Little Boy is a mixed bag of message, magic #FandangoFamily

The trailer for Little Boy and the actual film are quite different.  In a way that’s a good thing because the trailer does not give away key points of the film. The trailer presents a film that focuses on an 8 year old boy whose father goes off to war and the bond that connects them. That aspect of the plot runs all the way through it, mixed in with some childhood bullies, lessons in being different and what life was like in the mid 1940’s. The film is a  mix of drama, comedy and war movie, but those descriptions aren’t the reason for the mixed bag.

Little Boy is the nickname for Pepper Busbee, son of James Busbee who gets sent to WWII because his older son, London, has flat feet. Little Boy is a typical 8 year old and starts to think that if he wishes it to be, then it will become.  He’s helped along the way by attending a magic show where the magician, says “do you believe that you can do this”, which is the same thing that his father always said.

He moves the bottle that the magician had set up and now thinks that he has magical powers. Little Boy sets his sights on bringing his dad home and ending WWII.

But before he can do all of that he gets into trouble with his older brother and has to make amends.  This is the part of the film that is not shown in the trailer. He meets with the local pastor who suggests that if he really wants to realize his desires then he needs to do a series of things. The first part of these tasks is to befriend Hashimoto, the lone Japanese who lives in the village.

It’s the interaction between Little Boy and Hashimoto where the film really takes off. Their interplay, had the film been solely concentrated on them, would’ve made for a much more enjoyable experience.   Most of the film’s humor is from their scenes and the dynamics between a Japanese man, in the midst of WWII living in California and a little boy who is the outcast of the city has lots of opportunity for humor and heart.

Little Boy is also the code name for the first atomic bomb. It’s a strange scene in the film, when they drop the bomb and Little Boy is cheered in the city. As a person who knows history, I know that it saved tens of thousands of lives, but the way that it was handled on film left me shaking my head and eroded some of the good will that the film built up.

Little Boy also uses the pejorative “Jap” dozens of times. Even after you hear it a couple of times it stings, but it’s historically accurate and was used during that time period.

In the end Little Boy is a mix of child hood wonder and fantasy with real-life parental drama and a fascinating story about really getting along with people. It’s a frustrating movie because you really want to like it, but we only came away from it thinking that it was OK. The film kind of works, but only if you really suspend disbelief, watch it on an airplane and are a father.

There are dramatic elements that make Little Boy warrant the PG-13 rating. They consist of xenophobic language, war violence and childhood bullies. Tweens, teens and some families might like Little Boy for its theme of hope, faith and acceptance.