Genre: Comedy/Sci-fi/Adventure
Age range: Tweens (ages 9-14)
Network: Disney Channel
DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008
Minutemen - Summary
What kind of a difference can one moment make to someone's future? and What would be the outcome if that one moment never happened? After trying to do the right thing and getting totally mocked for it, Virgil has the rest of high school to contemplate these kinds of questions. One event that occurred when High School began leaves Virgil stranded on the sidelines as his best friends, Derek and Stephanie, become popular.
Hanging out with the nerds has an advantage, though, as Virgil finds out when his young and highly intelligent friend Charlie reveals an invention that could change everything - a time machine. Charlie and Virgil enlist the help of a mechanically minded outcast named Zeke, and together the three perfect the machine and embark on a mission. Calling themselves the "Minutemen," they travel back in time to seek justice for the socially challenged and turn the tables on the popular kids. The three misfits begin to feel like heroes, but will the unintended consequences be worth it?
Photo © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
Minutemen - Guide Review for Parents
Kids will enjoy and relate relate to this funny spoof on the high school social structure. Minutemen stars some favorite Disney Channel actors, and the movie puts forth a positive moral about friendship and integrity.
The film centers around school and the social structure, so there is a lot of talk about being popular and about nerds and other types of social outcasts. The popular kids are often mean and play several practical jokes at the expense of others. The Minutemen attempt to right these wrongs, and sometimes the popular kids end up getting humiliated, but the Minutemen seem more intent on protecting the innocent than on seeking revenge.
Parents should also know that in one scene football players dress two boys in cheerleader outfits complete with makeup. Also, there is a love triangle in the movie, and one boy cheats on his girlfriend by kissing another girl.
Minutemen - Discuss the Movie
- How can the desire to be popular get in the way of friendship? What is true friendship and what value does it have over popularity?
- Some things that happen seem bad at the time, but turn out to be good in the end. How did Virgil's bad experience at the beginning of high school turn out to be a good thing? What would be different for him if that event had never occurred?
- Why do some kids pick on and humiliate others? Does this happen in real life just like in the movie? How should kids respond when they are being picked on? What responsibility do we have to stick up for others who are being picked on?
Photo © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
Minutemen - DVD Bonus Features
- "Run it Back Again" Music Video: Performed by Corbin Bleu (High School Musical 2, Jump In!)
- The Making of Minutemen: A Trip Back in Time
