Parents' Guide to

Upside Down

Movie PG-13 2013 100 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Sci-fi romance has great visuals but poor storytelling.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

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Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Alex A.
Alex A. Adult
February 6, 2024
age 9+

Good movie with good moral

Janette N.
Janette N. Adult
February 4, 2019
age 10+

Beautiful but confusing

The visuals are really pretty. They did a great job with the CGI. But the story telling is really confusing. The ending felt rushed and I had to read the Wikipedia page to understand it. And what happens to Transworld? Do they get overthrown and do the lower people get helped out of poverty? How?! Just BAM! They got together and are expecting twins, oh and everyone else is happy.
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Adam (Jim Sturgess) lives in an alternate universe in which the lower class walks right-side-up on the ground, and the upper class walks upside down on a kind of island in the sky. The two lands are linked by a huge corporate building where everyone works. Otherwise, any connection between the two worlds causes things to burn. As a boy, Adam met and fell in love with a girl from above. But now, as an adult, the grown-up Eden (Kirsten Dunst) has amnesia and doesn't remember him. Adam cooks up a complex scheme to get a job in the big building and woo her again. Meanwhile, a special kind of pink bee pollen is the only thing that connects the two worlds -- and could be the answer to all of Adam's problems.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (1 ):

Award-winning Argentinean short film director Juan Solanas' English-language feature debut will surely wow audiences with awesome visuals, but floor them with terrible storytelling. The movie begins with the hero (Jim Sturgess) explaining the rules of the universe to us and then spends the next 98 minutes trying to avoid and/or ignore those rules. It can make a viewer's head spin trying to ask questions about how and why anything works.

If, somehow, viewers can forgive and get beyond the flimsy rules of this sci-fi universe, then they have the icky, overcooked romance to contend with. The exchanges between the two main characters are cringe inducing. Worse than failing to generate chemistry, it's a wonder how the one-dimensional Eden would ever look twice at the weird, creepy Adam (Sturgess' performance is irritatingly unbalanced). By the time the final narration kicks in, it's hard not to groan.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Upside Down's violence. How much of it was necessary to tell the story?

  • How would a world evolve in which one group was considered "better" than another group? Can you think of any other stories or real-life examples with this same theme?

  • What questions would you ask a scientist about how the Upside Down world works?

  • Was Adam's quest for love selfish or selfless?

Movie Details

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