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Parents' Guide to

Racetime

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Sled race divides then unites friends in animated tale.

Movie PG 2018 89 minutes
Racetime Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 2 parent reviews

JeffMac
JeffMac Adult
December 4, 2020
age 3+

Amazing Message!

Great remake of the original "The Dog Who Stopped The War" (1984) which is one of my favourite movies growing up in Canada in the 80's.
Dfiger
Dfiger Adult
December 30, 2019
age 10+

Disappointed

Picked this up for a road trip based on good Redbox reviews. Maybe the main message of the movie is good but I heard multiple “stupid,” “loser,” “dumby,” etc and “somebody kill me.” Makes me cringe every time I hear things like that in a kids movie.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In RACETIME, Frankie (voiced by Lucinda Davis) is the local boy genius who year after year designs the winning sled of the annual Slederator race. With his friend Sophie (also Lucinda Davis) as his experienced driver, no one has come close to beating the team. When newcomer Zach (Noel Fisher) arrives in their snowy wonderland, he challenges Frankie and actually bests him with friend Charlie (Dawn Ford) driving. But it turns out that as nice as Charlie seems, she has conspired with Zach to sabotage Frankie's sled in order to win. As the sled designers clash amid accusations and snark, they agree to a new race, but this time with "no rules," opening the door for Zach and Charlie to cheat even more. Zach saws off Frankie's sled sliders during the race, which Frankie must daringly repair going full speed. Ultimately, the situation offers the cheaters a chance to change their ways and join the close-knit group of local kids.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This movie feels pretty generic in its animation and plotting, but at its heart it's a message of the importance of creating harmonious relationships. For that reason, Racetime certainly deserves a look by younger kids with nothing to do on a rainy day. The kids here live in an idyllic world in which adults are mentioned but never seen, leaving them to negotiate difficult interpersonal interactions without grown-up input. Like Snowtime!, a 2016 animated film about some of the same characters, the film examines true conflicts that kids face, and offers a gamut of ways they can choose to resolve them.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way Frankie and his friends embrace the cheating Zach in Racetime, even though he has betrayed them. Do you think there's value in using friendship to reform seemingly-bad people? Why?

  • Frankie's obsession with winning leads him to do things that could adversely affect his good friends. How do his friends react to that news?

  • Why do you think friendship is important?

Movie Details

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