"That was the best American Girl Movie EVER!" So says the two toughest reviewers in NYC, my daughters about the upcoming movie An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky.

We've seen almost all the movies in the AG canon--I think we are pretty good judges. This is a movie you'll feel good about consuming with your kids. Like all AG products there is a healthy dash of wholesomeness and some great lessons woven in. The main character is Saige Copeland™, American Girl’s popular 2013 Girl of the Year. She comes to life in a new feature-length movie from Universal Studios Home Entertainment--perfect timing for school vacation.,

Save the date: An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky releases on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 2 (you can place pre-orders here on Amazon.com) and airs Saturday, July 13, at 8/7C on NBC

Here's the trailer:

The cast includes Jane Seymour as the sassy Grandma Mimi. In the role of Saige, they picked a newcomer (at least to me) Sidney Fullmer.

Here's the synapsis:

Nine-year old Saige is excited about the new school year until she discovers that art—her favorite class—has been cut. On top of that, her best friend, Tessa, is spending more and more time with another girl. For support, Saige turns to her grandma Mimi (Seymour), a well-known artist and horsewoman, who encourages her to take action and inspire her community in a fund-raising effort to start an after-school art program. Heartwarming, empowering, and fun, it’s a movie for every girl who has ever dreamed big.

In addition to fine acting (not Oscar-worthy, but so much better than normal kiddie faire), two of the story lines resonated: tight school budgets and shifting friendships. Many of our NYC schools are bursting with students yet lack inspiring art programs. We feel for Saige. And my 8 year old was especially moved by the dynamics of the friends. She's seen some shifts this year and was heartened that Saige too had girl drama.

We loved the Saige doll (earrings, a horse and a hot air balloon--c'mon that's a girl's dream!) and the movie is yet another great reason to support American Girl. For summer reading, why not get Saige and Saige Paints the Sky (written by Jessie Haas) and then see the movie?

Find out more about Saige activities and movie events here http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/static/movies.jsp or American Girl’s Facebook page at facebook.com/americangirl. Visit the movie website here http://www.americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/saige/index.php#page=movie

PRE-ORDER THE MOVIE ON AMAZON

Momtrends was not paid for this post. We did get a screener movie for early viewing.