Heidi

Shirley's A Little Swiss Miss In The Loveliest Story of Her Career !

1937 • 88 min • Drama · Family · Music

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Synopsis

Heidi is orphaned and her uncaring maternal Aunt Dete takes her to the mountains to live with her reclusive, grumpy paternal grandfather, Adolph Kramer. Heidi brings her grandfather back into mountain society through her sweet ways and sheer love. When Dete later returns and steals Heidi away to become the companion of a rich man's wheelchair-bound daughter, the grandfather is heartsick to discover his little girl missing and immediately sets out to get her back.

Our family guide

Best from age 6

Movie Knight Score

123 reviews

100 Reviewers · 1 · 51%
69 Audience · 122 · 49%

Heidi, an orphaned girl, is sent to live with her reclusive grandfather in the Swiss Alps, bringing joy and community back to his life. Later, she is taken to Frankfurt to be a companion for a wealthy, ailing girl, longing for her mountain home and grandfather. Eventually, her grandfather journeys to reunite with her.

Violence & peril: 1/10
Language: 0/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 1/10
Romance & sensuality: 0/10
Scary moments: 1/10

Heads up

Heidi is forcibly taken from her grandfather.
Brief scenes of Heidi
s grandfather initially being stern.
A character uses a wheelchair and is ill.

What it models well

The power of love and kindness
Finding joy in simple things
Family bonds and belonging
Empathy and compassion

Talk about it after

How Heidi
s kindness changes people.
The importance of home and family.
Helping friends who are lonely or sick.

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Heidi. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

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Top billed cast

Director: Allan Dwan • Crew: Walter Ferris, Walter Ferris, Julien Josephson

Reviewer notes

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
Shirley Temple wasn't even ten years old when she starred in this rather enjoyable adaptation of the timeless Johanna Spyri tale. She is the eponymous young girl sent to live on the mountain with her solitary grandfather (Jean Hersholt). Original unimpressed by this arrangement, she gradually manages to wear down the old man and soon has him eating out of her hands.…
CinemaSerf, TMDB Community