Story

In 1886, Irish orphans Mary (voiced by Alisha Weir) and Tom (voiced by Conor MacNeill) arrive in New York City expecting to be met by their uncle Niall (voiced by Stephen Graham). But when he doesn’t show up, the kids take it into their own hands to cross the country and find him at his address in California.

After sneaking their way onto a train, the siblings befriend another young orphan named Nick (voiced by Javier Cassi Gimeno), who is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair. When the train stops to refuel, the children sneak off to go and pet some buffalo, only to be left behind when the train departs without them. The train is then taken hostage by outlaws as soon as it leaves.

Tom, Mary and Nick must figure out a way to cross the American countryside, navigating encounters with violent outlaws, vicious coyotes and friendly Native American peoples. In this race against the clock, will the children be able to make it back to the train – not only to reunite with their uncle but also to save the train’s hostages?

Themes

Parent loss; crime; wild west; racism; disability and ableism; racial stereotyping

Violence

Buffalo Kids has some violence. For example:

• This movie is a take on the Western genre, so there’s violence throughout. Much of this is presented in a comic or slapstick way. There’s little blood and very few people are injured.
• The cowboy outlaws and the Native Americans fight with each other. A cowboy beats up a Native American elder.
• A villain is crushed to death by bags of gold.
• Two cowboy outlaws are knocked off train tracks in a high-speed chase. It looks like they fall to their deaths.
• Characters often have and use guns in a threatening way, including to shoot out of the windows of a train. No characters are directly shot.
• A man is about to hit a woman across the face when another man intervenes.
• An outlaw threatens to ‘get rid of’ Nick because he’s ‘useless’.
• Many characters are enslaved and used to work in mines, including young children.
• An outlaw threatens to whip a child in the face, but another man punches him in the face.

Sexual references

Buffalo Kids has some sexual references. For example:

• Two adult characters have obvious crushes on each other. They make eye contact and giggle.
• Tom and another girl seem to have crushes on each other. Mary and Nick tease Tom about it.
• A man dips his wife and kisses her enthusiastically.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Buffalo Kids shows some use of substances. For example, a man drinks from a thermos several times and says that it ‘looks like I picked the wrong day to quit drinking’. His wife then reveals that he’s referring to coffee.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity or sexual activity in Buffalo Kids.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Buffalo Kids.

Coarse language

Buffalo Kids has some insults and name-calling, including ‘damn’, ‘little brat’ and ‘moron’.

The movie also has a lot of toilet humour. For example, characters clutch their stomachs and pass wind after eating green berries before running off.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Buffalo Kids is a heartwarming movie about found family and acceptance. It tries to flip the traditional cowboys and Native American genre by addressing harmful stereotypes. It’s also a fantastic representation of disability and accessibility.

Buffalo Kids is well suited to families with slightly older children who want a fast-paced, modern take on a ‘Wild West’ adventure. But because of its heavy themes, violence and scary scenes, it isn’t suitable for children under 8 years. Additionally, we recommend parental guidance up to 11 years because of the movie’s themes of racial discrimination and ableism. These themes could be good to talk about with older children.

These are the main messages from Buffalo Kids:

• No matter how hard things get, teamwork and love will prevail.
• It’s important to accept others as they are.

Values in Buffalo Kids that you could reinforce with your children include acceptance, love, teamwork, positive sibling relationships, found family and a positive outlook.

Buffalo Kids could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues and questions like the following:

• All the white characters initially see the Native American characters in a negative way. They assume that the Native Americans are violent and blame them for many violent acts. They also refer to the Native Americans as ‘savages’ and assume they can’t speak English. You could talk with your children about how to avoid thinking about people from diverse cultures in negative ways.
• There are several instances of ableism towards Nick. Some children call him ‘the weird kid’. They exclude him from play and assume he can’t do anything. Other people say that he’s ‘useless’. How is Nick able to prove people wrong, and how do Mary and Tom help him feel included? You could talk with your children about not treating people negatively, no matter what they look like.
• In one of the final scenes, as the outlaws beat the Native Americans, the US Cavalry comes in and saves the day. It might be worth thinking about whether the movie presents them as ‘white saviours’ for Indigenous people.