Andrew Smith's Blog: Tiger Rising Movie Review and Giveaway

Film Synopsis:

Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid star in this beloved tale based on the New York Times best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo. When 12-year-old Rob Horton (Christian Convery) discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May (Queen Latifah) and the stubborn new girl in school (Madalen Mills), he navigates through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures in this heartwarming adaptation.

My Review:

I would recommend this movie to children from middle school aged to high school. I think some elementary level might be able to watch the movie but parents would probably to watch it first to decide. I liked how the movie touched on bullying, physical, and verbal abuse. It was heartbreaking to witness how judged this little boy who suffered from a rare rash that was a medical condition. He wasn’t allowed in school for most of the movie because they are afraid it’s contagious and there was a great deal of judgement towards him. He meets a new girl at school who has a rough childhood with an absent father and she believes he is coming back to get her. I will say I didn’t care for this little girl’s attitude in the movie. She just seemed very hateful and bossy. In the movie, we see their imagination grow and they meet a tiger and they want to set it free from the cage. I do believe my most favorite actress in the movie is Queen Latifah hands down. She played a maid and she added motherly wise to the movie. One of my most favorite things, she had was a conversation with Rob about his legs and the rash. She explained to him how to let the sadness rise up. Dennis Quaid played more of a jerk in this movie and cared more about himself only. The boy’s father wasn’t much better in my opinion when the boy’s mother died (played by Katharine McPhee). He was told to pretty much stop crying because it wouldn’t bring her back. There was a lot of sadness, hurt, pain, and even some abuse from bullying in the film. It covered a lot of difficult topics present and there is a number of different emotions with the main goal of how important it is to handle our emotions.