Little – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Little

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2019

48%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A mean boss gets magically turned into a kid and learns to be less terrible—it's Big meets The Devil Wears Prada, but without the charm of either.

5.6/10

46%

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Little

movie

PG-13, 2019

48%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A mean boss gets magically turned into a kid and learns to be less terrible—it's Big meets The Devil Wears Prada, but without the charm of either.

5.6

46%

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5.6/10

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Screenwise Verdict

Little wants to be a heartwarming comedy about redemption and empathy, but it's mostly just... fine. The premise is recycled, the jokes are hit-or-miss, and the execution is predictable enough that you'll call every plot beat before it happens.

Marsai Martin deserves credit for her performance and for executive producing this at 14, which is genuinely impressive. But the film itself can't decide if it wants to be a kid-friendly fantasy or an edgier workplace comedy, so it splits the difference and ends up being neither.

The 46% critic score and 5.6 IMDB rating aren't accidents—this is watchable but forgettable. If your teen loves body-swap comedies and rom-coms, they might enjoy it on a lazy Sunday. But there are dozens of better options in the genre, and this one doesn't bring anything new to the table. It's not bad enough to avoid, but it's not good enough to seek out either.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media's 13+ recommendation is spot-on. The workplace dynamics, suggestive content, and mean-spirited humor make this too mature for tweens, while older teens might find it predictable and forgettable. This is squarely in that awkward middle zone where it's not quite family-friendly enough for younger kids but not sophisticated enough to really engage older teens or adults.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

The body-swap premise offers some emotional growth moments as a demanding adult boss becomes a child and learns empathy. However, the film leans heavily on mean-spirited humor, workplace bullying, and cringe-worthy behavior. The protagonist starts as genuinely cruel to her employees, and while there's eventual redemption, the journey involves a lot of emotional toxicity. Some positive messages about kindness emerge, but they're buried under predictable rom-com tropes and uncomfortable power dynamics.

Imaginative

This is a paint-by-numbers body-swap comedy that borrows heavily from Big, 13 Going on 30, and every other age-transformation movie. The fantasy element exists purely as a plot device with no creative exploration of what it means or how it works. The workplace comedy beats are formulaic, the romance is telegraphed from scene one, and there's zero invitation for kids to imagine, create, or explore anything new. It's competently executed but utterly derivative.

Safe

Rated PG-13 for 'some suggestive content.' Web searches confirm a couple of implied sexual situations, workplace bullying and verbal meanness, and one scene where a child is hit with a wrecking ball and breaks bones (not graphic but present). No nudity, gore, or truly shocking content, but the workplace toxicity and some innuendo push it toward the higher end of PG-13. Common Sense Media rates it 13+, which feels appropriate. Not something that would traumatize, but definitely has edge that younger kids shouldn't stumble into.

Enriching

The core message about treating people with kindness and not letting career success turn you into a monster is present, but it's delivered with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. There's potential for discussions about workplace behavior, empathy, and personal growth, but the execution is so predictable and surface-level that any meaningful takeaway gets lost in the formulaic plotting. The entertainment value is middling—critics gave it 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences 63%, and the 5.6 IMDB rating tells the story. It's watchable but forgettable.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

The core message about empathy and treating people with kindness is solid, even if delivered heavy-handedly
Marsai Martin (who also executive produced at age 14!) carries the film with genuine comedic talent
Could spark conversations about workplace behavior, bullying, and personal accountability
Representation matters: a body-swap comedy centered on Black women is still relatively rare in Hollywood

⚠

What to Watch For

Significant workplace meanness and bullying in the first act—the protagonist is genuinely cruel to employees
PG-13 'suggestive content' includes implied sexual situations and innuendo that may go over younger kids' heads
One scene involves a child being hit by a wrecking ball and breaking bones (not graphic but present)
The humor is often cringe-inducing rather than clever, which may not land for all audiences

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think Jordan became so mean as an adult? What made her change?"
"If you could go back to being a younger kid for a day, what would you do differently?"
"How would you handle having a boss who treats people badly? What about if you saw a friend being mean to others?"
"The movie shows Jordan learning empathy—can you think of a time you learned to see things from someone else's perspective?"

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