Wayside: The Movie

Things at Wayside Elementary School are far from normal. Instead of a one-story, 30-classroom building, the goofy architect created a 30-story monstrosity with one classroom per floor. The genial janitor handles all of the hard jobs—including feeding the cow—while teachers illustrate gravity by throwing the children's desks out the windows. It's all a bit too much wackiness for new kid Todd (voiced by Superbad's Michael Cera), whose inability to cope results in him constantly being sent home on the crazy kindergarten bus. Based on the popular books by Louis Sachar (Holes), Wayside: The Movie is really four strung-together episodes of the animated series, a cheery if slightly chaotic cartoon that walks a fine line between being completely juvenile and slyly satiric. Those looking for a literal translation of Sachar's vision will likely be disappointed, but for those who think that all kidvid is geared toward the unimaginative and easily marketable, this warped semi-delight may change your mind. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (B. Gibron)