Madeline

Daisy von Sherler Mayer directed this family film, an adaptation of the famed book series that Austrian-born writer-illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) launched in 1939 with the opening lines, "In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. ...more

Madeline is a clean and faithful-looking recreation of a popular storybook world, effortlessly capturing the appropriate tone, and brimming with adorable little girls. However, little girls -- or those reminiscing about their girlhood -- are probably the only ones who will feel a special fondness for this movie, considering its narrow appeal. Others might smile mildly at the precocious adventures of this clan of freckled children, but the story doesn't offer any adult-sized wit or anything else ...more