Parents' Guide to My Animal

Movie 2023 R 100 minutes
My Animal Movie Poster: Close up of young White woman looking up to the sky in front of a full moon; in the upper right hand, a young Black woman with

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

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age 17+

Arty lesbian romance/werewolf horror is all drool, no bite.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Any Positive Content?

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  • My Animal Trailer
  • My Animal Movie: A teen with red hair and pale skin wearing a white nightgown crawls toward a TV showing a woman's image at night
  • My Animal Movie: Two young women, one Black and one White, lie on a bed with red sheets, holding hands while facing each other
  • My Animal Movie: A young redheaded woman clutches her knees tightly in a bathtub while a woman's hands are seen, washing her cuts and bruises

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What's the Story?

In MY ANIMAL, hockey goalie Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a werewolf, a condition that she and her family hide from their community by locking Heather in her room during the full moon. When Heather meets ice skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) at the rink, the two forge an instant connection, which becomes another secret to hide.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This movie is based in an outstanding concept, but the fantastic allegory is largely lost in the choice to make high art rather than more mainstream entertainment. My Animal starts with a scene so creepy that it may well mislead viewers into thinking they're about to watch a solidly scary movie. But, really, the film is more about the drudgery of Heather's day-to-day life.

That life is drenched in dull gray. Heather works at the hockey rink where she hopes to be allowed to try out for the boys' hockey team. There, she meets the beautiful Jonny, and, despite having a stereotypical jerk boyfriend (Cory Lipman), Jonny seems to like her, too. For an hour, it's all buildup, no action. When the promise of something dangerous or romantic is brewing, the color tone changes to red. But it feels nothing actually happens until the end of the movie -- and even that isn't as satisfying as you might hope.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about My Animal's use of the werewolf metaphor to represent queerness in the 1980s. What message is the movie trying to send?

  • The movie's writer, director, and star are queer women who are telling a story about queer women. Do you think the people making a movie need to have the same lived experiences as the characters? Why is authenticity important in movies about underrepresented communities?

  • How are drinking, smoking, and drug use depicted? Are they glamorized? Does the 1980s setting change the impact? Why does that matter?

  • Compare My Animal to other horror monster movies you've seen. What are hallmarks of the genre?

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

My Animal Movie Poster: Close up of young White woman looking up to the sky in front of a full moon; in the upper right hand, a young Black woman with

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