Finally, a film that explores the challenges and insecurities facing middle school girls minus an overabundance of attitude.Alice Upside Down, based on the bookThe Agony of Aliceby Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, is the story of Alice (Alyson Stoner), an insecure 6th grader who's mother died several years ago who's just moved to a new town where she'll be entering middle school. A magnet for embarrassing moments, Alice's first meetings with her neighbor Elizabeth (Parker McKenna Posey) and soon-to-be-classmate Patrick (Dylan McLaughlin) are hardly omens of a smooth introduction to middle school. Worse yet, the first day of school finds Alice enrolled in nightmare teacher Mrs. Plotkin's (Penny Marshall) homeroom class, at odds with the school principal, and saddled with a derogatory nickname that threatens to stick. Like many adolescents, Alice deals with her self-doubt by fantasizing about encounters in which she's confident and popular and by shutting out her father Ben (Luke Perry) and her older brother Lester (Lucas Grabeel). As Alice struggles to find her place in middle school, she matures both emotionally and socially and her relationships with her family, friends, and teacher Mrs. Plotkin begin to change and grow in positive ways.  What's so refreshing aboutAlice Upside Downis that the film truly captures the insecurities of being an 11-year-old about to enter middle school without the abundance of teen attitude so popular in contemporary films. Alice is the adolescent every parent hopes for--she's a real, likeable kid who's changing and maturing into a strong young woman. (Ages 7 and older)--Tami HoriuchiStills fromAlice Upside Down(Click for larger image)BeyondAlice Upside DownThe book that started it allThe newest book in the Alice seriesMore from Anchor Bay