DISNEY’S THE KID
Getting in touch with your outer child makes for a funny family treat.
Should You Watch It?
If your family wants a funny, gentle feel-good movie with a moral center, Disney’s The Kid is worth your time. Its central idea is playful: a 40-year-old man encounters his eight-year-old self and is forced to confront the person he has become.
The film values personal transformation, kindness, generosity, family, and honesty. It also has very little objectionable content, though it includes four mild obscenities, minor violence, some alcohol, and an antidepressant drug. Its larger weakness is spiritual: it leans too heavily on psychology as the answer to life’s deepest problems.
A discerning Christian viewer can enjoy the film while remembering that Jesus Christ—not self-discovery—is our real hope and salvation. For a family movie night, this is a good choice.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESRuss Duritz is a successful but lonely image consultant who has spent his life avoiding his family and his past. Then a strange young boy appears near his home, and Russ begins to wonder whether he is hallucinating.
The boy is Rusty, Russ’s eight-year-old self. As the two spend time together, Russ must face his childhood dreams, his unhappy present, and the kind of person he has become.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a highly enjoyable, well-crafted family comedy. The screenplay is skillful, and the story’s unusual premise gives Bruce Willis and Spencer Breslin a refreshing way to explore a man’s midlife crisis.
The movie is funny, fluffy, and moral without carrying much objectionable content. Some situations are implausible, but the film’s warmth and humor help it overcome those weaknesses. Its psychological approach to life’s problems is a flaw in the message, not a serious failure of the filmmaking.
The Worldview
The film presents personal transformation, kindness, generosity, and honesty as important virtues. Russ has built his life around success and image while alienating other people, and his encounter with his younger self exposes the emptiness of that choice. The story rebukes lying, cheating, meanness, and abusive behavior.
Its main weakness is that it treats psychology as the solution to life’s deepest problems. The psychiatrist becomes a kind of surrogate priest, and the film offers a psychological morality tale rather than a spiritual one. The unexplained fantasy elements also leave the story’s worldview less grounded.
A Christian viewer can appreciate the film’s call to change while recognizing that getting in touch with one’s inner child cannot provide salvation. The deeper hope is found in Christ: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Moral worldview with many moral elements including personal transformation, kindness & generosity slightly marred by psychological salvation message & unexplained fantasy elements; 4 mild obscenities, 3 exclamatory appeals to God, & many unkind & even abusive statements by the lead character; school yard fight, boxing practice & other minor violence; some alcohol; anti-depressant drug; and, lying, cheating & meanness rebuked.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Russ has spent his life changing his image instead of changing his character. What is the difference between looking better to others and becoming more truthful inside?
1 Samuel 16:7 · 2 Corinthians 5:17The film rebukes lying, cheating, and meanness. Which of these most damages relationships, and what does repentance look like when we have hurt someone?
Ephesians 4:25–32 · Luke 19:8Russ learns that success and possessions cannot make a lonely life whole. What gifts from God do you sometimes overlook while pursuing achievement?
Matthew 6:19–21 · 1 Timothy 6:6–8The movie points toward psychological change as its answer. Why do Christians believe our deepest hope and salvation come through Jesus Christ?
John 3:16–17 · Ephesians 2:8–9The Final Word
Disney’s The Kid is a funny, refreshing family comedy with a positive moral center and only minor content concerns. Enjoy its call to kindness and transformation, but remember where true hope comes from. WORTH THE TRIP.
