This listing is for Who Stole My Voice? DVD Feature Films for Families New SEALED.

Actors: Ricky Mabe, Elisha Cuthbert, Sophie Lorain, Carl Marotte, Fatuma Kayembe, Emma & Sally Isherwood, George Takei

Director: Timothy J. Nelson

Producers: Forrest S. Baker III, Micheline Charest, Ronald A Weinberg

Writers: Timothy J. Nelson

MPAA rating: Unrated (Not Rated)

Media Format: Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC

Run time: 1 hour and 39 minutes

Release date: 2007

Studio: Feature Films For Families; Rekab Sudskany LLC

Number of discs: 1

Condition: New, Factory Sealed    

This G-rated film (re-released in 2007 after initially being titled "Who Gets The House" in 1999) is billed as family-friendly, although very young kids may get a bit bored. It's more geared towards tweens and teenagers who are old enough to start thinking about crushes, misunderstandings, and the nature of friendship. The movie was made in the late 1990s but even years later, it doesn't seem too outdated. It's set in Minnesota, where four children begin to suspect that their parents' relationship is in trouble. Their worst fears are confirmed when their parents announce that they will be separating. What makes this otherwise-sad development watchable is that the four siblings in the story are genuinely fond of each other, and have a lively sense of humor. Elisha Cuthbert and Ricky Mabe as the oldest sister and brother have most of the lines and emotional range (a very different dynamic from their roles in "Believe"), though the two younger kids deliver sound performances, too. All the children have a chance to show distinct personalities, which is a pleasant change from shows where the kids don't really have a chance to stand out.

Also there's the bonus of George Takei as Elliot, the family's contractor/handyman/babysitter, which in itself is worth the price of the DVD. (At the time this film was made he hadn't come out yet, though in retrospect there's a scene involving table decorations that made me laugh out loud.) We also get to see Mabe and Cuthbert's friend Jay Baruchel, but in a rather minor role. Unfortunately the filmmakers opted for the standard Hollywood approach, where the children's elaborate scheme to get their parents back together is a big success -- even though there are hints that the mom and dad are starting to become interested in other people. It's a very well-meant message, but there are some downsides. If you preferred "Mrs. Doubtfire" or even "Kramer vs. Kramer" in divorce-themed films, which focused on how the parents and children changed and learned from their experiences, and managed to evolve into a new kind of family - this part might be a bit of a disappointment. Although it's conventional for a story to focus on how to stop a couple from splitting up, divorce happens often enough that it shouldn't be perceived as some kind of moral failing, or the end of the world. As entertaining as these "disaster averted" movies can be, by having the kids be the ones who step in to save the day, it may leave very young or impressionable viewers with the feeling that they could have tried harder to keep their parents together. And that would be a pity, because as the film itself emphasizes more than once, it's not right to blame the kids in any way for relationships ending. (At least the film didn't try to make the parents' new love interests out to be the villains ... one point in the story's favour is that there aren't any trumped-up baddies in it, except possibly the school bully.)

One of the things I liked about this film was how it dealt with science. Mabe's character Brian is intelligent but in a believable way - he doesn't spout jargon or get so absorbed in his work that he's unapproachable. Brian's one of the most credible fictional scientists I've seen onscreen, because he's so normal and well-adjusted -- even if in his youthful enthusiasm he doesn't always think about consequences (like how his sister would feel about being involved in an experiment without her knowledge). What impressed me was that unlike many other movies that incorporate scientific inventions, Brian's not just demonstrating a gee-whiz gadget, but thinking ahead to the types of problems that he could investigate with it. In this case, how to get past the fact that a lot of people's behavior towards each other is based on preconceptions that may be wrong - something that's become even more relevant since the film was made, with the rise of social networking and internet dating.

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