Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Boathouse Detectives

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Fantastic slumber party fare with problem-solving kids.

Movie NR 2011 85 minutes
Boathouse Detectives Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

age 7+

Awesome family movie!!

Great movie!! Very clean! Great actors! Funny and interesting! My son and nephew were entranced! They laughed at many parts of it, and they LOVED the paintball scenes:)!!! Perfect for a family movie night or a young boys' sleepover!!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Let's be clear: the four stars is for kids, especially kids between the ages of 7 and 10; don't miss the window, parents, because there's so much for this age to love about BOATHOUSE DETECTIVES. First of all, rowing a boat to your clubhouse -- so cool! And all the kids are ones you'd want to be in a club with. Ones who have cool hobbies and love animals and helping complete strangers. They're on their own solving a case with no bothersome adults in the way. They even live in that kind of quaint seaside town where you can tell parents never worry about letting their 9 year olds roam free (though always within cell phone range, of course).

For parents, there's no over-the-top gross-out moments to annoy -- okay, there's a bit of fake puke, but it's not bad. But you will roll your eyes repeatedly every time an adult hops on screen. The stepmom and dog catcher are in a tie for most overdone stereotype.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate