Little
Universal Pictures | Release Date: April 12, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
20
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
TheWrapCandice FrederickApr 10, 2019
Little is a funny, surprisingly heartfelt film, embedded in traditional themes and amplified by the talented Martin, who reminds us that she and other youth like her aren’t just adorable — they’ve got boss mentalities that cannot and should not be ignored. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattApr 12, 2019
The script’s second half drifts, going too soft on teachable moments, but Little still finds its loopy sweet spot: Tom Hanks’ "Big" flipped and recast as pure black-girl magic. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshApr 10, 2019
The message itself is poignant, and never gets lost in the antics or humor. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicWeldon B. JohnsonApr 11, 2019
Little won't offer a lot of surprises as it hums along to the inevitable conclusion, but it is funny. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 10, 2019
Consistently funny if all-around a bit too familiar. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterBeandrea JulyApr 10, 2019
What really works about Little easily surpasses what doesn’t. Read full review
67
Original-CinLiam LaceyApr 11, 2019
If you think Little sounds like something a 10-year-old might come up with after seeing Tom Hanks’ Big, you would be entirely correct. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerApr 10, 2019
Little moves quickly and can feel a little scattered, with subplots about Jordan befriending a group of middle-school misfits, April’s idea for a new app, and multiple love interests. But the film is grounded by its actors, the key to any body-swapping material. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comNell MinowApr 12, 2019
Hall and Martin do their considerable best, but Rae's April is the far more interesting character. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldApr 11, 2019
But Martin — who at age 10 came up with and pitched the idea for this movie (she’s now 14) — carries this movie on her small, resolute shoulders. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleApr 10, 2019
The pacing is sluggish when it should be quickening, and nothing in how Little turns out will surprise anyone. Yet the trio of Hall, Rae and Martin makes Little a consistently pleasant experience. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 10, 2019
It’s silly-sweet rather than silly-stupid, the script has enough snap to count, and – really, now – it allows us to spend time with Issa Rae. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonApr 10, 2019
The idea that “little” Jordan’s response to attractive older men is guided by her inner adult yields some creepy-funny laughs that many will find mostly creepy. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansApr 15, 2019
Directed by Tina Gordon Chism, co-writer of What Men Want, the film is cute enough, even if key ideas aren’t especially novel: it’s lonely at the top; we need to connect with our inner child; everyone is insecure as a teenager. Read full review
60
Time OutTomris LafflyApr 11, 2019
Little wears the theme of black sisterhood on its sleeve, growing into something winsome by prioritizing contemporary concerns over nostalgia. Read full review
60
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 11, 2019
Although Little bears some similarities to the 1988 kid fantasy "Big," it’s a thoroughly modern comedy, one that lives comfortably with the idea that women can hold power and authority–though because they’re human, they can misuse it, too. Read full review
60
EmpireBeth WebbApr 11, 2019
Either choose to dwell on Little’s formulaic storyline, or be charmed by the confident comedic performances of its three stars. One will lead to an infinitely more fun time at the movies. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 10, 2019
As an unapologetic genre exercise, it's also fairly harmless, painless stuff. Thanks largely to the work of its cast, which does more with Tracy Oliver and director Tina Gordon's decidedly uneven, underdeveloped script than anybody has a right to hope for, Little ends up being mostly enjoyable in its own lightweight, empty-calorie and entirely unexpected way. Read full review
58
The PlaylistKimber MyersApr 10, 2019
Little is a blast, but it’s a shame that it’s not a better movie. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 12, 2019
The humor is typically sitcom-ish, tending more toward sophomoric gags than genuinely funny material. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiApr 12, 2019
I only wish the Little laughs were bigger. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaApr 12, 2019
As many times as I tried to get onboard with its proposed brand of breezy fun, it kept kicking me off, if only because I found myself running up against the very foundation of its premise. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerApr 12, 2019
The cast has chemistry, but Little is marred by plot holes, a strange fixation on donuts and at least one inexplicable scene. Read full review
50
ConsequenceAlex HuntsbergerApr 10, 2019
According to Martin, the reason she wanted to make Little was that she so rarely saw people like herself on the screen. By that measure, the movie is a success. Fingers crossed for many more films like it in the coming years. And hopefully those movies will have an easier time being just one thing at a time, instead of trying to do everything at once and missing the mark in the way Little ultimately does. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottApr 10, 2019
Little is overly protective of its characters and its audience; it’s soothing rather than sharp. That’s most likely because of an anxious concern for grown-up sensitivities. Smart 13-year-olds are likely to roll their eyes as well as laugh. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 10, 2019
Is Little lousy? No. It goes along pleasantly, unimportantly, predictably. Here and there, a mild chuckle might escape your lips. Ten minutes later, a half-hearted titter, or perhaps a knowing chortle. Just don’t expect to guffaw or cachinnate, and forget all about busting a gut. It’s not that kind of comedy. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithApr 10, 2019
Its most amusing moments are in the interplay between the central characters as they adjust to an abruptly shifting reality. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 10, 2019
Whenever things seem really dire, Martin saunters in with attitude to spare, and puts everything in perspective. With talent that big, the rest of the movie seems little by comparison. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 10, 2019
Funny people can cover for a lot of screen comedy sins. But in this one, the sins aren’t “Little” and the players too hampered by script and direction to put out the dumpster fire this very nearly is. Read full review
42
UproxxVince ManciniApr 10, 2019
Little would’ve required Oscar-caliber writing and a once-in-a-lifetime child actor to pull off, and it just doesn’t have those. It has Regina Hall but it can’t use her. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter TraversApr 11, 2019
Alternately smarmy and achingly familiar, Little squeezes "Big" for one more run through the Hollywood grinder. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 11, 2019
Little is colourful enough, with some inventively weird costumes to distract you from the arbitrary plot. But it has a dog of a script, co-written by the director, Tina Gordon, and Girls Trip’s Tracy Oliver, both scrabbling around fruitlessly for inspiration before and after the central conceit drops. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 10, 2019
The comedy is fundamentally hobbled by the split in narrative focus between Jordan and April. We are never sure who is the heroine here, who has the comedy underdog status, who we are supposed to be rooting for. Read full review
38
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJan 24, 2020
I wouldn’t call Little a showcase for Issa Rae, who gets one of her first significant big-screen roles, but anyone who can bring this much life and intelligence to such tired material certainly deserves praise. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternApr 11, 2019
You could call it, more accurately, a middling notion that flies off the rails. Read full review
25
Washington PostMark JenkinsApr 12, 2019
The movie is so flimsy that people might wonder how it could possibly have been made. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleDanielle WhiteApr 10, 2019
Despite the star power pushing this thing along, the plot is seemingly held together with duct tape, but the more problematic aspects involve sloppy editing. Read full review
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