# First Kid
**First Kid** is a 1996 American comedy film produced by [Walt Disney Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-pictures) in association with Caravan Pictures, starring Sinbad as a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the rebellious teenage son of the [President of the United States](https://www.edgepedia.org/president-of-the-united-states). Directed by David Mickey Evans and written by Tim Kelleher, it was released on August 30, 1996, runs 101 minutes, and carries a PG rating for some violence, language, and brief partial nudity.[1](https://movies.disney.com/first-kid) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID) • [3](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | August 30, 1996 (wide), Walt Disney Pictures; distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[1](https://movies.disney.com/first-kid) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID) |
| Director / writer | David Mickey Evans; screenplay by Tim Kelleher[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID) |
| Lead cast | Sinbad (Sam Simms), Brock Pierce (Luke Davenport), James Naughton (President Davenport), Robert Guillaume (Wilkes)[3](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/) |
| Running time / rating | 101 minutes; PG[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID) |
| Box office | Opening weekend $8,434,651 at 1,878 theaters (3rd place); gross USA about $26.5 million[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/First-Kid) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_kid) |
| Critical scores | Rotten Tomatoes 21% Tomatometer from 14 reviews; Metacritic Metascore 48, "mixed or average"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_kid) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/) |
| Home media | Video release September 2, 1997; DVD March 4, 2003; currently streaming on Disney+[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/First-Kid) • [7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/first-kid) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/first-kid) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sam Simms is a wisecracking Secret Service agent whose flashy style keeps him off the elite detail protecting the President (code name "Eagle"). After the President's son makes the nightly news by mooning a mall-opening crowd, the first lady has the boy's previous agent fired, and Simms is assigned to guard Luke Davenport (code name "Prince"), a lonely 13-year-old, according to the Washington Post's review, though Disney's own synopsis calls him 14.[3](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/first-kid-the-insecurity-force/91676062-77ff-40ed-b0b1-8ca56eed8a6b/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116311)
After an initial clash of wills, Simms realizes that Luke's bratty behavior is a lonely child's plea for attention. He teaches Luke to deal with a school bully ([Zachery Ty Bryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/zachery-ty-bryan)), to box, to dance, and to ask a girl to the fall dance.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/first-kid-the-insecurity-force/91676062-77ff-40ed-b0b1-8ca56eed8a6b/) • [11](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/First_Kid?hl=en_US&id=WY-mw8WpcEg) The story turns darker when Luke's mysterious Internet buddy convinces him to ditch his bodyguard in a crowded mall, an abduction that makes the fun and games a matter of life and death; agent and boy together foil a threat to the first family's security.[1](https://movies.disney.com/first-kid) • [3](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/)
## Production
Evans, whose previous credits include the 1993 baseball film *The Sandlot*, directed from Kelleher's screenplay, with Roger Birnbaum and Riley Kathryn Ellis producing, Anthony B. Richmond as cinematographer, Harry Keramidas as film editor, Chester Kaczenski as production designer, and a score by Richard Gibbs.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/first-kid-the-insecurity-force/91676062-77ff-40ed-b0b1-8ca56eed8a6b/) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID) Most of the film was shot in and around [Richmond, Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/richmond-virginia), including St. Catherines private school, with landmark exteriors such as the [Washington Monument](https://www.edgepedia.org/washington-monument), the Mall, and the Treasury Building shot in Washington, D.C. Because filming at the White House was not possible, special sets of the [Executive Residence](https://www.edgepedia.org/executive-residence) and the Oval Office were constructed. Bob Snow, a retired assistant director of the Secret Service, served as technical adviser.[3](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/)
The animal action was monitored by the American Humane Association, which documented how effects were staged: a Belgian Malinois trained to bark had the growl substituted in post production, and a scene in which Luke's bearded collie meets a guard dog at the White House fence was shot with the two dogs filmed separately on opposite sides of the fence.[12](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/first-kid/)
## Box office
The film opened wide on August 30, 1996 in 1,878 theaters, earning $8,434,651 for its first weekend (a $9,342,050 first week) and ranking third. It fell steadily over the following months and closed out its theatrical run with a gross of about $26.5 million in the United States, with no recorded international release.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/First-Kid) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_kid) The Numbers categorizes it as kids fiction and a farcical/slapstick comedy from an original screenplay.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/First-Kid)
## Reception
Critics were lukewarm. The film's 14-review Tomatometer score stands at 21% positive, and its Popcornmeter audience score at 32% from more than 25,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_kid) Metacritic's weighted Metascore is 48, with 11 of 14 critic reviews classified as mixed and 2 as negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers split along the film's intended audience. Janet Maslin of *The New York Times* called it "a clean-cut, affable family film without objectionable elements, beyond the brief and needless violence that complicates its finale," while Variety praised the script's understanding that both main characters are misfits who appreciate each other for their qualities rather than their station.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/) Rita Kempley of *The Washington Post* called it an overgrown sitcom that mixes broad comedy with a shoot'em-up, and noted that with Simms's help Luke confronts the school bully and asks a girl to the fall dance, difficulties she described as common to most children.[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/first-kid-the-insecurity-force/91676062-77ff-40ed-b0b1-8ca56eed8a6b/) Her colleague Desson Howe wrote that Sinbad is likable and often amusing but nearly buried under paid product placements for everything from soda to sneakers, and that the film retreads the lonely-at-the-top portrayal of presidential life seen in *Dave*, *Guarding Tess*, and *The American President*.[13](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/a-white-house-mess/6de39190-1e53-41ee-81db-3523332d1cf2/) TV Guide called it a formulaic kid-pleaser full of spitballs and slapstick, and the *Seattle Times* was most negative, judging the material woeful.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/)
## Themes and availability
Common Sense Media, which rates the film appropriate for ages 10 and up, highlights its 1990s treatment of an online stalker subplot and suggests families compare how cyber-stalking was handled then with how it might be treated today.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/first-kid) The film received one [Young Artist Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-artist-award) nomination.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/) After its 1997 video release and a 2003 DVD, First Kid is currently available streaming on Disney+, and can be bought or rented on Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store, and Fandango at Home.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/first-kid) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/first-kid)
## References
1. [First Kid, Disney Movies](https://movies.disney.com/first-kid)
2. [First Kid (1996), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60223-FIRST-KID)
3. [First Kid (film), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/first-kid-film/)
4. [First Kid (1996) - Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/First-Kid)
5. [First Kid, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_kid)
6. [First Kid - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/first-kid/critic-reviews/)
7. [First Kid - Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/first-kid)
8. [First Kid streaming: where to watch, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/first-kid)
9. [FIRST KID: THE INSECURITY FORCE, The Washington Post (August 29, 1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/first-kid-the-insecurity-force/91676062-77ff-40ed-b0b1-8ca56eed8a6b/)
10. [First Kid (1996), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116311)
11. [First Kid - Movies on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/First_Kid?hl=en_US&id=WY-mw8WpcEg)
12. [First Kid - American Humane Society](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/first-kid/)
13. [A WHITE HOUSE MESS, The Washington Post (August 29, 1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/08/30/a-white-house-mess/6de39190-1e53-41ee-81db-3523332d1cf2/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1995 to 1999 › Family and children's comedies*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license