Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it "a charming one" with "yet another special performance by Jodie Foster". Gene Siskel also gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said that "what makes "Bugsy Malone" really worth watching—as opposed to being just a cute idea—are the fine performers, terrific choreography, catchy songs, and bright photography." "Variety" wrote that the film had "charm, neat acting by an all-youngster cast, a tongue-in-cheek script and dialog, lilting songs, and score", but that audiences may find it "a bit fragile over its hour-and-a-half duration, and its content and approach just that bit too clever." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote "The world that Alan Parker has created in 'Bugsy Malone' is very peculiar, but he is remarkably successful considering the terrible odds against such a stunt in the first place." Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a rare, original, tuneful, lighthearted, charming, and preposterously innocent family film". Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" panned the film as "a freakish embarrassment" and an "icky misconception", though he singled out Jodie Foster for praise as an actress whose "precociousness is truly extraordinary". Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" called the film "nothing but its godawful idea", writing "We're not watching actors in a story, we're watching kids doing a stunt, and so we're primed to ooh and aah, the way the audience does for a chimp on the Carson show."