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Apparently, the Great Depression was only depressing when Little Miss Sunshine wasn't around.

As the sprightly, indomitable title character in "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") boasts the contagious giddiness of Shirley Temple.

The world throws everything it can at Kit — forcing her to wear dresses made from feed sacks, taking her father away to look for a job and moving her out of her room so she can make way for boarders — but she just redoubles her efforts and fires back with a megawatt smile.

An aspiring reporter, 10-year-old Kit is determined to crack the pages of her hometown newspaper despite the yawning dismissals of mean old editor Gibson (Wallace Shawn). Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Kit goes "48 Hours" and investigates the hobo community, which she believes has been unfairly blamed for a string of recent crimes.

"Kit Kittredge" is a joyous family film through and through, but despite the G rating, kids may need some parental guidance on this one. The movie is far more spoonful of sugar than medicine, with its schmaltzy take on one of our nation's darkest eras and the cheerful, Disney Channel-like performances masking the grim realities of homeless life.

But in these troubled economic times, the movie should at least get it through to kids that their parents' jobs aren't guaranteed and money is scarcer than they may realize. And Kit is certainly a more suitable tween role model than the likes of Jamie Lynn Spears.

Adapted from Valerie Tripp's book series, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" follows Kit in her adventures in and around her neighborhood. The film was shot in Toronto, which stands in for Cincinnati. Director Patricia Rozema trots out a series of colorful characters who move in with Kit and her mom.

Jane Krakowski (TV's "30 Rock") plays Miss Dooley, a dance instructor with no students but plenty of dance. Stanley Tucci is the traveling illusionist Mr. Berk, and my favorite, Miss Bond (Joan Cusack), is a traveling librarian who teeters around town in a car stacked with books she lends out for free. Given her non-lucrative choice of occupation, it's no wonder Bond has no place of her own.

Julia Ormond is steadfast in an underwritten role as Kit's mom, but Max Thieriot and Willow Smith (Will Smith's daughter) are cherubish standouts as young transients who hang out at the house and work odd jobs in exchange for food.

"Kit Kittredge" earns its lunch with disarmingly upbeat sentimentality. As even bitter Gibson eventually decides, Kit is simply too tough to keep down.