When you're 12 years old, it's hard to know who you are and what you want to be, but one thing's for certain: you can't fight what comes naturally. In Ace's (Josh Flitter) case, it's an affinity for animals and an overwhelming desire to reunite lost pets with their grieving owners. When neighborhood pets go missing and then Ace's mom (Ann Cusack) is arrested for allegedly stealing a rare Chinese panda, Ace promises his mom that he'll try to be a normal kid and stop sleuthing for lost animals. When Ace's eccentric, animal-loving Grandpa comes to take care of him, Ace discovers that his father was also a pet detective and heeds his Grandfather's advice to "be who you are meant to be."  No way can Ace stay out of the pet detective game now--especially since the lackluster efforts of law enforcement mean it's up to him to get his mom acquitted. He teams up with his neighbor and adolescent crush Laura (Emma Lockhart) and the brainy A-Plus (Austin Rogers) and they set out to find out who stole the rare panda and their schoolmates' pets. While their methods are unprofessional and sometimes downright nonsensical, their investigations are effective. This children's remake of Jim Carrey's 1994 classicAce Ventura: Pet Detectivestays true to its inspiration with an abundance of slapstick comedy and a rather shallow plot and Josh Flitter does a good job with the comic role of Ace Ventura Jr. Children ages 5 to 12 will findAce Ventura: Pet Detectiveentertaining and funny and their parents will appreciate the homage to the original, as well as the encouragement to be true to oneself. A multitude of brief special features include a gag reel, extended scenes, and six separate making-of segments highlighting the actors, animals, and trainers and their relationships with one another.--Tami Horiuchi