I saw this movie when i was a kid and thought it was wonderful. i must have been about 12 or 14. It made me want to eat algae pancakes. I think it had a good lesson, and remember it made me appreciate the mountains. maybe the acting isn't all that great, but it is a Good kid movie. i don't remember why the title was my side of the mountain but i have thought about it over the years and i am 42 now so it must have had an impact on me to last this long. with all the bad movies they make for kids these days i don't think you can go wrong with this one. if you go into it with low expectations you may find that is was much better than you thought it would be.