An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky (2013)

Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Some of the American Girl movies made in the past were way better than this one! What bothered me the most is that they use 11, 12, and 13 yr old actresses and say in the movie that they are NINE ! Really ??!! That is embarrassing and ridiculous !! Even my 9 yr old noticed that these girls are NOT 9 ! Not to mention that the characters in these newer AG movies are portrayed as super-ultra talented kids that are good at everything! The make-up even make them look more mature that they are in real life !How sad...

Sydney Fullmer plays the title role in this enchanting movie about dealing with problems in elementary school. In a time when plots in movies are either lame or non-existent, this movie is a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure a review can be written about THIS movie without SOME spoilers, but I will keep them to an absolute minimum. As with all American Girl movies, the focus is on the problems of 9 or 10 year old young girls. Again, as in all American Girl movies, the answer always involves believing in yourself and facing your fears. While this is simplistic in its solutions to difficult problems, the movie is off the charts in entertainment value. There is a lot of music and color to this movie. Since it centers around art, it captures the essence of artistic expression in a bold way in a number of areas.While I think a child could enjoy this movie alone, it is a magnificent teaching tool. A parent can easily use this movie as a springboard to teach young girls (or boys, although not the target audience) many things about morality, family and friendship. I highly encourage watching it with your child.I enjoyed the movie and the acting was superb. We will see if Sydney makes the jump from juvenile actress to Hollywood starlet. My guess is that she will. The script is well written and the lines don't have the read-from-teleprompter quality that you sometimes get from juvenile acting.I've seen Oscars go to actresses for lesser performances and I've seen movies win Oscars that were positively duds. This is an Oscar worthy movie with Oscar worthy acting. It is literally a film for the whole family.

I watched "Saige Paints the Sky" with my 14 year old son. (My little girl is 22...alas, so no young girl perspective!)WE enjoyed the movie (and it is quite suitable for any child to see) but...we also had fun marveling at the little girl geniuses who indeed "painted the sky" enough to raise...$5000 (in one stunning musical show) to SAVE Saige's school's visual arts program!My "theory" is that in the 1940s, Saige's GREAT grandma was one of the OVERachieving TEENS who sang and danced behind MGM superteen stars Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney. Somehow she transmitted SuperGenes to her great GrandDaughter Saige! Garland/Rooney starred in a series of early 1940s "Backyard Musicals". Super talented teens raised money to help someone...by QUICKLY throwing together a Broadway quality singing/dancing program--on a stage in someone's back yard. And surely 10 year old "Super" Saige (who paints horses at an adult skill level...who is able to quickly learn special horseriding techniques in order to lead the festival parade, Saige...who can give a quality press conference AND who can make a successful fundraising speech) is a marvel. Saige's school must be the unofficial FAME style magnet school for the Southwest! One of her 10 year old friends writes the songs for a Musical these 10 year old girls will quickly throw together. A couple other friends can sing great American Idol quality harmony...and only await the call to go on StarSearch. These game 10 year olds will dance great dances in the great musical scene number--with fabulously lit artsy sets worthy of any Broadway show. Unseen elementary school 10 year old geniuses include...the kids who were able to move and arrange about 15' high painted art panels onto the school state, and the other people (again 10 year olds???) who did the marvelous backlighting. Yes, the movie and its precocious kids are too much for some of us (Particularly my 14 year old son who made snide comments throughout the movie). But the movie, tho unbelievable, is quite enjoyable! And it's nice to see stylishly (tho modestly) dressed girls...OVERachieve...

This latest American Girl outing remains true to the spirit of American Girl, and sticks to the same atmosphere of their recent "Girl of the Year" movies, in another example of quality children's entertainment that is seldom seen on the market these days. There is a sweet, gentle, and ultimately uplifting quality to all the American Girl movies, and Saige is no exception.The simple story of nine-year-old Saige and her efforts to save the art program at her school is carried out quite nicely, with several tender moments and a beautifully colorful production design. As it is with the other American Girl movies, what starts out as a sweet, simple story actually develops into a heartwarming tale that is sure to empower its youthful audience (and maybe some grown-ups, as well).American Girl deserves all the praise it can get for creating empowering, uplifting entertainment that has far more depth and craft and substance than most of the standard children's fare. Saige Paints the Sky is an example of wholesome, innocent storytelling that does more than just keep the kids occupied for an hour and a half. As with all the American Girl movies, it gives girls (or anyone) something to think about and aspire to long after the movie is over.