Welcome to the It List Summer Guide edition, where we share staff picks for the best in entertainment as the weather gets warmer. Catch the weekly It List here for the latest releases that we can't wait to watch, stream, listen to, read and binge.
Summer blockbusters don’t have to be all shoot-outs and explosions. Sometimes a trip to the movie theater for family-friendly fare is the ideal way to spend a hot summer day or night.
To do it, you have to walk in knowing the mini moviegoers in your life will indulge in snacks that are probably on your no-fly list at home. They may even be served in overpriced collectible buckets, which cost more than a month of school lunches. The benefit is spending one-and-a-half hours of your day not answering questions (Shhh — watch the movie!) or being your child’s personal assistant because they’ll (hopefully) be transfixed with what’s on the big screen.
They get entertained — and so do you as you kick back for a brain break, which is win-win for the whole family.
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Here’s what we’re seeing this summer.
The emotional release
Our pick: Inside Out 2
🍿Why watch it? In the sequel to the 2015 hit animated Disney Pixar film, Riley is a teen in the midst of puberty with Joy and the gang helping her navigate the emotional overload in her head.
Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel sees some more complicated emotions added to the mix: Scene-stealer Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, Envy and Nostalgia create new core memories for Riley — including some she’d probably rather forget.
An emotional battle goes down between the original five feelings and pot-stirring newcomers as they battle for control of the hockey-loving teen.
The original was all humor and heart — and the sequel won’t skip a beat.
Plus, there are great takeaways: Puberty is a wild ride, so why not poke fun at life’s messiness?
Also helping young (and older) people label the emotions that can wreak havoc inside us all can make life’s ups and downs a bit easier to navigate.
🗓️ Release date: June 14
🪪 Rating: PG
⏰ Run time: 1 hours, 40 minutes
🤩 Stars: Amy Poehler is back voicing Joy with some of the newbie emotions played by Maya Hawke (Anxiety) and Ayo Edebiri (Envy).
Tried-and-true
Our pick: Despicable Me 4
🍿Why watch it? Despicable Me, from Universal’s Illumination, is the highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time. We’re counting on the same quality, humor and good-hearted messaging in the latest installment.
Mega-villain-turned-secret agent Gru (Steve Carell) and his ladies — wife Lucy and adorable adopted daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes — welcome a new addition, baby Gru Jr., who doesn’t seem sold on dear old dad.
Gru also gets a troublesome nemesis, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), who’s seeking world domination. Mwahaha.
The bad guy is joined by his girlfriend, Valentina (Sofia Vergara), who stirs up trouble, leading the Gru crew to go on the run.
The banana-loving Minion scene-stealers — who transform into “Mega Minions” after taking super serum — are back with their slapstick comedy, even if we have no idea what they’re saying.
The humor is light and fluffy and doesn’t require much from viewers young or old to sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
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🗓️ Release date: July 3
🪪 Rating: PG
⏰ Run time: 1 hours, 35 minutes
🤩 Stars: Kristen Wiig returns as Lucy, Miranda Cosgrove as Margo and Joey King as Poppy.
The easy LOLs
Our pick: The Garfield Movie
🍿 Why watch it? You buy your tickets knowing full well you’re committing to a movie about a sarcastic and lazy orange cat that likes lasagna and hates Mondays.
The animated flick from Sony Pictures, with Chris Pratt voicing the title character, tells Garfield’s origin story (baby Garfield!) before he adopts his human, Jon, and introduces the feline’s estranged father, street cat Vic (Samuel L. Jackson).
The indoor cat goes on an outdoor adventure — with pup sibling Odie — temporarily giving up a life of luxury to join Vic for a heist that sees them face off with a villainous Persian cat named Jinx (Hannah Waddingham).
The story is sweet, it’s silly and there’s nostalgia for the adults who watched the original films or grew up reading Jim Davis’s comic strip.
It will also make you hungry, so maybe see this one at a dine-in theater serving pizza.
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🗓️ Release date: May 24
🪪 Rating: PG
⏰ Run time: 1 hours, 41 minutes
🤩 Stars: The star-studded cast also includes Snoop Dogg as Snoop Catt as well as Nicholas Hoult (Jon), Brett Goldstein (Roland), Cecily Strong (Marge) Bowen Yang (Nolan).
The heaping dose of nostalgia
Our pick: Harold and the Purple Crayon
🍿 Why watch it? It’s a live-action/animated fantasy flick based on Crockett Johnson’s 1955 book of the same name, which spawned a children’s book series, TV show and fanbase.
Young Harold creates his own world of wonder when everything he draws with his purple crayon comes to life.
An adult in the Sony Pictures film, played by Zachary Levi, he draws himself into the real world, where his drawing tool still works, with both good and chaotic results.
The message that “anything is possible” with an emphasis on using one’s imagination are powerful ones.
Wear purple and channel your inner child for this day at the movies, where daydreaming is more than OK
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🗓️ Release date: August 2
🪪 Rating: PG
⏰ Run time: 1 hours, 32 minutes
🤩 Stars: Zooey Deschanel as Harold’s new friend in the real world as well as Lil Rel Howery (Moose) and Jemaine Clement (Gary).
The TV movie that allows for adult 'me time'
Our pick: Descendants: The Rise of Red
🍿Why watch it? No one needs to leave the comfort of the couch for the fourth film in the Disney franchise, which is streaming.
It’s a spin-off of the first three, with new characters, and your pre-tween will watch (probably more than once) and sing the earworm songs all summer.
While Dove Cameron’s Mal will be missed, there are new characters leading the drama, including Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, Cinderella's daughter, who team up to travel back in time to change the course of history.
Adults watching will be charmed by the on-screen reunion of Brandy Norwood and Paolo Montalban as Cinderella and (now) King Charming from 1997’s live-action Cinderella.
But adults really don’t have to watch, which is why we are all for this flick. As your kid streams, it’s a perfect moment for some me time.
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🗓️ Release date: July 12 on Disney+ and August 9 on Disney Channel
🪪 Rating: G
🤩 Stars: China Anne McClain (Uma) and Melanie Paxson (Fairy Godmother) reprise their roles and Rita Ora joins as the Queen of Hearts.
Looking for more summer fun? Check out our guides:
The It List summer reading guide: The best books for the beach or backyard
The It List summer movie guide: These are the films worth seeing on the big screen
The It List music festival guide: The biggest and best for summer 2024
