Review of Alabama Moon (2009) by Sergio E — 13 Jun 2011

This movie like almost any movie is not without its flaws but what it lacks it makes it up with heart. This movie has that Disney feel or even nickelodeon but it seems that it wasn't and maybe that is why after the apparent flaws this movie has. It has to make up with a lot of heart but still doesn't quite get there. But don't get me wrong this movie lets itself be watched without much hassle and it does its purpose and entertains in a softer manner that what the story is really all about. A couple of characters or maybe even the actor's seems out of place or wrongfully casted and not very well developed. But the kids and John Goodman really make up for everything else. What can I say? It could have been so much better and bring such a serious theme to a higher level of movie.

The story is pretty straightforward a kid living alone with his environmentalist father has to learn to go back to civilization once his dad dies of an infection of the leg. The kid goes into a jail for children were he makes his very first friends , bust out with them , fight the creepy sergeant who's always after him and learn to let go of the burden his late father had inflected upon him.

After the unexpected death of his survivalist father, an eleven year old boy raised in the Alabama wilderness must learn how to make a home in the modern world.

Eleven-year-old Moon Blake has spent most of his life hiding out in the forests of Alabama with his father, an anti-government radical who clings to conspiracy theories and trusts no one. Moon's life suddenly changes when the land is sold and his father dies. Knowing only what he learned from his father, Moon decides to follow his last instructions; make your way to Alaska where "people could still make a living off trapping." In the path of civilization, Moon quickly lands himself in a reform school where he meets the mean-spirited Constable Sanders and learns what friendship is all about. Determined to get to Alaska, he and his new friends escape from the school outwitting Constable Sanders each step of the way. "Alabama Moon" is a classic kid's film (based on the novel by Watt Key), complete with adventure and survival that most kids only dream about.