The Odd Life of Timothy Green

There are shades of ‘Pinocchio’ and even ‘Frankenstein’ in this family film from Disney, which is trying so hard to be cute that there’s something slightly creepy about it. A small town American couple (Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner) have just been told they won’t be able to conceive. After a bottle of wine they draw up a wish-list of attributes for their fantasy child and bury it in the garden. Then in walks a boy, Timothy, with leaves growing out of his ankles. Pretty soon this curious new arrival is cheering up the curmudgeonly local community with his innocent spirit. Director Hedges tries to coat everything in Spielbergian fairy-dust, but the movie never really convinces as homespun. Not least because Timothy is so obviously a walking lesson for mums and dads everywhere, rather than a living child – or plant, or whatever he actually is. So, while it gets a deserved nod for warm-hearted intentions, ultimately this is a kids’ movie of very little interest to kids. Odd indeed.