Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cute book adaptation has ghostly fears, childish taunts.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had to Go
What's the Story?
Ivy (Keslee Blalock) and Bean (Madison Skye Validum) are convinced there are ghosts under their school in IVY + BEAN: THE GHOST THAT HAD TO GO. Ivy rounds up her classmates to carry out a spell to send the ghosts away, but in order to make it work, they'll need to get into the school at night and get around scary principal Mrs. Noble (Jane Lynch).
Is It Any Good?
The formula for Netflix's adaptation of the bestselling book series becomes clearer in the second entry to the series, where the titular dynamic duo confront an adult baddie and get into trouble. Again. Jane Lynch plays the mean adult in Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had to Go, and she does it with gusto, staring down her nose and dismissively sending the littles to detention. A funny scene has her trying on a pair from her beloved shoe collection and accidentally farting in the process.
The ghost plot feels like a pretense to get the gang together to embark on yet another imaginative adventure, this one involving circumventing parents, cutting a lock of hair from an enemy (big sister Nancy), and accidentally flooding the school bathroom. The girls are duly punished but stop to make a very sweet oath of friendship before they're sent to their rooms. The series captures childhood energy (like cartwheels across the school lawn) and ingenuity. It's good, innocent fun.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the Ivy + Bean films compare with the books, if you've read them. What surprised you? What can films do better than books, and vice versa?
How are Nancy and Bean different? How do they treat each other?
Do you think Bean and Ivy deserved the punishment they got? Why, or why not?
Do you believe in ghosts? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 2, 2022
- Cast : Madison Skye Validum , Keslee Blalock , Jane Lynch
- Director : Elissa Down
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Gay Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Book Characters , Friendship
- Run time : 61 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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