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Beat the Heat: THE BLACK STALLION

Watch Trailer Director: Carroll Ballard
Writer(s): Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, William D. Wittliff, Walter Farley, Walter Murch
Cast: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr

 

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion who is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a desert island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued, both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once-successful trainer. Together they begin training the stallion to race against the fastest horses in the world.

During the summer the Athena Cinema presents BEAT THE HEAT $2 DAYS. Every year, the summer series showcases children’s and family friendly films with discounted admission, raffle prizes, giveaways and more. Get out of the heat and come enjoy the cool air conditioning, delicious concessions and movies that every child should see on the big screen!

To benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County, the price of admission to these screenings is a suggested minimum donation of $2 per ticket.

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Running Time: 118 min118 MIN
G Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

...the first hour of this movie belongs among the great filmgoing experiences. It is described as an epic, and earns the description.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Beat the Heat: FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Watch Trailer Director: Wes Anderson
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (novel) and Wes Anderson (screenplay)
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, and Athens County Children Services.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers — Boggis, Bunce and Bean — who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.

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Running Time: 87 minutes87 MIN
PG Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Wes Anderson's utterly charming Fantastic Mr. Fox is that rarity: a children's movie for all.

Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
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Beat the Heat: MATILDA

Watch Trailer Director: Danny DeVito
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book) and Nicholas Kazan (screenplay)
Cast: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman and Mara Wilson

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, and Athens County Children Services.

Based on the book Matilda, by British children’s author Roald Dahl, this film moves the setting from the U.K. to the U.S.; otherwise it follows the original closely. Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is an extremely curious and intelligent little girl who is very different from her low-brow, mainstream parents (Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman), who quite cruelly ignore her. As she grows older, she begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers. Not until a teacher shows her kindness for the first time does she realize that she can use those powers to do something about her sufferings and help her friends as well. Villains from the awful Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), headmistress of her miserable school Crunchem Hall, to her parents and older brother begin to feel her ire. Look for Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) in a small part as an FBI agent investigating Matilda’s shady father.

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Running Time: 102 minutes102 MIN
PG Rated

With her sweet-sad face, Mara Wilson is a perfect Matilda.

Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
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Beat the Heat: JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Watch Trailer Director: Henry Selick
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book), Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay), Jonathan Roberts (screenplay) & Steve Bloom (screenplay)
Cast: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley and Pete Postlethwaite

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

A young boy’s discovery of a gigantic peach triggers an eventful journey across the sea in this strikingly designed animated adventure. Young British lad James (Paul Terry) is orphaned by the death of his parents and forced to live with two cruel, repulsive aunts. The visit of a mysterious stranger provides a means of escape, however, through a magic bag of “crocodile tongues” that bring about the appearance of the giant peach.

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Running Time: 79 minutes79 MIN
PG Rated

A snappy, fun adaptation that entertains young viewers without speaking down to them.

Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Beat the Heat: THE WITCHES

Watch Trailer Director: Nicolas Roeg
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book) and Allan Scott (screenplay)
Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling and Jasen Fisher

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

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Running Time: 91 minutes91 MIN
PG Rated

A wickedly funny final bow for Muppeteer Jim Henson.

Rita Kempley
Washington Post
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Beat the Heat: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

Watch Trailer Director: Ken Hughes
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (screenplay), Ian Fleming (novel) & Ken Hughes (screenplay)
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes and Lionel Jeffries

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) is an eccentric inventor, widower and family man who invents a magical car that can float and fly in addition to the usual road travel. The evil Baron Bombast (Gert Frobe) tries to steal the car and the inventor, but he grabs Potts’ eccentric father (Lionel Jeffries) by mistake. Soon the family and candy heir Totally Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes) are off to rescue grandpa, who still believes he is in the British Army fighting in India. They fly to a fantasy land where all children are jailed, and the adults must rescue the children to insure a safe family reunion.

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Running Time: 142 minutes142 MIN
G Rated

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang contains about the best two-hour children's movie you could hope for, with a marvelous magical auto and lots of adventure.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Beat the Heat: WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Watch Trailer Director: Mel Stuart
Writer(s): Roald Dahl
Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

Mr. Wonka, the mysterious owner of the Wonka chocolate factory, has decided to hide five golden tickets in the wrappers of his famous chocolate bars. The five who find the golden tickets will be given a tour of the top secret factory by Mr. Wonka himself.

Charlie Bucket is a young boy with a heart of gold who loves chocolate more than anything else, but only gets to have one bar a year, which is given to him on his birthday. After finding money in a gutter, he buys two candy bars: one for him and one for his beloved Grandpa Joe. Inside one of the wrappers, they find a coveted golden ticket, and Charlie’s life is forever changed.

