The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Dear Eleanor
Adventure · Comedy · Drama · 2016
Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Movie details
Dear Eleanor
“2 girls. 3,000 miles. They're on the road to adventure.”
2016 Adventure · Comedy · Drama 1h 29m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dear Eleanor?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Monkey King
Animation · 2023
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Rugrats Go Wild
Family · 2003
When the Rugrats find themselves stranded on a deserted island, they meet the Thornberrys, a family who agrees to help them escape.
Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz
Animation · 2011
After a deadly storm, Tom and Jerry find themselves stranded on an unknown island ruled by the evil Wizard of Oz. As they try to find their way back home, they worry for their master Dorothy's safety.
The Willoughbys
Adventure · 2020
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Slumberland
Adventure · 2022
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness
Animation · 2022
A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.
Bookworm
Adventure · 2024
Eleven-year-old Mildred’s life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and estranged, American magician father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish tween, Strawn takes Mildred camping in the notoriously rugged New Zealand wilderness, and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding – a quest to find the mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.
Shorts
Family · 2009
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
Arctic Dogs
Animation · 2019
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco
Adventure · 1996
When the pets accidentally get separated from their vacationing owners, Chance, Shadow, and Sassy navigate the mean streets of San Francisco, trying to find their home across the Golden Gate Bridge. But the road is blocked by a series of hazards, both man and beast.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Kevin Connolly
Written by
Cecilia Contreras · Amy Garcia
Liana Liberato
Ellie Potter
Isabelle Fuhrman
Max the Wax
Josh Lucas
Frank Morris
Jessica Alba
Daisy
Luke Wilson
Bob Potter
Joel Courtney
Billy Hobgood
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Bud
Court is in session
Put Dear Eleanor on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.