Cookie Queens are Redefining Girl Scouts for a Whole New Generation

When I was a Girl Scout, my main goal wasn’t to sell cookies, but to grab every badge to fill up my sash.  Camping was the only one left to conquer and the night before the trip, I changed my mind. All of a sudden, sleeping in a tent possibly surrounded by lions, tigers and bears was something I was no longer interested in accomplishing.

Now, not only is Sundance 2026 upon us, but it’s Girl Scout Cookie season for a whole new generation who strive to become a top-selling “Cookie Queen,” navigating an $800 million business in which childhood and ambition collide. We are in the middle of seismic societal change. Technology is upending the way we live, and myriad forces are tearing at the threads of our culture. Cookie Queens explores how young people are charting their paths into the future, shedding light on how they confront challenges in their diverse families and communities, examining what this looks like across a spectrum of experiences. As the 21st century progresses, we must listen to young people and reflect with them on how they can play an active, powerful role in shaping our world.

Alysa Nahmias fully captures the sparkle and intrigue of their spirit, while following these girls through a cookie-selling season, highlighting their charm and unsuspecting sharp business instincts. As fun as one would imagine this journey is, it’s definitely not just fun and games. These young cookie “sharks”and their families make real financial and time sacrifices to hit their goals, trading laid-back weekends for hours outside, wagons full of cookies in tow.

Meet Ara, Olive, Nikki, and Shannon Elizabeth: four Girl Scouts with big personalities and big ambitions. The mission? Cookie sales. But their entrepreneurial spirit hints at bright futures ahead — think future Supreme Court justices, CEOs, and beyond.

Watching some of these houses have cookies stacked to the ceiling, selling in in climate weather at all hours of the day, knowing only a fraction of what they sell will be turned around to the troop or having sisters who support their baby sister in her dream to surpass them is everything being a Girl Scout stands for. Troops are taught, “I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.”

What is lovable about this film is  the maturity in which the girls communicate about the expectations of their sales, their participation and whether or not parents are seen as a help or hindrance.  Some parents are more competitive placing unfair pressure, which seemingly eats away challenging relationship between parents and siblings.  In the end, goals were met and broken and audiences will never look at a box of Tagalongs the same way again. Yet, Girl Scout cookies and the ideological warm memory attached to them make tacking on those extra holiday pounds worth very bite.