I thought this was a great movie with great Disney moments. I had more of an emotional reaction than my daughter did but a good movie hits at all levels. The message was odd for me as a mom - telling the daughter to rebel against the mother (but it wasn't her real mother so it was okay!) but overall I think it is a great discussion movie as well.
I may have appreciated it more than my kids. Disney got it so right - all of the 'Disney' elements that make it their movie - father and friend die (but it is not long and drawn out), cool trippy song and dance routine, clever plot twist and some very funny lines.
I was very disappointed with this movie. My family and I loved! the book and were really looking forward to seeing the movie. I especially was because I loved the book so much. I almost fell asleep in the movie b/c it felt so long. It was not true to the book in that they added unecessary elements and minimized other parts of the book that I felt were important to the story. My kids and husband liked it and we did have a conversation relating it to the Hanukkah story. The animation was amazing and I did like the animation within animation but overall, I would not recommend paying for it.