I've shared before that I love the Pinewood Derby! The excitement of the competition is infectious. And the look on the boys' faces when their cars cross that finish line is priceless.
Every boy's Pinewood Derby car starts with a simple block of wood. It's amazing to see the designs the boys make out of that wood. We've had King from the Cars movie, Steve from Minecraft, a Bat Mobile, Bullet Bill, an arrow and a leopard. I have even built my own car too. One was a Beyblade car when they were so popular with my boys. The other was a “Travel Bug” car. Travel Bugs are popular in geocaching!
The intent of the Pinewood Derby is for the boys to complete as much of the car themselves as possible. But we've all seen cars that couldn't possibly have been built by the boys. This t-shirt captures this perfectly! It says “Wow! Cool race car, Dad. Can I build one next year?!”
So when I heard about the movie Down and Derby, I knew I had to watch it! Four fathers of Cub Scouts have been rivals since elementary school. That rivalry rears its ugly head when their sons bring home their Pinewood Derby car kits.
From ordering the Pinewood Derby Bible to building a track in their bedroom to breaking and entering, these dads resort to just about anything to win the Pinewood Derby. To quote the synopsis of the movie, “Hilarity builds as the dads teeter on the edge of insanity and resort to backstabbing, cover-ups, and sabotage.”
And what if the boys want to be involved? Well, let's just say that they capitalized on their inability to work on their own cars.
My boys loved this movie! It kept all of us laughing. They both said their favorite part was when three of the dads decided to break into the home of the fourth dad. Hmmm… Now that I think about that, am I raising criminals?! 🙂
One very special moment in the movie is a cameo appearance of Don Murphy, the creator of the Pinewood Derby. Mr. Murphy passed away 3 years after the movie was released.
The movie is rated PG, but I personally didn't find anything that was offensive in it. It's a great family movie that will entertain you and your children. I highly recommend it!
Have you seen Down and Derby? If you haven't, you can order the DVD from Amazon. The movie is also available to watch if you're an Amazon Prime member. If you aren't a member, Amazon is offering a 30 day FREE trial!
Yours in Scouting,
Sherry
P.S. If this movie review was helpful, sign up below for more cool tips and suggestions!
Old Time Cub Scouter
Saturday 23rd of October 2021
The film "Down and Derby" was released early during my tenure as a Den Leader, and became a sub-topic during that year’s Pinewood Derby-themed Roundtable meeting. The leaders who had watched the film agreed that it provided good family entertainment, but they could also draw comparisons between the film’s plot and their own Pack’s Pinewood Derbies. This film inspired many Packs (including my own) to hold a separate, open division race for the (overly-competitive) Dads and other adults and siblings who were interested in building and racing their own Pinewood Derby vehicles!
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