Parents' Guide to

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Fun musical adventure includes some innuendo and a death.

Movie NR 2008 43 minutes
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 8 parent reviews

age 15+

We love NPH...but

First, we LOVE NPH. He's such a fabulous actor, and hilarious. He is innocent and sweet hearted while trying so hard to be "evil" ... its what makes this movie so great! However, I gage movies for my kids based on whether I'd be comfortable watching them around my own dad. This one has some pretty off color sexual humor that as an adult is funny, but not with your dad. And I wouldn't want my daughters hearing it.... not my 9 year old for sure, and I didn't let my older one til she was 15. Even she was embarrassed by the "good pounding" and "give her my hammer" jokes.

This title has:

Too much sex
age 16+

Something is wrong with Common Sense here!!

Editor's Pick? For 10 year olds??? No way! There's a long violent death scene -- and the sexual messages are quite clear, not "innuendo" at all. Example: a song about "hammering" one's date and then an explanation of exactly what that means. Yikes! I can see older teens thinking this is hilarious, but an Editor's Pick for elementary age children? Clearly CSM has been punked some some tech-savvy Joss Wheden fans. Beware.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (16):

This clever film plays with convention, by making a villain into the star of the show. Yes, he's cooking up a dastardly scheme, and we even see him pulling off a heist. But his evil deeds pale in comparison to the smarmy Captain Hammer. The hero is the real villain here, a smug, conceited cad who uses his hero-status to charm the ladies. While Dr. Horrible really loves Penny, Captain Hammer just wants to get her into bed, and it's up to the bad-guy to prove that he can sing about being her hero.

Yes, sing. Because not only is this a brilliant send-up of the standard superhero format, it's also a musical. Sure, it might sound like a strange idea, but then, so does the whole concept. On paper, it may be hard to see how all of this comes together. But on the screen, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog fits together perfectly. It's a great idea, executed perfectly, and wildly entertaining.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate