis. There Roddy meets Rita, an enterprising scavenger who works the sewers in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Roddy immediately wants out, or rather, up; Rita wants to be paid for her trouble; and, speaking of trouble, the villainous Toad who royally despises all rodents wants them iced literally. The Toad dispatches his two hapless hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, to get the job done. When they fail, the Toad has no choice but to send to France for his cousin that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog.

Holiday magic mixes with comical chaos at the North Pole in "The Santa Clause 3". Tim Allen reprises his role of Scott Calvin - AKA Santa - as he juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short), who is trying to take over the "big guy's" holiday.

At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret & Alan Arkin) to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol, - AKA Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell).

Along for the adventure are Scott's extended family, son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), ex-wife Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson), her husband, Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) and their daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy) who, together with head elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin), foil Jack Frost's crafty scheme to control the North Pole.

"Happy Feet" is set deep in Antarctica. Into the land of Emperor Penguins, where each needs a heart song to attract a soul mate, a penguin is born who cannot sing. Our hero Mumble, son of Memphis and Norma Jean, is the worst singer in the world...however, as it happens, he is a brilliant tap dancer!

Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a normal teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager… or so it seems until his uncle—Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor)—disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alex soon learns that his uncle was a spy for Britain's secret intelligence service MI6, and he is recruited to take on a dangerous mission for the British secret service to infiltrate the organization of a sinister billionaire (Mickey Rourke). Within days he's gone from schoolboy to super spy—but will Alex's first assignment be his last?

Enter an extraordinary world filled with magic and wonder -- where every holiday has its own special land ... and imaginative, one-of-a-kind characters! "The Nightmare Before Christmas" tells the heartfelt tale of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, and all things that go bump in the night. Bored with the same old tricks and treats, he yearns for something more, and soon stumbles upon the glorious magic of Christmas Town! Jack decides to bring this joyful holiday back to Halloween Town. But as his dream to fill Santa's shoes unravels, it's up to Sally, the rag doll who loves him, to stitch things back together.

Set in 1938, a loyal collie travels over 1,000 miles from northern Scotland to Yorkshire to return to her young friend. The dog, having been sold to a wealthy Duke because the boy's father was out of work, runs away and braves starvation and treacherous conditions to follow the pull of her heart toward the family who loves her.

In this computer-generated animated feature, on which Christopher Reeve was the original director before his passing, a boy travels across the country on a mission to return Babe Ruth's bat before the deciding game of the 1932 World Series. Along the way, he meets a quirky array of characters that aid him on his comic journey.

A deer buddies up with a domesticated grizzly bear when the two animals are alone in the woods during hunting season. Meanwhile, Beth, a forest ranger who raised the bear, embarks on a desperate search to find her friend.

From Steve Oedekerk and Nickelodeon Movies, creators of "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius", and filmed entirely in CGI comes this hilarious look at what really happens in a barnyard when the farmer's back is turned. "The Barnyard" is a lighthearted tale centering around Otis (voiced by Kevin James), a carefree party cow, who enjoys singing, dancing and playing tricks on humans. Unlike his father Ben (voiced by Sam Elliott), the respected patriarch of the farm, and Miles, the wise old mule (voiced by Danny Glover), Otis is unconcerned about keeping the animals' humanlike talents a secret. But when suddenly put in the position of responsibility, the "udderly" irresponsible cow finds the courage to be a leader.

Social outcast Summer Jones (Kate Mara) is ushered away by her mysterious father (Tim Allen) to a new school. She learns that her dad is secretly a superhero, and she's been brought to the academy where she, along with other kids, can develop her special talents. Soon into her training, Summer discovers that an enemy of the academy is plotting against the school ... and her.

"How to Eat Fried Worms" tells the story of Billy, an eleven-year-old who inadvertently challenges the town bully on his first day at a new school. To save face and earn the respect of his new classmates, Billy agrees to a bet that will determine his fate at the school-whether or not he can eat ten worms in one day. As the pressure mounts, he must summon heroic strength to keep his five-year-old brother from blabbing, his weak stomach from betraying him, and his big mouth from getting him into more trouble than he's already in.

Monster House is an exciting and hilarious thrill-ride tale about three kids (Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner and Spencer Locke) who must do battle with a mysterious home that is determined to eat every trick or treater in sight on Halloween.

"The Ant Bully" is based on a book by John Nickle, which tells the tale of a young boy who floods an ant colony with his water-gun, and is magically shrunken down to insect size and sentenced to hard labor in the ruins. Before returning to half-pint stature, he comes to appreciate the selfless nature of the ants and learns a valuable lesson about tolerance and empathy.

After taking moviegoers magically into the realm of toys, bugs, monsters, fish, and superheroes, the masterful storytellers and technical wizards at Pixar Animation Studios and Academy Award-winning director John Lasseter, hit the road with a fast-paced comedy adventure set inside the world of cars. Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson), a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters –including Sally (a snazzy 2002 Porsche voiced by Bonnie Hunt), Doc Hudson (a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, voiced by Paul Newman), and Mater (a rusty but trusty tow truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) – who help him realize that there are more important things than trophies, fame and sponsorship. The all-star vocal cast also includes free-wheeling performances by racing legend Richard Petty and. Fueled with plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats, "Cars" is a high octane delight for moviegoers of all ages.

In this true life inspired story, Jack Black will play a Mexican priest who moonlights as a masked Lucha Libre wrestler in order to save an orphanage destined for closure. All the while, the priest must keep his identity hidden from the wrestling community and the church.

America's favorite feline, Garfield, follows his owner, Jon, to England. The U.K. may never recover, as Garfield is mistaken for a look-alike, regal cat who has inherited a castle. Garfield savors the royal treatment afforded by his loyal "subjects," but his "reign" is in jeopardy. The nefarious Lord Dargis is determined to do away with Garfield, so he can turn the castle into a resort.

Three middle-schoolers take on greedy land developers, corrupt politicians, and clueless cops in the mystery adventure "Hoot" based on Carl Hiaasen's Newbery Honor-winning book. Produced by Jimmy Buffet, Frank Marshall and Walden Media, "Hoot" revolves around a Montana boy who moves to Florida and unearths a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls. Determined to protect his new environment, the boy and his friends fight to prevent the adults from making a big mistake. Packed with surprising plot twists, quirky characters, and offbeat humor, "Hoot" is a classic story that's fun for all ages.

In the animated film, "Over the Hedge", Bruce Willis will voice the mischievous con-artist raccoon R.J., and Garry Shandling will be the voice of the sensitive turtle named Verne. When R.J., Verne and their woodland friends find a suburban housing development encroaching on their forest home, Verne's first instinct is to retreat into his shell and leave, but the ever-opportunistic R.J. sees a treasure trove to be had from his unsuspecting new neighbors. Together, Verne and R.J. form an unlikely friendship as they learn to co-exist with—and even exploit—this strange new world called suburbia.

One night, Samson's (Sutherland) son, Ryan, accidentally causes a gazelle stampede. Father and son have a heated argument that leads to Ryan running away and hiding in an empty crate, without realising that it's in a truck marked "Return to the wild" - Africa. Samson and his friends take off into the real Wild, New York City and end up at New York harbour where they arrive just in time to see Ryan take off on a boat. Our rescue squad, commandeer a boat and head off to Africa after Ryan. Once in Africa, their adventure continues as they search for Ryan and encounter a herd of wildebeests who are bent on eating all of our zoo friends… except Nigel the koala (Eddie Izzard) who they believe is God-like. Our heroes lives, as well as Ryan's, now lie in Nigel's hands, or paws, but will he let his new-found fame go to his head.

Based on the Alice Hoffman novel, the film revolves around two teenage girls (JoJo, Emma Roberts) who discover a mermaid (Sara Paxton) in their beach club's swimming pool.

The story of a lawyer who occasionally transforms into, well, a large, shaggy sheepdog. Needless to say, the spontaneous changes don't help his legal career, but they do help him learn how to be a better family man.

About an average, dysfunctional American family who is about to set off on the most dangerous, high-stakes, life-threatening and traumatizing adventure of their lives: two weeks together in an RV.

While Skrat the Saber Toothed Squirrel is still ineffectually trying to regain his precious acorn, the misfit trio of Manny the Mammoth, Sid the Sloth and Diego the Sabretooth Tiger have settled down in an isolated valley with numerous other animals. However, the trio discover that the ice wall surrounding the valley is barely holding back a massive body of water behind it and it's melting state threatens to break and flood the valley. With their one chance of survival being a boat at the other end of the valley, the trio follow the desperate exodus there. Along the way, they meet Ellie, a female mammoth who is convinced she's a opossum like her brothers. While the strange group continues the trek, they must learn to get along even as Manny struggles to find some connection to this strange female who may be the only other one of his kind.

Universal Pictures' and Imagine Entertainment's first computer-generated comedy feature, "Curious George", is based upon the beloved tale of an inquisitive little monkey with an insatiable appetite for adventure. Will Ferrell lends his voice to The Man with the Yellow Hat.

In the re-telling of this classic fable, the story begins at the end. Chief Grizzly (Xzibit) and Detective Bill Stork (Anthony Anderson) investigate a domestic disturbance at Granny's (Glenn Close) cottage involving a karate-kicking Red Riding Hood (Anne Hathaway), a sarcastic Wolf (Patrick Warburton) and an oafish Woodsman ( Jim Belushi). The charges are many: breaking and entering, intent to eat and wielding an axe without a license, but these unusual suspects have their story to tell first.

In this dark and witty fable, Emma Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children, led by the oldest boy Simon (Thomas Sangster), have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies and are certain that they will have no trouble with this one. But as Nanny McPhee takes control, they begin to notice that their vile behavior now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences. Her influence also extends to the family's deeper problems, including Mr. Brown's sudden and seemingly inexplicable attempts to find a new wife; an announcement by the domineering Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) that she intends to take one of the children away; and the sad and secret longings of their scullery maid, Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald). As the children's behavior begins to change, Nanny McPhee's arresting face and frame appear to change as well, creating even more questions about this mysterious stranger whom the children and their father have come to love.