Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Stage musical successfully brought to the screen.

Movie NR 2000 80 minutes
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 13 parent reviews

Mia S.
Mia S. Adult
March 12, 2023
age 18+

Overly Sexual, Unnecessary Crotch Shots

Lots of the narrator being touched in suggestive ways, her popping out from in-between dudes legs, crotch shots randomly for no reason. Disgusting this was rated with 0 stars for "sexy stuff" because there's an orgy scene. Even though they're technically not naked or having sex, the women are in very thin skin colored costumes with glitter around around their nipples, the main girl despite having normal clothes everywhere else has the thin skin colored fabric only over her boobs and glitter around her nippers again; they also have men in outfits male strippers would wear. During the orgy they heavily imply/show that they are attempting to rape Joseph. Another with tight and sometime blue or nude color fabrics, except this time they just have gold over their crotch. They also once again have a scene with women going at him trying to undress him, though this time he is slightly more willing, clearly not entirely consenting again though. Stopped watching after this point, absolutely disgusting.
Lottoya M.
Lottoya M. Parent of 4, 7 and 9-year-old
December 27, 2022
age 14+

Needlessly disgusting.

My elementary school put on this play when I was in grade 6. I played a brother. Catholic school. It was the perfect clean show. This show is SEXUALIZED. Parents, BEWARE. There is an entire orgy scene in the play that was incredibly disgusting and disturbing. Children shouldn't be forced to watch this under the lie of a G rating. Disgusting.
See all 13 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Schoolchildren assemble for an Old Testament pageant, but once the music begins, the onstage action becomes real, and the school's headmaster (Richard Attenborough) reappears as Jacob, father to eleven sons. After Jacob gives favored son Joseph (Donny Osmond) a present of a spectacular, multicolored coat, his jealous brothers fake the boy's death. In fact, Joseph has been sold into slavery in Egypt, where he's unjustly accused of dallying with a pyramid tycoon's vampish wife (Joan Collins). In prison, he gains fame interpreting fellow inmates' dreams, and is then called on to explain the Pharaoh's troubling nightmares, after which he's hired as Pharaoh's top advisor. Years pass, and Joseph's famine-stricken brothers come to Egypt to buy grain. Unrecognized, Joseph bitterly frames his youngest brother for thievery. But when the remaining brothers selflessly offer to accept his punishment, Joseph is moved to reveal his true identity, and the family is happily reunited.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (13 ):
Kids say (15 ):

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT retains all the sparkling wit, style, and melodies of the original Broadway musical. In a nimble eighty-minutes, viewers get a banquet of different musical styles. Jacob is told of Joseph's "death" in a twangy country-western lament; Pharaoh relates his dreams in pure Elvis style (he is The King, after all); the framing of brother Benjamin is set to Caribbean calypso; and the rest is Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular brand of catchy power pop. The multi-ethnic cast (old Jacob evidently had wide-ranging tastes in wives) contributes to the world-beat feel.

Donny Osmond's all-American good looks make him a very likeable Joseph. The real find here, however, is Maria Friedman. Introduced as a mousy schoolteacher, she blossoms into a superb narrator. Her expressive face lets the audience know just what's going on (a great asset since the lyrics by Tim Rice -- of The Lion King fame -- are occasionally obtuse). As with the movie Godspell, religious viewers may have qualms about the treatment of the Scripture-based material (God is barely mentioned here). The themes of sibling rivalry and ultimate forgiveness, however, are universal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how they handle feelings of jealousy. Why did Joseph ultimately forgive his brothers?

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.

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