Watching Richie Rich (1994) with My 6-Year-Old

Introducing your childhood favourites to your tamariki is always a mix of excitement and a little trepidation. Will they love it as much as you did, or will they think it’s outdated and cheesy? This weekend, I decided to share Richie Rich (1994) with my six-year-old daughter. Spoiler: It went better than expected—though I might’ve underestimated how “90s” some of those scenes really are!

Prepping for a Smooth Viewing Experience

When watching any film, I like to talk with my daughter about what she’s in for. Richie Rich is rated PG, meaning parental guidance is recommended for younger viewers, with a warning for violence. She knows the yellow PG rating is her cue to pause and check in with us, as there might be something not quite right for her age. (The green G means "go," and the red R means "no-no.") In this case, we needed to navigate the violence together. PG films can cover a wide range, from content that’s perfectly fine for a 6-year-old (who gets easily scared) to stuff that might be a little too intense. With Richie Rich, the violence was on the mild side and softened by the film’s humour—nothing that would make her want to copy what she saw. There were no injuries, even when Richie gets shot in the chest multiple times but luckily has a bulletproof spray on his shirt (you get the vibe—very unrealistic). However, with some PG films, the violence can hit differently. For more on that, check out our blog on the Christmas movie Red One.

When Tricky Scenes Aren’t So Tricky

Knowing there were a few intense moments ahead, we had a look at the content breakdown on the Find a Rating tool and discussed the rating and content warning before hitting play, so she felt comfortable. I always like to prep her for any potentially tricky scenes, like when Richie’s parents’ plane crashes into the sea because of a bomb. I reassured her not to worry, as they quickly reappear safe and sound in a life raft.

Usually, she appreciates knowing what’s coming and uses strategies like covering her ears, muting the TV, or closing her eyes. Sometimes, she’ll even decide a scene is too much and ask to stop watching. But this time, when the plane crash scene arrived, she rolled her eyes at me and declared, “This shouldn’t be considered a tricky scene.” Fair call—apparently, 1990s suspense doesn’t hit quite the same in 2024.

Finding Meaningful Lessons in the Story

The rest of the movie was an absolute hit, though! She was captivated by the idea of having a McDonald’s in your house (some things never age), loved the rollercoaster in Richie’s backyard, and cracked up at the manure-joke payoff.

But the most meaningful moment came from our conversation about Richie’s loneliness. Despite having all the money in the world, Richie struggles with making friends, and my daughter quickly picked up on how much that impacted him. When she said, “Having friends is better than being rich,” I knew my parenting job was done (ha-ha.

She told me that she didn’t feel scared during scenes that I thought might be intense for her, like the bad guys chasing Richie’s family with guns or the kids getting trapped in a machine that turns rubbish into bowling balls. Scary scenes even at a low level haven’t always sat well with her – but this will be different for every child. Instead, she was completely engaged and giggling her way through the film. It was great to watch her enjoy a movie that I loved as a kid, and it’s encouraged me to keep sharing these classics with her.

How to have the Conversation

Conversations like these can take a couple of trials to master but once you get into a good flow you might find that your tamariki start the conversation before you do. Our advice is it’s best to start early so your whānau gets used to talking together about anything they watch – before, during and after. Some conversations starters are:

• Were there any parts of the story that made you feel sad, happy, or scared?
• What did you think about the friendships in the movie? Were the characters good friends to each other?
• How did the characters handle the challenges? What would you have done?
• Did anything in the movie remind you of something you’ve seen or experienced before?
• Was there anything you didn’t understand or want to talk about?

Questions like these not only make it a fun discussion but also helps tamariki think critically about what they watched. Plus, it gives you a better understanding of how they’re processing different types of content.

Final Thoughts

Sure, not every film will age well (or make the cut with a modern 6-year-old), and some of my old favourites might even make me cringe. But watching Richie Rich together reminded me that the connection we share over these stories—and the conversations they spark—is what really matters. Bring on more classics!

Further reading

• Richie Rich (Content breakdown)
• Learn and Watch, don’t Watch and Learn (the hard way) – ‘Find a Rating’ Tool (Blog)
• Films and Feels: Embracing the Magic of Comfort Watches (Blog)
• What the M?! (Blog)
• Brain Development – how it works, why it matters (Resource)