“Oh, I loved this when I was your age!”
 
Once a parent makes that statement, it’s pretty much a guarantee their child won’t feel the same way. Wildfire Teen Romance novels, The Love Boat and anything by Journey is unappreciated by the under-17 set in my house. That’s what makes it all the more unbelievable that movie marketers are able to reinvent entertainment properties and make them cool again.
 
This weekend’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is a perfect example. The series started in 1958 and had a new incarnation every decade but then went AWOL in the mid-‘90s only to re-emerge a surprise $371 million hit movie starring Jason Lee in 2007. The Squeakuel was also a bona fide smash, making the Chipmunks one of the few sure family-movie bets in Hollywood these days.
 
Then there’s the year’s other big family film phenoms that even your grandparents remember, The Muppets and The Smurfs. Although The Muppets didn’t make a ton of money, considering the mess that brand was in, it did very well critically and financially. And The Smurfs smurfed to a half billion worldwide. If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s a Comeback.
 
Here are the three films your kids may want to see this weekend:
 
 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked In the third edition, we learn that six chipmunks aren’t strong enough to fly a kite on a cruise ship…and the Chipmunks and the Chipettes wind up stranded on a mostly-deserted island. Chipwrecked delivers everything younger kids love: catchy songs they know, relatable situations and lots of laughs. It’s perfect for Pre-K and elementary age – and, since Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa grew up with Alvin and friends, they share a fondness in their heart for the little guys, too.
 
 
 
 
 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes is an adult human Alvin: a magnet for trouble. Kids are likely to find Holmes’ witty but childish antics appealing but the film includes drugs and some pretty intense action and violence. Additionally, parents should know Sherlock Holmes celebrates making mischief as much as it does the art of intellectualism.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol The fourth film in the series has everything an action fan can want: nonstop action sequences, huge risks, unbelievable stunts and the world’s biggest action star, Tom Cruise. The storyline about the threat of nuclear annihilation is complicated and mature but the PG-13 violence is consistent with what a kid might see on TV.