Back to the Movies: The Princess Bride

Watch this, Do That:

The Princess Bride

Available for purchase here.

A grandfather shares a book from his child hood with his grandson who is stuck at home sick. The story centers around Westley, a farm boy who returns from years at sea to find his one true love Buttercup promised to a prince. It’s the ultimate fairy tale story of fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love and miracles. This ultimate cult classic is rated PG and stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Mandy Patinkin and Fred Savage. A perfect family movie, the Princess Bride is great for tweens and teens who love adventure.

What to discuss with kids:

Generations of Family. Adults of all ages play a big role in our children’s development. Granparents, aunts and uncles all share a perspective on history and life that is important to our kids.
Don’t Give Up. Fezzik and Inigo Montoya thought Westley was dead. He wasn’t. Buttercup thought she was married to Prince Humperdink. She wasn’t. Keep going, keep watching, keep waiting. Don’t give up just because you think the end is here.
The Meaning of Words. Westley used the phrase “As you wish” when speaking with Buttercup. It was a subtle way of saying “I Love You”. We all know that a lot of teens get older and don’t want their parents being mushy and saying “I love you” all the time. Maybe there are other words that your family could use to say the same thing?

Movie-inspired activities

Now that you’ve seen The Princess Bride, try these screen-free activities inspired by the movie.

Read the book. Like most great movies, it was a book first! William Goldman wrote “The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The Good Parts Version” in 1973. The book contains a few different plot lines, more characters and even more adventure than the movie.
Make Your Kids Pirates! We have a whole treasure chest of pirate activities on our Pirate Pinterest Board that your young swashbucklers will be sure to love. From puppets to treasure hunts, there is something there for pirates of all ages.
Battle of Wits Have kids come up with questions about the movie to ask each other or perhaps even quiz family members who have seen it. There is so much that happens in the movie, the questions will be plentiful! Of course – you could always use quizzes that can be found online – like this one.
Have them TALK with a grandparent. As we mentioned before, keeping communication among the generations in your family is important. Have your child call or visit a grandparent and ask about their favorite books or movies growing up. See if they ever watched the Princess Bride or wanted to be a pirate!
Speak in rhyme. Fezzik and Inigo Montoya speak to each other in rhyme. Challenge your children to do the same for a short period of time. We recommend 15 minutes – trust us – it gets pretty old after that. This activity will challenge their vocabulary and make them stronger when choosing their words. It may also make you mad at us for suggesting it. If your kids are too young, or you are not adventurous, read aloud rhyming books like Fox in Socks or Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.