Parents' Guide to

Tuck Everlasting

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Lovely version of the favorite middle-school book.

Movie PG 2002 88 minutes
Tuck Everlasting Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 10+

Based on 6 parent reviews

number1buffyfan
number1buffyfan Adult
December 21, 2018
age 7+

Great movie!

This is an amazing adventure story that is pretty easy to understand. There is a bit of violence as one character hits another character in the back of the head with a rifle. And the main character, Winnie is forced onto a horse by another character. There are two kissing scenes that are not inappropriate and two characters flirt with each other. Overall, this is a great movie and i totally recommend it to young audiences.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
Mr JayStay
Mr JayStay Parent of 7-year-old
May 19, 2010
age 8+

Watch Tuck Everlasting With Your Kids

Thought provoking. All the teen-age girl reviewers cried when they watched this film. Guess what? I cried too! And I'm an old dude and a "mean" Dad.

This title has:

Great messages
1 person found this helpful.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In TUCK EVERLASTING, Angus Tuck (William Hurt) tells rich, overprotected Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel) that he feels like a rock by the side of a stream, life rushing past him. She feels that way, too. Her proud and proper mother (Amy Irving) restrains all forms of independence in her daughter. When Winnie learns that her mother is planning to send her to a strict finishing school, she leaves home and runs into the untamed woods, not knowing if she's running away from something or to something. Lost, she comes upon a boy named Jesse (Jonathan Jackson), who, with help from his brother, kidnaps her and takes her to his family's hidden cabin. They treat her with an odd mixture of hospitality and intimidation, making it clear that she's not free to go. Meek Winnie can only acquiesce to the new situation. She finds herself drawn to Jesse and eventually comes to love her life with the Tucks and their sense of timelessness.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (33):

Disney has made a lovely film version of the book Tuck Everlasting, which is a perennial middle-school favorite. It deals thoughtfully with themes of time, identity, and humanity. In the Tuck home, there is no time. Or, rather, there's too much time, which turns out to be pretty much the same thing. As the Tucks realize how very different they are from other people, unsettling truths become clear. They present such a challenge to the most fundamental assumptions that people are either terrified or overcome with greed. So the family must do anything necessary to make sure no one knows their secret.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what they would do if they had the choice presented to Winnie.

  • Families can also talk about how the movie compares with the book. Why make Winnie a teen in the movie when she is only 10 in the book? How does that change the story?

  • How does this treatment of immortality differ from vampire stories?

Movie Details

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