A Christmas Story poster

A Christmas Story (1983)

Film · 1h 33m · Rated PG

Comedy, Family

A young boy's whimsical, wholesome quest for a BB gun defines a heartwarming 1940s Christmas.

Nostalgic, with wholesome humor. A family watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 29, 2026.

A Christmas Story parents guide

What we could confirm fits a PG: mild language and nothing scary.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
No gore
Violence
Some violence
Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity
None flagged
It is a PG from before PG-13 existed, when a PG could carry more, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.
Language
Mild
Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

What is A Christmas Story about?

The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Yes. It lands on a happy note.

Cast and crew

Directed byBob Clark
StarringMelinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Jean Shepherd, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.