While some of the above may sound a bit, well, bleak and scary for little ones, there are quite a few family films coming our way in 2005. Many kids will have already made a note by November 18 in their diaries, as it is the date that the fourth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, is released. Brendan Gleeson joins the cast as Mad-Eye Moody, Miranda Richardson takes on the role of journalist Rita Skeeter, and best of all, Ralph Fiennes has been cast as Harry’s sinister nemesis, Lord Voldemort.
There are also a few animated movies to look forward to. Disney has Chicken Little (July 22), loosely based on the children’s tale of the same name about a chicken who wrongly predicts the sky is falling down, that features the vocal talents of Garden State actor/director Zach Braff in the title role, as well as Joan Cusack and American comic Don Knotts.
Meanwhile Dreamworks, the company behind the Shrek movies, has Madagascar (July 1), featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Gwen Stefani as animals used to living a captive life in Central Park Zoo who end up stranded in the wild.
An even more impressive vocal cast (Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Robin Williams) provide voices for the characters in Robots (March 18), but younger children will no doubt be more enchanted by the movie-length version of TV’s Spongebob Squarepants (pictured above left, February 11), about a sea sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea, while accompanying adults will have their ribs tickled by a superb cameo performance by David Hasslehoff.
And it is adults, fuelled by memories of the 1970s’ TV show, who will no doubt make a point of taking their families to see the movie version of The Magic Roundabout (February 11). With Ian McKellen as the voice of Zebedee (pictured above), Jim Broadbent as Brian the snail, Joanna Lumley as Ermintrude the cow, Kylie Minogue as Florence, Bill Nighy as Dylan and Robbie Williams as Dougal, this is sure to be the must-see family movie of the year.