The Odd Life of Timothy Green (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

¨Please don't ask about my leaves.¨ I'm generally a fan of Disney family movies and don't mind when they get overly sentimental or extremely sweet as long as the characters have depth and the story rings authentic. The problem I had with The Odd Life of Timothy Green wasn't that it was too emotional or sweet, but rather that the story never felt authentic. I know the story is fictional, but even so I never believed the father and son relationship, and the movie really never connected with me. Like the title suggests it felt too odd and weird. I enjoyed Peter Hedges previous movie (Dan in Real Life). He is mostly known of course for writing the screenplay for What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Hedges definitely has a lot of talent, but this film just failed to connect with me. In my opinion it is one of his weakest efforts. He adapted the screenplay from Ahmet Zappa's story. I really wouldn't watch this film again even though I liked the actors. I loved Joel Edgerton in Warrior and Jennifer Garner is a well liked actress. CJ Adams did a very good job in the title role as Timothy, but as much as I liked these actors I never enjoyed the story. Everything seemed so disconnected from reality and I couldn't find any character with depth. It was like if they were in a rush to tell the story and they never stopped to focus on the relationships that were being built.The film begins by introducing us to a young couple from Stanleyville (the pencil capital of the world) who is trying to adopt a kid. Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim Green (Joel Edgerton) are being interviewed in order to see if they are qualified and thus they begin to narrate the story about the boy who changed their lives: Timothy. The entire film is told in flashback style while the couple is in the interview. They story begins with them in the doctor's office where they are given the bad news that they will never be able to have children. That night they arrive home devastated by the news, but Jim decides to dream for one last night about their child. They begin to name several qualities that child would have and they write them down. After coming up with several qualities they put them inside a box and bury it in their backyard garden. That night a strong storm hits their home and they wake up to a strange sound in the house. They discover a young boy named Timothy (CJ Adams) who has leaves growing out of his ankles. Timothy calls them mom and dad, and that is when Jim and Cindy discover that their dream child has grown out of their garden. Timothy teaches them several lessons about life and parenting. He also falls in love with a young girl named Joni (Odeya Rush) who helps him to adopt to the new life. A few surprises happen along the way as Timothy meets the rest of the family and town members. He inspires and changes the lives of Jim and Cindy forever.As much as I wanted to like this family friendly movie I couldn't. The film lacked authenticity or at least a sense of minimal believability in a fairytale. I liked CJ Adams performance, but his character wasn't really well developed either. He was a little too odd and I never felt the connection between him and his parents. This is yet another movie that seems to tell us that children are wiser than their parents, but I will make an exception here because we were dealing with a miraculous kid. There is not much more I can say about this film, you either love it or hate it. With me it failed to make any connection whatsoever, but it is a sweet family friendly film. I didn't find it to be very emotional although it does try to be a tearjerker. It never reached that emotional level or touching moment that I was hoping for.

Ok, I will admit to being something of a Jennifer Garner fan. She is an awesome actress and from what I see, she is also just a really nice person. I would love to sit down and get to know her some time. But I like this movie not only for Jennifer Garner, but for the fact it is creative and original instead of just a remake of a plot that Hallmark has already done a few hundred times. It also has great family values and shows the difference one person with a kind spirit can make in an entire community. I loved the movie even though I would have written the ending differently. Definitely a good family night movie!

I had read many reviews for Timothy and well followed all pre- release information available before its release and was more than eager to finally see it.Many said it was too sappy, I say..it wasn't sappy enough. Everytime you wanted to care it was almost as if they pulled back, sort of like why didn't Lassie ever kiss Timmy? Why was that; dog too good, boy too bad or the trainer didn't allow? Watch the original with Roddy McDowell, rip your guts out but that damn dog didn't kiss, (lick) Roddy once, wasn't he deserving of that love? That's what I felt watching this you wanted to love 'Timothy', you wanted him to be their dream child and for them to have him forever but at every turn it was like don't care too much, don't become attached to him and what was up with that soccer game? If it wasn't for that girl caring for him I'd have thought the beauty of Timothy's surprise appearance had been totally wasted on those to who he appeared. I knew when the leaves started falling we were going to lose him, and the tale of how his leaves were given and to whom was one of the sweetest parts of the movie; you saw Timothy's heart there. You'll have to watch this yourself and maybe you won't feel deprived of what could have been but I'll tell you this; that little wonder who played Timothy, I hope the next director who works with him lets him fly and fly right.

This movie is a poignant reminder that life is precious and to be very thankful for the people you love in your life. It was worthwhile and touching although not necessarily a "kids" movie. That isn't a bad thing though.My oldest child, nearly 9, was sad after this movie. He had a hard time going to bed and is actually falling asleep in my bed as I type. He is the sensitive type though and is deeply affected by other people's pain. The couple in the movie that were unable to conceive their own child showed a lot of emotion and heartbreak in this movie. There were plenty of funny and touching parts as well. There is a death of an older family member. While there is nothing in this movie that is offensive, sensitive persons may be saddened by it somewhat. That said, I will recommend it to most anyone.My younger children, ages 7 and 5, were completely fine and able to go to bed without an issue. It might be too much for anyone feeling raw from infertility issues however, so keep that in mind. (The movie UP was very upsetting to me on some levels because the couple had issues conceiving and I had been through similar pain however, I still love that movie.)

The film is about a magical pre-adolescent boy whose personality and naïveté have profound effects on the people in his town. He is "born" to a childless couple who have learned that they cannot have a child of their own.This delightful Disney story is touching and the plot is endearing.The story is told through the eyes of Cindy, who works in the town's local museum, and Jim, who is employed at the town's historic pencil factory, reside in the drought-stricken town of Stanleyville, North Carolina. They explain their experience with Timothy in an effort to persuade an adoption agency to allow the couple to adopt a child.Does sharing the story with the adoption agency work?See for yourself.You will love the movies if you are a big fan of Jennifer Garner and even if you are not.

This is a typical Disney fantasy, delightfully executed, but sadly too predictable too often. This incident (to avoid a spoiler) in the football game was too long drawn out for something that was inevitable from the start. But don't take it too seriously, and it is a good family fun film.

Recommended to me by my grandson. This is a bit of an oddity, a bit sickly in some places and the parents were difficult to believe in. Very "Disney", which of course it was. A few touching moments too, though. Good price, quite quick delivery, disc in good shape. Thank you.

Very interesting, made you think about how you yourself treated people who are somewhat different to yourself. Also made you think how others might think of you. Thank you :) :) :)

Well I had to buy it becuase it is Disney and we try and buy them all.When reading the summary I wwas then really looking forward to it. It is a really lovely story and I thoroughly enjoyed it however I thought there was something missing and that it could have been better. My 8 year old daughter however loves it and has watched it at least 5 times since we bought it last week.

I loved this story with A message, and a great cast. How some things can brighten the most sad lives around us.