IMDb RATING
7.3/10
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Children from Irish villages engage in mischievous battles using humiliating tactics like cutting off buttons and underwear. They sometimes engage in nude conflicts leading to embarrassing e... Read allChildren from Irish villages engage in mischievous battles using humiliating tactics like cutting off buttons and underwear. They sometimes engage in nude conflicts leading to embarrassing encounters.Children from Irish villages engage in mischievous battles using humiliating tactics like cutting off buttons and underwear. They sometimes engage in nude conflicts leading to embarrassing encounters.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
- Director
- Writers
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe parents of one of the boys in this film took a court action to prevent this film being released. The grounds for their action were that their son's naked buttocks could be seen in the film. the action was dismissed on the grounds that they (the buttocks) didn't appear on screen long enough to allow identification and also that the parents should have raised their objection before the scene was filmed.
- GoofsAfter the third skirmish, the Ballys get dressed in the boathouse/HQ and air some complaints to Fergus. Peter, is wearing a green and black coat with a light blue shirt buttoned up except for the collar in medium shots (from 40:33 to 40:34 and 40:39 to 40:40), but is shown with his shirt completely unbuttoned revealing his undershirt in a longer shot (40:43 to 40:45) which cuts back to the closer shot with his shirt buttoned (40:46). Another unbuttoned longer shot subsequently appears (40:52 to 40:53).
- Quotes
Little Con: His willie, cut off his willie.
- ConnectionsFeatured in What's Up Doc?: Episode #3.6 (1994)
Featured review
Good entertainment that avoids the mushy sentimentality of too many films with child actors
In two small Irish villages the two communities have children who are ongoing hostilities. The Bally's are a little poorer than their rivals the Carricks. However the war of attrition between the two sets of boys is escalated when Fergus cuts all the buttons and buckles off one of the Carrick's clothes. This sparks the war of the Buttons which the Bally's take seriously, saving money, building a head quarters etc. The childish war begins to escalate however and the reality of the adult world begins to make it's presence felt in a very real way.
I set my video to tape one of the Hope/Crosby `Road to' movies late one night. However the destination for that movie was a place that had been the target of a terrorist bomb so it was dropped from the schedules and this movie was put in it's place due to the similar running time I assume. I was a little let down cause I'm a big Hope fan but I thought I'd give this a shot for lack of anything else to watch. I had high expectations when I saw that the team behind this had also produced and written Chariots of Fire, but soon realised this was a much more low key affair.
The plot is a remark of an old French film and sees a village feud between two groups of kids. It could have been sentimental and mushy with tonnes of cute kids just taking things too far 9imagine if Disney had made this!) but happily it is kept on a level field and not allowed to be spoilt in such a crude manner. The plot never gets out of hand and the ending is a sobering blow of reality without falling into sentimentality which it could so easily have done.
The cast are all excellent. The children are not the `cute but cheeky' type favoured in Hollywood but are totally convincing in their roles. The film never judges any of them but lets us just watch without having baddies or goodies just children. The only fault is that it is a little too light and could be basically a film for slightly older kids who can understand the themes and not just take in the idea of fighting. Adults may find it to be a little too childish for long parts, but it's still a good mix of fun and serious material.
Overall I was set for a Bob Hope classic but got this. I got over my disappointment and got into this. It is light and funny but also dark without tipping into the mushy sentimentality that accompanies many films with all-kid casts. Could have been more substantial but is still pretty enjoyable all the same.
I set my video to tape one of the Hope/Crosby `Road to' movies late one night. However the destination for that movie was a place that had been the target of a terrorist bomb so it was dropped from the schedules and this movie was put in it's place due to the similar running time I assume. I was a little let down cause I'm a big Hope fan but I thought I'd give this a shot for lack of anything else to watch. I had high expectations when I saw that the team behind this had also produced and written Chariots of Fire, but soon realised this was a much more low key affair.
The plot is a remark of an old French film and sees a village feud between two groups of kids. It could have been sentimental and mushy with tonnes of cute kids just taking things too far 9imagine if Disney had made this!) but happily it is kept on a level field and not allowed to be spoilt in such a crude manner. The plot never gets out of hand and the ending is a sobering blow of reality without falling into sentimentality which it could so easily have done.
The cast are all excellent. The children are not the `cute but cheeky' type favoured in Hollywood but are totally convincing in their roles. The film never judges any of them but lets us just watch without having baddies or goodies just children. The only fault is that it is a little too light and could be basically a film for slightly older kids who can understand the themes and not just take in the idea of fighting. Adults may find it to be a little too childish for long parts, but it's still a good mix of fun and serious material.
Overall I was set for a Bob Hope classic but got this. I got over my disappointment and got into this. It is light and funny but also dark without tipping into the mushy sentimentality that accompanies many films with all-kid casts. Could have been more substantial but is still pretty enjoyable all the same.
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- bob the moo
- Oct 18, 2002
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Війна ґудзиків
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,712
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,930
- Oct 1, 1995
- Gross worldwide
- $12,712
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