Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cute characters + drugs and blood = nightmare fuel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
What's the Story?
In BIRDBOY: THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN, Dinky (voiced by Andrea Alzuri), a mouse, wants to leave her miserable, wasted island home, where the main way to get by is picking through the junkyard. She has concocted a plan to raise money with her two friends, Sandra (a bunny) and Little Fox, and escape. She wants to bring her mysterious friend Birdboy (Pedro Rivero) with her, but he's been missing lately. It turns out that Birdboy is being hunted for reasons having to do with his father, and he's also addicted to pills. Dinky, Little Fox, and Sandra realize that they don't have enough coins to buy their freedom, so they stop and steal money from a fisher pig and his strange, addicted mother. But as Dinky's chances of leaving grow ever dimmer, Birdboy makes a startling discovery. If only he has enough time left to share it with Dinky.
Is It Any Good?
This unsettling Spanish animated movie's adorable characters may make it seem kid-friendly, but it's not -- it's nightmare fuel, but it's also quite striking in many ways. Winner of a Goya Award and based on a graphic novel, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children is immediately off-putting, given that most viewers are used to seeing cute characters in cute movies, rather than anything quite like this dark vision. But once you're settled in, this surprising effort offers great rewards.
Filmmakers Pedro Rivero and Alberto Vázquez create simplistic but striking images, alternating moments that are disturbing and brutal with other moments that are wondrous and inventive. Nasty, fighting trash-diggers alternate with a weird, kind little walking alarm clock robot. Images of Birdboy dealing with his addiction trade off with breathtaking moments of his learning to fly. Even the darkest moments, such as bird-shaped monsters or inner demons trying to cause chaos, are matched by moments of incredible beauty, light, and hope. Still, this one is only for older teens and up.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Birdboy: The Forgotten Children's depiction of drug use and drug addiction. What is the movie trying to say about substance use? Are drugs glorified? Are there consequences for these actions?
Did any of the movie's imagery seem shocking when contrasted with the cute animal characters? If so, why?
How would you describe the movie's violence? How frequently do you see bloody violence in animated movies? Is it more shocking than in a live-action movie?
Did you notice any examples in the movie of characters being wrongly judged? Have you ever wrongly judged anyone, or been wrongly judged yourself?
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 15, 2017
- On DVD or streaming : March 13, 2018
- Cast : Josu Cubero , Eva Ojanguren , Andrea Alzuri
- Directors : Pedro Rivero , Alberto Vazquez
- Studio : GKIDS
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Book Characters
- Run time : 76 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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