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Great Performances by Kids

Wiendish Fitch
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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

Since there's a thread for irritating kids in movies (and there have been lots of irritating kids), I thought it would be just as fun to acknowledge that there have been good, even great, performances by child actors. Let's give the under-18 set their due here!*

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz: Even if you're sick of it or hate it, there's no denying 16-year-old Garland owned this movie.

Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street: Wood's Susan is definitely precocious, but never in the molar-grinding way most kids are made to act. I also have to give it up for the scene where Kris Kringle has Susan pull on his beard to see if it's real. When she sees that it is, Wood's reaction is the sophisticated brand of subtle acting that some adults can't pull off. You see every thought in her face, questioning everything she thought she knew, and it's a beautiful moment.

Hayley Mills in Pollyanna: "Pollyanna" has become a derisive term for a relentlessly positive person. Mills had the daunting, unenviable task of bringing the "Glad Girl" to life, and brought a vibrancy, intelligence, and authenticity to the potentially cloying protagonist. Not once does Mills's Pollyanna ever feel saccharine, phony, or self-righteous... and she rightly won a special Academy Award for her performance.

Jodie Foster in... damn, practically anything she was in. People still rave about her in Taxi Driver, but I actually prefer her more lighthearted roles, such as the scene-stealing Tallulah in Bugsy Malone, and Casey, the scrappy con artist who sees the light in Candleshoe.

 

*Yes, I count teenagers as kids.

 

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Blergh

Blergh

How about Hailee Stanfield in True Grit (2010)? She truly embodied the idea of this young girl determined to reap justice for her late father and keeping her logical  'law and order' logic  in a time and setting where there was no real law and even less order. Despite the cost she paid,  her character truly prevailed and stayed true to her ideals- even more than Alice did in Wonderland!

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)

Capital idea, @Wiendish Fitch!

I’ll second Natalie Wood’s Susan in Miracle on 34th Street**, Dorothy, and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit, and here are my others:

Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in E.T., because damn they really set the bar high for child actors from the 80s onward. And speaking of Drew Barrymore, I’ll add Casey in Irreconcilable Differences. Man, that poor kid really went through it with her stupid selfish parents. She didn’t just need an emancipation, she needed a restraining order!

Miles and Maizie in Uncle Buck, who were sweet and hilarious, unlike their bitchy older sister.

Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter, who was just like I always imagined in the books. Both the character and the actor grew up beautifully on screen. 

Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Maybe it’s my soft spot for Ke Huy Quan, but I never found that character annoying, or if he was, he was cute enough for me to overlook it.

Annie/Hallie in The Parent Trap remake. Lindsay Lohan was great then, and even though she seems to be in a good place now, it makes me sad seeing all the potential for greater things if she hadn’t gone done the path she had ( or if her parents didn’t suck).

And I’ve got a soft spot for the kids in The Little Rascals…but I beg you, don’t google what Bug Hall is like now, unless you want your heart ripped out of your chest.

**Confession, I didn’t think Mara was that bad in the remake, even if she wasn’t Natalie. 

Edited by Spartan Girl
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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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(edited)
12 minutes ago, xls said:

Would like to add Leonardo DiCaprio so amazing in Gilbert Grape about 18 I know but still a 'kid' to me!

Nothing wrong with that. I was also going to include 18-ish Sarah Polley in The Sweet Hereafter. She is hauntingly good as Nicole, a local girl with a horrifying secret.

35 minutes ago, Blergh said:

How about Hailee Stanfield in True Grit (2010)? She truly embodied the idea of this young girl determined to reap justice for her late father and keeping her logical  'law and order' logic  in a time and setting where there was no real law and even less order. Despite the cost she paid,  her character truly prevailed and stayed true to her ideals- even more than Alice did in Wonderland!

Loved Steinfeld in True Grit! She made Jeff Bridges's Cogburn look like a wuss! 

