The Pitch
A bunch of kids on vacation in Maine discover that aliens have invaded their house. One of the four-armed little critters is adorable and adoptable (remember "Gremlins"?), but his sharp-toothed buddies ... not so much. Naturally, it's up to the youngsters to defend their parents and the world from these extraterrestrial nasties.

The Scoop
Directed by the John Schultz who stupefied us with "The Honeymooners" and written by Mark Burton ("Madagascar"), this one's strictly for baby-sitting kidlets too square for "E.T." or even "Gremlins" -- if such can be found.

The Pitch
If you've ever felt bad about the Navy using dolphins to track underwater mines, you'll go ballistic when you see what kinds of beasties they've engineered for espionage in this Disney tale: genius guinea pigs! An I.T. mole! And a recon fly called Mooch! Is it even necessary to mention that the fate of the world depends on this motley crew of unlikely heroes?

The Scoop
The sophomore directing effort by the Oscar-winning Yeatman, responsible for visual effects from "Armageddon" to "Underdog," "G-Force" is graced by a raft of wonderfully idiosyncratic voices -- especially Morgan's unmistakable slur -- and impeccable CGI. Its success depends on how many little people can be lured into watching the outrageous adventures of furry rodents -- and a mosquito.

The Pitch
Shattered by his mom's recent death, a little boy, Will (Max Morrow), imprints emotionally on a goose that happens to be able to talk. Unfortunately, his feathered friend is being fattened for a Christmas cook-off. Will and friends devise an insane plot to save the garrulous honker from the pot.

The Scoop
Not much good news to report here. Shelved since 2006, this "Goose" is most probably a turkey. Although the idea ostensibly was to enable some kind of Chevy Chase comedy comeback -- "Fletch" plays the heartless principal jonesing to eat the kid's bird-buddy -- that ship has long since sailed. And why were Brit A-listers Joan Plowright and James Purefoy -- the latter of whom was stellar as Mark Antony in HBO's marvelously decadent "Rome" -- slumming in this goose grease? Alas, my friends, I fear we shall never know -- or even care to know -- the backstory of "Goose on the Loose."

The Pitch
During Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, the young wizard continues to study up for a final confrontation with Voldemort, though his attention is somewhat distracted by romance -- his as well as the seething adolescent affections of Ron and Hermione.

The Scoop
Is Pottermania still alive? Seems like we've been enrolled at Hogwarts years and years -- almost all of the 21st century so far. Aren't our wizard-scholars at least 40 by now? Maybe they're all Benjamin Buttons. Anyway, Quidditch and spells and potions and dire doings continue apace, with Dean Dumbledore calling in old friend Professor Horace Slughorn (Broadbent) to lend a hand in the endless gearing-up for the fight with Voldemort (Fiennes -- he should only be as lethally funny as he was as an extremely bad guy in "In Bruges," one of the best films of 2008). Harry Potter fan base: Here's this year's reason for living, "Deathly Hallows" is to come.

The Pitch
Love is in the Ice Age air: Manny's about to be a dad, Scrat's fallen for a saber-toothed squirrel who's a real femme fatale and Sid's dream of parenthood inspires him to -- gasp! -- steal some dinosaur eggs. Enter a one-eyed weasel who obsessively stalks big game -- dinos!

The Scoop
The gang's back, as irresistibly animated (and distinctively voiced) as ever, up for more adventures, this time underground -- where dinosaurs stay warm. Say, is this prehistory for real?

The Pitch
Murphy plays an executive type who can't take time to smell the roses -- or pay some attention to his adorable 6-year-old daughter (Shahidi). Then he discovers that nifty business solutions are hidden in her drawings of an imaginary world -- and his failing career soon takes an upturn. But will he learn to love the kid for herself, not just as a corporate asset?

The Scoop
Another family-friendly comedy in which Murphy will offend no one, while jerking tears, smiles and sentiment from undemanding audiences. His last comedy, "Meet Dave," had its ha-ha moments, but pretty much disappeared like cotton candy, earning disappointing bucks at the box office. If I were given to shrinking heads, I'd have to wonder why Mr. Murphy keeps his brilliantly nasty, satiric self under wraps, armoring up in fatsuits, assorted disguises and tapioca roles.

The Pitch
A poignant variation on Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid," this primary-colored fable by the eternally inventive Japanese animation-master Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle") unspools the story of a little fish -- her father's a sorcerer and mom rules as the Queen of the Sea -- who loves a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke (voiced by Hiroki Doi). Can Ponyo (voiced by Yuria Nara) become a human child, despite dangerous consequences?

The Scoop
No one rivals Miyazaki's work in traditional cel animation; what he visualizes is both gorgeous and challenging, even disturbing. There's pleasure in his films for grown-ups as well as kids. (His masterpiece "Princess Mononoke" evokes visually primal mythology to show nature's decline as a result of humankind's machinations.) If you're given to blindfolding children from anything but the most benign realities, you'll deprive your offspring of Miyazaki's highly idiosyncratic and exquisitely drawn worlds -- though such excursions might actually encourage their little psyches to grapple with and exorcize what scares them. Our advice: See anything by Miyazaki and be glad that such a visionary is still working.

The Pitch
Eleven-year-old Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) lives in a suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for Mr. Black's BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Inc. Not much for a kid to do, until Toe gets beaned by a rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes. Soon Black Falls is teeming with the bizarre results of misguided wishes.

The Scoop
Bouncing from "Spy Kids" to the blood-'n'-guts of "Planet Terror" ("Grindhouse") to "Shorts" suggests a certain creative schizophrenia on the part of director Rodriguez, who, like his erstwhile friend Tarantino, merges a kid-style energy with a very adult-movie sensibility. The key to his series of short takes in this shake-up-the-status-quo fairy tale is clearly "Be careful what you wish for." Could be quirky fun, with Spader as a "Black" villain and Macy channeling oddball Dr. Noseworthy.