Dad and lad: Family movie preview

~ Wonder what movies you should take your children to see? Let the Southeast Missourian ad director be your guide to family-friendly entertainment in this first installment of Dad and Lad, an occasional column about family-friendly stuff to do and see.

It is that time of year again -- the summer blockbusters are on the way.

Lad and I have looked through the list of releases this month, and have put together the following breakdown of family-oriented films. Some are still unknown to us, but there will be a hefty amount of CGI choices this year. Each title also includes the important Dad and Lad-o-meter, giving you an insight into our level of excitement for each individual movie. Release dates are subject to change.

"The Wild"

Opens today

Walt Disney Pictures

Cast: Keifer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, Janaene Garofalo, George Carlin, Jim Belushi

Story: A lion cub runs away from the New York City zoo and his father, teamed with his animal pals, set off to find him. Their search and rescue mission eventually lands them in Africa where things in the wild are much different than life at the zoo.

Outlook: "Finding Nemo" meets "Madagascar" in this potentially enchanting Disney film. It may lack originality, but rumor has it this film was in production long before its apparent carbon copy.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 4

"Hoot"

Opens April 21

New Line Cinema

Cast: Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, Cody Linley, Tim Blake Nelson, Jessica Cauffiel, Jimmy Buffett

Story: Three middle-schoolers take on greedy land developers, corrupt politicians and clueless cops after they unearth a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls.

Outlook: Haven't seen or heard much about this one, so it is a Hoot of a mystery to us.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 2

"Akeelah and the Bee"

Opens April 28

Lions Gate Films

Cast: Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Marlow, Sara Niemietz, Eddie Steeples

Story: Plot: A precocious 11-year-old girl from south Los Angeles is discovered to have a talent for words. In spite of the objections of her mother, she enters a spelling contest. Her gift takes her to compete in the National Spelling Bee, the most famous competition of its kind in the world. On the way, she is helped by a forthright, mysterious teacher, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) and a cast of colorful characters from the community.

Outlook: This looks to be a terrific triumph over adversity story with Morpheus (Fishburne) finding his next Neo in Akeelah.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 3

"RV"

April 28

Sony Pictures

Cast: Robin Williams, Kristin Chenoweth, Jeff Daniels, Tony Hale

Story: A dysfunctional family rents an RV for a roadtrip to the Colorado Rockies, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers.

Outlook: Who wouldn't see Robin Williams in a family comedy? This looks to be great.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 4