Character Analysis
Kevin—last name never given—is a precocious young boy from England who gets swept up in some dwarves' heartfelt efforts to run away from God. He's kind of an everyman—or, we guess, everyboy—but what happens to him, as you can tell from that first sentence, is pretty extraordinary.
Let's dig in.
Smart and Lonely
Kevin is a bright boy and very imaginative. He knows something about history, which suggests that he likes to read, and he tends to be very enthusiastic about his interests, as when he gushes about Greek soldiers when we first meet him:
KEVIN: Dad, did you know that the ancient Greek warriors had to learn 44 different ways of unarmed combat? They were trying to kill people 26 different ways with their bare hands.
The kid's dull (and frankly kind of creepy) parents don't listen, of course. No one really listens to him, even the dwarves who really like him. But Kevin just shrugs and moves on. He's used to it.
Translation: Kevin is a very lonely boy. He doesn't seem to have any friends, and we wouldn't want to go back to his parents, either. That doesn't leave much for him to lose. Agamemnon—perhaps the only person in the whole movie interested in Kevin as a person—hears all about Kevin's lack of interest in returning home during one of the more telling exchanges in the film:
KEVIN: You know, I never, ever want to go back.
AGAMEMNON: Don't you want to see all your friends again?
KEVIN: No, thanks.
AGAMEMNON: To be in your own home, to be with your own father and mother?
KEVIN: No.
That's a kid who's had his fill of other people. He'd dearly love to be with folks who understand him, but he's fed up with trying to explain to people where he's coming from.
Quiet, imaginative, and lonely? Kevin is the perfect kid to embark upon an epic quest to see the universe.
He Knows What Really Matters
Despite his young age, Kevin carries a fair amount of wisdom with him. He's not all that interested in money, for example, and while the prospect of robbing the great figures of history is awfully exciting, it's the experience itself that gets him going, not the gold and jewels. He says as much after the team disentangles itself from Robin Hood:
KEVIN: I'll never get the chance to meet Robin Hood again.
RANDALL: Oh, stop moaning. He's obviously a dangerous man, unbalanced if you ask me. Giving away what isn't even his!
KEVIN: That's what Robin Hood always did. Even I know that.
RANDALL: Of course, you know it all.
KEVIN: He was one of my heroes.
RANDALL: Heroes! Heroes! What do they know about a day's work?
Clearly, Kevin isn't in it for the Benjamins—something his supposedly older and wiser companions could stand to learn from him. He's a kid who worries more about his friends than about his wallet, and he gets excited about details besides price tags.
It's this lack of materialism, in fact, that allows Kevin to figure out how to escape the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness. While there, he studies his old pictures and finds the big time hole precisely because he's not been mooning about how rich he could have been. This quality also allows Kevin to fend off all of Evil's minions—keeping the universe safe in the process—until the dwarves can show up with the cavalry.
Kevin is clever and self-sufficient, though he never has to do anything any other regular kid wouldn't. His wisdom is just an offshoot of his self-sufficiency and lack of greed; he just has a good head on his shoulders. That's one of the reasons why we're not too worried when he loses his parents at the end. This kid seems to be doing a pretty good job of taking care of himself.
God Loves Little Children
This film is all about a battle between good and evil. Kevin's adventures test him—and show us what he can do when no one is around to explain the rules. Like all of us, he has to figure out how to get through life for himself. He emerges with flying colors, we'd say—though like all of us, that doesn't buy him a whole lot more than mild approval and an urge to keep going. The Supreme Being says as much at the end, when he and the dwarves get ready to return to creation:
FIDGIT: What about my friend, sir? Can he come with us?
SUPREME BEING: No, of course not. This isn't a school outing.
FIDGIT: But, sir, he deserves something. I mean, without him—
SUPREME BEING: Oh, don't go on about it. He's got to stay here to carry on the fight.
The Supreme Being's words are kind of dismissive, but there seems to be a purpose behind them. We're pretty sure Kevin is up for the challenge; in fact, he makes a good example for us to follow. He tumbles into adventures without knowing the rules, and he finds a way not only to hang in there, but also to enjoy the experience from time to time as well.
Nice going, kid.
Kevin's Timeline