‘Percy Jackson’ Wouldn’t Be Watchable Without the Adult Cast

As a full-grown adult, watching “children’s content” can be hit or miss. My kids have watched the Adam Sandler lizard movie, Leo, ONE MILLION TIMES since it came out, and, while I appreciated it at the first viewing, I never want to hear Sandler’s voice again. Lots of kids’ shows have little-to-no story or character development, not to mention performances that fail to inspire.

However, despite not supporting J.K. Rowling as a rule, we’re frequent Harry Potter viewers around here, as well as fans of TV gems like Hilda, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bluey, Shape Island, and more—all of which are not only delightful and entertaining, but have admirable heroes which can serve as role models. Something else all these movies and shows have in common is that they are cast with talented, often well-known and acclaimed actors—adults who, more times than not, must do their best to make up for comparably lacking performances from their younger c-stars.

The same is true for the newest, hottest kid show in the Disney+ multiverse: the live-action Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We’re watching it as a family, and like the other shows and movies in our frequent flier rotation, Percy has high production value and a great story. However, like a lot of other programming for kids, the performances are uneven. While the adult actors are chewing the scenery in a most satisfying way, the child actors come off a bit wooden, especially in comparison, which, depending on your sensitivity to acting chops, might lead you to abandon the show.

Read more at The Daily Beast.