Ready for talking chimps and traveling pants?

If you’re looking for last year’s glut of animated talking-animal films, you may be disappointed. Just chimps and flies this year, folks. There are, however, some actual live humans that may entertain the kids and tweens in your life. The girls from “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” return, but also, former Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst teams up with Ice Cube to teach you some lessons about life and sports. Oh, to be an animated fly on the wall at that pitch meeting.

“Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2”
Starring: Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Jesse Williams
Director: Sanaa Hamri
Story: The story of four girls (Bledel, Ferrera, Lively, Tamblyn) who share a pair of magically fitting jeans continues three years later as they get ready to head off to college. They decide to remain in touch the way they always have — by sending the jeans through the mail.
One to watch? Those jeans are looking pretty worn out.  Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) was reportedly reluctant to come back to do the second film. “Yes, there were contracts and reluctancies,” director Hamri told Entertainment Weekly. Things have changed since the first film; Bledel and Tamblyn are the out-of-work TV actresses (though Tamblyn has been cast in an ABC pilot “The Unusuals”), while Ferrera and Lively (“Gossip Girl”) have red-hot careers. Hamri helmed the sweet romantic comedy “Something New.”
Web site: http://sisterhoodofthetravelingpants2.warnerbros.com/
Release date: Aug. 8

“Space Chimps”
Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Tucci, Jeff Daniels
Director: Kirk De Micco
Story: Ham III (Samberg) is the grandson of the first monkey shot into space in this animated comedy. He joins two other apes (Warburton, Hines) to travel through a black hole to an uninhabited planet. The apes get stranded and help the planet’s citizens rid themselves of a tyrannical leader (Daniels).
One to watch? Maybe. If you’re a parent looking for a G-rated film to take your little ones to, this may be your best bet of July and August. Don’t expect Pixar-level animation or story, but this should keep your kids giggling. Warburton (“Seinfeld,” “The Tick”) has a voice made for animation. Helmer De Micco wrote and directed “Racing Stripes.”
Web site:  http://www.spacechimpspower.com/
Release date: July 18

“The Longshots”
Starring: Ice Cube, Tasha Smith, Keke Palmer, Jill Marie Jones, Earthquake
Director: Fred Durst
Story: Former Limp Bizkit frontman Durst directs this film (yes, you read that correctly). It's based on a true story, about Jasmine Plummer (Palmer), the first girl to participate in a Pop Warner football tournament. Cube plays Jasmine’s Uncle Curtis, a former high-school football star who inspires her to try out for the team and then ends up coaching the team>
One to watch? No. Cube told Entertainment Weekly that Durst “wants to be taken seriously as a filmmaker.” If you don’t giggle at that comment, maybe this is the film for you. All the by-the-numbers sports-film clichés apply here: believe in yourself, the big game, ignore the people who scoff, etc. Palmer is best-known for her starring role in “Akeelah and the Bee.”
Web site: http://www.thelongshots-movie.com/
Release date: July 25

“Swing Vote”
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, Madeline Carroll
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Story: Bud Johnson (Costner) is an apathetic, beer-drinking, well-meaning loser whose 12-year-old daughter Molly (Carroll) registers him to vote. But in an amazing turn of events, his vote becomes the one that could decide the presidential election (between Hopper and Grammer). A media storm erupts, both candidates try to woo Bud, and only the wisdom of his daughter can guide him.
One to watch? Not likely. This movie looks to fall into that “out of the mouths of babes” category, where all the adults learn lessons from Carroll’s character (who looks like an Abigail Breslin clone). Costner, however, should fare well here as the boozy everyman (a role he played well in the underrated “Upside of Anger”). After this year’s Democratic primaries, the down-to-one vote scenario doesn’t seem all that outlandish.
Web site: http://swingvote.movies.go.com/
Release date: Aug. 1

Best of the rest: Family films — “Fly Me to the Moon” (Aug. 8) This 3-D animated feature tells the story of three adventurous flies who hitch a ride with the astronauts on the Apollo 11 trip to the moon. — “Sixty-Six” (Aug. 1) In 1966 England, 12-year-old Bernie (Gregg Sulkin) has been dreaming of his bar mitzvah, but his plans are shattered when England makes the World Cup and the match is scheduled for the same day.

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