Edited by Wiendish Fitch
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Annber03

Annber03

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Hayley Mills in Pollyanna: "Pollyanna" has become a derisive term for a relentlessly positive person. Mills had the daunting, unenviable task of bringing the "Glad Girl" to life, and brought a vibrancy, intelligence, and authenticity to the potentially cloying protagonist. Not once does Mills's Pollyanna ever feel saccharine, phony, or self-righteous... and she rightly won a special Academy Award for her performance.

I'll always have a spot in my heart for that movie, 'cause I remember going with my mom to visit my grandma on weekends when I was a kid, and we'd all sit and watch this movie together :). I liked her here, too. Same with The Parent Trap, another one Imy mom, grandma and I would watch together (haven't seen the Lohan remake, so can't comment on that one). I should watch Pollyanna again sometime, it's been ages since I've seen it. 

I also agree with your mention of Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. 

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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(edited)
5 hours ago, supposebly said:

Kirsten Dunst as Claudia in the 1994 movie Interview with the Vampire. Truly an old soul in a child's body. A fierce performance all the way through.

She might not have known all the time what she was doing, but every time 'favorite performances' come up in conversation, she is on the top of my list.

God, yes. Claudia is a terrifyingly complex, tragic character, and Dunst nailed her portrayal. 

I have to say, though, I hate how interviewers have been asking her-for the last 30 damn years!!- what it was like to kiss Brad Pitt, and she been giving the same answer for just as long: "It was like kissing my brother."

STOP ASKING HER! SHE WAS 11 OR 12! 

Sorry, this has been bugging me for way too long.

Edited by Wiendish Fitch
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xls

xls

20 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Since there's a thread for irritating kids in movies (and there have been lots of irritating kids), I thought it would be just as fun to acknowledge that there have been good, even great, performances by child actors. Let's give the under-18 set their due here!*

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz: Even if you're sick of it or hate it, there's no denying 16-year-old Garland owned this movie.

Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street: Wood's Susan is definitely precocious, but never in the molar-grinding way most kids are made to act. I also have to give it up for the scene where Kris Kringle has Susan pull on his beard to see if it's real. When she sees that it is, Wood's reaction is the sophisticated brand of subtle acting that some adults can't pull off. You see every thought in her face, questioning everything she thought she knew, and it's a beautiful moment.

Hayley Mills in Pollyanna: "Pollyanna" has become a derisive term for a relentlessly positive person. Mills had the daunting, unenviable task of bringing the "Glad Girl" to life, and brought a vibrancy, intelligence, and authenticity to the potentially cloying protagonist. Not once does Mills's Pollyanna ever feel saccharine, phony, or self-righteous... and she rightly won a special Academy Award for her performance.

Jodie Foster in... damn, practically anything she was in. People still rave about her in Taxi Driver, but I actually prefer her more lighthearted roles, such as the scene-stealing Tallulah in Bugsy Malone, and Casey, the scrappy con artist who sees the light in Candleshoe.

 

*Yes, I count teenagers as kids.

 

So many brilliant performances by kids-thanks for creating this topic! 

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andromeda331

andromeda331

On 5/11/2024 at 8:15 PM, Annber03 said:

I'll always have a spot in my heart for that movie, 'cause I remember going with my mom to visit my grandma on weekends when I was a kid, and we'd all sit and watch this movie together :). I liked her here, too. Same with The Parent Trap, another one Imy mom, grandma and I would watch together (haven't seen the Lohan remake, so can't comment on that one). I should watch Pollyanna again sometime, it's been ages since I've seen it. 

I also agree with your mention of Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. 

I was a huge Hayley Mills growing up. I loved Pollyanna but the Parent Trap was my favorite. I must have watched it a million times. She was such a great actress. 

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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Much has been made of Bonita Granville as evil little hell-spawn Mary in 1936's These Three, but I also want to give props to Marcia Mae Jones as Mary's very unwilling accomplice Rosalie. Rosalie is a sweet kid who made one dumb mistake (stealing a classmate's bracelet), and pays for it horribly when Mary uses this to blackmail her. When Rosalie is pressured to bear false witness against her favorite teacher Martha Dobie (Miriam Hopkins), her breakdown is utterly devastating and heart-wrenching. You genuinely feel her anxiety, guilt, and fear.

