10 Most Precocious Kids In Movies

By Dan Wakefield /

Kids say the funniest things, eh? Unless they've been blessed with an above-average IQ and an alarming level of self-awareness. Then they're just annoying. It isn't enough for these kids to be smart; they have to sigh, roll their eyes or look to camera as everyone around them struggles to work out what they just said. But we understand. We get it. They're simply misunderstood, underappreciated, a child born in the wrong time. We know that, sadly, life can be tough for a precocious kid; as many are forced to postpone writing their first novel or tackling Fermat's Last Theorem and instead concentrate their efforts into asking themselves why they're so lonely. Indeed, to be called 'precocious' isn't quite the compliment it once was. Think of how remarkably prescient Hollywood assumes all kids to be; if they're not seeing dead people, they're detecting the slightest of cracks in their parents' marriage and making everyone laugh with their cutesy line of questioning. But fear not, as this list features those precious few whom we couldn't help but admire. For every junior Juno MacGuff, there's a Harold Chasen in the making. I'll leave you to work out whether that's good news or bad. Warning: Contains the occasional spoiler (and spoiled child).