Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The Kid, in short, is about The Tramp's exploits as a father figure to an orphaned boy that he first tries to get rid of.What I think about The Kid is mostly good. The Tramp is, of course, Charlie Chaplin, one of the biggest movie stars of the time. The film is touted as being "6 reels of joy" in 1920's parlance. Today, it would be known more as a "film for the whole family" (rarely is a movie presented on film reels nowadays). Out for a stroll one day, The Tramp spots a baby that is nearly hurt by some debris being thrown out of a window. The Tramp rescues the boy but then tries his best to unload the child anywhere he can, however an annoying, seemingly omnipresent flat-foot quashes any ideas that come to mind. So, The Tramp takes in the boy and raises the child as his own after reading a note the mother left tucked inside his nappy. We play witness to The Tramp trying his best to raise the boy while still being a virtual vagabond. He teaches The Kid the family business and other nefarious undertakings they need to survive this cruel world. Hilarity ensues.I'm always amazed at how silent film actors can get their message across without a voice to carry it. This movie has a newly-scored background, and only a few title cards to help the viewer understand where it's at. It's all enjoyable acting to watch, even if it's mostly slapstick humor we're laughing at. Jackie Coogan, billed as The Child, is The Kid of whom we're speaking. He really is quite adorable and can surprisingly act. Overall, this is a pleasant family film, and most will enjoy it. Maybe even your own kid will like it.Two things you'll LIKE: 1) It's simple in its presentation, but still magical in a sense. Special effects, 1920's style! 2) It's the perfect length.Two things you'll DISLIKE: 1) After years of watching widescreen, HD and 4K films having never seen a single foot of actual film, the 1.37:1 aspect ratio (think of a square), and not clear-as-crystal 35mm film, may be jarring to watch at first. 2) Slapstick comedy: does it still work?

Today, Charlie Chaplin is known primarily and exclusively for his silent, slapstick humor, but one mustn't forget that he was also a master at tearjerking drama. The Kid is perhaps the finest example of the classic comedy master's ability to tug at our heartstrings. The Kid is a film that is only about sixty minutes in length, and yet it has far more dramatic impact than most films that are twice as long! Although I seem to only be acknowledging the film's more emotional qualities, there is also no doubting that The Kid is also an extremely funny movie, possibly even among the funniest films ever made. Even within this tale of melancholy, Chaplin is able to inject some of his most clever and creative slapstick routines. With the help of child co star Jackie Coogan, Chaplin is able to get laughs that will please almost anyone's sense of humor, from the infantile to the elderly. Jack Coogan in particular has surprisingly solid comedic ability and timing, despite his obvious young age. The image of Chaplin picking up Coogan by his overalls as Coogan is in the midst of a fight is just precious, because of Coogan's reluctance to stop fighting. Instead of calming down and succumbing to his father's orders, he wiggles around vigorously, throwing out useless punches and kicks. Chaplin's ability to fairly balance extreme emotions is the stuff of cinematic legend. As the famous title card so accurately describes: The Kid is "A picture with a smile-and perhaps, a tear."

Yes, this is my favorite movie. No, it's not perfect, but I still love it.This was Charlie Chaplin's first, and--still my opinion--best film.The Kid is a marvelous mixture of both humor and drama. It's about a little man (called The Little Tramp) who finds a baby on the street. The Little Tramp reluctantly takes the child, begins taking care of it--and soon enough, the baby is a kid, more or less.The child is taken from him, but they still attempt to get back to each other in this captivating tale of companionship and togetherness.Go watch the movie--if you already have--then watch it again.

This movie reminds me of The Pursuit of Happiness (2006). The only difference is the color of the movie, the duration, 95 years and the switch C. Chaplin/W. Smith. A miserable life for Chaplin here until he finds the baby - his new life. Happiness, in most of the cases, arrives easier to poor people because they know how to enjoy life with less. The trouble is that there are lots of mothers who still abandon their vulnerable children nowadays. And this movie is from 1921! It looks like plenty of parents did not watch this movie so that it could arrive to their hearts or feelings, and think twice the option of abandoning a child. But what kind of life does Chaplin has in the movie? Some dreadful clothes, a miserable room and a few pennies to eat some soup or cupcakes during the day? However, a child could always bring prosperity as it happens in The Kid. They seek for each other constantly and that is true love. It is understandable that a young mother could reach to the point to abandon a child, but what it is valuable in the movie is that after realising what she has committed, she gives charities to the penniless society. Since the encounter with the kid, Chaplin makes it easier to nourish, because we all know that life is better when you are positive, and moreover when you take it as a joke.