‘Ember’ shines bright

A good children’s movie that might not appeal to older audiences, “City of Ember” pulls influences from many places. It comes off as a post-apocalyptic Dr. Seuss tale with some attitude from Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and the video game “Fallout” thrown in for good measure. If all those things sound good to you, by all means, go see this movie.

“City of Ember” is the story of an underground city, established to save mankind after some “disaster” and powered by a single generator that has been running for 240 years. As the generator begins to fail and the lights in the city begin to go out, two young children, Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) and Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan), begin investigating. They begin to find answers as to what their city is, who made it and how to get out while being pursued by the corrupt mayor (Bill Murray).

The performances are solid, if unimpressive, neither hurting the film nor helping it. The actors merely help to tell a story that felt comfortingly familiar, if a little predictable. Relying on conventions seen often in children’s movie, “Ember” is still original enough to maintain interest.

Its visual style is rich and impressive, relying mostly on practical sets instead of CGI. The digital effects that were used feel unrealistic and poorly integrated into the live-action production.

The detailed sets and costumes help create the world of this underground city and give the sense of a mythology to the piece, and if the box office is good enough, expect to see a sequel.

Much better than some other children’s book-movie adaptations like “Nim’s Island” and “Eragon,” “City of Ember” is a good movie, and it may have carved out its own little niche in a genre dominated by the “Harry Potter” films and “The Chronicles of Narnia”.

It will face tough competition from the 2009-released and wildly popular children’s book “Inkheart.” That film could push this quaint little gem out of the public eye and into obscurity all too easily. But “City of Ember” is too good for that treatment, so check it out, even if it is on DVD later this year.