 

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Running Time: 100 minutes100 MIN
G Rated

...the best film of its sort since 'The Wizard of Oz.' It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but aren't: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Beat the Heat: STUART LITTLE

Watch Trailer Director: Rob Minkoff
Writer(s): E.B. White, M. Night Shyamalan, Greg Brooker
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie

Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is a little guy with a big heart, not to mention whiskers, a little pink nose and a really dapper wardrobe. When he’s adopted by the Littles (a human family played by Davis, Lipnicki and Laurie) he embarks on adventures with a variety of characters — including his nemesis, family cat Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane) — and learns the true meaning of family, loyalty and friendship.

 

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Running Time: 84 min84 MIN
PG Rated

Michael J. Fox is amusingly spunky as the voice of Stuart while Nathan Lane, as Snowbell's voice, is appropriately, well, catty.

Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
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Beat the Heat: A CAT IN PARIS

Watch Trailer Director: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Writer(s): Alain Gagnol, Jacques-Rémy Girerd, Michael Sinterniklaas
Cast: Dominique Blanc, Bernadette Lafont, Bruno Salomone
Language: French

Dino is a pet cat that leads a double life. By day he lives with Zoe, a little mute girl whose mother, Jeanne, is a detective in the Parisian police force. But at night he sneaks out the window to work with Nico – a slinky cat burglar with a big heart, whose fluid movements are poetry in motion – as he evades captors and slips and swishes from rooftop to rooftop across the Paris skyline. The cat’s two worlds collide when young Zoe decides to follow Dino on his nocturnal adventures – and falls into the hands of Victor Costa, a blustery gangster planning the theft of a rare statue.Now cat and cat burglar must team up to save Zoe from the bumbling thieves, leading to a thrilling acrobatic finale on top of Notre Dame.

 

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Running Time: 70 min70 MIN
PG Rated

An animated delight, and certainly not just for kids.

John Anderson
Newsday
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Beat the Heat: NYICFF KID FLIX MIX

The New York International Children’s Film Festival is North America’s largest festival of film for children and teens, and stands at the forefront of a movement to define a new, more provocative and compelling film for kids. Each year the festival presents a carefully curated collection of the best new animation, live action and experimental film from around the world. A kaleidoscopic showcase of the best short film and animation from around the world, for ages 3 to 8. Program includes films Sweden, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Australia, the UK, and the United States (all films in English, or told through sound/music).

PIK PIK PIK

Russia

Animation, Dmitry Vysotskiy, 2014, 3 min

The woodpecker rattles the tree, on the hunt for ants. But, alas, someone grabs a hold of the tree, and the ill-matched creatures form an unbeatable team.

ZEBRA

Germany

Animation, Julia Oker, 2013, 2 min

One day the zebra ran into the tree.

BUNNY NEW GIRL

Australia

Live Action, Natalie van den Dungen, 2014, 6 min

On her first day at a new school, a self-conscious young girl learns that friendship can transcend difference.

MY BIG BROTHER

USA

Animation, Jason Rayner, 2014, 2.5 min

Big brother is not just older, but physically gigantic.

5.80 METERS

France

Animation, Nicolas Deveaux, 2012, 5 min

A herd of high-flying acrobatic giraffes takes to the pool.

COOKIE-TIN BANJO

USA/UK

Animation, Peter Baynton, 2014, 2.5 min

In this storybook folk tale, a handcrafted guitar is passed down to a young boy from his father and becomes the gift of a lifetime.

LARISA CAN FLY

Russia

Animation, Elizaveta Manokhina/Polina Manokhina, 2013, 6.5 min

A poetic tale of two girls and their largerthan- life Granny, who turn every day into imaginative adventures in this beautiful, painterly animation.

Minuscule : ThePrivate Life of Insects – Brushing

France

Animation/Live Action, Hélène Giraud / Thomas Szabo, 2014, 5 min

A common bathroom becomes the setting for an all-terrain, Looney Toons-inspired chase between a fly and a spider.

ELEPHANT AND THE BICYCLE

France/Belgium

Animation, Olesya Shchukina, 2014, 9 min

An elephant lives in a town among people and works as a street cleaner. One day, he sees a big billboard advertising a bicycle. It seems the perfect size for him!

EYES

USA

Animation, Tom Law, 2013, 1 min

There are things to fear in the dark.

ME AND MY MOULTON

Norway/Canada

Animation, Torill Kove, 2014, 14 min

2015 Oscar® Nominee!

A 7-year-old girl, whose parents are unconventional modernists, wants her family to be like other Norwegian families of the 1960s. This causes problems the summer she asks her parents for a bike.

 

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Running Time: 60 min60 MIN

This festival is about redefining what kids' entertainment can be.

Time Out New York
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