first off the book johnny tremain be both one of the great child story and one of the great revolutionary war novel ever write . publish during the second world war it have never go out of print since and rightly so . a source material it be perfectly suit to be give a movie adaption . and when the movie stick to follow the book it be rather entertaining in a 1950s disney sort of way . the first half hour be close enough to the book to entertain the fan . the character of johnny have be change from arrogant and cocky to pure and innocent in the best tradition of disney film which can hardly come a a surprise but to expect anything else out of a kid movie be to be let down . the second half hour lose the mood but keep near the plot . the boston tea party be entertain although the singing after it be unforgivably disney . but by the last half hour the book be throw to the wind a we see the war first hand . something about see laugh child dance around the countryside shoot at redcoat strike me a kind of disturb for a disney film . obviously war be a great adventure that people could enjoy in a typical 50 fashion where nobody but the bad guy get hurt and everyone could share a nice drink afterward . oh and and somebody who be suppose to die and whose death give the entire book meaning and doesn not . that would be too dark for a disney film . now if i think that any of those addition be beneficial to the movie i couldn not really complain but none of them work . the first battle be alright but the psychotic killing kid have fun be just awful . the producer probably couldn not see why this might be consider creepy . the act from the lead be awful and he doesn not seem to have be in anything else afterward . the guy play rab seem to bring a little of the distant charm describe in the book but the script doesn not give him more than one or two moment . walter sande a paul revere be good a be a few of the founding father but nothing to write home about . on the plus side the set be marvelous . i have never see colonial boston come to life so well since and largely due to an absence of revolutionary war film . the battle of lexington be moderately well do rather obviously leave open the question of who fire first . and the first half hour entertains . so in conclusion represent good book and good set and bad everything else . remake anyone .