One has to blame the writer Isaac Asimov. Working its way through three generation and 200 years is very ambitious. The beginning is cute and children would just love it, especially Andrew's exploits with the family he loves. Sam Neil is the father, Wendy Crewson the mother and Little Miss the cute girl whom he grows attached to. But then kids won't be interested in the story that spans generations.
Alone fame is good while dealing with children's subject.
But in the second half Bicentennial Man ceases to be a kids' story. In a way it is welcome in that it is not about a Frankensteinian monster so common these days. In sum, it is a film which flatters, only to deceive and hence is eminently avoidable both for children and adults. No, this is not to deride sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov. Like H.G. Wells, Carl Sagan, Jules Verne, Arthur Clarke and Ray Bradbury, he is prophetic and thought-provoking but not all such novels can be converted into successful films.