If you have kids and you’re looking for something to do after doing your part to support the victims of Haiti, look to Tooth Fairy and a hand full of other films in theaters now that will lift the spirits and get the giggles going. I know what you’re saying, too. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has gone soft starring as a hockey player gone fairy. But don’t let the pink tutu fool you. They’re just wrestling tights, or in this case, hockey tights, but of a different kind.

Tooth Fairy

You can take the man out of the wrestling ring but you can’t take the wrestling ring out of the man. Or so the saying might go as one time WWE Wrestling pro Johnson hams it up in this funny fish-out-of-water Disney-like film. Johnson who plays a majors-to-minors hockey player named Derek Thompson doesn’t believe in Tooth Fairies though they call him The Tooth since his job as a hockey player is to check opponents so hard they lose their teeth. In the crowd, fans fight for loose teeth like foul-tipped or homerun baseballs. But when he professes his disbelief of The Tooth Fairy, or dreams in general, to young believers he receives a summons from the Department of the Dissemination of Disbelief. There, he is scolded by Fairy Godmother, Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music (1976)) and is fined hard time as a real tooth fairy in punishment for his harsh “lower your expectations kid” speeches.

Though Johnson is stiff and robotic in most of the film’s dramatic scenes, 1980s and 90s star screenwriters Lowell Gantz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash (1984), Spies Like Us (1985) A League of Their Own (1992), City Slickers (1991), Parenthood (1989)) give The Rock some funny slapstick episodes with fairy dust and wings. They also give him some comic repartee with Tracey, his bean-pole, wide-eyed elfin sidekick played by Stephen Merchant (co-creator and star of the original The Office). Though it wanders into familiar territory at times the writers I feel provide the winning edge here.

Also starring Ashley Judd (Kiss the Girls (1997), Double Jeopardy (1999), De-Lovely (2004)) as the cute love interest Carly whose two children Tooth Thompson feels he has to “put up with.” Especially her precocious teen son Randy who tells Thompson, “he’s just like all the other guys that try to date his mom.” But after some endearing moments and some hard knocks on the ice AND while stealing teeth, Thompson comes around…like most Disney characters do. Though it is not Disney. Produced by Walden Media and 20th Century Fox, it feels like the Disney films of the 70s—Bednobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), Freaky Friday (1976). It has hints of a certain magical quality that both kids and parents can enjoy and I recommend it as an afternoon family film to see. Rated PG at 101 minutes. For kids twelve and under. Also stars Billy Crystal and Seth McFarland.

The Spy Next Door

The Spy Next Door is another one I recommend for the kids ages twelve and under. Parents will enjoy this “Jackie Chan-lite” film. Chan at age 55 still does his own stunts, but not all of them as the end credits will show, in this family film literally about the spy next door. Chan is a Chinese agent named Bob on loan to the U.S. government who is dating his next door neighbor Gillian played by Amber Valetta (Hitch (2005)). She has three kids that Bob ends up watching while mom’s out of town. They don’t like Bob and do everything they can to thwart his good naturedness. Problem is he’s Jackie Chan, and he has spy gadgets in conjunction with those masterful martial arts skills which he uses in a comical way to keep tabs on and wrangle in the kids. But there’s a bad guy too, Poldark played to comedic proportion by Icelandic athlete and children’s TV producer Magnus Scheving. He wants a formula that eats up petroleum, and if he gets his hands on it he will control the World’s oil supply. Bob and his U.S. counterparts played by Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez are out to protect the formula, which Bob has in a secret place. Once the kids accidentally get a hold of it, then they too are hunted by Poldark. Jackie Chan purists might scoff at this one, but parents looking for an action film for the kids will enjoy. The characters written for Cyrus and Lopez are humiliatingly underdeveloped and flat but that just keeps Chan’s character, who shares the music, food, and language of his culture with the kids, in the spotlight. Rated PG with running time of 94 minutes.

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

I say this one’s for anyone who wants to see cute, furry animals interact with humans. No, I’m not talking about Avatar though I’ll say the animation-to-live-action ratio is better in The Squeakquel than it is in Avatar, and I’m not kidding. The fur looks amazingly real and the little guys are so convincing as original purveyors of the Auto Tune gimmick that you forget they’re animated. The Squeakquel teams up all the characters from the first Chipmunks film (2007), including Chipmunks custodian Dave played by Jason Lee (Vanilla Sky (2001), My Name is Earl (2005-2009), The Incredibles (2004)), and funny bad guy Ian played by David Cross (The Ben Stiller Show (1994), The Cable Guy (1996), The Colbert Report (2005-2007). Ian, banished from his record label and living out of the garbage cans and basement of his former employer, discovers and exploits a female singing group version of the boy Chipmunks. They’re cute and spunky and can sing all the top 40 songs of the day. The film also has Alvin and the “kids” going to high school where the subplot is akin to Can’t Buy Me Love (1987) with the division of cool kids and the not so cool kids, and enticement always from the more popular cool side. It puts a wedge between the guys and it takes a few hard lessons of loyalty and honesty before they re-discover their brotherly love of each other, and the strength of three as opposed to one when it comes to saving the girls from their new, evil manager. Zachary Levi (Chuck 2007-2010) does an excellent Toby Seville, Dave’s socially inept younger brother still living at home with Mom and helping out as Dave is left immobile by a Chipmunk-caused accident. Rated PG with several genuinely funny moments, and featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Anna Farris, Christina Applegate, Jesse McCartney, and Justin Long.

Extraordinary Measures

This one’s for the older kids, ages thirteen and up and would probably make for an educational class field trip. While there’s very little comedy, it does go a long way in showing us how sacrifice, hard work, and determination by smart people who care can make a difference. Produced by and starring Harrison Ford and being oversold by CBS Films, it’s a made for TV film on the big screen, or so it feels like one, that tells the true story of a family’s willingness to risk everything to find a cure for POMPE disease. John and Aileen Crowley played by Brendan Frasier and Keri Russell, have two children who suffer from the syndrome which leaves a life expectancy of about nine years. The ticking clock here is that their oldest is 8-years-old. Ford plays an amalgamation of real scientists who worked to find a solution as chronicled in the book by Geeta Anand, The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million and Bucked the Medical Establishment in a Quest to Save His Children. The plot is simple and has the classic Cinderella structure—something good happens that moves us forward two steps, then something of conflict sets us back a step. It moves this way until we meet step for step at the film’s crescendo. It’s a decent film for young minds but also one of limitations that could wait for TV or DVD. Rated PG with a running time of 105 minutes.

Also Still In Theaters

The Disney kids friendly The Princess and the Frog with voices by Oprah Winfrey and Terrance Howard, which I haven’t seen yet but hear good things about, is still in theaters as are the films for teens-and-older The Blind Side and Avatar, both PG-13. Sandra Bullock has won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Acting in The Blind Side, while Avatar won Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Picture. Frog was nominated for a Globe. All three will probably make appearances at this year’s Oscars.