Full Review

Yes, Virginia, there was life before cell phones. For proof, see "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" (Picturehouse/New Line).

This charming chronicle of a 10-year-old aspiring reporter's (Abigail Breslin) experiences during the Great Depression in Cincinnati brings the titular series of dolls and children's books to the big screen (three made-for-television films about other characters have aired since 2004).

As Kit surveys the world of 1934 from the safety of her backyard treehouse, a number of adult-size problems are headed her way. Having lost his job, her car salesman father (Chris O'Donnell) departs for Chicago to look for work. To stave off foreclosure, her calm, level-headed mother (Julia Ormond) takes in a collection of colorful boarders (Joan Cusack, Glenne Headly, Zach Mills and Colin Mochrie, among others), relegating Kit to the attic.

When indigent teen Will (Max Thieriot) and his younger traveling companion, Countee (Willow Smith), arrive in town, Kit befriends them and her mother feeds them in exchange for their doing odd jobs. This exemplary compassion comes despite the disapproval of some of her friends and the suspicions that fall on hobos generally after a recent crime wave.

Will introduces Kit to the social life and moral code of the local homeless camp, giving her fodder for the series of articles she's hoping to sell irascible newspaper editor Mr. Gibson (Wallace Shawn). But after a robber makes off with her mother's meager savings, and the police accuse Will, intrepid Kit devotes her considerable energies to clearing him.
 
"Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar nominee Breslin, who starred most recently in "Nim's Island," continues to prove why she's one of the most appealing of child performers, whether she's standing her ground with sourpuss Shawn or quietly mourning her father's downfall and subsequent absence.
 
Director Patricia Rozema's warm adaptation -- as scripted by Ann Peacock from stories by Valerie Tripp -- presents a somewhat sanitized, Waltons-style view of the era. But this pleasingly innocent tale of a quieter, though hardly carefree time, which has Julia Roberts as co-executive producer, fosters persistence in pursuing goals, opposes stereotyping and will likely hit a bull's-eye with targeted tweens.
 
The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. All ages admitted.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.