| Director | Rob Reiner |
|---|---|
| Budget | $40 million |
| Box office | $12 million |
Skilled in academics, sports, and drama, and praised for his good work and obedience, 11 year old North feels unvalued by his own parents. The Easter Bunny—a man in a pink bunny suit at a shopping mall—recommends North simply explain his feelings to them, but North says their neglect makes them undeserving. Helped by his best friend Winchell, who works on the school paper, North plots to "divorce" his parents, hiring ambulance-chasing lawyer Arthur Belt to file the papers. The announcement shocks his parents, leaving them unresponsive when Judge Buckle grants his petition, giving him one summer to find new parents or go to an orphanage.
North's first stop is Texas, where his parental candidates, Ma and Pa Tex, promise to use their wealth to fulfill North's desires. In a musical number (set to the Bonanza theme), they explain that their first son, Buck, died in a stampede and they plan to use North to replace Buck, planning out his entire life in advance, including his future wife. They also feed him massive quantities of food hoping he will become as obese as Buck was. Gabby, a sharpshooting cowboy (also the man in the Easter Bunny suit), presents North with a souvenir from his act—a silver dollar with a bullet hole shot through its center—and explains that North is unhappy with the Texes because he wishes to be appreciated for who he is, not made into someone else.
In Hawaii, Governor and Mrs. Ho are struggling with infertility and are eager to adopt. Believing North's presence will attract mainlanders, the governor unveils a tourism campaign referencing the classic Coppertone ad and showcasing North's bare buttocks. The man in the bunny suit reappears on the beach in the guise of a tourist with a metal detector and explains that parents shouldn't use children for personal gain. In an Inuit village in Alaska, two more prospective parents calmly send their elderly grandfather out to sea on an ice floe to die with dignity. North realizes winter is approaching and his summer is almost up.
Back home, North's catatonic parents are put in a museum display. His quest has inspired children worldwide to hire Arthur and Winchell to facilitate leaving their own parents. North's next prospects are Amish, but the lack of conveniences quickly disappoints him. His experiences in Zaire, China, and Paris are equally fruitless. Finally, he finds the Nelsons, an ideal family who give him attention and appreciation, but he is still unsatisfied.
In despair, North escapes to New York City, where Winchell and Arthur, now rich and powerful, fear their lucrative business will fail and plot to assassinate him. On the run, he receives a videotape from his newly revived parents begging for his forgiveness and his return home. The bunny-suit man appears as standup comedian Joey Fingers to encourage him. North is mobbed at the airport by kids who followed his example, angry about his returning to his parents. To escape he ships himself home in a FedEx box. Recognizing the delivery driver from his other appearances, North asks if he is his guardian angel. The man denies meeting North, but as a FedEx representative, he resembles a guardian of important items.
North is delivered to his house prior to the deadline, but as he runs toward his parents, Winchell's assassin Al takes aim. As he squeezes the trigger, North awakens in the now-empty mall. The Easter Bunny takes him home, where his parents, who have been worried during his absence, greet him warmly. It has all been a dream, but in his pocket, North discovers Gabby's silver dollar. North says he has always had it, "for good luck", and goes inside as his parents agree to bring him dinner in bed.