[7] A year later, as an eight-year-old, he starts a non-profit organization, the Little Red Wagon Foundation, to aid marginalized children, particularly homeless adolescents.

[5] At the film's closing, the subplot intersects with the main plot in a heartening incident demonstrating how altruism incalculably alters the path of a destitute person's circumstances.

"[4] Film critic Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times praised Gunn's depiction of Zach's sympathetic mother as "solid", a polar opposite from her "steeliness" as Skyler White in the television crime drama series Breaking Bad.

[1] The Christian Post's Emma Koonse called the film the "heartwarming true story of one little boy's dream to end the suffering of those without homes".

[19] Columbia College Chicago adjunct professor Brian Costello wrote for Common Sense Media that "for a 'movie with a message', this is among the best to come out in recent years, and should inspire discussion -- and perhaps action -- amongst families about the issues they care about the most".

[20] Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times said Little Red Wagon "is such a sweetly inspiring story" and "a movie with a heart as big as Zach's and an endlessly wholesome way of expressing it".

[6] Also criticizing the lack of drama, Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the film two stars out of four, writing, "There's weighty material waiting to be processed here, but in "Little Red Wagon" it doesn't have a home.

[21] Debbie Holloway of Crosswalk.com wrote that Little Red Wagon's plot is "inspiring, with noteworthy flaws"; she found the dialogue and transitions to be oversimplified on some occasions.

[7] For example, Holloway noted that the shifts between significant challenges including creating a non-profit organization and securing a job are overlooked with few of the "real-life mess and pain".

She found the young boys in the film to be too flawless and obedient, while Bonner's sister Kelley too closely followed the prototype of a "standard movie rebellious teen".

[7] Scott Wolfe of The Dove Foundation opined that Little Red Wagon "will move your family from tears of hope to jubilation as they see just how much difference one person can make".

[22] Christian Broadcasting Network reviewer Hannah Goodwyn had a similar view as Holloway's about the film's oversimplified plot and conversations, writing that although "[t]his family-friendly movie has its moving moments, the discerning moviegoer may find the story too simplified".

[1] Goodwyn continued, "Unfortunately, the film also has its moments of wanting dialogue, which is surprising given Golden Globe-nominated Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland's Opus) wrote it.

"[1] Sean Means of The Salt Lake Tribune found that "[t]he melodramatic storyline and moralizing tone are overbearing" and that "only O'Connor's performance rises above the level of a Hallmark Channel rerun".

[23] Although Mathew DeKinder wrote that "the acting is wooden, the dialogue is even worse and the plotting is almost nonexistent", he said the film was "redeemed by its subject matter", that of a boy who founds a non-profit organization to assist homeless youth.

[18] Barbara VanDenburgh of The Arizona Republic gave the film a rating of "[b]omb to bad: 1.5 stars", explaining that Little Red Wagon is "less a movie and more an extended public-service announcement, as comforting as a glass of milk before bed and about as exciting.

VanDenburgh found the homeless mother and son in the subplot similarly unrealistic because the duo appear perfectly nourished and immaculately clean despite being forced by their indigence to sleep in a car.