Books on screen

The Boxcar Children

 I probably read this book a dozen times as a kid. It appeals to many for it's portrayal of kids who take care of themselves, much like My Side of the Mountain in that respect actually. I was both pleased and apprehensive when I discovered that it had been made into a movie. Plot wise, it's relatively true to the novel. A few things have been modernized (no references to things like dishes being girls' work, physical labor for boys) and the characters mostly remain together where Henry often does things separately and describes it to the others in the book. My bigger complaint about this movie is the visual quality. The animation is rough, blocky. The voices don't really sync to the mouth movements. It;s basically the definition of low budget. I found that distracting. So, a decent story but don't expect much visually. Worth a view if you have Netflix Streaming.