Yesterday we launched our first-ever Plugged In Movie Awards with nominees in the Best Movie for Kids category. Today we present five nominees in the Best Movie for Teens category.
Vote for your favorite on our FACEBOOK PAGE or right here on our blog. Note that you’re more than welcome to vote and speak your mind anonymously, but if you want it to count, you’ll have to JOIN our blog community and use your forum name. We’ll announce our winning picks right alongside yours on Feb. 14 during that day’s Official Plugged In Podcast. The following day we’ll publish the details on this blog.
Remember, our nominees aren’t perfect films. There is no such thing. But they’re all movies that have merit—capable (we think) of inspiring you and/or making you think. So please read our linked reviews carefully before watching any of them.
BEST MOVIE FOR TEENS
The Avengers (PG-13): The year’s biggest moneymaker is also one of its most inspiring as a collection of squabbling superheroes team up to save the world. These do-gooders aren’t completely good, mind you. Viewers can expect to hear a bit of cursing and see loads of superhero violence. But the themes here—that we’re stronger together than we are apart, that even if we’re flawed we 
can be a force for good—are as strong as the Hulk’s mighty right hook. These heroes risk their lives for the sake of others and overcome their differences to fight for a common cause. In an age when we could sure use a hero or two, these Avengers (at least on the big screen) fit the bill.
Chasing Mavericks (PG): Surfer Jay Moriarity has one dream: to ride the biggest, most dangerous wave in the world. But to do so, he’ll have to juggle work, school, his semi-flaky mom, his sometimes jealous friends and, oh yeah, talk a grizzled beach bum named Frosty into training him. Based on a real story, Chasing Mavericks illustrates the importance of family (even if it’s a little untraditional), the value of hard work and the beauty of harboring dreams as big as the sea itself. While not everything here is worth emulating, the relationship between this hotshot teen and his surfing sensei help viewers see what it means to be a good father, son and friend.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13): It’s been nearly a decade since director Peter Jackson wrapped up his much-loved big-screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now he’s returned to Middle-earth to tell the story before that story (or, the first third of it, anyway)—an adventure-drenched tale of how a hobbit named Bilbo, a wizard named Gandalf and a dozen dwarves with names that (mostly) rhyme set off to slay a dwarf-killing dragon named Smaug. Orcs and trolls, giants and goblins lurk around every bend. And then there’s a certain ring that turns up too … as well as its “precious” keeper. It’s a terrific, heroic tale for teens (understanding that its battle scenes are pretty intense).
Mirror Mirror (PG): Tired of grim fairy tales? This whimsical, colorful spin on the Snow White legend stars Julia Roberts as the vain, scheming queen eager to get rid of the lovely young princess destined to supplant her. And while our heroine may be innocent, Snow’s not helpless or passive—a strong role model for teen girls. Powerful themes include bravery, benevolence and the importance of inner beauty. Most of all, it’s good-hearted fun. By not taking itself too seriously, the film exudes a self-aware charm. And since everyone onscreen seems to be having a blast, so do we.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (PG): This gentle story of a boy who magically sprouted from a backyard garden might look like an odd fit here. It may seems to some to be more of a kids’ movie. But while Timothy (the garden-boy in question) has lots of great things to say from a kids’-eye view about individuality, charity and love, The movie’s themes go deeper and skew older—sometimes even speaking directly to Mom and Dad. It’s hard to be a parent, it reassures us, and we won’t always be perfect. Sometimes we might even make a mess of things. But through love and forgiveness—not just forgiving our kids, but ourselves—the glorious messes we make can turn a family into a thing of wonder. There’s a gorgeous sadness at the core of this story, twined with themes of loss and death. This movie, for all its quirky, fairy tale vibe, goes surprisingly deep.
Explore our other Plugged In Movie Awards nominees in these categories:
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