Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Contemporary twist on fairy tale has mild language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Godmothered
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 13 parent reviews
Based on 15 kid reviews
Kids say this movie starts off slow but improves as it goes along, ultimately providing a fun and humorous experience that may contain some adult themes. Many reviewers appreciated the diversity and relatable messages, although some criticized it for being too similar to another popular film and having a cringey ending.
- great for families
- diverse themes
- fun humor
- slow start
- adult topics
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Eleanor (Jillian Bell) is a fairy godmother-in-training in GODMOTHERED. When she discovers the training school is in danger of being shut down, and all the godmothers made tooth fairies due to a decline in a call for their services, she escapes "Motherland" to track down a last unfulfilled request from a 10-year-old girl. However, Eleanor discovers that the girl, Mackenzie (Isla Fisher), is now a widowed adult with two kids, and Eleanor is woefully unprepared for both the realities of city life and some of the necessary skills to be a fully competent fairy godmother. Still, her faith in magic and happy endings will drive her to help Mackenzie and her daughters to the best of her abilities. All of them will learn new lessons about life, love, and happy endings in the process.
Is It Any Good?
Godmothered aims to turn the fairy tale trope on its head, and it succeeds to a certain degree, but that doesn't make this film any less predictable or more realistic. In fact, Eleanor's closing-act tribute to diversity, which offers a contemporary twist on the ideas of "true love" and "happily ever after," isn't backed up by the rest of the movie, which feels pretty traditional in both characters and storyline. Riffs on the classic tale of Cinderella are fun, and Bell's charming central performance keeps the film afloat. Fisher and Santiago Cabrera as her love interest, Hugh Prince, are solid, but co-stars Jane Curtin and June Squibb as aging fairy godmothers are sorely underused.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the "formula" for happiness discussed by the fairy godmothers in Godmothered. Does the formula fit with traditional fairy tales you've read or watched? How so?
Do you think Mackenzie and Hugh end up together? Would their confirmed pairing have made the ending of the movie more satisfying for you? Why or why not?
At what point does Eleanor realize she's actually June's fairy godmother as much as she is Mackenzie's?
How does this film portray the news business? Was it shown in a positive light?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 4, 2020
- Cast : Jillian Bell , Isla Fisher , Santiago Cabrera
- Director : Sharon Maguire
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Disney+
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales ) , Holidays
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some suggestive comments.
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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
Suggest an 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