The main character learns valuable life lessons and lives in a PG-rated world. Movies like this are harmless and fine entertainment for the whole family. The other kind isn't so sunny and full of hope. They bleak and tragic and generally depressing.
Childhood is presented as a tough, cruel and unfair part of life.
The tone is set early on. Two boys are playing around a canal near where they live. The boys, who appear to be friends, start wrestling in the water, laughing and having a good time. But things suddenly get rough and one boy ends up under the water. He never comes back up.