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Parents' Guide to

The Sissy Duckling

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Animated tale celebrates difference; some bullying.

Movie NR 1999 38 minutes
The Sissy Duckling Movie

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • The Sissy Duckling Movie: Scene # 1
  • The Sissy Duckling Movie: Scene # 2
  • The Sissy Duckling Movie: Scene # 3

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What's the Story?

In THE SISSY DUCKLING, little yellow Elmer (voiced by the script's writer Harvey Fierstein) comes out of his egg different from the others. He shuns violent games. He likes to sit quietly and think. He likes to make art. He likes to make puppets and put on shows that make everyone laugh. Narrator Sharon Stone tells us everyone is "different" or "unique" in his or her own way, but even Elmer senses the negativity in the narrator's message and chides her. Elmer just wants to go his own way without being beaten up by his peers and shunned by his elders. Elmer's father (Ed Asner), who wanted a baseball-playing kid, washes his hands of Elmer until the dad is shot by a hunter just as the flock is heading south for the winter. Elmer risks his life and stays behind to nurse his dad. They survive the winter and when they greet the returning flock, the other ducks realize the courage Elmer's actions demonstrated. They accept and celebrate him.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The Sissy Duckling has its heart in the right place, trying to persuade the skeptical that people who are different shouldn't be cast out of the community. It argues that we are all different and we should all be accepted. A better argument might be that underneath all our many seeming variations, we are in fact all the same. Black or White, large or small, rich or poor, no matter whom we choose to love, we share similar emotions, goals, and hopes.

What feels sad about this movie is that a bright, creative, and perfectly nice kid like Elmer has to prove to his father that he has value. And it takes a display of Elmer's inherent goodness, decency, and loyalty during a terrible crisis to finally show everyone he should be embraced rather than ostracized. A song's lyrics advise that "time takes time," echoing a recent advertising campaign that supported gay youth with the assuring mantra that even when life seems awful, "it gets better."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how this movie can be used to assure kids who feel different that as long as they're nice people, they're okay just as they are.

  • What age audience do you think this targets?

  • Why does name-calling hurt? Why does the word "sissy" sting?

Movie Details

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