Kidco

KIDCO, which sounds more like a toy manufacturer, expressed some signs of power for its time about getting rich, a major 80s lifestyle theme. The story about selling manure and making big bucks is very unusual, but thought-provoking and imaginative for youths to dream of someday attaining fame and fortune. Unfortunately, that dream becomes a valuable lesson in life when there are trials and drawbacks in operating any kind of business, including lemonade stands, or else eventually getting caught for violating any means of strict regulations. That's the important vital aspect of the film. Targeted at mostly young children, it's too sophisticated and the acting comes up flat, but there is a place in its heart for the fantasy of it all. Talk about an awful lot of kids! A good little film, though ordinary.

A real life drama concerning a brother, his three sisters, and their hugely successful manure business. Perfect fare for the early 80's as the kids rake in the dough and show where a little entrepeneurship can take you. However the movie moves slowly and becomes very complicated when KIDCO runs afoul of the IRS. It's here most likely where the target audience of children will find themselves lost as tax codes, etc are reviewed ad nauseum. This movie was filmed in 1982, but was shelved until being released in 1984.

When this first came out on premium movie channels - our whole family watched it every time it was on. Then we taped it on a VHS tape. Took a couple of trips to Callifornia from Illinois (driving the whole way) had a VHS player and small color TV that would run off car battery and selected movies for kids to watch in transit to keep them occupied and also for us 2 grownups to watch and relax when we'd stop and have our meals/breaks. That was one of the movies taken on those trips and we eventually wore it out because we watched it so much! I wish that Kidco would come out on DVD so I can get a copy for myself and for each of my kids (4) so they can sit and enjoy it with their families like we did.

While the acting may not be up to some peoples standards, the message that the movie gets across is great for kids, parents (even parents-to-be!) - the whole family unit. IF you can find it - enjoy and be prepared to laugh!

This is one that I wish I could have seen as a child. As an adult I know just too much of the realities of business to believe everything in the story. But, it was simple enough to toss aside my adulthood and step into my childhood for a while and see the fantasy of this story.

The Cessna children are always hatching schemes to make money, mostly ones that are on left side of legal, but this time they come up with an apparently legal means to fill the bank account. Their father manages a horse ranch and they start mixing the manure with hay to make fertilizer and sell it to, first a golf course, and later other businesses. They do quite well until their competition sics the regulatory agencies and the tax man on them.

The acting isn't always the best, but that only would make it more real for children. I liked this movie, and I suspect that children would also. After all, I don't think its target audience was anyone over the teen years, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was enjoyable to this adult.

Young Scott Schwartz and his three sisters create their own manure company in this sleight little film that is a time-passer and nothing more. Living on a horse ranch, they create a really booming business. However the state starts to breathe down their throats when they want taxes paid on the company's profit. A kid's courtroom drama that feels a bit forced and honestly a bit silly in its final act. Not quite a recommendation here, but still a film that is actually better than you might think. 2.5 out of 5 stars.