Review: Burton’s new fantasy builds magical home

Page Kimzey
Audio Editor

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" was released Sept. 30, with a $28.8 million opening weekend. Photo from http://www.foxmovies.com.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” was released Sept. 30, with a $28.8 million opening weekend. Photo from http://www.foxmovies.com.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is a PG-13 rated movie that came out on Sept. 30.

Directed by Tim Burton, the original book was written by Ransom Riggs for young adults, published in June of 2011.

Riggs originally wanted it to be a graphic novel so he could add photographs he had collected over the years but ended up using the photographs as a guide to write a narrative.

This book was placed in the #1 spot on the New York Times best seller award list, Children’s Chapter Book, in April 2012. It stayed there until May 2012 then dropped to fourth.

The film includes big name actors like Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in “the Avengers”) playing Mr. Barron, the antagonist and Eva Green (Artemisia in “300: Rise of an Empire”) who stars as the Miss Peregrine, the children’s caregiver. Rupert Everett (Dr. Claw in “Inspector Gadget”) also has a small role playing a form of Mr. Barron.

The plot of the film is the protagonist, Asa Butterfield (Jacob “Jake” Portman) goes on an adventure to discover if the stories told to him by his grandfather, Terence Stamp (Abraham “Abe” Portman) were true.

Most of these stories were about a children’s home in Wales where Abe spent some of his time. This home wasn’t for ordinary children but for “peculiar children,” meaning children who were different and had some sort of unique abilities or powers that were not safe for the real world.

Throughout Jake’s journey, he discovers the children’s home which his grandfather talked nonstop about, got to know the children and caregiver who live there and began to learn and understand their way of life.

Jake later is left to save the day when the hollows, monsters of the peculiar world, come to get the children and Miss Peregrine. Jake is the only one who can see these beasts and is left to defeat them all and save Miss Peregrine, who ends up being captured.

Film watchers will follow Jake as he learns to be a hero and falls in love throughout the span of the two-hour movie.
This movie is not a movie for families who have young children. Although this movie is not meant to be scary, Burton has added a couple jump scares and creepy looking characters, which could potentially scare some children. Burton is known for his creepy and dark films, so it would be assumed this film would follow the trend. This film is much lower “on that scale” than some of his other films as “Alice in Wonderland” or “Beetlejuice.”

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has received good rating since it was released on Sept. 30, and is a must see for anyone into Burton’s movies or enjoys unique story lines.

 


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