RICHIE RICH sends an odd mix of messages. It proclaims that money cannot buy happiness, that well-off people ought to protect those less fortunate, and that family is more important than money. A touching moment comes when would-be thieves question Mr. Rich about the contents of his vault; baby shoes, bowling trophies and other family memorabilia. Mr. Rich says, ‘[money] is not what we treasure.” Then again, the movie touts the pleasure of unimaginable fortune, implies that lying is funny as long as you don’t get caught, and stoops to jokes about passing gas and Richie gawks at his attractive trailer’s body. There are also subtle New Age messages: The butler tells Richie that the power of his father is inside him, which Richie interprets as “trust the force,” and a woman tries to guess the butler’s Zodiac sign. Couple these with fight fists, shootings and a few nasty words and the result is a kids’ movie that younger kids probably shouldn’t see.