The Parent Trap
G

The Parent Trap

Caught in a merry marital mix-up!

1961 • 129 min • Comedy · Family · Romance

Synopsis

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, switch places after camp and go to work on their plan, the first objective being to scare off a gold-digger pursuing their father.

Our family guide

Best from age 7
86
Movie Knight Score
434 reviews
  • 100 Reviewers · 3 · 53%
  • 70 Audience · 431 · 47%

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth, meet at summer camp. They decide to switch places and scheme to reunite their estranged parents. Their plan involves getting rid of a woman who wants to marry their father for his money.

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

Heads up

  • Mild slapstick comedy
  • Some light tension around family separation

What it models well

  • Family reconciliation
  • Clever problem-solving
  • Sibling bond

Talk about it after

  • The challenges of divorce and blended families
  • The importance of honesty
  • The value of working together for a common goal

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

Where to watch

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Top billed cast

Director: David Swift • Crew: David Swift

Trailers & clips

The Parent Trap Trailer

Reviewer notes

Recommended

Hayley Mills is pretty skilful in this spirited effort from David Swift. She plays posh sister "Sharon" and not so posh sibling "Susan" who meet at one of those summer camps that parents offload their unwanted children to during the long holidays. Needless to say, they cannot stand one another and after causing havoc for just about everyone else, are forced into isolation. It is during this confinement that things...

Recommended

Good watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend if you've seen any other Parent Trap and not this one. This holds up surprisingly well: Hayley Mills did an excellent job playing both of the girls. I questioned it once, but I honestly thought it was two different people during the movie. That might explain why so much of the movie looked like green screen even though they established it was a real ...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

I've always heard of this, and its later remake, but never got around to watching it. I have now and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hayley Mills, just like in <em>'Pollyanna'</em>, is infectious so you can't help but like her character(s). She does a respectable job playing two parts here, the camera work and editing in that regard is exceptionally good - I didn't notice any major issues with the special effects or b...

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Gallery

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Details

TMDB audience
7.0/10 (431)
Age rating
G
Status
Released
Box office
$29,650,385
Official site
movies.disney.com

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