Judy Garland heads an ensemble cast for this nostalgic turn-of-the-century musical about a large family. They live in St. Louis and prepare to move to New York. That appears to be all the movie is about, but only because the characters themselves miss the meat of the film, which is about how families work: how they split apart, stick together, feud, and reconcile; how they interact with society at large; how they establish their place in the world. If the portrayal of the American family seems dated now, well, it was dated in 1944, too. The world this movie portrays was nothing at all like the World War II era audiences knew, though some would have remembered. We might not remember 1903 today, but the movie is so warm and human, it feels like we do.