Saturday, July 24, 2010

Ramona and Beezus

I saw this film on May 12th of 2010 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture “…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.” Heartland gave that award to this film.

Ramona and Beezus are sisters. Ramona is in grade school and Beezus is in high school. They get along pretty good for being quite different ages, but their real conflict comes with Ramona’s unique skill of getting into trouble or doing inappropriate things. Beezus, on the other hand, is the perfect daughter and sister.

Ramona is not mean spirited. She is a daydreamer and has an overactive imagination and has trouble focusing. This puts her into difficult situations. Oh yes, and she is unlucky too.

The small problems of Ramona quickly get dwarfed by the big problem of her Dad losing his job through no fault of his own. He has a hard time getting another job, and this causes financial and emotional stress for the whole family. This is the focus of the movie.

This is a delightful and funny and entertaining movie for young grade school children. It teaches many important lessons that are worth knowing and reinforcing. The most important lesson is that families have their ups and downs. But if they all remember they love each other and treat each other with respect, something positive can emerge from the downs or hard times.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.