Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
vs.
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Shared Plot: A family has 12 kids. (Is that a plot?).
THE GOOD
Seeing the draconian, backward-seeming rules these children had to live by may make your kids happy to live in the modern era.
THE BAD
There's not much story to speak of. It's more like slice-of-life vignettes—which, unfortunately, doesn't give kid viewers much to grab onto. Oh, and—spoiler alert!—the ending is a tragic tearjerker.
THE UGLY
A Planned Parenthood activist is depicted as a child-hater and mocked derisively by the family.
WHAT THEY CHANGED
While the parents of the original run their massive household with Von Trapp–like military precision, the new couple (Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt) seem to be barely surviving amid a cacophonous chaos. The parents also engage in a whole lot of PDA. And an inordinate amount of silly slapstick.
AND THE WINNER IS...
While the remake is an entirely predictable, often cheesy movie, it has a lot more entertainment value for kids. Frankly, we have a hard time imagining young kids sitting all the way through the 1950's version.
Next Page: The Love Bug (1968) vs. Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
