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Dennis the Menace

Dennis the Menace

Family · Comedy · 1993

Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam comes to town.

Movie details

Dennis the Menace

“He's armed... He's adorable... And he's out of school for the entire summer.”

1993 Family · Comedy 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam comes to town.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Dennis the Menace?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nick Castle

Written by

John Hughes

Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau

Mr. Wilson

Mason Gamble

Mason Gamble

Dennis Mitchell

Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright

Martha Wilson

Christopher Lloyd

Christopher Lloyd

Switchblade Sam

Lea Thompson

Lea Thompson

Alice Mitchell

Robert Stanton

Robert Stanton

Henry Mitchell

Amy Sakasitz

Amy Sakasitz

Margaret Wade

Court is in session

Put Dennis the Menace on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.