Parents' Guide to

Hidden Treasure of the Mississippi

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Boys try to prove man is innocent of murder; peril.

Movie PG 2008 93 minutes
Hidden Treasure of the Mississippi Poster Image

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

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What's the Story?

Mischievous cousins Will (Cole Sprouse) and Clayton (Dylan Sprouse) are best friends who regularly sneak out of the house at night to do more interesting things than sleep. In HIDDEN TREASURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI, one of their late-night escapades takes them to the local fair after hours, where one of them witnesses a murder. Gold goes missing as well. When they realize a respected member of the community is framing the alcoholic dad of a good friend, they take matters into their own hands, investigating, following suspects, and dodging bullets, knives, and other threats from nefarious grownups.

Is It Any Good?

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

Victoria Justice and the Sprouse brothers aren't asked to do much more than walk through a routine mystery in Hidden Treasure of the Mississippi. Each actor has his or her own charm and there's nothing much here to offend anyone, but sticklers may be annoyed at kids who would rather not tell the police they've witnessed a murder because they could only have witnessed it by disobeying parental rules. This conceit grows tedious as it makes up more than half the film. Note that Mississippi is never mentioned, and no one speaks with a Southern accent. The only remote connection to either the river or the state is that Will is repeatedly asked to paint a fence white, like Tom Sawyer in the Mark Twain novel set on the famed river.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Will and Clayton decide to lie to the police. Do you think that was a good decision? What else could they have done?

  • In what ways does Will show he's a loyal friend?

  • The plot makes it seem as if the cousins are in danger. How do movies create suspense? Does this movie do a good job of it?

Movie Details

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