TL;DR: If you want to teach your kids about grit, skip the dry, low-budget biopic Walt Before Mickey. It’s a slog that equates "perseverance" with "suffering through bad lighting." Instead, try Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for a lesson in getting back up, Celeste for mastering frustration, or The Wild Robot by Peter Brown for a beautiful look at adaptation.
We all want our kids to have "grit"—that magical quality that keeps them from throwing a controller across the room when they lose in Roblox or quitting piano because "it's too hard."
For a while, Walt Before Mickey was the go-to recommendation for this. It tells the story of Walt Disney’s early failures, which, on paper, sounds great. In reality? It’s a bit of a "brain rot" version of a history lesson. It’s slow, the production value is questionable, and it presents perseverance as this grim, joyless grind.
If we want our kids to actually internalize perseverance, we have to show them that it’s not just about suffering—it’s about the emotional process of failing, feeling like garbage, and deciding to try a different way.
Here are better alternatives that won't make your kids (or you) want to stare at a wall instead of the screen.
Ages 9+ This isn't just a superhero movie; it’s a masterclass in the "growth mindset." Miles Morales spends 75% of this movie failing. He’s clumsy, he can’t control his powers, and he’s constantly told he’s not ready. The "Leap of Faith" scene isn't about being perfect; it's about the moment you decide to stop letting fear of failure stop you. It’s visually stunning and actually speaks the language of modern kids.
Ages 7+ Perseverance is often a family affair. This Netflix movie shows a dysfunctional family trying to save the world, but the real "grit" is in the daughter, Katie, who keeps making her weird art despite no one "getting" it. It highlights that perseverance is often about staying true to your vision when the world (or your dad) thinks you're "weird."
Ages 5+ For the younger crowd, Sing is surprisingly effective. Buster Moon is essentially the same character as Walt Disney in the "failed businessman" sense, but the stakes feel real and the "hitting rock bottom" moment is handled with actual heart. It teaches that when you’re at the bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up—but you still have to do the work to climb.
Sometimes watching a movie isn't enough. If you want a kid to feel what it’s like to struggle and succeed, you put a controller in their hands.
Ages 10+ If you only pick one thing from this list, make it this. Celeste is a platformer about climbing a mountain. It is notoriously difficult, but here’s the genius: it treats the player with incredible kindness. Every time you "die," you respawn instantly. The game explicitly tells you to be proud of your death count because it means you’re learning. It’s a literal metaphor for managing anxiety and stubbornness.
Ages 10+ Warning: This game is hard. Like, "I might need a new TV" hard. But for a kid who needs to learn how to analyze why they failed and adjust their strategy, Cuphead is a laboratory for grit. You cannot win through luck; you can only win through practice and pattern recognition.
Ages 7+ This moves the needle from "playing" to "creating." When kids build a level in Super Mario Maker 2, they have to be able to beat it themselves before they can upload it. This creates a feedback loop of: Design -> Fail -> Iterate -> Succeed. That is the definition of entrepreneurship, without the boring 1920s suits.
Check out our guide on why "hard" games are actually good for kids
Ages 8-12 This book (and the recent movie adaptation) is a beautiful look at adaptation. Roz the robot is stuck in a wilderness she wasn't programmed for. She has to learn, fail, and slowly win over the local animals. It’s about the "long game" of perseverance—the kind that takes months and years, not just a three-minute training montage.
Ages 12+ For teens, skip the biopics and go to Chef's Table on Netflix. Each episode follows a world-class chef. You’d be surprised how many of them started with a bankrupt restaurant, a failed concept, or years of peeling potatoes for no pay. It’s "Walt Before Mickey" but with better cinematography and actual stakes.
Ages 12+ Based on a true story, this is the "prestige" version of a perseverance story. It’s about William Kamkwamba, who built a windmill to save his Malawian village from famine. It doesn't sugarcoat the struggle, and it shows that grit isn't just a "nice to have" personality trait—it’s a survival skill.
There’s a toxic version of perseverance circulating in "hustle culture" (and some older media) that suggests you should just work yourself to death until you win. We don’t want that for our kids.
We want them to understand Deliberate Practice.
- The Walt Before Mickey approach: "Just keep trying the same thing until it works or you collapse."
- The Screenwise approach: "Fail, look at the data, adjust your strategy, and try again with more knowledge."
When kids play a game like Minecraft and their house gets griefed or they lose their diamond armor in lava, that is a "teachable moment" for grit. Do they quit the server, or do they build a better chest system?
When you finish one of these movies or games, don't give a lecture. Just ask one or two "low-stakes" questions:
- "What was the moment [Character] almost gave up? Why didn't they?"
- "If you were playing [Game], what would be the most frustrating part for you?"
- "Did they win because they were the 'best,' or because they stayed in the game the longest?"
- Preschool/Early Elementary (Ages 4-7): Focus on the emotional regulation side of grit. Bluey is the GOAT here. Check out the episode "Bike." It’s five minutes of pure perseverance gold.
- Middle Childhood (Ages 8-12): This is the prime time for "hard" games like Cuphead or creative challenges in Scratch. They are old enough to handle the frustration but need you to help them "name it to tame it."
- Teens (Ages 13+): They can handle the complexity of "failed" success. Shows like The Last Dance (about Michael Jordan) show the grit—and the personal cost—of being the best.
Perseverance isn't a lecture you give; it's a muscle they build. Walt Before Mickey is like a pamphlet about exercise—it’s boring and doesn’t actually get you moving.
If you want to teach grit, give them media that respects their intelligence and shows the messiness of failure. Whether it's Miles Morales falling off a skyscraper or a robot trying to talk to a goose, those are the stories that actually stick when things get hard in real life.
- Swap the Movie Night: Instead of a dry biopic, queue up Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Try a "Hard" Game: Download Celeste and play it with them. Let them see you fail and keep going.
- Check the Wise Score: Before you pick your next "educational" movie, check its Wise Score to see if it actually delivers on the "learning" promise or if it's just boring.
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