Teaching little girls about the Great Depression as a means of selling them stuff seems an odd approach to storytelling, but that is the premise of the new film “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,” which arrives in theaters today, as well as the series of books and dolls on which it is based. While the business model may be a bit discomfiting, it has raked in more than $69 million for Mattel in the first quarter of this year alone.

Since 1986, American Girl dolls and books have tapped lucratively into the frustrations of adolescent girls. Where Barbie is perpetually accused of engendering eating disorders and low self-esteem, the protagonists of the American Girls series are normal-looking 9-year-olds swathed in adorable outfits who battle the poverty, racism, and political turmoil of the eras in which they are supposed to live. Most important for girls with little in the way of autonomy, these fictional heroines take a proactive role in battling the surging tide of major historical events.

But the American Girl franchise has always been tinged by the unshakable oddity of capitalizing on the yearnings of adolescent girls under the guise of education. With every book comes a pricey doll that can be fitted with a range of outfits and other accessories that are constantly rolled out by Mattel. The premiere of “Kit Kittredge,” the first theatrical release based on the American Girl dolls, will result in yet more products for girls who have been won over by Kit’s ingenuity in stretching a slice of bread over four meals to stave off foreclosure on her parents’ house.

This strange dichotomy runs throughout the film, though much of its idiosyncrasy could be attributed to the stifling blond wig with which Abigail Breslin has been fitted to resemble the title character. Kit Kittredge, a fictional 9-year-old in 1934 Cincinnati who learns about the Great Depression firsthand when her father loses his car dealership and her mother starts taking in boarders, is a doll that sits atop millions of shelves across the country.

To fit her into the history of the character, the filmmakers (director Patricia Rozema’s last job, strangely, was three episodes of the near-pornographic HBO series “Tell Me You Love Me”) have washed away some of the quirkiness that makes Ms. Breslin so delightful on-screen. The 12-year-old actress’s most marketable skill can be found in her characters’ possession of intractable innocence in the midst of adult failures, and her adorably messy demeanor is always a welcome presence. But even amid the rose-colored Depression-era styles and loving sighs that populate the film, Ms. Breslin’s peculiar likability often fails to shine in the prepackaged title role. Moreover, in this often weepy family drama, the actress’s typical self-possession fails to center the other characters.

With Julia Roberts executive-producing, Mattel executive Ellen Brothers on board, and Ann Peacock (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”) providing the screenplay, the project boasts a cast of heavyweights before even taking the stars into account. And there are stars aplenty, including Chris O’Donnell, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack, Stanley Tucci, and Jane Krakowski, all of whom pull their own weight and seem to thoroughly enjoy their time on-screen. Mr. Tucci adds wry humor to his role as the local magician; Ms. Krakowski brings a subtler version of her signature bawdiness to her role as a dance instructor, and Ms. Cusack thrives in her role as a mobile librarian. Mr. O’Donnell and Ms. Ormond, as Kit’s parents, are left to watch impotently as their 9-year-old pieces their lives back together.

The events in the film may not resemble the harsh realities of the Depression, but, thanks in large part to this supporting cast, Ms. Rozema has created a mostly charming picture of this girl’s life. What’s missing is any real explanation of the economic turmoil that has enveloped the country and our characters, making it hard to tell, especially for the youngsters in the theater, why people are losing their savings or why a stockbroker winds up in a hobo camp while a dance instructor spends her days practicing moves in the Kittredge home. The boarders whom Kit’s mother takes in, however, do add a warm bit of whimsy to the family’s life.

Kit’s nascent interest in becoming a reporter helps earn her family money and helps a friend avoid prison. But while her enthusiasm for journalism ultimately helps save her family, Kit’s ruthless striving puts her closer to Reese Witherspoon’s role as the vicious Tracy Flick in “Election” than it does to Kit’s heroes, such as Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” will be a welcome reprieve for parents in search of child-appropriate yet non-brainless entertainment on the big screen — though they may not appreciate the sequels that are likely to follow in this franchise. Despite the overwhelmingly materialistic underpinnings of the franchise, the makers of the American Girl dolls often evade parental scrutiny by sticking little lessons — frugality, responsibility, sacrifice — into the series’ intrinsic acquisitiveness. Whether the target audience can keep track of those lessons while demanding more outfits for their new dolls is another story.