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Parents' Guide to

Heidi (2005)

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Heartwarming remake of classic tale still powerfully moving.

Movie NR 2005 104 minutes
Heidi (2005) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 2 parent reviews

mscott5070
mscott5070 Parent of 6 and 7-year-old
January 27, 2023
age 6+

Heidi is a winner for the family

From a parent's perspective, the movie is clean and wholesome. It is a bit slow in parts. Our family composition is made up of a 5 year old and 7 year old. The 5 yr old got a bit bored in parts but stuck it out. The accents can be a bit trying a times, but overall its a decent story. There is nothing dirty in it that I recall that made us regret watching it. We are very very particular about what goes in our kids minds. Not much out there that we consider clean anymore. Its quite sad.
CzechHEIDI
CzechHEIDI Parent of 4 and 15-year-old
May 15, 2022
age 3+

Be kind to everyone human and animals alike...

I Loved the family based and loving nature between the Grandpa n Heidi, the moral compass was good and touched on things like to be nice to animals and other people, it touched on how jealousy forms and affects kids, some good teaching moments ..sometimes a little slow story but it was good 👍

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

HEIDI (2005) is the story of an orphaned 8-year-old girl (Emma Bolger) in the 1880s who's dumped on the doorstep of her grandfather's (Max von Sydow) remote mountain cabin in the Alps. Her gruff and grouchy grandfather's first reaction is to demand that she go away. But there's nowhere for Heidi to go, so eventually her grandfather breaks down and lets her into his cabin, and eventually into his heart. Heidi thrives in the fresh air and magnificent countryside of the Alps, spending her days minding goats in the high pastures with her friend and nearest neighbor Peter (Sam Friend). Until the very same aunt (Pauline McLynn) who dumped her off in the first place returns to take Heidi away to the big city to be a playmate and friend for Clara (Jessica Claridge). Heidi makes the best of things in the city, and even makes some good friends, but her longing to return to the countryside eventually gets the best of her, and she can barely function. But if she goes back to her grandfather's, she'll miss Clara and Clara's grandmother (Diana Rigg), who's teaching Heidi to read. Can Heidi's two worlds, and two homes, ever come together?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a gentle and heartwarming adaptation of a classic story that has charmed readers and movie watchers for generations. Heidi (2005) will work its way into viewers' hearts just as she herself finds a way into most everyone's heart whom she meets. The true highlight of this version is the strong performances by most of the cast, especially headliners Max von Sydow as the grandfather and Diana Rigg as Clara's grandmother. Emma Bolger as Heidi is engaging and her performance is fine for someone so young, but at times there's no real spark and she seems like she's acting instead of actually being the character. There's some spectacular scenery, although not nearly enough of it, and some of it looks like stock footage or backdrops.

But the story is so endearing, and it holds up really well, so a few minor flaws are excusable. It's a nice choice for a family movie night; just have some tissues handy toward the end, and be prepared to help the littlest ones with some brief, mild scariness and sadness from parental loss and separation from loved ones.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what makes Heidi (2005) a positive role model. What kind of person is she? Do you like her? What character strengths does she have?

  • Why do you think this story is still popular, over 140 years after it was written, and why has it been made into a movie so many times?

  • Have you read the book, or had someone read it to you? If you haven't, would you like to now? Have you seen any of the other movie versions? Which one did you like best?

Movie Details

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