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Parents' Guide to

Johnny Tremain

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Decent complement to the classic children's novel.

Movie NR 1957 90 minutes
Johnny Tremain Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 14+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Lowe's man
Lowe's man Adult
July 29, 2017
age 10+

interesting and accurate

I saw this in American history in 8th grade. I only remember bits and pieces of it, but it was about what I expected it to be. The battle scenes were accurate and were neither graphic nor sanitized- typical of war movies at the time, and typical Disney fare from Walt's day as well. The rest of the movie was interesting too, as we got to learn about people associated with the American Revolution that we don't usually hear about.
DAD1234557353
DAD1234557353 Adult
March 3, 2016
age 18+

It sux

It is a horrible movie, nothing like the book.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much consumerism
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

JOHNNY TREMAIN derives from a classic children's novel by Esther Forbes, showing the beginnings of the American Revolution from the POV of a teenage lad in Boston. Johnny (Hank Stalmaster) is an apprentice silversmith (Paul Revere is a competitor) circa 1775. Though related to snooty British aristocracy, Johnny has little interest in politics, just becoming a successful tradesman. When Johnny cripples his hand in a metal-pouring accident, however, he instead gets a subsistence job delivering copies of the Boston Observer newspaper -- which fronts for the rebel colonists such as Revere and Samuel Adams. Drawn into the intrigues of the revolution against the British Empire, Johnny and his friends participate in the Boston Tea Party, facilitate Paul Revere's legendary "midnight ride," and help defeat Redcoats in one of the opening skirmishes of the war for American independence.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Done with Disney's usual high standards and even one musical number, this is a decent, occasionally stirring piece about the birth of USA. Some viewers, youngsters especially, might find the battle scenes a little small scale for Hollywood, but there's probably more accuracy in showing how the American Revolution really started out with guerilla-type skirmishes and brief clashes in the dirt roads around Lexington -- not Jeffersonian X-Wing fighter dives onto King George III's Death Star.

Some speechifying by John Hancock, Sam Adams, and Paul Revere is a little dry, but the drama comes to life with a great monologue given by one of the lesser-known Founding Fathers, a grouchy semi-invalid named John Otis (Jeff York) in which he declares that what's happening in Boston is a serious conflict about freedom, with long-reaching implications, not just playing soldier to banish the pesky Redcoats.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the role that firearms played in the revolt against England; certainly guns go a long away in helping the colonists rout the British.

  • Talk about the Boston Tea Party and its aftermath. What was the protest about?

  • Discuss the irony that a few years after the United States won independence from the British a "Whiskey Rebellion" along very similar lines to the Boston Tea Party brewed up among Americans -- directed against the US government and its tariffs on liquor.

Movie Details

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