The Boy Who Cried Werewolf – movie review

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Nickelodeon is making a splash with their own original movies starring some of their biggest stars.  Their most recent one is The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, which stars Victoria Justice. The made for TV movie is about a girl who becomes a werewolf by mistake, only to find that no one believes her or her brother (who has always made outrageous comments in the past about the paranormal). It is up to him to save his sister and fight off those who are out to attack her.

As I mentioned above, this is an original Nickelodeon movie, and it was cast with Victoria Justice in the lead role. I did not recognize any other stars in the movie, other than Brooke Shields. About a quarter of the story takes place in California, and the rest of the movie takes place in Romania. The set was very believable, and I have to say that the special effects make-up was perfect–I did not even recognize Brooke Shields. And if I did not know she was in it in advance, I would not have known that was her.  Also, the werewolf make-up was fabulous.

I really enjoyed the characters and how they interacted with each other. It really felt as if they were real family, and that can be tough for a cast to pull off. I also think that they picked the right actors for each role. I also believe that the lines of dialogue were well written, which adds to the characters and their roles. All in all, I found it really believable and played in good style. Definitely a movie with better acting than some of its peers, by a long shot, though I will add that the editing probably helped the acting.

Plot-wise, I will admit that I was surprised that it was not cheesy. I figured that since it was going to be on Nickelodeon, it be a silly movie, but it came off as something that I think anybody can enjoy. It was neither overly funny nor scary; it was the perfect mix, to be honest. One example of that mix is when Victoria’s character (named Jordan) was turning into a werewolf–it came across as both funny and scary. The movie keeps a sense of humor even during the scenes that were meant to be exciting. It did not lose any value when it would switch from humor to scary. I also want to add that the scary part is not really all that scary, but more of a spook with a humorous twist. The story has a great ending to it that will make fan of underdogs smile. I will also add that they threw in a mini music video at the end, which made the overall experience of the movie funnier.

Costumes were very realistic, and even the full werewolf garb they wore did not look fake. One thing that I really like was the fact that the movie did not take the easy way out of CGI or animation; they used real costumes and make-up, which is time consuming for the make-up artist and actors. So they put a lot of work for short scenes, and I have major respect for that.

Age group wise, it’s a tough call, since this is a pretty family friendly movie. It does have some battle scenes in it, but nothing that I think would be inappropriate for 7 years old or older to see. Younger kids can likely see it with parents and have no problems as long as they know that it is fiction. This feels like a great movie to show at sleepovers anytime of the year, so do not feel limited to using it only as a Halloween special.

To wrap this review up, I will say that I enjoyed the movie, and I think that The Boy Who Cried Werewolf will become a Halloween favorite. It is cute and cheeky without being overly so in either direction. I also am so happy that they added some scary scenes that are not too much for a children’s movie. They did it all in good taste, and I sort of hope they make a sequel for it. For my 1 out to 10 rating I give this one a 6. It is a good option for families, but it may not suit some of the major horror movie fans.

2 Comments

1. 

   rachel

   October 29, 2010 at 9:09 pm

   i love the moive i watched it 3 times i even stayyed home from school and church to see it lol

   Reply
2. 

   SourOrange

   November 4, 2010 at 8:15 pm

   The EASY way? Animation is NOT easy. I myself am an animator and I can tell you one thing. It takes a lot of work to make it look good, and it also takes a lot of patience. That little comment you made about it being “EASY” is simply insulting. I mean, look at Avatar. That whole worlds they were in during the duration of the entire movie was ANIMATED, as were the characters (The Na’vi anyway). That took some serious work and some serious talent.
   Also, I myself did not like the movie very much.. There were lots of other much more deserving series and cartoons that deserved a good Halloween special and did not get one.
   I was quite disappointed with this, and I am quite disappointed with you.

   Reply