Fantasy in the 00's

Ever since "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" hit theaters in late 2001, there has been a steady stream of films trying to capitalize on the newly realized "family fantasy films". Some good, some bad, some embarrassing. This Friday, the latest of this ilk "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (extremely long titles are normal for these films) hits theaters, so now is as good a time as any to review the Family Fantasy Movies of the past decade. Such as it is, this post will just cover the 2009 films I felt met this mold. More posts coming soon.

2009

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Worldwide Box Office: $28.2 million
Budget: $40 million

This one aimed for a very difficult audience to pull, the pre-teen/early teen market is downright finicky. It can't be too young looking or they won't go for it, these kids can just as well go for something aimed at adults as kids. It's troublesome, and it's something a lot of these movies struggle with. Furthermore, Cirque Du Freak is PG-13, so when they failed to grab their target, younger kids didn't find their way in either and they were basically screwed.

What it does right: Don't know haven't seen it
What it does wrong: Based on a book no one knows. Vampires are associated with Twilight which is hated passionately by the target audience for this film.

Where the Wild Things Are
Worldwide Box Office: $89.6 million, and still trucking
Budget: $100 million

Stories based on short children's books like this are easy to sell, but hard to make. This one is different from the others on this list, because it's not based on a series of chapter books, or even a full novel.

What it does right: Nostalgic appeal in the trailers. Haven't seen it yet.
What it does wrong: 100 million dollar films should never be launched in the off-season like October. This was a thanksgiving film.

Inkheart
Worldwide Box Office: $62.5 million
Budget: $60 million

The only one from 2009 that was actually a little bit successful, even though technically it probably lost a lot of money.

What it does right: Not sure, but it must have done something right for 62.5 million.
What it does wrong: Looks as cliche as it can get from the trailer, not based on a super-popular source. Has Andy Serkis as a main role, people inevitably associate him with Gollum and he can't be taken seriously.

Movies that are kind of like this, but didn't quite fit the mold: Race to witch Mountain, Land of the Lost, Aliens in the Attic.