Parents' Guide to

Heaven Is for Real

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Extremely earnest drama explores issues of family and faith.

Movie PG 2014 100 minutes
Heaven Is for Real Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 10 parent reviews

age 4+

Yes it is!

There are many Naysayers...but Jesus had this same response from the intelligentsia when he was here (in the flesh) among us. Some things don't seem to change...and it's a shame they won't be with us in the Life Everlasting.
age 10+

Good

It was good the little boy was cute.

This title has:

Great messages

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10):
Kids say (25):

Based on Todd Burpo's 2010 memoir of the same name, Heaven Is for Real is an expressly Christian film made with established actors, and the performances are notably thoughtful. Kinnear plays Todd Burpo as a man of God who's also a concerned citizen and even an occasional doubting Thomas. He doesn't blindly accept what Colton says about heaven (at first), and he struggles with reconciling Colton's revelations with his own faith and pastoral responsibilities (can he really, as the head of a congregation, tell everyone that his kid actually went to heaven and hung out with Jesus?).

The other adult actors are also quite genuine in their roles, particularly Reilly as Todd's supportive wife and character actress extraordinaire Margo Martindale as a church trustee who's initially skeptical about Todd's claims about Colton's experiences. Colton himself is almost distractingly cute, and Corum manages to be sweetly straightforward about the movie's spiritual material. Your overall feelings about Heaven Is for Real's messages will likely depend on whether you believe Burpo's story. But as a movie, it's a well-acted biographical tale of a family changed forever by their son's declarations about what's waiting in the hereafter.

Movie Details

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