Kit Kittredge cult comes out for 'American Girl' premiere

By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — What Sex and the City: The Movie was to women, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is to their far younger counterparts.

The film adaptation, based on the popular American Girl dolls, stars Abigail Breslin as the titular Kit. It opens in limited release June 20 and expands nationwide July 2.

American Girl aficionado Isabella Rhodes, a 7-year-old, Brooklyn-based second grader, hit the Manhattan premiere Thursday night to grill the cast about dolls, dogs, and tree houses:

•Producer Julia Roberts on going behind the scenes: "It's fun. It's challenging, but we got really good actors. We were very lucky." When she was a kid in Georgia, Roberts preferred the written word to the big screen: "I loved Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but it was really more books. I didn't watch a lot of movies. I read a lot of books."

•Abigail Breslin on being an American Girl: "The most fun thing about making the movie was getting on the set. Everyone was so nice to work with. Also, I liked coming on set and working with the dog and the monkey. It was really cool in the tree house. It was cool to learn how to climb up the ladder and get into the tree house. Everyone was so nice to work with. We always hung out after work."

Jane Krakowski, who plays the film's dance instructor, on learning the film's cool moves: "I enjoyed it because I do dance in real life. What was fun about this one was that I had to learn the dances of the time period. I learned how to Charleston and Jitterbug — dances that were popular back then."

Chris O'Donnell, who plays Breslin's dad, had one highlight from filming: "It was when I got to have my daughter, Lily (who's 8), visit on set. It was a great daddy-daughter weekend. I've had a very good experience playing a father in real life, and it was fun to be Abigail's dad on screen."

Courtesy: usatoday.com