The Kettles score near perfection on this one, Morlan says. Ma and Pa go on vacation, older children leave the farm and go off to college and get married, and even the younger kids have personal interests, he says. Good families are hospitable. In spite of what appears to be poverty, though, their door is always open to strangers as well as friends. It's the family's strongest trait, he says.
Good families deal squarely with disaster.
Morlan found no untimely death, suicide, serious illness or divorce in the film series, but slapstick comedy isn't suited to such topics, he says. Good families prize their rituals. Mealtime for the Kettles fits into this category, Morlan says. Ma cooks three meals a day, and the family eats together at every meal. Other family rituals include holiday celebrations and community events such as county fairs and box suppers.