Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Frog and Wombat

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Dated '90s tween mystery has bad acting, iffy content.

Movie NR 1999 94 minutes
Frog and Wombat Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Margert-jerry
Margert-jerry Adult
September 25, 2014
age 12+
This movie was absolutely awful! The acting was terrible. but some of the many really bad parts, were the times the obsessive, borderline insane 12 year old breaks in to people's homes, offices, and a country club. All on the crazy assumption that her new neighbor and principle is a murder and to make it worse, in the end HE IS!! He ends up breaking in to her house and kidnapping her, that part was way too intense for kids! (it's also one of the only times the acting is half decent.) there also a bunch of "wow I can't believe they just said that." moments such as the multiple times the young girls talked about being on their period, (I watched this with a male friend!) and "gag me with a 7th grader" I can't be the only one that thinks that is implying something... That's just the first one that I can think of, there's plenty of stuff like that. the movies actually pretty disturbing on many different levels. I'm just glad we watched this movie with just the two of us before letting his little brother watch it!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
KMM5
KMM5 Parent
September 6, 2013
age 14+

Spoiler Alert: Let your kids watch this if you don't want them sleeping tonight!

They talk casually about mensturation, so make sure your kids know about it before watching this! Otherwise very good.... until the end! You think this is a silly "kids think they know everything" kind of movie and that eventually there will be a logical explanation.... wrong! Turns out not only is the bad guy a total creep, he is also a kidnapper and a murderer. So, the whole movie you're watching thinking it's a Disney-style sleuth movie and in the last 5 minutes you watch horrified as your child realizes every danger there is in the world..... and learns not to trust adult figures.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Allie Parker (Katie Stuart), a.k.a. "Frog," and Jane Walker, a.k.a. "Wombat," are two precocious girls who spend their time running around their neighborhood with walkie talkies as they wait for the first day of sixth grade. But when they meet their new neighbor -- who turns out to be their new principal -- and his "cool" twenty-something niece, their nosiness gets the better of them. When the niece mysteriously vanishes, and the girls notice a syringe sticking out of the principal's sport coat pocket -- as well as boxes filled with mysterious pills -- Frog and Wombat suspect foul play. They enlist their other friends to help them find out the truth about their new principal, and even as Wombat starts to tire of the pursuit, Frog stops at nothing, determined to chase down any lead and any clue until they find out just who their new principal actually is, and whether or not he's a murderer.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Had the child acting been better, had the director relied less on '90s fashions and attitudes, had the movie been less concerned with including iffy humor, perhaps it would have held up better. This is unfortunate, because, at the end of the day, the mystery itself could have held up just fine without the gross jokes and weird behaviors (dipping their toes in jars of peanut butter and licking it off, for instance) of the kids.

But, alas, the child overacting (with the exception of Katie Stuart) quite often borders on excruciating, and overwhelms the core of the story. Unless you're a big fan of '90s kids' movies and are curious to see how tweens lived before the age of unlimited data on cell phones, you'll be turned off by the content, and kids will be turned off by the dated clothing and attitudes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about mysteries. How was this movie similar and different to other mysteries?

  • What are some of the elements of this movie that firmly date it in the 1990s?

  • If this movie were remade and set in contemporary times, what do you think would be different, in terms of fashion, technology, and overall attitude? What about the movie would remain the same?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

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.

See all recommended movie lists

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