This feature can be viewed this Friday, April 1st on Disney+.
Growing up is an awkward and difficult time for just about everyone, as youngsters try to figure out who they are and what they want to be. Of course, it can be especially complicated if your interests are different from those around you. This serves as the central premise for Better Nate Than Ever from Disney+. The movie doesn’t address its themes in the most nuanced or subtle ways, but it is a sweet and well-intentioned effort with a few laughs and a couple of catchy tunes.
Nate Foster (Rueby Wood) is a 13-year-old middle school student who loves musicals and dreams of being a Broadway star. Unfortunately, he lives in Pittsburgh, where there aren’t many other kids with the same ambitions. He spends his days with friend Libby (Aria Brooks), another outcast at the school. After failing to get cast in his own school production, Libby tells Nate that there is an open casting call for an upcoming Broadway stage musical of “Lilo and Stitch”. The two convince each other to sneak off to New York City and audition for the show. Of course, doing so results in all sorts of complications, including Nate having to figure out how to earn a tryout without parents or guardians being present.
This family movie is extremely peppy, upbeat and exaggerated, sometimes exceedingly so. Everything about the characters, from their personalities to their reactions after arriving in Manhattan are ridiculously wide-eyed. Obviously, this tone is expected for a movie about musicals that is primarily aimed at kids – the lighting and photography is very slick and there are flashy dream sequences have the appearance of an elaborate stage show. It’s all very impressive to look at and a nice homage to Broadway, but this approach does add artifice to the proceedings. At times, characters talk out loud to themselves to further the plot and several jokes feel forced and oversold. This is unfortunately, as a naturalistic reaction to the big city and more authentic behind-the-scenes follies about the showbiz world might have served the film better.
Despite these issues, the young leads are all charismatic and there are some gags that hit the mark. When Nate finds himself short on the funds needed to pay for an essential item and treated poorly by a cashier, his reappearance at the shop later and interaction with the same employee is well delivered and funny. The arrival of another aspiring performer/family member Aunt Heidi (Lisa Kudrow) is another welcome addition to the story. She adds both levity and even helps develop more drama to the tale as a struggling actress who had a falling out with Nate’s mother.
When the movie focuses on earnest drama based around the protagonist’s issues with his brother (Joshua Basset), a miscommunication with Libby about the nature of their relationship, as well as Nate’s fears and anxieties about being inexperienced and stumbling while trying to impress at auditions, the movie works far more effectively. Frequently, the drama plays in a more engaging manner than the broad attempts at humor. The finale even includes a memorable and emotional original number performed by Wood in “No One Gets Left Behind” that resonates nicely.
Adults will certainly question why Broadway-loving Nate would ever be overlooked by his local drama teacher, or how a music and dance-centered video posted online could attract attention around the world, but be completely overlooked by Broadway producers. However, kids won’t have nearly the same kinds of logic issues with Better Nate Than Ever as this reviewer did. And despite it all being formulaic, the young cast are charming and the movie is peppy. It wants anyone who feels like they don’t belong to know there are others like them and that they should continue to be themselves and follow their interests. In the end, it’s a nice message for kids in what ends up being a genial and diverting little Disney movie.