Bedtime Stories is an odd cross-breed of toned-down Sandler schtick and standard Disney wish-fulfillment fantasy. Sandler is a savvy performer, and he shades his comedic persona to grab the younger demographic he's shooting for -- there are no temper tantrums or violent outbursts, and he does have the scruffy charm of a favorite uncle. Sadly, the filmmaking isn't as thought-out as the lead performance. Director Adam Shankman never makes the fantasy sequences -- full of chivalrous knights, honorable cowboys, and slimy space monsters -- feel magical. These scenes do a fine job of keeping the movie visually fresh -- there's always something new to look at -- but they aren't as memorable as the scenes set in everyday life. If the filmmakers injected the fantastical parts of the story with some genuine childlike whimsy, they'd have cooked up a funky, warm-hearted kids movie. But instead, they make the moments of childlike creativity adhere slavishly to the strictures of the Disney formula, and that takes away any element of surprise, let alone wonder. And, seeing as a sense of wonder is crucial to any good bedtime story, the movie never becomes special. It's not that Bedtime Stories is bad, it's just entirely and thoroughly adequate. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide