History ChildSoldiers / Film

* Sam Peckinpah's ''Cross of Iron'' features a Russian boy soldier who is captured by the German characters.

%%* In ''The Horse Soldiers'' John Ford plays this for tears and laughs.

* ''Film/TheAvengers2012:'' ComicBook/BlackWidow offhandedly mentions she was trained as a spy from a ''very'' young age. ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and ''Film/BlackWidow2020'' expand on this, and show just how monstrous a process it was.

** The Clone Troopers are considered combat ready at age ten, though they go through accelerated aging,appear twenty, and act emotionally akin to young adults.
** Jedi padawans are normally chosen anywhere from 14 to their mid twenties (or the alien equivalent) to finish their training at the side of an experienced Jedi Knight or Master, going on whatever dangerous missions the Jedi is sent on, and getting involved at the discretion of their masters. When the Clone Wars break out the Jedi are thrown into Command positions in the army, including their often underage padawans.
** Supplemental material reveals the Chiss military employs force-sensitive children as child ''navitagtors''. In this case they can't employ adults since Chiss lose their force-sensitivity around age 14.

* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' features as one of the POV characters a schoolboy from the Hitler Youth who is defending Berlin from the Red Army. Additionally, a teenage girl is manning an 88mm gun at the Battle of Berlin. When everything appears hopeless, her not-much-older comrade shoots her at her own request, then kills himself.

* In ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', the Viet Cong sniper can't be older than twenty.

* ''Film/BlackPanther'': At the beginning of the film, T'Challa extracts Nakia from a rebel-controlled warzone in northern Nigeria, where she has been working under cover. He [[MookHorrorShow tears through a convoy of soldiers who have taken women captive]], but just as he's about to finish the last one off, [[SparingTheFinalMook Nakia stops him]] and takes the soldier's face concealing scarf off - revealing that he's just a frightened young boy, as the rebels have been [[ForcedIntoEvil conscripting child soldiers into service against their will]]. He doesn't show it too overtly, but in subsequent scenes it's clear T'Challa is deeply shaken that he nearly killed a child, and is so horrified by the ongoing refugee crisis there that it's making him seriously doubt his nation's staunch isolationism.

* ComicBook/BlackWidow in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' is revealed to having been raised a TykeBomb for the Russian military.

* ''Film/CityOfGod'' prominently features children fighting in drug wars the projects of Rio de Janiero. Children are shown killing each other, dealing and using drugs, [[spoiler:and in one shocking scene, a child is forced to execute one of his friends by the villain.]]

** There's a scene where a trio of Hitler Youth run up to a column of American tanks with a Panzerfaust. One of the characters, Norman (who is NewMeat), [[https://youtu.be/XlLGV5pSlXo sees them but hesitates to shoot]] because they're [[JustAKid just kids]]. This results in the kids blasting the tank in front of them to kingdom come, and [[NightmareFuel burning the unfortunate crew alive]]. War Daddy then pops up the hatch, mows the kids down with his rifle and berates Norman for getting the tank crew killed.

** The Clone Troopers are considered combat ready at age ten, though they go through accelerated aging and look twenty.
** You also have the Jedi. Who are sent out into the field at fourteen or younger to finish their training at the side of an experienced Jedi Knight or Master. This also includes going on whatever dangerous missions the Jedi is sent on, getting involved at the master's discretion. Now normally, the Jedi are effectively peace officers, but when the Clone Wars start up and the Jedi are thrown into Command positions, they don't stop or even seem to adjust the practice.

* ''Film/Fury2014'' features these on several occasions. It's accurate for the time period: the film is set about a month before Nazi Germany finished collapsing and surrendered, so the country's military is in absolute tatters and the only thing they have left are [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkssturm conscripts grabbed off the streets]], Hitler Youth, and a handful of fanatics willing to fight to the death rather than admit that their ideology was wrong or take responsibility for their crimes. Specific examples include: