My Favorite Child Performances

Oh no, not another Gideon list!!!???!!! Two kinds of performances will be documented here: Performances by actors who were under the age of 18 when they made the movie or the character they played was under the age of 18 and the performance made me believe the character was under the age of 18. And just so you know, no one from the cast of Grease will be on this list...here we go:

60.
Kurt Russell, Follow me Boys



This nearly forgotten Disney family film from the 60's about the formation of America's first boy scout troop was the second feature film appearance of a very young Kurt Russell. I recently learned that Fred MacMurray was not crazy about working with kids and this film was probably no exception, but MacMurray was a professional and this does not show onscreen. Young Kurt actually brought tears to my eyes during a couple of scenes.

59.
Shirley Temple, The Little Colonel



I have to admit that this is the only Shirley Temple film I have seen, but I loved her and the movie.

58.
Tommy Kirk, The Shaggy Dog



Kirk was adorable in this Disney classic as Wilby Daniels, a teenager who comes under a magic spell that turns him into a dog. Once again, Fred MacMurray effectively hides his disdain for child actors playing Wilby's dad and a very young Annette Funicello also appears as Wilby's girlfriend-to-be.

57.
Kristy McNichol, Little Darlings



McNichol was, hands down, the best thing about this movie.

56.
Louanne, Oh God Book II



This forgettable sequel to the George Burns classic does feature what I believe is the only film appearance of this little girl and she was adorable and worked surprisingly well with Burns.

This is a great idea for a thread. Surprisingly, I like all of your choices so far, except Shirley Temple. For some reason, I always found her kind of annoying. (BTW, the picture of Shirley Temple isn't showing up.)

I love the old live action Disney movies with Kurt Russell and Tommy Kirk.

Little Darlings is still one of my favorite teen movies, and Kristy McNichol is great in the movie. She and Matt Dillon were perfect together.

I liked most of the kids in Oh God Book II, not only Louanne, but also John Louie who played her friend Shingo, Rodney Allen Rippy (who you might remember from the old Jack-in-the-Box commercials, or his guest appearance on "The Odd Couple"), and Ricky Segall (who was adorable on several episodes of "The Partridge Family").

Can't remember the last time I saw Ricky Segall's name dropped.

55.
Jonah Bobo, Crazy Stupid Love



Bobo steals every scene he's in as a teen trying to process the impending divorce of his parents (Steve Carell, Julianne Moore) and a crush on his babysitter (Analeigh Tipton), who has a crush on his dad!

He's from Long Island, NY, so it was a big deal around here when he was cast on "The Partridge Family".

Really liked McNichol in Little Darlings.

Great idea again Gideon! I'm waiting till the end to see if you have my all time favourite child performance.

I hope I don't disappoint you, Christine, but I have already decided on #1, it's the stuff in between here and there I'm still waffling about.

54.
Kym Karath, The Sound of Music



As Gretel, the youngest of Captain Von Trapp's seven children, I love when she's showing Maria (Julie Andrews) her hurt finger and says it got caught in something and when Maria asks what she sweetly replies, "Friedrich's teeth."

53.
Tim Matheson, Yours, Mine, & Ours



My first exposure to the actor was his role as the eldest of Henry Fonda's ten children in this 1968 classic. It's fun watching young Mike Beardsley initiate most of the tension between the Beardsley kids and the eight North children, mothered by Helen (Lucille Ball), who is falling in love with Fonda, despite her best judgment.

52.
Corey Feldman, The Burbs



Feldman held his own with an all-star cast in this bizarre comedy about a suburban neighborhood who start to worry about some very suspicious new neighbors.

51.
Jan Handzik, Auntie Mame



This is a performance that I was wary of when I saw the film the first time, but it has grown on me over the years, Handzik is charming as young Patrick Dennis, the apple of Auntie Mame's eye. It takes a lot to hold your own opposite an acting powerhouse like Rosalind Russell but Handzik did it. Ironically, Handzik was never seen in another film and left the business to become an attorney.

50.
Anthony Michael Hall, Sixteen Candles



Hall steals every scene he is in as "Farmer Ted", the actually leader of his little nerd clique (one of whom was a young John Cusack), but is really an insecure teenager who wants nothing more in life to get laid.

49.
Mara Wilson, Mrs. Doubbtfire



Every time she appeared in this movie, I wanted to reach through the screen and pinch her little cheeks...what a cutie.

48.
Jena Malone, Stepmom



It's a great performance and I hate to say this about a child performance, but this character was a b*tch.