Stolen Childhoods (2003)

58% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
0% of users liked it
(23 ratings)

Meryl Streep narrates this documentary which examines the facts behind the worldwide scandal of child labor. It is estimated that 246 million children work full-time jobs, most logging long hours for meager pay in nations where poverty forces parents to put their youngsters to work. Adding to this… More Meryl Streep narrates this documentary which examines the facts behind the worldwide scandal of child labor. It is estimated that 246 million children work full-time jobs, most logging long hours for meager pay in nations where poverty forces parents to put their youngsters to work. Adding to this tragedy are the dangerous jobs and frequently inhumane working conditions, which children are far less likely to protest than adults. Using footage shot in eight different countries, Stolen Childhoods documents the ongoing crisis in child labor, as well as presenting strategies to improve the situation and discussing what Americans can do to help. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Len Morris
Written By: Georgia Morris
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Dec 31, 2005 Wide

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Well meaning but less than riveting in its execution, this documentary is far better suited for public television exposure than theatrical release.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
A dispiriting public service announcement.
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
Narrated by Meryl Streep, the film thoughtfully lays out the facts while highlighting various programs that aim to eliminate economic incentives to exploit children, and to return them to their families, enabling them to go to school.
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
In its reliance on emotionally loaded voiceover and its disconcertingly direct appeals for support, Len Morris' old-fashioned docu seems more designed for fund-raising pitches than theatrical release.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Meryl Streep narrates this global update on child-labor abuses with all the enthusiasm and alarm of someone reading 'The Pet Goat' to a classroom of second-graders.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
It remains for a tougher documentary to more forcefully trace exactly who benefits from this shameful practice -- multinational corporations and consumers who don't ask enough questions.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
The result is an infomercial rather than a film.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
A gripping indictment of the effective enslavement of children all over the world.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Morris continually drives home the same point, about the inhumanity and cruelty of child labor. Needless to say, it gets redundant and starts feeling wearying and monotonous.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
A blunt but effective guilt trip..., more a political statement than a personal one.
, E! Online
At times, Stolen feels more like a fundraising tool than a theatrical release, but it's still an effective call to action, emphasizing the need for social responsibility by consumers, lawmakers and corporations.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
...as utilitarian a piece of filmmaking as can be imagined
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Stolen Childhoods is a serious work of analysis, rooting the resistance to reform in Third World government corruption and Western profiteering.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Makes the point that we are all one family and the degradation and slavery of one child working in horrible conditions diminishes us all.