The Princess Bride
Directed by Rob Reiner
TheoScope Rating
Worldview · content · moral framework
Plot
An elderly man reads the book "The Princess Bride" to his sick and thus currently bedridden adolescent grandson, the reading of the book which has been passed down within the family for generations. The grandson is sure he won't like the story, with a romance at its core, he prefers something with lots of action and "no kissing", but he lets grandfather continue, because he doesn't want to hurt his feelings. The story centers on Buttercup, a former farm girl who has been chosen as the princess bride to Prince Humperdinck of Florian. Buttercup does not love him, she who still laments the death of her one true love, Westley, five years ago. Westley was a hired hand on the farm, his stock answer of "as you wish" to any request she made of him which she came to understand was his way of saying that he loved her. But Westley went away to sea, only to be killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. On a horse ride to clear her mind of her upcoming predicament of marriage, Buttercup is kidnapped by a band of bandits: Vizzini who works on his wits, and his two associates, a giant named Fezzik who works on his brawn, and a Spaniard named Inigo Montoya, who has trained himself his entire life to be an expert swordsman. They in turn are chased by the Dread Pirate Roberts himself. But chasing them all is the Prince, and his men led by Count Tyrone Rugen. What happens to these collectives is dependent partly on Buttercup, who does not want to marry the Prince, and may see other options as lesser evils, and partly on the other motives of individuals within the groups. But a larger question is what the grandson will think of the story as it proceeds and at its end, especially as he sees justice as high a priority as action.
Discern Score Breakdown
30%
30%
25%
15%
Audience Suitability
Kids
Under 10
Teens
10–17
Adults
18+
Family
Mixed ages
Content Flags
The Princess Bride is a beloved adventure-comedy with a genuinely wholesome moral vision dressed in fairy tale clothing. Its content is mild by any standard, and its values — sacrificial love, loyalty, justice, the redemption of broken people — are ones Christian families can affirm and discuss. The film's only theological limitation is its purely secular frame, but that frame is richly compatible with Christian imagination and offers natural entry points for meaningful conversation.
Pastoral Take
The Princess Bride is one of the safest and most genuinely delightful films a family can watch together, and it comes with a moral vision that parents can feel good about. Younger children — say, ages 6 and up — may be startled by the torture machine scene or the giant shrieking eel, so parents of sensitive kids under 7 may want to preview those moments, but nothing here is gratuitous or damaging. The film's themes of sacrificial love, justice, loyalty, and the redemption of broken people are rich enough that older children and teenagers will get more out of it each time they watch, making it genuinely worth revisiting as a family and using the discussion questions above to draw out its deeper resonances.
Discussion Points
- 1Westley's answer to everything Buttercup asks him is 'as you wish,' which the story tells us was his way of saying 'I love you.' Can you think of ways that love is shown more through actions and sacrifice than through words? Does that remind you of anything you know about how God shows His love for us?
- 2Inigo Montoya spends his whole life training for one goal: to avenge his father's death. When he finally gets his revenge, he says he's been in the revenge business so long he doesn't know what to do with the rest of his life. Do you think revenge really brings peace? What does the Bible say about justice and vengeance, and who it belongs to?
- 3Westley is 'mostly dead' at one point and is brought back to finish what he started — to rescue the woman he loves. The grandfather frames the whole story as being about true love conquering all. What do you think makes love strong enough to endure suffering and even face death? Does the story remind you at all of a love that actually did conquer death?
- 4Prince Humperdinck is left alive at the end, humiliated and called a coward — Westley says 'to the pain' is worse than death for someone like him. Do you think that's a just ending? How does the film's idea of justice compare to what the Bible teaches about how God deals with the wicked and the proud?
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Cast
Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright
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