Jake T. Austin Movies
New York City native Jake T. Austin entered filmdom as a preteen actor; like many who achieved stardom in the 2000s before the age of 13, Austin owed much of his celebrity to The Disney Channel, whose producers made him a veritable fixture on many of their series. Austin's star shone particularly brightly with his role as mischievous, superpower-laden Max Russo on the Disney fantasy series Wizards of Waverly Place. He then moved into features, specializing (unsurprisingly) in family-friendly fare; assignments included a role voicing a character in 2006's The Ant Bully, a supporting turn in the sports-themed docudrama The Perfect Game (2008), and a role as an orphan who hides numerous dogs in an abandoned hotel in the comedy Hotel for Dogs (2009). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Adapted from author Lois Duncan's 1971 children's book of the same name, director Thor Freudenthal's Hotel for Dogs follows two mischievous orphans as they attempt to hide dozens of stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. Disheartened by their new guardians' announcement that pets are strictly forbidden, 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin), race to find a home for their loyal dog Friday. Fortunately for Friday, there's an abandoned hotel just around the corner, and Bruce possesses just the kind of mechanical smarts needed to transform the rundown inn into a four-star retreat for canines. For a while, Friday and his friends have it made, but when the neighbors start to get suspicious, Andi and Bruce resort to every trick in the book in order to prevent their secret from being discovered. Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, and Lisa Kudrow star in a family-friendly film penned by screenwriter Jeff Lowell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, (more)
- 2009
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When Alex (Selena Gomez) ruins a family vacation by accidentally casting a horrible spell on her loved ones, Max (Jake T. Austin) works overtime to keep his parents from separating while Alex and Justin (David Henrie) seek out the "Stone of Dreams" in a desperate race to reverse the curse. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Selena Gomez, David Henrie, (more)
- 2008
- PG
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William Dear (Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann) helms the period baseball drama The Perfect Game, a cinematization of real-life events that transpired in 1957. Clifton Collins Jr. stars as Cesar Faz, a 1950s baseball player who immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. with the intent of making it as a Major League player. After encountering racism and hostility that stand squarely in the way of his success, Faz high-tails it south of the border and decides instead to coach a Little League team, ultimately guiding it all the way to the Little League World Series. The film co-stars Emilie de Ravin (Lost); W. William Winokur authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Collins, Jr., Cheech Marin, (more)
A sequel to the made for cable Disney movie Johnny Tsunami, Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board begins with respected teen surfer and skateboarder Johnny Kapahala (Brandon Baker) traveling to Hawaii to attend his grandfather's wedding. He soon becomes embroiled in a feud with his new twelve-year old uncle, a boy who enjoys his status as a member of the Dirt Devils, a group of kids who have invented a new sport - dirtboarding. Soon the Dirt Devils are doing everything in their power to drive the grandfather's successful surfing business to close its doors. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brandon Baker, Robyn Lively, (more)
A young baseball fan sets out on a cross-country quest to recover Babe Ruth's stolen bat and restore his father's good name in a computer animated family adventure that shows you're never too young to be a hero. Yankee Irving (voice of Jake T. Austin) may not be the best base-runner in his neighborhood, but his love of the game is about to lead him on the adventure of a lifetime when a legendary baseball bat is stolen from Yankee stadium on his father's watch. Now determined to get back the bat from the crooked security guard who swiped it (voice of William H. Macy) and place it back in the grip of the best hitter in baseball history, young Yankee is about to find out just what it's really like to walk out on the diamond to the sounds of a thousand cheering fans. Filmed under the title Yankee Irving and originally slated to be directed by the late Christopher Reeve, Everyone's Hero was completed by directors Colin Brady and Dan St. Pierre when Reeve passed away as the result of a heart attack in 2004, and features additional voice work by actors Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Patinkin, Raven, the late Dana Reeve, Rob Reiner, and Brian Dennehy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
A kid who hates ants finds himself living among the six-legged critters in this computer-animated comedy-adventure. Lucas Nickle (voice of Zach Tyler Eisen) is a ten-year-old boy whose family has just moved to a new town, and Lucas isn't enjoying it much -- he hasn't made any friends yet, his big sister ignores him, his parents (voices of Larry Miller and Cheri Oteri) are occupied with their upcoming vacation in Mexico, and his loving but slightly crazy grandmother (voice of Lily Tomlin) is convinced space aliens are casing out the neighborhood. To make matters worse, the local bully has found Lucas and is making his life miserable, so the boy looks for someone he can push around -- and he soon finds a large colony of ants in his yard. Lucas takes out his frustrations by stomping, drowning, and burying the bugs, little realizing the ants see him as a threat to their safety and aren't about take his attacks lying down. Zoc (voice of Nicolas Cage) is a "wizard ant" who creates a formula that shrinks Lucas to the size of an insect, and the tiny boy is brought before the leader of the Ant Council (voice of Ricardo Montalban) and the Queen of the Colony (voice of Meryl Streep) to answer for his crimes against the ants. Showing compassion, the queen sentences Lucas not to death, but to live among them and see how difficult their circumstances can be. Nurse Ant Hova (voice of Julia Roberts) is put in charge of looking after Lucas, and with the help of Scout Fugax (voice of Bruce Campbell) and Forager Kreela (voice of Regina King), Lucas gets an eye-opening picture of how the other half lives -- just in time for Lucas to help the ants in an all-out battle against Stan (voice of Paul Giamatti), a pest-control man brought in to get rid of the bugs. Produced by Tom Hanks, The Ant Bully was written and directed by John A. Davis, who handled the same chores on the film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, (more)
