The Little Rascals (1994)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A group of neighborhood children must navigate the complexities of friendship, romance, and a high-stakes soapbox derby.
The story
Spanky McFarland is the president of the "He-Man Womun Haters Club" with many school-aged boys from around the neighborhood as members. His best friend, Alfalfa, has been chosen as the driver for the club's prize-winning undefeated go-kart, "The Blur", in the annual Soap Box Derby style race. However, when the announcement is made, Alfalfa is nowhere to be found. The boys catch Alfalfa in the company of Darla, and the club's members try their hardest to break the two apart, eventually causing their beloved clubhouse to burn down. The boys must then navigate the fallout of the fire while preparing for the upcoming race.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Spanky McFarland leads the "He-Man Womun Haters Club" and his friend Alfalfa is chosen to drive "The Blur" in a soapbox derby. After the boys' attempts to separate Alfalfa and his girlfriend Darla cause their clubhouse to burn down, the group must raise money to rebuild it. Meanwhile, Alfalfa faces a punishment of guarding the go-kart while trying to win Darla back. When "The Blur" is stolen by bullies, the boys build "The Blur 2: The Sequel." Before the race, Spanky and Alfalfa reconcile and decide to ride together. During the derby, they face sabotage from local bullies and a wealthy rival, Waldo. They ultimately win the race, and Alfalfa wins back Darla's heart. Spanky realizes his mistakes regarding Darla and the club's rules, eventually welcoming Darla and others into the club with a "Women Welcome" sign. The film concludes with a reveal that the character Uh-huh can speak and a series of bloopers.
- First release year
- 1994
- Runtime (minutes)
- 82
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Penelope Spheeris
- Writers
- Paul Guay · screenplay; Stephen Mazur · screenplay; Penelope Spheeris · screenplay; Paul Guay · story; Stephen Mazur · story; Penelope Spheeris · story; Mike Scott · story; Robert Wolterstorff · story
- Cast and characters
- Travis Tedford · Spanky; Bug Hall · Alfalfa; Brittany Ashton Holmes · Darla; Kevin Jamal Woods · Stymie; Jordan Warkol · Froggy; Zachary Mabry · Porky; Ross Elliot Bagley · Buckwheat; Courtland Mead · Uh-huh
- Genres
- family comedy; buddy comedy
- Themes
- friendship; growing up
- Tone and mood
- comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- reimagining; childhood
- Source material / true-story basis
- Hal Roach's Our Gang
- Franchise connections
- Our Gang
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews from critics, with some praising it as a 'minor delight' while others criticized it as a 'see-through marketing impulse.' It received an A- grade from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 31% · review count: 16; Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Production trivia
- The film features a version of the story that is over four minutes longer than the standard cut.; The film is the first collaboration between writers Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…