“North” is truly one of the strangest children’s movies ever made. It was directed by Rob Reiner (“This Is Spinal Tap”) and has an all-star cast. There are some funny ideas in here but there are also so moments that are so deeply uncomfortable that I question the motives of those involved in this picture.

North (Elijah Wood “Forever Young”) is a talented young boy that feels underappreciated by his parents (Jason Alexander “Pretty Woman”, Julia Louis-Dreyfus “Enough Said”). He takes them to court where it is ruled that North may travel the world in search of new parents. Along the way, he is guided by a mysterious man (Bruce Willis “Die Hard”).

Let me start off by saying that Elijah Wood is actually pretty good here. Unfortunately, the material is just not consistent. Bruce Willis is just awful here; he looks so bored. We first see him in an Easter Bunny costume. There are so many famous faces in here including Jon Lovitz (“Rat Race”), Dan Aykroyd (“Ghostbusters”), Kathy Bates (“Titanic”), John Ritter (“Problem Child”), Abe Vigoda (“The Godfather”) and Ben Stein (“The Mask”) but my favourite has to be Alan Arkin (“Rocketeer”) as a crazy judge that is clearly inspired by Groucho Marx. Also, keep an eye out for a very young Scarlett Johansson (“Lost In Translation”).

My big problem with this film comes with some of the humour. There is a lengthy conversation about Elijah Wood’s bare behind. He was a mere child at the time, why would anybody write this stuff? Parts of this movie just seem cruel and inappropriate. I won’t deny that parts of it put a smile on my face. However, I also can’t hide from the fact that other parts of this movie made me feel deeply uncomfortable. “North” could have been entertaining but as it is, it’s an awkward film.