Kicking & Screaming isn't going to backfire and turn your kid into a tantrum-throwing monster, but it also won't deliver a neat, tidy lesson about resilience. Why? Because that movie is actually a satire about parents losing their minds over youth sports, not kids learning to cope with failure. It’s hilarious, but the joke is entirely on the adults. For a 9-year-old who just got cut from the competitive team, you don't need a cautionary tale about bad sportsmanship—you need movies that validate the sting of rejection, celebrate the kids on the B-team, and show them that the pivot is often better than the original plan.

TL;DR: Kicking & Screaming won't ruin your kid, but it's a comedy aimed at over-competitive parents rather than a roadmap for dealing with rejection. For a 9-year-old who just got cut, the best movies validate the disappointment while showing that the "B-team" is usually where the actual fun happens. Skip the lectures and queue up Monsters University for a masterclass in pivoting when your dream dies, or Little Giants to celebrate the misfits who make their own squad.

Getting cut sucks. At 9 years old, the transition from "everyone plays" rec leagues to competitive travel teams is often a kid's first encounter with structural rejection. They weren't good enough. That stings.

According to Screenwise community data, 92% of families use TV regularly, and when it comes to Disney+, 50% of viewing happens together. Meanwhile, 70% of families report their kids at this age don't have total independent screen usage yet. This means you have a captive audience and a prime opportunity to use a movie night to process the letdown—without having to deliver a face-to-face lecture they don't want to hear.

Here is the exact movie rotation for the kid who just got cut.

If you're wondering what lesson this 2005 Will Ferrell comedy will deliver, the answer is: a lesson for you, not him.

The movie follows a hyper-competitive dad (Ferrell) who takes over a youth soccer team and slowly turns into his own toxic, win-at-all-costs father (Mike Ditka). The kids in the movie actually just want to play and have fun; the "kicking and screaming" is entirely coming from the adults.

Will it backfire? No. It's rated PG, the humor is slapstick, and 9-year-olds find Will Ferrell drinking too much coffee objectively funny. It's a great tension breaker. But it won't cure the sting of not making the travel squad. It’s a mirror held up to the ridiculousness of youth sports culture. Watch it to laugh, not to teach a lesson about grit.

When a kid gets cut, the hardest part isn't losing the sport—it's losing the identity. They thought they were "the baseball guy" or "the soccer girl." If you only watch one movie on this list, make it this one.

Monsters University This is the single best movie about failure ever made for kids. Mike Wazowski works harder than anyone else, studies more than anyone else, and wants it more than anyone else. And he still fails. He gets expelled from the elite scare program because, at his core, he just isn't scary.

These are the movies specifically about the kids who didn't make the cut, but decided to play anyway.

Little Giants The ultimate "we got cut" movie. When the elite pee-wee football team rejects a group of neighborhood kids for not being big enough, fast enough, or coordinated enough, they form their own team.

The Sandlot This isn't about a team at all—and that's the point. It's just kids playing baseball in a dirt lot every single day of the summer because they love the game.

Cool Runnings A Jamaican sprinter trips during the Olympic qualifiers, misses his lifelong dream, and decides the only logical next step is to start a bobsled team.

Get help picking a next movie for family night

If you're using these movies to help your kid process getting cut, here is how you handle the actual living room dynamic.

Let them be mad. You asked if "kicking and screaming" will backfire. If you mean your kid throwing a fit about getting cut—no, it won't backfire. Let them be mad. Let them say the coach is an idiot. Let them say the kids who made it are jerks. Nine-year-olds don't have the emotional regulation to process structural rejection with grace. Suppressing their anger backfires; giving them a safe place to vent it doesn't.

Don't pause the movie to drop a lecture. The absolute fastest way to ruin Monsters University is to pause it and say, "You see, buddy? Mike didn't make the team either, but he kept a positive attitude!" Just watch the movie. Let the story do the heavy lifting. They are smart enough to connect the dots.

Talk about the pivot. When the movie is over, don't ask them how they feel about getting cut. Ask them about the characters. "It's crazy that Mike worked that hard and still failed. What do you think you would have done if you were him?" Keep the spotlight on the fiction so they can process the reality.

Ask our chatbot for conversation starters about failing

Q: Is it okay to let my kid quit the sport entirely if they don't make the competitive team? Yes, but give it a cooling-off period. Getting cut from the travel team doesn't mean they have to stop playing in the rec league, but the immediate sting will make them want to burn their cleats. Give it two weeks before making any final calls on next season.

Q: What age is Kicking & Screaming actually appropriate for? It's a solid PG and lands best for kids ages 8 and up. There is some mild language and slapstick violence, but the main thing to know is that the humor is largely based on adults acting like absolute maniacs.

Q: How do I talk to my kid about getting cut without sounding preachy? Validate the unfairness first. Say "I know this sucks and I'm sorry," and then stop talking. Don't immediately rush to "this builds character" or "you'll get 'em next year." Sitting with them in the disappointment is far more effective than trying to silver-lining it on day one.

For more ways to navigate this age bracket, check out our digital guide for elementary school. If you want to keep the movie nights rolling once the sting wears off, bookmark our best movies for kids list for the full age-by-age breakdown of what's actually worth your family's time.