Tiger Rising (film review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through Momentum Influences Network.

When my teens were little kids, they loved Kate DiCamillo’s books, especially Scorpion. He was a total bookworm from the time he was 6 until about 12 or 13. He joined book club at the library, and his favorite book he ever read as part of that group was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. He liked it so much that we got him his own copy of the book for his birthday that year. That is one of Ms. DiCamillo’s least famous books, though. You might know her better for Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux.

It was because of our family’s past experience with her stories that I signed up for this review. I wanted to share her work with my younger kids, and we were unfamiliar with The Tiger Rising, so it seemed like a pretty good opportunity. For this review, we received a special code to watch the movie (temporary – like a rental). I wasn’t able to figure out how to send it from my phone to the TV so we ended up watching it on the smaller screen, just me and the little kids (ages 9, 6, and 3).

About the film:

Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid star in this beloved tale based on the New York Times best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo. When 12-year-old Rob Horton (Christian Convery) discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May (Queen Latifah) and the stubborn new girl in school (Madalen Mills), he navigates through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures in this heartwarming adaptation.
You can watch the trailer on YouTube.
 
A family and faith discussion guide has also been put together for the film.
 
Our Thoughts:
 
My kids and I really liked this movie. It was exciting when the tiger showed up for the first time; I’d told Grasshopper (9) about the film, but not the other two, so they were really surprised to see a tiger n a cage. All through the movie, we kept pausing a bit to discuss, and it was a very valuable learning experience. I wish I’d had access through some sort of Roku channel so we could have watched on the TV instead of the phone, but it was good anyway. We loved watching Rob’s experiences as he moved through all the things he was going through and came out the other end of it all better than he started – a good lesson for people of all ages.
 
Make sure to watch the trailer, and see if The Tiger Rising is playing in a theater near you! And if it’s not (it was released in late January, so it might be out of many theaters by now), find it on your favorite streaming service. I know it’s one that we will likely rent and/or buy again in the future so we can show it to the rest of our family for movie night!
 
Blessings,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.