Story
Little Boy is set in the 1940s. It’s about a young boy named Pepper Busbee (Jakoc Salvati), who’s only 39 inches tall despite being 8 years old. He lives in California with his parents and older brother. When the United States begins enlisting soldiers for World War II, Pepper’s older brother is selected. When Pepper’s brother is medically disqualified, Pepper’s father, James (Michael Rapaport), goes instead.
Pepper is devastated when his father leaves to fight the Japanese. After a while, Pepper begins to believe that he has magical powers and might be able to bring his father back from the war. He speaks with a priest who recommends a list of ‘good deeds’ that Pepper should complete to bring his father back. One of the good deeds is befriending Mr Hashimoto, a Japanese-American who has been bullied and mistreated because of his race. As this friendship develops, Pepper lets go of the hatred he feels towards the Japanese for taking his father away.
Themes
Relationships; war; racism and prejudice; bullying
Violence
Little Boy has quite a lot of violence. For example:
Sexual references
There is a brief moment where a man talks about having the ‘best view’ from a certain chair, as there is a woman bending over nearby.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Little Boy shows some mild use of substances. For example:
- Several characters drink alcohol. One drinks while sitting with a group of other men in a bar, and another drinks on his own.
- A man smokes a cigarette.
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Little Boy has some mild coarse language, as well as some offensive racist language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Little Boy is an inspiring story about how one boy rises above racist hatred during World War II.
The relationship between Pepper and his father is unshakeable, but the unlikely friendship between Pepper and Mr Hashimoto has the biggest impact on Pepper. Through this friendship, Pepper learns that he must judge people as individuals, not as racial stereotypes. The movie also highlights the destructive nature of bullying and the devastation that war causes in every country it touches.
Because of its themes and scenes of violence, we don’t recommend Little Boy for children under 14 years.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:
- having faith and believing in something bigger than yourself
- rising above racism and not believing in stereotypes
- loving your parents.