Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting.  Directed by Jay Russell.  Walt Disney Pictures, 2002.  90 Minutes.

Genre:  Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Family

Rated: PG

A classic story about immortality, independence, and love.  Winnie runs away from home and finds, or rather is found by a family, the Tucks.  She falls in love with Jessie Tuck, but spending eternity with him would mean she could never go home, and never be safe.  She learns that death is as essential to life as love and freedom.  After watching go out and live, LIVE!

Discussion:

·         At the end of the movie, what did Winnie choose to do?  Would you have done the same?

·         If the Man in the Yellow Suit had become the owner of the spring, what do you think would have happened to the town of Tree Gap, or even the world?

·         Why does Angus tell Winnie not to fear death? 

If you liked the movie, you MUST read the book by Natalie Babbitt. 

Book:  Babbitt, Natalie. (1975).  Tuck Everlasting.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.  ISBN:  0374480095

You may also feel inspired to read (or re-read) Peter Pan, the story about the boy who wouldn't grow up.

Barrie, J.M.  (2003).  Peter Pan, 100th Anniversary Edition.  New York, NY:  Henry Holt and Company.  ISBN:  0805072454

Activity idea: 

Tuck Everlasting is about mortality as much as it is about immortality.  Compare the advantages and disadvantages of mortality and immortality and read about or discuss different interpretations of the afterlife with your family and friends. 

Also, what about all those wheel and time metaphors?  Have you ever wondered how people actually keep time?  Well, they have been doing it forever, and to find out how, why not dissect a watch?  Or find a book that tells you how it works or how to create your own time-telling devices like a sundial or a waterclock.

Drop us a line and let others know what you thought about the book, the movie, and if you would choose immortality over death.