Jones is also truly touching at the end,

Spoiler

after Martha enlists Rosalie's help to bring Mary down. Martha has forgiven Rosalie (though I don't think she was ever truly angry with her), but judging from the way she says goodbye to Martha, you sadly wonder if Rosalie will ever forgive herself. 

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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Surly adolescents/teens usually make me want run for the hills (they can't all be Daria), but I actually liked Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha in Barbie. She's more than a bit of a brat, but she's also smart and has some social awareness (the movie isn't afraid of addressing Barbie's somewhat controversial legacy). I like how how the wacky adventures that follow meeting Barbie not only make Sasha a little more patient and open-minded, but make her appreciate what a great mom she has.

Yay, a movie that isn't 100% on the kid's side for a change!

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Surly adolescents/teens usually make me want run for the hills (they can't all be Daria), but I actually liked Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha in Barbie. She's more than a bit of a brat, but she's also smart and has some social awareness (the movie isn't afraid of addressing Barbie's somewhat controversial legacy). I like how how the wacky adventures that follow meeting Barbie not only make Sasha a little more patient and open-minded, but make her appreciate what a great mom she has.

Yay, a movie that isn't 100% on the kid's side for a change!

I liked that too. And I also loved that the movie, while calling out Barbie’s controversies, also called out Sasha’s narrowed minded ideas of feminism and the fact that you can’t just throw the word “fascist” out at anything or anyone you don’t like.

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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I did mention Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, but I certainly don't think her other juvenile roles should be chopped liver. No, they weren't all classics, but Garland was always the best thing about her pre-stardom films. One standout is the number "In Between" from 1938's Love Finds Andy Hardy. It's actually pretty gutsy to have a song about the pitfalls of adolescence, because it's true: adolescence sucks, and you rarely hear people recall it fondly.

Apologies for the awkward silence in the last two minutes.

 

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Wiendish Fitch

Wiendish Fitch

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Shirley Temple is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. I admit a lot of her performances are horribly dated and saccharine (though it feels unfair to place all the blame on her). I think I just mostly respect her for ending up so well-adjusted as an adult, because that level of fame when you're in the single digits would all but crush anyone else.

But to give the late Ms. Temple her due, if I had to pick one performance that I think really displays her chops, it would be as Sara Crewe in 1939's The Little Princess. Yes, they change the ending from the book (to be fair, so did the excellent 1995 version), but I like that Temple genuinely goes through the emotional wringer. It turns out it is incredibly hard to stay brave and positive when you've lost everything and the world seems determined to break you.

I also love the scene where Sara stands up to Miss Minchin. The "try it, bitch" look Temple gives Mary Nash when she threatens to slap her is perfection.

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Danny Franks

Danny Franks

Watching Jurassic Park for the millionth time, and I think it often goes unmentioned how good the kids' performances are in that movie. They could easily be a distracting, obnoxious presence (like the kids in the new Jurassic World movies), but they just behave like kids.

Arianna Richards, in particular, has a couple of really great moments - the sheer panic and terror in her voice when she's telling Grant that "he left us! He left us!" and the look in her eyes when she sees the Raptor's silhouette as the kids are tucking into all the food.

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tearknee

tearknee

2 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Rebecca Harrell in the underrated Christmas film Prancer is a delight: cute without being cloying, scrappy but still sweet, you root for Jessica and Prancer every step of the way.

She would have been the choice for Rhoda Penmark if the proposed early 1990s theatrical remake of The Bad Seed had happened.

 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

3 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Rebecca Harrell in the underrated Christmas film Prancer is a delight: cute without being cloying, scrappy but still sweet, you root for Jessica and Prancer every step of the way.

Ooh, another good one. Some people gripe that she should’ve been more understanding toward her father, but cut the poor kid some slack. She just lost her mom, her dad was snapping at her, and the last thing she needed was to lose her home by her dad sending her off to live with her aunt (even if he thought he was doing it for the right reasons.

Also give props to the kid that played her brother too. I love the scene where, after being kind of a jerk for most of the movie, he tries to stop her from running away by telling her that he loves her even if he doesn’t understand her.

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