Parents' Guide to Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors

This autobiographical story based on Parton's early song of the same name never shies away from the harsh realities of Dolly's upbringing or the resulting faith-based themes. The latter are obvious, with Bible verses and moral words of wisdom oft-quoted in the dialogue, so they're not easily missed, and the tale of Dolly's multi-colored coat is a visual representation of her mother's (and thus, the family's) journey through happiness, despair, and eventual renewal of hope. It's a beautiful story with far-reaching messages about appreciating one's gifts and using them to bless others in turn.

With themes like these, Coat of Many Colors is an excellent choice for family viewing, but there are incidents in the story that may need some context from you if your young kids watch. Dolly's mischievous spirit endears her to viewers, but on a few occasions, it subjects her to physical punishment from her parents and, in one case, her teacher. There's a lot of raw emotion in scenes that deal with Dolly's mother's depression and its effect on the family, as well as the grief journey that follows their shared tragedy. Other features of the time and place -- her father's smoking habit, the fact that many of the kids don't attend school, the financial struggles of a large farming family, etc. -- stand out as unusual compared to modern times as well, but at the same time, it's refreshing to see such an unsanitized story of faith, family love, and overcoming adversity.