FRED: THE MOVIE (Nickelodeon, 2010)

Directed by Clay Weiner; teleplay by David A. Goodman; 80 minutes; comedy; ages 6-12.

Fred Figglehorn is an awkward—I repeat, awkward—teenager who's obsessed with Judy, his beautiful, blonde, and inexplicably British next-door neighbor. Despite the fact that she lives one house down, Fred can't work up the courage to knock on her door, partly because he's afraid of getting beat up by Kevin, the bully across the street who also has a crush on Judy. Finally, Fred uses a disguise to get past Kevin and up to Judy's door, only to discover that her family has moved. But where? At the insistence of his imaginary dad, played by WWE wrestler John Cena, Fred goes on a quest to find his "girlfriend."

Although Fred is technically a teenager, he's played by Lucas Cruikshank (who originally created the character for a series of YouTube videos) as if he's a hyperactive six-year-old, which is probably the average age of Fred's most ardent admirers. They're the ones who are most likely to appreciate his near-constant screaming and childish tantrums, though Cruikshank provides genuine laughs in a dual role as Derf, a stoic, monotone teen Fred meets on the bus—in other words, he's Fred's exact opposite. Saturday Night Live veteran Siobhan Fallon is also good as Fred's exhausted mom, and Jake Weary has impressive comic timing as Kevin, so the movie's not a complete wash for adults, but if you have kids who want to run Fred: The Movie on a constant loop, it's going to wear out its welcome sooner rather than later.

For further viewing, check out Tim Burton's directorial debut, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), whose title character's extreme man-child personality may not appeal to everyone, but at least he's surrounded by lots of great jokes and sight gags.

CAMP ROCK 2: THE FINAL JAM (Disney Channel, 2010)

Directed by Paul Hoen; teleplay by Dan Berendsen, Karin Gist, and Regina Y. Hicks; 97 minutes; musical; ages 8 and up.

In this sequel to the 2008 TV movie, a new camp called Camp Star has set up shop across the lake from the beloved Camp Rock. Because the rival camp offers counselors double what they've been making at Camp Rock, a mass defection takes place. Luckily, our spunky heroes from the first film, Mitchie (Demi Lovato) and the Gray brothers (played by the three Jonas brothers), stay behind to rally their campers and prepare them for Final Jam, a contest to see which camp has the most talent. Camp Star's owner, the sleazy Axel Turner, takes it one step farther, bringing in cameras to film the competition for TV. Now everyone's focused on winning instead of the joy of creating and performing music (boo!), with Camp Rock's financial fate hanging in the balance.

I watched this one with my nieces, ages six and four, who will practically watch anything on Disney Channel if it involves teenagers. They didn't react much, but hey, it kept them quiet, and I got to enjoy that peace and quiet while mildly admiring some of the choreography during Final Jam. Camp Rock 2's story is nothing to write home about (from camp or otherwise), but its message that camp should be about making lifelong friends and finding your niche rather than being pressured to win a contest is a positive one worth reinforcing.

For further viewing, check out Disney Channel's trilogy of High School Musical movies.